Proper designing of the mast-head, including the selection of the font, is imperative. Ideally, the mast-head should not be changed during the lifetime of the periodical, even if the page design and layout is changed to increase its visual appeal. The mast-head must be the single-most prominent item on page one. All attributes of the publication must be associated with its mast-head. Once you see it, you must remember its worth, its credibility and its readability.
Footer: The footer of a newspaper or free-sheeter comes in fine print at the bottom of the last page. It is inconspicuous to the casual reader. It gives the details of the publisher, editor(s) and printer. This is mandatory by law. In libel and defamation cases, these names become the 'defendants' along with the correspondent under whose by-line the news was published. The Advertisements Standards Council of India (ASCI) also knows who, besides the advertiser, to go after for violation of the law. The footer also gives the registration number of the newspaper with the Registrar of Newspapers (RNI). Every free-sheeter has to apply for registration through the District Collector. The organization distributing and issuing the free-sheeter is not free from responsibilities. The footer is an acknowledgment that it knows its business and how to mind it.
Organization: A free-sheeter is not like a free-wheeling collection of articles and news reports. Like any periodical it has to be organized into sections like current news, issues, campus and club news, entertainment, competitions, brain teasers, and the like. Such a grouping of information makes it easier to find the item one is looking for. A person will first glance through the page that is likely to contain information of interest to him or her. If it is interesting, the copy will be picked up. Free-sheeters are generally not 'delivered' at home; so each issue has to pass the clinical test of reader's interest.
Layout: A tasty dish that is not presented well may be left untouched on the buffet table. The same is the case with a free-sheeter at the news stands or distribution counter. It is not a monopoly. People who have a choice exercise it. A good blend of visuals (photos, illustration, and the like) and text makes a copy appealing. Even advertisements can be used to achieve this. If the publication has access to a layout artist, it helps.
Advent of Free sheeters in Goa
Perhaps the first free-sheeter to hit Goa was Vasco Watch, edited by Cmdr (Retd) A. Narayanan who is associated with the group Citizen's Watch. His attempt at Margao News was not half as successful, basically because there was no significant local involvement and input in Margao. Local involvement is the essence of a free-sheeter. Perhaps, the Salcete News spread the 'local' context too wide and did not do too well, either.
Coming to North Goa, the pioneer was Panjim Pulse. In my opinion it did not place its finger properly on the pulse of the citizens in this thriving town and its municipal council (now corporation). Its readership should have crossed the ten thousand copies mark by now, but the Panjim Pulse is nowhere to be seen. It does not have a 'presence' that is so important for survival. More than a year later came Panjim Plus, which is doing reasonably well as a monthly newsmagazine. Obviously, it could do better. Panaji is such a 'happening' place that a weekly free-sheeter could grow comfortably covering the cultural events, exhibitions, sales, educational scene, etc. Perhaps, the would-be journalists from the non-formal courses in journalism at the Mushtifund Institute and elsewhere will 'jam-up' to fill this void sooner rather than later.
The Plus series began with the Mapusa Plus on July 04, 2001, first as a fortnightly and later, after crossing the quarter-century mark, as a monthly newsmagazine. The trigger for this paper was a college student, Rohini Swamy, who made a foray into journalism like a meteor. She did so, before moving off as quickly, after moving through a couple of local newsrooms. (Rohini is back reporting for an outstation TV network, posted in Goa.) It was Sapna Sardesai who sustained Mapusa Plus production, while her co-directors in Wordsworth Communications Ltd. led by Lester Fernandes generated the revenues by 'marketing' advertisement space. This writer have been associated with this free-sheeter as its consultant editor and mid-wife from the very first issue. Two years and a little re-structuring later, the labour pains are visible in Mapusa Plus, but, after 35 odd issues, I do not know whether the issue will be delivered or aborted. There is little that a midwife can do if there is a congenital complication.
The Plus group also entered the Margao area simultaneously with Panjim in December 2001. The Margao Plus is as robust as its publisher, Roque Fernandes. From August 2003, he has fathered the Ponda Plus through a new partner, Diamond Publications. The Ponda Plus is the first free-sheeter to start off with glossy art paper and colour printing, not the humble black printing on grey newsprint paper of all its forerunners. It has got no competitors in its class in Goa. The Ponda Plus has raised the ante. It has got class, it has got good readership and it is still free. Hard work pays, hard sell pays better. Roque is doing both: hard work and hard sell. The results are visible in black and white — and in colour! The challenge now is to do better than that and still be free.
What makes a free-sheeter tick: Ask any good physician and he (or, as per the recent trend in MBBS graduation, she) will tell you that one's circulation must be good. Whether it is blood, air or free-sheeter, your health depends on its 'circulation'. There is no other way. A well produced free-sheeter is easier to circulate because it is free. Once it has attracted the attention and reached the hands of a potential reader, it will be glanced through even if it is not read in detail.