Can We Blame TOI for Bombay Times. Review on The Times Of India

The Times Of India has been the one and only newspaper that has been delivered to my doorstep since the day I was born. I can?t remember when I actually started reading real news and telling them apart from the comic page strips.

Then came the nineties, people (the young and the rich) realized that owning shares in media companies could be their ticket to the front pages (and not the third page where local crime reports are published) and fame. They then realized that they do not have to actually own pieces of some newspaper company for self-publicity; all they had to do was pay some newspaper to get their photos published (in the front pages, of course!).

Enter Times of India, a brand owned by Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd (surprise surprise! Bennett Coleman does/do not own or control the company, a certain Jain family does). They understood the needs of the rich and the wanting to be famous and decided to bring out a supplement called Bombay Times. This was a very ethically and financially sound move, as it did not dilute the credibility of the Times of India and ensured that moolah didn?t find another mistress.

This supplement contains stuff that most people can do without, except the comic?s section, which should be read by all and sundry. Basically it shows (as most people already know) the underground dwellers(people who do not appear in newspaper and television) how to live and enjoy life. People with kids in preteen and teen age groups could do well and shred/burn/tear this supplement the first thing in the morning unless, they want them demanding cell-phones, designer cloths, condoms and cigars.

I won?t say that only Bombay Times is filled with crap ?cause that wouldn?t be fair. Some of the crap occasionally overflows into the main supplement of the Times of India and certain other newspapers are playing catch up in this regard.

So, do I destroy the Bombay Times the first thing in the morning? A resounding ?no? ?cause I read the comics section and then stack it up in a corner. The raddiwala is usually grateful for all the paper that I sell him.