Telgu language newspaper in india
Sakshi (transl: "The Witness") is an Indian Telugu language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[3] It is also the second largest circulated Telugu daily newspaper in the country.
According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) Q2 2022, Sakshi ranks twelfth among the most circulated Indian-language dailies with a total readership (TR) of 1,002,585.[4][5] The newspaper is owned by Y. S. Bharathi, wife of the Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy.[6]
History
Sakshi was launched on 24 March 2008, the first regional newspaper designed by the world-renowned newspaper designer, Mario Garcia.[7] According to Price Water House Audit, the newspaper had an initial print run of 1,286,670.[8] It was initially founded by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the son of then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy.[9]
The daily was launched with 23 editions — nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai.[10][11] At a price of ₹60 per month, Sakshi was marketed as a less expensive alternative to all other prominent Telugu dailies at the time which were priced at ₹96–100 per month.[10] To stand out from its competition, Sakshi adopted high-quality production values. It had 30-pages, all of them in color broadsheet format. The paper's layouts were designed by Mario Garcia.[12]
It was the first Telugu daily to publish all of its pages in color for all editions.[13] It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[14][15][16]
Content
Sakshi began with a focus on sports, education and business news that were underserved by existing dailies, as per its market survey done six months prior to the launch.[13] It devoted two pages for sports coverage when competitors only had one page or less. It also experimented with a four page business news pullout in 2009.[13]
Circulation
From July to December 2019, Sakshi had an average daily circulation of 10.64 lakh.[17][18] It ranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behind Eenadu and tenth in India across languages.
Sakshi is now available online every day with all of its editions along with the regional editions.[19]
Political Impact
Eenadu, the leading Telugu daily newspaper which started out initially as a neutral and non-political oriented newspaper organisation gradually started supporting Chandrababu Naidu led Telugu Desam Party in every instance.[20] The other Telugu daily Andhra Jyothi too went hand-in-hand with Eenadu and both newspapers became staunch rivals of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.[21] This had led him into thinking of an alternative newspaper to such politically biased newspapers.[22] He then established the daily, Sakshi in 2008 with his son, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as the owner.[23]
The newspaper everyday prints a picture of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on the top left corner as a tribute to his death.[24] As the newspaper is owned by Y.S. Bharathi, the wife of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy who is the president of the political party YSR Congress Party, the newspaper is often criticized for publishing news in the support of YSR Congress Party and being biased against the other political parties.[25]
