Mumbai Mirror and Pune Mirror, newspaper publications under The Times of India media giant, will shut down. The two newspapers, are closing down due to the impact of the coronavirus-induced economic crisis. The "pandemic, lockdown and unprecedented economic crisis," the Times Group said in a statement, "came as a body blow for the still-young brand." In a statement, they announced that they have "decided to cease publication of Mirror in Pune and relaunch Mumbai Mirror as a weekly." Both publications, however, will retain a digital presence.
Mumbai Mirror Shutdown
Begun in 2005, Mumbai Mirror was a compact newspaper, which "lived up to its name from the day it was born, mirroring Mumbai in all its myriad moods." With a "heavy heart," the statement further read, "Following months of discussions and deliberations, we have made this extremely difficult and painful decision to recalibrate our portfolio of publications. We truly value the contribution of our journalists and other staff towards building such a strong brand in a relatively short time, and thank them for their hard work and great effort."
Mumbai Mirror editor Meenal Baghel took to Twitter to thank everyone for their wishes:
Journalists React To The Shutdown
The statement by Times also shines a light on the exclusive crisis COVID-19 has unleashed upon the media industry. It emphasises, "Not only has the newspaper industry been among the hardest-hit in terms of revenues, it has been weighed down by an import duty that has added to newsprint costs."
Several noted journalists and personalities from the media world have reacted to the news on social media, mourning the shutdown. Read some reactions below:
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