Daily News and Analysis

Daily News and Analysis (DNA)

Type	Newspaper (2005–2019)
Format	TV show (2012—)
Owner(s)	Zee Media Corporation
Publisher	Zee News
Launched	30 July 2005; 18 years ago (2005-07-30)
Language	English, Hindi
Headquarters	Noida, Uttar Pradesh
City	Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Website	www.dnaindia.com

The Daily News and Analysis, abbreviated as DNA, is a Hindi-language news program on Zee news^[1] that was earlier a newspaper with multiple local city editions across India. DNA was first launched as a broadsheet, English-language newspaper out of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, on 30 July 2005^[2] through a 50:50 joint venture between the Zee Media Corporation and the Dainik Bhaskar group under the company name Diligent Media Corporation Ltd.^[2]

The newspaper had first launched its outdoor advertising campaign through billboards and placards in Mumbai during early 2005, with the tagline, "Speak Up, It's in Your DNA",^[3][4] which became its catch-phrase over the months. With the announcement of the launch of DNA came several other rival newspapers by large media conglomerates in the city, including the first-time-ever Mumbai edition of the predominantly north-Indian Hindustan Times^[5] and the Times of India's rival Mumbai Mirror^[6] newspaper that was later digitised into a web portal during the pandemic.^[7]

The competition battleground between the three media conglomerates led to a massive spike in journalists' salaries in Bombay by almost 40–50 per cent of the earlier market rate, or even more, in the 3–4 months prior to the launches, as journalists began receiving hefty counter-offers from the opponent publication they were set to be joining.^[8]

It also saw a hike in salary of internal staff in TOI's Delhi office in order to ensure the editorial staff could be retained. Finally, the Times Group signed anti-poaching agreements or pacts with The Hindustan Times and The Telegraph of Calcutta in May 2005, in order to restrict themselves from hiring and poaching each other's staff.^[8]

Coverage

DNA catalysed several shifts in the Indian news media over the years. Its focus began with developing hyperlocal teams of reporters around Mumbai covering news from around the neighbouring municipal localities such as Thane and Vashi^[9] and the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai as well as the iconic south Mumbai town area — through regional reporting bureaus managing the news coverage for DNA's local Zone and city pages.^[10]

Over the years, the paper further expanded into local editions at Surat and Ahmedabad,^[11] then Pune,^[12] then Jaipur,^[13] then Bangalore,^[14] then Indore,^[15] and finally Delhi.^[16]

Diligent Media Corporation Limited used to also bring out the business broadsheet newspaper DNA Money from Indore, to cover business and finance, as a standalone sister newspaper to DNA during 2006,^[17] and it used to publish several women-centric and youth-centric lifestyle magazines^[18] too such as DNA Ya!, which was a supplement targeted at kids and young adults.^[19]

Closure of Print Operations

The paper had begun to suffer tremendous losses over the years; it started shuttering its operations in Surat shortly after its launch,^[9] and, by 2012, Zee had taken over the rest of the ownership of DNA from the Bhaskar group.^[20][21] It had also shut down its lifestyle magazine Me in 2010, citing that the paper's business was geared more towards news and that "the magazine business was dropping" as a whole.^[22]

By August 2014, the newspaper had also shut down its Bangalore and Pune editions^[23] and, in February 2019, it also closed the Jaipur and Delhi editions.^[24] In October 2019, Zee Media Corporation announced that the entire newspaper (including the remaining editions in Ahmedabad and Mumbai) would be closed^[25][26] with the aim of optimising costs and reducing the company's losses.^[27]

TV Show

Zee News continues to host DNA as a weekly news bulletin show, which is a prime-time Hindi-language programme hosted on the channel between 9.00 pm to 10.30 pm every weekday from Monday to Friday. The show had begun in 2012 with news anchor Sudhir Chaudhary as its host, who had rejoined the channel in a second career stint during the same year. Chaudhary, who had launched the Sahara Samay channel for Sahara TV prior to this, had earlier also been with Zee till 2003.^[28] Rohit Ranjan took over the DNA show in July 2022 after Chaudhary left to join Aaj Tak.^[29]

Chaudhary told ZMCL chairperson Subhash Chandra in his resignation letter that he was intending to use his fan following to start his own venture at some point,^[30] while Chandra stated that he had attempted to persuade Chaudhary to stay back.^[31]

