Mumbai: Network18 has decided to suspend the publication of Firstpost Newspaper with in short span of launching the its very first weekly newspaper owing to logistical problems that made the project unsustainable. However, the group will continue to operate the digital platform.
The group has marked its foray into newspaper domain on Republic Day – 26th January 2019 as part of its initiative to extend the Firstpost digital platform into print media.
Network18 group has confirmed the same in an official statement that stated, Network18 has decided to suspend the publication of Firstpost Newspaper.Firstpost is a platform agnostic brand that has stood for strong and credible opinions and will continue to do so.
Elucidating the reason behind the suspension of Print edition of Firstpost, Network18 stated, the brand has believed in constantly experimenting and re-investing itself, and Firstpost in Print was one such experiment to provide a weekend reading experience to a different audience than online. The experiment has provided us with good learnings. While we were pleased with the ongoing evolution of the brand and the compelling journalism the team produced on a weekly basis, logistical problems made the project unsustainable in print. The quality of journalism offered by Firstpost will continue in digital and other platforms for our loyal consumers.
Over the years, Firstpost has come to stand for a certain class of journalism and Network18 is committed to its growth. We will continue to invest in the brand, the statement concluded.
It may be noted that Network18 has roped in veterans like Praveen Swami as the Group Consulting Editor a few months ago to lead the editorial team of Firstpost newspaper along with BV Rao, the Editor of Firstpost. Bennett Coleman’s Rahul Kansal was assigned the role of Business Head of the newspaper.