Sakal

''Sakal'' ("Morning") is a Marathi daily newspaper published by Sakal Media Group, headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is among the most widely circulated Marathi newspapers.

Pratap Pawar joined the board of Sakal in 1985 and is currently the chairman of the group. According to a report by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), Sakal has the highest circulation in Maharashtra with a daily circulation of approximately 1.3 million.

Nanasaheb Parulekar was the founder of the paper. Sakal is published in major cities across Maharashtra, including Pune, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nanded, Parbhani, Solapur, Nagpur, Satara, Akola, Amravati and Jalgaon. The group's operations include regional newspapers, magazines, and internet publishing, and they employ over 3,000 people. Its online website, eSakal, reports reaching over 300,000 Internet users globally.

History

''Sakal'' originated during the pre-independence nationalist period. Its founder, Dr. N.P. ( Nanasaheb Parulekar), was influenced by American newspapers during his time at Columbia University. Although started as part of the nationalist cause, after Indian independence, the Sakal newspaper became a commercially successful publication by reporting on daily concerns of Pune and its rural surroundings.

By the 1960s, Sakal had appointed full-time correspondents, each equipped with a phone, in every town in its coverage area. It organized training camps for journalists, promotions and cultural events for readers, and published letters to the editor on its front page. Under Nanasaheb Parulekar, the paper maintained political neutrality and endorsed candidates for local, state, or national elections based on their merit.

When Nanasaheb Parulekar died in 1973, he left the paper with established ethical practices and traditions. It survived the initial changes brought by advancements in newspaper technology and continued for over 10 years. Pratap Pawar took over Sakal in 1985. Pawar converted the paper into a public limited company in 1989, becoming the managing director.

List of editors chronologically

* N. B. Parulekar – 1 January 1932 to 31 December 1943
* Ramchandra Balawant a.k.a. Babasaheb Ghorpade – 1 January 1944 to 20 February 1951
* N. B. Parulekar – 21 February 1951 to 8 January 1973
* Shridhar a.k.a. S. G. Mungekar – 9 January 1973 to 9 February 1985
* V. D. Ranade – 10 February 1985 to 30 April 1987
* S. K. Kulkarni – 1 May 1987 to 31 July 1987
* Vijay Kuwalekar – 1 August 1987 to 7 August 2000
* Anant Dixit – 8 August 2000 to 15 July 2005
* Yamaji Malkar – 16 July 2005 to 9 May 2009
* Uttam Kamble – 10 May 2009 to 31 July 2012 (Editor in Chief)
* Shriram Pawar – 1 August 2012 to 28 February 2018 (Editor in Chief)
* Nand kumar Sutar - 1 May 2013 to 16 June 2019 (Executive Editor)
* Rahul Gadpale – 1 March 2018 – to date (Editor in Chief)

Current status of the group

Abhijit Pawar is currently the managing director of the group. In 2021, the group launched Agrowon, described as the first and only agriculture daily. The official website states that it is the "first media company to organize events & exhibitions as well as the first media group to implement 6-sigma processes across the company." The company recently launched 515 agriculture marts in Maharashtra under the name of Agrowon Agrotech.

Controversies

In 2005, the Supreme Court of India directed ''Sakal Papers Pvt Ltd'' to pay Rs 3 crore to one of its directors, Claude-Lila Parulekar (daughter of founder Nanasaheb Parulekar) for the illegal transfer of 3,510 of her shares in the company to Pratap Pawar's group.

Pull outs, sections and multimedia

* Today – Sakal introduced a separate pull-out section for local content. Titled 'Today', this English-language pull-out was launched across major cities of Maharashtra in 2006–2007. The Pune edition began on 14 August 2006, providing space for local content and advertisers.
* Garcia Design – Garcia Design, focusing on multimedia activities, redesigned the Sakal newspaper in 2007–2008. This redesign was implemented across Maharashtra.
* Newzine – In 2010, Sakal adopted a "Newzine" style of presenting news, combining elements of news and magazines.
* Features – The paper publishes weekly supplements targeting specific sectors: Saptrang (सप्तरंग) for family (Sunday), Jobz for employment (Tuesday), Pratibimb for hyper-local content (Thursday), Family Doctor for health (Friday), and Balmitra (बालमित्र) for children (Saturday).
* Masthead – Its masthead is dark blue. Previously, it was black, with a red masthead published each Sunday. The masthead changed to blue reverse in 2008.
* Tagline – The current tagline of Daily Sakal is 'Uday Bhavishyapatracha' (उदय भविष्यपत्राचा), meaning "rise of the future newspaper." The previous tagline was 'Mitra Navya Shatkacha' (मित्र नव्या शतकाचा), meaning 'A friend of the New Century.'

