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Tehelka now investigates in Hindi

Tehelka Samachar is a fortnightly priced at Rs 20

In its bid to reach out to Hindi readers, the English magazine, Tehelka, known for hard-hitting, investigative journalism, has rolled out Tehelka Samachar.

The editorial team for the Hindi magazine is being led by Tarun J Tejpal, editor in chief and publisher.

Sanjay Dube, senior editor, Tehelka Samachar, explains the rationale behind launching the magazine. "The kind of journalism that Tehelka indulges in revolves around covering issues and stories emerging from places such as Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. The idea behind the Hindi edition is to make people's own stories available for discussion, debate and review, which, in this case, is possible only if the content is offered in a language that is read and understood by the people. And in this case, the language is Hindi."

Tehelka now investigates in Hindi
The Hindi magazine will satisfy the curiosity and need of readers belonging to Hindi speaking states or places, who have the desire to read indepth, quality news. Such readers will now have access to Brand Tehelka, which is known for its reporting style.

The 84 page magazine will be a fortnightly, unlike its weekly English counterpart. The initial print run for the Hindi edition is believed to be around 35,000-40,000 copies. Dube says that though Tehelka Samachar is the Hindi edition of its English counterpart, the new title will offer 50 per cent original content.

Tehelka now investigates in Hindi
Tehelka Samachar
Tehelka Samachar is a second step for Tehelka to reach out to Hindi readers, the first being the launch of a Hindi website, www.tehelkahindi.com, nine months ago.

Dube elaborates, "Resources and manpower will be shared between the English and Hindi versions of the magazine. By and large, news is same for everyone, irrespective of the language of the medium used to reach out to readers. Again, most of the news is sourced from, say, agencies such as Press Trust of India (PTI). But when it comes to covering specific beats, such as literature, art or movies, a marked difference will be visible in the selection and reportage of news."

Moreover, care will be taken to choose and present news that matches the sensibilities of the Hindi readers. Hindi is a great medium to not only reach out to Hindi readers, but also an alternative tool to attract interested readers who know both English and Hindi fairly well, but prefer to read in the latter language.

Dube states that Tehelka Samachar has roped in well known writers, such as Anupam Misra, Harivansh, Ashok Chakravarti and Prasoon Joshi, to contribute to the fortnightly. Besides, regular reportage by Tehelka stalwarts such as Tejpal, Harinder Baweja, editor, news and investigations, and Shoma Chaudhury, editor, features, will also be part of Tehelka Samachar.

The publishers have not invested much in advertising or marketing the new offering for the simple reason that Tehelka is an organisation with limited means. Ads announcing the arrival of Tehelka Samachar were carried in select newspapers, such as Amar Ujala and Dainik Bhaskar.

Dube says advertisers with Tehelka are also hitching a ride on Tehelka Samachar because they believe that the Hindi product will give them access to a greater number of people. They are, thus, happy to associate themselves with a good quality product.

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