The exchange4media group last week started a series called ‘Leading from the front’ that looks at how pioneers, industry leaders and founders are creating legacies and institutions in the Indian Media & Entertainment industry. We bring you today the story of Vineet’s pioneering, diversified and futuristic multimedia media conglomerate.
Vineet Jain, who first joined The Times Group in 1988, has an enviable legacy, not only as a far-sighted strategist who diversified the group into all other media beyond Print, but also as the chief content architect for newspapers, TV, radio and online platforms, whose initiatives have subsequently become templates for rest of the industry. In 1993 he was named Deputy Director and five years later Managing Directors. He has since been responsible for the day-today operations at the group – marketing, HR functions, cost functions, brand management, etc.
Vineet JAIN was involved when he first joined the Times Group in the implementation of the content strategy. This included the pagination, design and editorial innovation of the three main newspapers, The Times of India The Economic Times, Navbharat Times. He was responsible for introducing a template that is now used by all national newspapers to localise news. This was achieved by enhancing the coverage of TOI’s edition-specific cities by adding more pages and focusing on them. It was the first national newspaper to do this on such a large scale. Vineet Jain was also instrumental in the fine-tuning and structuring of other sections which have endured the test of times. He also saw, many decades ago that shorter news stories that were more varied and packed in more information would be critical to grabbing readers’ interest at a time the Internet was just beginning to take off. As part of this, he introduced a brief, Times Views- one paragraph boxed edits in the news pages of TOI & ET- so that readers could be drawn into analysis of the news item even as the boundary between news and views was maintained.
Jain was the chief content architect of the group by the end of the 1990s. He modernized the architecture and content strategy for the newspaper. These fundamental changes in content strategy, architecture and pricing (under the leadership of Vice Chairman Samir Jain) were the building blocks that enabled the TOI to overtake Hindustan Times as the leading newspaper in Delhi in the late 1990s.
Vineet JAIN is credited as a pioneer of lifestyle and entertainment journalism, in India, for his meticulous, detail-oriented approach. This embraced the readers’ need for more news they could use and introduced more reader friendly content, such as stock listings, reader engagement sections, and film reviews. He conceptualized and executed TOI edition-wise supplement like Delhi Times and Bombay Times which brought in thousands of younger readers as well as new audience segments. They were visually appealing and focused on health, fitness, fashion, films, and entertainment. They were an instant hit with advertisers, and have been replicated across the entire newspaper industry, as well as on other platforms such TV and Digital. These have also become the starting points for new types of advertising, such as fashion, design and health.
Vineet is a media owner who understands urban culture and youth better than anyone else, according to industry experts. The creation of lifestyle journalism in all media has triggered an entirely new industry for events, with new audiences and advertisers. Times Group again has been at the forefront. The Times lifestyle supplements initially drove advertisers to sponsor events. However, as the Times Group matured and professionalised the industry, all types of events became a major revenue stream.
Vineet Jain, in addition to his legacy of publishing, has expanded the group into all other media spaces. He recognized early the importance of the Internet and the TOI became one of the very first newspapers in India to launch a website.
Vineet jain, perhaps the only Indian media owner to have recognized the power of radio in the 1990s was Vineet. Times FM was first to broadcast on AIR and was later transformed into Radio Mirchi, now Mirchi, once FM radio stations for private use were permitted by the government. Mirchi continues to be the market leader, and is considered the “godfather” of Indian FM Radio.
Vineet Jain, too, made an early entry into television but wisely avoided the spotlight until the dust settled from scores of other newcomers. Indian news TV will never be the way it was before the introduction of Times Now, and Times Network’s array of other groundbreaking channels. Vineet has been responsible for turning the Times Group into Asia’s largest media conglomerate from a publisher of print magazines and newspapers. This was achieved by putting readers, viewers and listeners first, anticipating each shift and change and using industry-wide best practice. He also built a team of world-class professionals who share his work ethic. The next chapter in his legacy will be very interesting. As an industry leader, he has changed the game for Print, as well as other sectors, by rewriting the rules and transforming strategy, content and profits, across all parts of the Indian value chain.
Vineet JAIN was awarded the Impact Person Of The Year 2013 title by the exchange4media group for his pioneering role and these reasons.
Vineet’s contribution to print was significant for over three decades. Vineet Jain worked with his father Ashok Jain as well as older brother Samir Jain. The mainstay of their business was the dominant newspaper and print business.
Samir Jain has been credited for leading, guiding, and strategizing the Response, Monetisation and Invitation Pricing over the past three decades and now Brand Capital during the last fifteen years. However, the younger Jain also contributed greatly to the print and newspaper businesses, working with his older sibling Samir Jain.
Senior executives recall Vineet Jains driving and being fully engaged in leading and running the newspaper. He was also involved in the hiring of new employees, as well as mentoring and supervising leaders. Jain was also heavily involved in the newspaper’s marketing and product development. Vineet jain also took part in the decision-making process regarding the editorial architecture for the print products. This included conceptualising new entertainment supplements that the media industry has adopted after initial criticism.
Vineet contributed to the city supplement and hyper localisation within the newspaper. He made sure these supplements were a force for editorial and revenue.
Vineet has been working at the Times Group for 36 years. He was involved in all aspects of administration, printing, and management.
Vineet Jain also helped in taking these newspapers to the internet more than two and a half decades back; the newspapers sites were launched under his leadership.
Vineet is rightfully credited with the building of the Times Group’s TV business, radio business, digital and internet business, and education business. But in his first 18-20-year tenure, he made a significant contribution to the Times Group’s newspaper and print businesses. He also spearheaded many editorial, product, and marketing initiatives that still have a lasting impact on the Times Group’s business.
Vineet’s impact on the Times Group was immense. It began in print. But through his pioneering attitude, he led the process of creating a futuristic conglomerate.
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