Saumya Tewari and Aditi Srivastava
Digital

Catch News will provide news on-the-run for the impatient generation: Shoma Chaudhury, editor-in-chief

The multimedia digital platform will cover everything from hard news to hard rock, by bringing clarity to the end product delivered to audiences.

Rajasthan Patrika Group recently launched a multimedia digital platform called Catch News. The group's aim is to bring clarity and insight into news that viewers are constantly bombarded with.

Catch News will provide news on-the-run for the impatient generation: Shoma Chaudhury, editor-in-chief
Catch News will provide news on-the-run for the impatient generation: Shoma Chaudhury, editor-in-chief
Catch News will provide news on-the-run for the impatient generation: Shoma Chaudhury, editor-in-chief
Shoma Chaudhury, editor-in-chief, Catch News, says, "We live in a world saturated with information. It comes at us constantly - on our phones, our TVs, our watches and WhatsApps. But, strangely, the more we're shot at, the less we seem to know or understand. Catch hopes to make a dent in that."

Towards this end, the platform has been conceived in a way so as to incorporate a bit of everything in its ambit - the high and the low, the uber serious and the shark-bite satire, as also issues of conscience and pleasure. Moreover, Catch News has come up with some unique news forms like short, bulleted explainers, 3-minute videos, flip cards called X- packs and deep dive devices called Decks. A 'Quick Pill' along with every story would sum up the information at a glance.

Catch News aims at reaching out to the 18-45 year old Indians, NRIs and global citizens, who are often pressed for time. The editorial content will be based on attributes such as plurality, social equity and justice, to present its newsworthy offering to audiences.

The team at Catch News, headed by Chaudhury, comprises Bharat Bhushan as editor, Vinny Ganju as the chief operating officer, Payal Puri as lifestyle and features head, while Kunal Majumder is the editor, operations and Speed News desk.

News has a unique feature that of constantly evolving with time. In the present day and age, this evolution has become more pronounced due to the entry of several digital platforms. Talking about how digital has changed the news business, Chaudhury says, "The net is not just a delivery channel, but a new idiom. It demands innovation in the way we tell stories and deliver them. But, innovation in form cannot substitute content. We're first and foremost about the content."

With a plethora of digital media brands thronging the market these days, creating one's own identity is a challenge. How is Catch News going to make a mark? "Differentiation, stickiness and habit formation, besides the fragmented nature of online reading, are some of the major challenges for a digital brand. People don't necessarily come to your brand; they encounter it on different platforms. The challenge, therefore, is to create a distinct, cohesive brand identity in an external environment over which you have no control," she states.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com