Change & continuity

The news of our plan to relaunch Frontline evoked a variety of responses and central to them were curiosity and concern. Dont Change Anything in Frontline was the request from friends and well-wishers. For the no-changers, Frontlines non-sensational yet no-nonsense brand of journalism was a respectable and reliable alternative to the general media trend of giving primacy in coverage to lifestyle and leisure over livelihood issues, sex surveys over falling sex ratios, and socialites concerns over social issues. They wanted the views magazine to continue with fare that offers alternative perspectives to the dominant ideas of the time such as neoliberalism and imperialism and their impact on the ground, literally and figuratively. This relaunch issues Cover Story, the World Affairs section, the new column by the media thinker Sashi Kumar and other usual Frontline topics are in a way statements of reassurance that We Have Not Changed. These features are not the result of any deliberate attempt to allay fears of Frontline changing colour. They are the outcome of journalistic values ingrained in us by our former Editor-in-Chief N. Ram whose vision and world view gave shape to this unique magazine over 27 years ago.

In 1984, Frontline was visualised as a multifaceted magazine, which found expression on the contents page of the inaugural issue dated December 1-14, 1984The Polity, The World Today, Literature, Economy, Science, Development Directions, Actualities, Profile, The Arts, Cinema and Nature. That it remains multifaceted is evident from the contents of this issuethe captivating photo essay by the art historian Benoy K. Behl; the column by K. Satchidanandan that brings before the readers eyes the pantheon of Indian English writers; the essay by the inimitable A.G. Noorani offering glimpses of a tragic chapter in Indian history at the time of Independence; and an essay that offers a fresh perspective on the politics of desecrating or deifying D. B.R. Ambedkar.

Then why relaunch?

For an answer to this logical question, we have to go back in history by about three decades. When Frontline was launched in December 1984, it was an all-colour fortnightly that was eager to experiment with all the palettes offered by the newly acquired technology of colour printing. The magazines variety and quality with a high dose of the visual element was a big draw. It is even now remembered by readers past and present for its photo features and in-depth analyses of chosen topics, with the former dominating their memory cards.

The launch of Frontline and its years of steady growth coincided with many earth-shaking events that changed the course of history in India, in South Asia and in the world at large.

In India, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; the decisive end of one-party dominance of the Indian polity and its consequent fragmentation; the emergence of political alternatives of various hues based mainly on identity politics; globalisation and its discontents; and so on.

In South Asia, the political upheavals in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

In the world at large, the end of the Soviet Union and the weakening of the socialist bloc and the rise of the United States as the sole superpower, which was contested violently in West Asia and electorally in Latin America.

It was time for the relaunch of Frontline, and it happened in a substantive way in the early 1990s without any formal announcement

The pages of Frontline not only reflected these changes faithfully but also interpreted a fast-changing world with a set of writers reporting from the field and experts putting the reports in perspective. To quote Mr Ram: At a time when mainstream magazines have tended increasingly to go for subjects relating to lifestyle and leisure, Frontline has concentrated on issues that affect the lives of large numbers of people in India, in neighbouring countries, and in the rest of the world. It also covers a range of subjects, including science and science policy as well as books, literature, music and the arts.

Midway through this clearly laid-out path, we realised the need to make this rich and serious content more engaging, accessible and popular. Garcia Media, headed by Mario Garcia, did the redesigning, which in Mr Rams words, offered readers a more modern, disciplined, structured, accessible, newsy, interesting and elegant magazine.

That was in 2006. Six years later, we sensed that even the no-changers were affected by design fatigue. Another flattering complaint one often heard from these hard-core loyalists of Frontline was that it was too heavy and that before they could complete reading one issue the next one would arrive. They also pointed out gaps in coverage, in terms of developments on the cultural front.

With this relaunch we hope that we have successfully broken the design monotony with subtle, unobtrusive changes using the tools given to us by Garcia and lightened up the magazine with new, little features and by bringing back the glorious photo features of the 1980s and allotting an assured space for cultural trends and issues.

The change is only in style. The substance remains, with some reinforcement.

R. Vijaya Sankar