Thirteen years in the business : More peaks to scale
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 11, 2012 -

No birthday cakes, no candles. Yet there is something exquisitely human in yet experiencing another foundation day.

Thirteen years is not that long a time, but if there is any truth in the general observation that it is not the number of years that ultimately matters but the manner in which the years were spent, then we at The Sangai Express may be given the privilege of saying that the past 13 years have been an enriching period.

If September 11 redefined global terrorism and the biggest challenge before mankind, post 2001, then in our own little ways we have been trying to redefine the newspaper that readers in Manipur enjoy with their morning cuppa since 1999.

It was on September 10, 1999 that a group of committed professionals joined hands and worked late into the night and early morning to introduce The Sangai Express to the people of Manipur the following day and since then, it has been a case of trying to climb more pinnacles.

The Sangai Express came in at that point of time when technology and the market in Manipur was ready for a major make over in the world of newspapers and journalism.

In the last 13 years that we have been in the business of disseminating information and moulding public opinion, to an extent, we have had our share of brickbats and bouquets.

And each hit and each miss have been the rallying point for all of us here to put in that little bit more of extra effort and add more sting to our stories and make them more attractive to our readers. It has made us more conscious towards balanced reporting, balanced coverage.

The Sangai Express that greets the readers every morning is a product of team work. It is not a multi-starrer and it is not a solo effort either.

There are no Stars and yet everyone is a Star in his/her own right.

It is the coming to fruition of the close co-ordination that binds everyone of us to the endeavour of coming up with the day's paper each day of the week. Everyone is an important spoke that keeps the wheel churning.

The platemakers, the machinemen, the technical staff, the DTP guys, the distribution section, the advertisement section, the reporters, the sub-editors, the Editors, the management section and the publisher, all have important roles to perform each day in coming out with the day's product.

Not to forget the columnists, who always make it a point to meet the deadlines and keep on writing to keep our readers engaged in a plethora of issues.

Extend this beyond the office space and it is also a question of keeping a close tab on the pulse of the readers and the people.

Yet at the end of the day, we never lose sight of the fact that we are what we are today because of the unstinted support from our readers and patrons.

This is the strength of The Sangai Express and perhaps it is this which has enabled us to continue for 13 years.

From a four paged, black and white newspaper, we have progressed to a 10 paged, multi-colour newspaper today but there are still peaks to scale and we hope that our readers and patrons will continue to help and guide us along the path.