References

1. "Zee News re-launches its primetime show DNA". Exchange4media. 7 August 2023. Archived from the original on Oct 22, 2023.
2. "...And DNA sets July 30 as its launch date; unveils final leg of pre-launch marketing". Exchange4media. 12 July 2005. Archived from the original on Jul 25, 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
3. "Daily News and Analysis: Outdoor is in its DNA". Archived 2023-07-28 at the Wayback Machine Devina Joshi. afaqs!. 5 August 2008.
4. "DNA targets August 15 launch date, unveils campaign to get advance bookings". Archived 2023-07-28 at the Wayback Machine exchange4media. 14 June 2005.
5. "Hindustan Times to Launch Mumbai Edition on July 14". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine exchange4media. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
6. "Battleground Mumbai: Bombay Mirror may be launched by May 30". Archived 2023-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Viveat Susan Pinto. afaqs!. 24 May 2005.
7. "Times Group ceases publication of Pune Mirror, Mumbai Mirror to 'relaunch' as a weekly". Archived 2023-08-01 at the Wayback Machine Newslaundry. 5 December 2020.
8. "Times Group signs non-poaching agreements with HT and Telegraph". Archived 2023-07-26 at the Wayback Machine exchange4media. 30 May 2005.
9. "DNA Newspaper Attempts Mission Impossible". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine Rohin Dharmakumar. Forbes India. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
10. Rangaswami, Anant (16 January 2012). "Is DNA going local with its news coverage?". Firstpost. Archived from the original on Jul 26, 2023.
11. "DNA enters Gujarat with Ahmedabad and Surat editions". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine exchange4media. 2 November 2007.
12. "DNA expands to Pune, positions paper along Mumbai lines". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine afaqs!. 17 January 2008.
13. "DNA launches its fifth edition in Jaipur on June 7". Archived 2023-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Campaign India. 9 June 2008.
14. "DNA launches its Bengalaru edition". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine Dhleta Surender Kumar. afaqs!. 19 December 2008.
15. "DNA enters MP, launches Indore edition". Archived 2023-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Sumantha Rathore. afaqs!. 27 June 2011.
16. "DNA comes to Delhi. Finally". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine Kaushik Chatterji. Newslaundry. 4 October 2016.
17. "DNA Money to be launched as a stand-alone newspaper". Archived 2023-08-10 at the Wayback Machine Prajjal Saha. afaqs. 11 January 2006.
18. "DNA launches The Mag on Sunday". Archived 2023-08-10 at the Wayback Machine Campaign India. 24 February 2009.
19. "DNA Ya! organises Art Hunt for children across 80 Schools in Mumbai". Archived 2023-10-22 at the Wayback Machine eventfaqs. 15 July 2010.
20. "DNA: Zee Close to Buying Out Dainik Bhaskar". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine Varada Bhat, Shubhashish, Surajeet Das Gupta. Business Standard. First published 2 April 2012. Updated on 21 Jan 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
21. "What makes Zee such a force to reckon with". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine Pradyuman Maheshwari. MxMIndia. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
22. "No magazines, only news: DNA shuts down 'Me'". Archived 2023-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Akash Raha. exchange4media. 11 August 2010.
23. "English Daily DNA Abruptly Shuts Its Bangalore & Pune Editions". Archived 2023-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Vikas SN. MediaNama. 26 August 2014.
24. "'The medium is changing, not us': DNA shuts down print edition". Archived 2023-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Newslaundry. 9 October 2019.
25. "DNA goes out of print 14 years after launch — the rise and sudden fall of a promising newspaper". Archived 2023-05-01 at the Wayback Machine Amrita Nayak Datta. The Print. 11 October 2019.
26. "DNA publishes its last print edition, to continue as web portal". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine 11 October 2019. afaqs!.
27. "How DNA newspaper is dying a slow and painful death". Archived 2023-07-25 at the Wayback Machine Gaurav Sarkar. Newslaundry. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
28. "Sudhir Chaudhary moves on from Zee News after a decade of shaping its DNA". Archived 2023-07-27 at the Wayback Machine exchange4media. 1 July 2022.
29. "Rohit Ranjan returns to host DNA on Zee News". Archived 2023-07-27 at the Wayback Machine exchange4media. 19 July 2022.
30. "Sudhir Chaudhary resigns as CEO of Zee Media". Archived 2023-07-29 at the Wayback Machine The Economic Times. 3 July 2022.
31. "Why did Sudhir Chaudhary leave Zee? Archived 2023-07-27 at the Wayback Machine" Tanishka Sodhi and Ashwine Kumar Singh. Newslaundry. 2 July 2022.