''Sakshi'' () is an Indian

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fami ...

daily newspaper sold mostly in the states of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

. It was launched on 23 March 2008 by Jagati Publications Ltd. owned by

Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy (born 21 December 1972) also known as Y. S. Jagan or mononymously Jagan, is an Indian entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th and current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh since 30 May 2019. He is the ...

. ''Sakshi'' was the first Telugu daily to publish all of its pages in colour for all editions. It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy. The

media group A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the ...

also owns the Telugu news channel,

Sakshi TV Sakshi TV () is an Indian Telugu-language 24-hour news channel. It was launched on 1 March 2009, by Indira Television Ltd. owned by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Moha ...

. From July to December 2019, ''Sakshi'' had an average daily circulation of 10.64

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

. It ranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behind ''

Eenadu ''Eenadu'' () is the largest circulated Telugu-language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.sixteenth in India across languages. The newspaper is widely regarded as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party

YSR Congress Party The Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP or YCP; ) is an Indian regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Its president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy serves as the state's chief minister. It is currently the fifth la ...

(YCP). It is criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP.

History

''Sakshi'' was founded by

, the son of then

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy (8 July 1949 – 2 September 2009), popularly known as YSR, was the List of chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, 14th chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, serving from 2004 to 2009. Reddy wa ...

. According to a CBI chargesheet filed against Jagan Mohan Reddy, the investments in ''Sakshi'' newspaper and Sakshi TV were

quid pro quo Quid pro quo ('what for what' in Latin) is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "a favor for a favor". Phrases with similar meanings include: "give and take", ...

bribes by those people who had benefited from their unfair deals with his father's government. ''Sakshi'' was launched on 23 March 2008 with 23 editions nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four from

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, and

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. 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 96100 per month. To stand out from its competition, ''Sakshi'' adopted high-quality production values. It had 30-pages, all of them in colour

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

format. The paper's layouts were designed by Mario Garcia. Of the total Andhra Pradesh Government budget of about 200

crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...

for print media commercials for the years 2008-11, ''Sakshi'' newspaper was allotted over 50% amounting to 101.63 crore. This was attributed to the undue preferential treatment ''Sakshi'' newspaper and Sakshi TV received during the chief ministership of

Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy (8 July 1949 – 2 September 2009), popularly known as YSR, was the 14th chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, serving from 2004 to 2009. Reddy was elected to the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12t ...

. It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.

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. 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.

Circulation

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, from July to December 2019, ''Sakshi'' had an average daily circulation of 10.64

. It ranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behind ''

Eenadu ''Eenadu'' () is the largest circulated Telugu-language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.sixteenth in India across languages. ''Sakshi'' began with 23 editions published simultaneously nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four from

, and

. It was the first Telugu daily to publish all of its pages in colour for all editions.

Criticism

The newspaper is widely perceived as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party

(YCP). It is criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP. 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.

References

External links

Sakshi
* {{Authority control Daily newspapers published in India Telugu-language newspapers YSR Congress Party Indian news websites 2008 establishments in Andhra Pradesh Newspapers established in 2008 Newspapers published in Vijayawada Newspapers published in Hyderabad