Sakal's multimedia platforms include:

* Mobile app – Sakal news is available on smartphones through native apps for Apple and Android.
* eSakal.com - website, www.eSakal.com, adopted a new design by Mario Garcia (Jr.). It added interactive features and launched an epaper facility for various publications including Sakal. The website includes news updates, interactive elements, and citizen journalism features.
* Agrowon - Agrowon, described as the first newspaper exclusively about agriculture, was established on 20 April 2005.
* Agrowon.com - website, www.agrowon.com is the digital extension of the Agrowon newspaper.
* SMS – Sakal initiated the Push SMS service, Sakal Live, for registered users, using the 54321 SMS short-code for news alerts and engagement.
* Saam TV – In 2008, Sakal entered the television business with a Marathi General Entertainment Channel, Saam TV.
* 3 km app – 3 km is a hyperlocal platform connecting neighbourhoods, offering local news, business information, and commerce features. It is an initiative by Sakal, powered by Bulb and Key.
* Sarkarnama Portal – Sarkaranama is a news portal launched by Sakal Media Group in 2017, focusing primarily on political news.

Events

The group organizes events and activities that target a variety of sectors such as education, agriculture, travel-tourism, and business. Its international event, 'EDUCON', serves as a forum for Vice-Chancellors from across India to present their vision for Indian higher education. Other events include Property Mahayatra, Education Mahayatra, MPL, Pune Shopping Festivals, Family Health, Sakal Edugain, Sakal Investneet, Sakal Vastu, and Sakal Shagun. The Group has established clubs for specific audiences, such as Madhurangan (मधुरांगण) for women, Young Buzz and Sakal NIE (Newspaper in Education), and Family Doctor Club.

Pune Bus Day

Pune Bus Day was an event organized by Sakal Media Group. The initiative, led by company managing director Abhijit Pawar, aimed to address traffic congestion in Pune. For Pune Bus Day, Sakal Media Group aimed to arrange 1,500 buses to supplement the existing fleet of 1,650 PMPML buses, demonstrating how using a sufficient number of buses with high frequency could potentially reduce traffic congestion. The tagline for the initiative was 'Come, let's travel by PMPML bus on 1 November 2012'.
At the time, the perceived lack of sufficient buses prompted commuters to opt for private vehicles, contributing to issues like traffic congestion, vehicular pollution, and accidents. According to a study conducted by city-based NGO Parisar in 2009–10, the bus service run by the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) was found to be comparatively expensive, with lower service quality and a higher breakdown rate when compared to transport utilities in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Delhi.

A web portal developed by a Pune-based IT company provided information about bus routes and other details, utilizing real-time information on bus schedules from the PMPML.

Pune Half Marathon

The Pune Half Marathon is another event organized by the Sakal Media Group. The event was launched in 2018 with a focus on promoting wellness and fitness among Pune residents. The second event was held on 22 December 2019, and saw participation from over 20,000 runners. US Olympian Janet Cherobon-Bawcom was the event ambassador for the 2019 race, which focused on supporting the Indian running community.

The first event in 2018 collaborated with Jack Daniels, a former Olympic medalist described as a prominent running coach. The event collaborated with Daniels' project, "The RUN Smart Project", which devised free training plans for participants. Daniels provided training talks and mentored aspects of the event execution. In addition, American runner Ryan Hall was the event ambassador for Pune Half Marathon 2018.

Bajaj Allianz were the title sponsors for the first two editions of the race.

Books and publications

The Group's publications include the English-language daily (which replaced ''The Maharashtra Herald''), ''Gomantak'', and ''Gomantak Times'', Marathi and English language dailies published from Goa, respectively. ''Agrowon'' is a daily dedicated to agriculture. The group also publishes several supplements, such as Pratibimb, Young Buzz, positive (Financial supplement), and Job Buzz.
Sakal also has a book publishing division that covers various subjects, including health, entertainment, sports, spiritual, and children's literature. Published titles include ''Ayurvediya Garbhsanskar'' by Shri. Balaji Tambe and ''Timeless Inspirator'' edited by Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, as well as a comic strip book of Chintoo.

Sakal Social Foundation

Sakal Social Foundation is a social initiative wing of the Group that works primarily in Maharashtra, focusing on areas such as health, poverty, education, environment, and governance.

Magazines

Sakal Group publishes several magazines, such a
''Sakal Saptahik''
(सकाळ साप्ताहिक). According to a 2010 IRS (Indian Readership Survey), Saptahik Sakal was the most popular magazine in Maharashtra.BestMediaInfo Bureau, Delhi, 10 May 201
IRS 2010 Q1: Top Magazines In Regional Markets
(Accessed on 25 October 2012)Tanishka
(तनिष्का) is a monthly magazine for women. ''Premier'' (प्रीमियर) is a monthly magazine covering the entertainment industry.

References

{{Newspapers in India

Marathi-language newspapers
Newspapers established in 1932
Newspapers published in Maharashtra
Mass media in Pune
Mass media in Nagpur
1932 establishments in India