Sakshi is widely regarded as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his political party—YSR Congress Party (YCP).[10] It is frequently criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP.[15]
The newspaper is a part of Sakshi media group which also owns the Telugu news channel, Sakshi TV.[16] It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[17][18][19] As of 2023, it ranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behind its rival Eenadu.[20]
Sakshi launched on 23 March 2008[4][26] with 23 editions — nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai.[3][5] 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.[3] To stand out from its competition, Sakshi adopted high-quality production values. It had 30-pages, all of them in colour broadsheet format. The paper's layouts were designed by Mario Garcia.[27]
Sakshi began with 23 editions published simultaneously — nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai.[3][5] It was the first Telugu daily to publish all of its pages in colour for all editions.[28]
Of the total Andhra Pradesh Government budget of about ₹200 crore for print media commercials for the years 2008-11, Sakshi newspaper was allotted over 50% amounting to ₹101.63 crore.[4] This was attributed to the undue preferential treatment Sakshi newspaper and Sakshi TV received during the chief ministership of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.[4][29]
It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[17][18][19]
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.[28] 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.[28]
Circulation
From July to December 2019, Sakshi had an average daily circulation of 10.64 lakh.[30][31] It ranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behind Eenadu and tenth in India across languages. For the period of 1H 2022, the circulation was reduced to 951,292, a reduction of 9.1% over two years.[20]
Criticism
The newspaper is widely perceived as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party YSR Congress Party (YCP).[11][7][8][9] It is frequently criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP.[11][12][13][14]
The paper, along with its sister outlet Sakshi TV, is part of a recent trend wherein businesspersons-turned-politicians across India launched their own media organisations to influence public opinion to further their political interests.[32]
^Benedict, Kay; A, Srinivasa Rao (8 September 2009). "Business links cast shadow on Jagan's chances". India Today. Retrieved 26 October 2022. He launched a counterattack through his newspaper Sakshi defending his investments ....
^ abA, Srinivasa Rao (27 July 2012). "Congress in Andhra Pradesh mulls its own TV channel, newspaper". India Today. Retrieved 25 October 2022. In the last one year, Jagan launched an offensive against the Congress government and the party through his media house - Sakshi television channel and Telugu daily.
