www.civilsocietyonline.com

Umesh Anand

It seems just like yesterday, but all of five years have passed since we launched Civil Society. The first issue appeared in September 2003. Our friend, Anupam Mishra, jokingly describes it as a magazine born in the anonymity of a general ward: no fanfare, no celebrities kissing the baby, no gurus blessing it --- just an anxious extended family in distant attendance. It has been consistently so over these years and we are comfortable with the low profile.

Civil Society was created to prove that journalists can refresh the values of their profession by setting up small businesses in the media. An emerging economy needs many voices. The big media has an important role. However, the kind of dominance that we see of a few publications and TV channels is not only unhealthy, but terribly boring. Internet does provide some diversity, but the offerings are random, lack in quality and don't capture mind space. The Internet thrives on being a digital Hyde Park. As yet, it seems only small print products have the shelf life to set new standards and make a difference.

What holds journalists back from taking such a plunge? There are several valid concerns, not the least among them being insecurity. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone because the possibility of failure stares you in the face every day.

The business challenge in a small print media business should not be underestimated. It can't draw on any of the systems of the big organised media. It has to have its own, almost guerrilla-like efforts in building distribution and getting advertising. We have had to measure up to these realities.

Civil Society's reach and penetration have surprised us. Our research shows us that a single printed copy of Civil Society is at times read by as many as 20 people in an organisation. There are those among our subscribers who photocopy stories and pass them around. Our website has begun attracting on an average 150,000 readers.

We are subscribed to by activists, CEOs, doctors, lawyers, consultants, judges, government departments, companies, NGOs, schools and colleges. Many of our subscribers are middle class folk who are happy to have us in their homes. In five years we have put in place systems that deliver (barring the odd hiccup) the magazine to subscribers across the country from Arunachal on the border with China to deep inside Tamil Nadu. We reach select retail stores across the country every month. We have also gone into publishing books under the NIMBY imprint and have a distribution arrangement with Cambridge University Press in India and South Asia.

NIMBY, for those who don't know, stands for "Not in my backyard". Our first title: "Transforming Capitalism: Business Leadership to Make the World Better for Everyone" by Arun Maira is a field guide for business managers and has been well received. I am told by people who should know that if we have done five years the worst is behind us. I must confess that I'm not quite so sure. As is typical of a growing business, money is always short. We function on a very tight budget, but costs keep rising. What is the road ahead? Naturally, we would like to see Civil Society do better for itself and flourish as a business. We would also like to do other products in different spaces. But we don't want Civil Society to have to prosper by surrendering any of the core values with which we set out. If the Mission and Vision were to change it would not be worth doing.