Monday, February 19, 2007

I'll have Mint after eight

I’ve been reading Mint, the financial paper from the Hindustan Times stable, every day since it was launched.
And I’m more than a little confused about the market the paper seeks to carve out for itself.
Like I’ve said before, I read ALL the papers every day, and I tried to figure out which “pink” paper Mint would replace.
And the answer, to me, is: none.
Then I read and re-read a few issues of Mint, and asked myself another question: would I feel I’ve missed out in my readiness for the day if I did not read Mint?
And the answer was : No.
Does it de-jargonise and simplify my understanding of issues at hand? Perhaps. But the idea, when taken to the extent of the quick edit – a front page feature on Mint – foxes me. Can you address serious issues in 100 odd words? Do I want you to – or would I rather you took the extra 200 words which could truly demystify an issue?
The content is a curious mix – half page devoted to which gizmo is best for playing sudoko, as an example. In a weekday paper? Is that all Mint can get through the much vaunted Wall Street Journal relationship?
And I read and re-read a few issues trying to figure out what this paper was trying to be – almost as one would sample a new dish and try to figure out the subtle tastes from esoteric herbs and spices.
And I remained foxed.
Yet, it’s a readable paper.
And, on a couple of rushed mornings, I left Mint for an evening read. And enjoyed it much more than I did during the morning rush.
Perhaps Mint is not the imperative that I thought it would be – but a great leisurely romp. It’s not a “profit-from-it” financial paper – but a “get-enriched-by-reading” one.

2 comments:

Deepti Bose said...

Bang on the head. I couldn't agree with you more. And you're echoing the sentiments of a lot of the other people I know, who seem slightly confused by the whole point of 'mint'.

Himanshu Gupta said...

Exactly. In fact, their section 'their views' is one big letdown on the editorial page. Somehow it just doesn't matches the quality of other three sections on the editorial page - our view, my view and other views.

Regarding WSJ, The MINT has one or two good stories out of WSJ once in a while but on the whole, it's not that after going through the WSJ section, i feel contented at the end of section. It would have been better if they would publish one or two editorials from WSJ.

One more complaint. I believe that we were supposed to get one month free subscription of WSJ online site. But till now, i haven't got any intimation in this regard from the MINT or HT department. Please leave a comment regarding the same if you have any information regarding it.