 | |
 Front page of Sakshi newspaper, 5 June 2024 | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Y. S. Bharathi Reddy(Chairperson) |
| Founder(s) | Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy |
| Publisher | Jagati publications Ltd.[1] |
| Editor | R. Dhananjaya Reddy |
| Founded | 23 March 2008 (17 years ago) (2008-03-23) |
| Language | Telugu |
| Headquarters | Hyderabad, India |
| Circulation | 951,292 (as of 2022) |
| Website | sakshi.com |
Sakshi (Telugu:సాక్షి,transl. The Witness)[2] is an IndianTelugu language daily newspaper sold mostly in the states ofAndhra Pradesh andTelangana. It was launched on 23 March 2008 by Jagati Publications Ltd. owned byY. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.[3][4][5]
Sakshi is widely regarded as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his political party—YSR Congress Party (YCP).[10] It is frequently criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP.[15]
The newspaper is a part ofSakshi media group which also owns the Telugu news channel,Sakshi TV.[16] It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[17][18][19] As of 2023, itranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behind its rivalEenadu.[20]
Sakshi is founded byY. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the son of thenChief Minister of Andhra PradeshY. S. Rajasekhar Reddy.[21] According to aCBIchargesheet filed against Jagan Mohan Reddy, the investments inSakshi newspaper and Sakshi TV werequid pro quo bribes by those people who had benefited from their unfair deals with his father's government.[22][23][24][25]
Sakshi launched on 23 March 2008[4][26] with 23 editions — nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four fromNew Delhi,Mumbai,Bangalore, andChennai.[3][5] 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₹96–100 per month.[3] To stand out from its competition,Sakshi adopted high-quality production values. It had 30-pages, all of them in colourbroadsheet format. The paper's layouts were designed byMario Garcia.[27]
Sakshi began with 23 editions published simultaneously — nineteen editions from Andhra Pradesh, and four fromNew Delhi,Mumbai,Bangalore, andChennai.[3][5] It was the first Telugu daily to publish all of its pages in colour for all editions.[28]
Of the totalAndhra Pradesh Government budget of about₹200crore for print media commercials for the years 2008-11,Sakshi newspaper was allotted over 50% amounting to₹101.63 crore.[4] This was attributed to the undue preferential treatmentSakshi newspaper and Sakshi TV received during the chief ministership ofY. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.[4][29]
It is currently run under the chairmanship of Y. S. Bharathi Reddy, wife of Jagan Mohan Reddy.[17][18][19]
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.[28] 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.[28]
From July to December 2019,Sakshi had an average daily circulation of 10.64lakh.[30][31] It ranks second in circulation among Telugu daily newspapers behindEenadu andtenth in India across languages. For the period of 1H 2022, the circulation was reduced to 951,292, a reduction of 9.1% over two years.[20]
The newspaper is widely perceived as a propaganda outlet for Jagan Mohan Reddy and his partyYSR Congress Party (YCP).[11][7][8][9] It is frequently criticized for its biased coverage of the political rivals of Reddy and YCP.[11][12][13][14]
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.[32]
He launched a counterattack through his newspaper Sakshi defending his investments ....
In the last one year, Jagan launched an offensive against the Congress government and the party through his media house - Sakshi television channel and Telugu daily.