The Times of India

• 1. The Bombay Times And The First Editor

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  On the 3rd of November 1838, a newspaper called The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce issued its first edition. It appeared on Wednesdays and Saturdays under the direction of Raobahadur Narayan Dinanath Velkar. J. E. Brennan served as the paper's initial editor until his death in 1839. George Buist took over the role and transformed the publication into a daily operation by 1850. Buist maintained a pro-British editorial policy that clashed with shareholder Fardoonji Naoroji during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. A shareholder meeting eventually replaced Buist with Robert Knight who would reshape the company's future.

• 2. Dalmia Scandal And Government Seizure

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  Sugar magnate Ramkrishna Dalmia acquired Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. for an undisclosed sum in 1946 as India gained independence. The Vivian Bose Commission of Inquiry investigated Dalmia in 1955 and found he had engineered the acquisition through bank transfers from institutions where he served as chairman. A court sentenced Dalmia to two years in Tihar Jail for embezzlement and fraud though he spent most time in hospital care. His son-in-law Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain refused to let him resume command after release. In 1962, Jain faced imprisonment for selling newsprint on the black market which triggered government intervention. On the 28th of August 1969, Justice J. L. Nain ordered the Bombay High Court to disband the existing board and appoint new directors under government control. D K Kunte became chairman despite having no prior business experience or political background.

• 3. Regional Editions And Digital Acquisitions

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  The newspaper launched its Chennai edition on the 12th of April 2008 following the acquisition of Vijayanand Printers Limited in late 2006. This purchase included Kannada newspapers like Vijay Karnataka and Usha Kiran alongside the English daily Vijay Times. A Kolhapur edition arrived in February 2013 expanding the paper's geographic reach across India. The Times Group also publishes regional dailies such as Ahmedabad Mirror and Bangalore Mirror alongside national titles. In November 2014, Times Internet acquired Cricbuzz a website focused entirely on cricket news. The company now operates multiple digital platforms including Healthmeup and Ei Samay Sangbadpatra while maintaining physical editions in over fifty cities from Mumbai to Kolkata.

• 4. Private Treaties And Paid News Practices

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  TOI began institutionalizing paid news where politicians and corporations pay for positive coverage in exchange for financial obligations. The practice started in 2005 with private treaties that offered sustained positive coverage and plugs in news columns for shares or other financial commitments. By 2012, BCCL had acquired stakes in 350 companies generating 15% of revenues through this method according to a critical article in The New Yorker. An article titled Reaping gold through Bt cotton appeared in the Nagpur edition in 2008 before reappearing unchanged in 2011 with a small-print alert calling it a marketing feature. When a lift crashed in a Bangalore apartment complex killing two workers, TOI was the only English language newspaper not naming Sobha Developers despite their status as a private-treaty partner. Vineet Jain insisted editors did not know who their business partners were even though all clients appear listed on the company website.

• 5. Predatory Pricing And Legal Disputes

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  In 1994, TOI slashed prices by one-third to one and a half rupees after building an ad sales force to compensate for lost circulation revenue. This strategy caused Hindustan Times to drop from first to second place in Delhi by 1998. Siddharth Varadarajan called the move predatory pricing while protests erupted against the price reduction. In Bangalore, the paper dropped prices to one rupee despite similar objections from local editors. Samir Jain registered Financial Times as a trademark in 1993 when the British publication planned to enter India. He declared it his intellectual property to stymie competition with The Economic Times which BCCL also owned. An active lawsuit continues between TOI and the Financial Rights regarding these trademark disputes.

• 6. Cobrapost Sting And Media Ethics

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  Vineet Jain and Sanjeev Shah appeared on camera during a 2018 sting operation by Cobrapost agreeing to promote right-wing content. They discussed a proposed spend of an undisclosed amount some of which could only be paid using black money. BCCL responded that the released video was doctored and incomplete claiming Vineet Jain conducted a reverse-sting to expose the undercover reporter. The company has not yet released any video evidence supporting their counter-claim. The incident highlighted how executives agreed to promote specific political narratives through multiple media properties without disclosing payments to readers. Critics argue this practice blurs lines between journalism and advertising revenue generation across the Indian news industry.