The Mysore Blint idea morphed into an action plan at a strategy session on Aug.5. Consensus is for going ahead with the Blint (blog in print). Dr Javeed Nayeem suggested we call it by some other name - My Mysore. It’s not gimmicky; it’s straight-forward, and it can be related to www.mymysore.com, of which My Mysore would be a print version.

It is suggested we scale down our initial plan for a 12-page tabloid, 10,000 copies, to be issued twice a month, in view of the cost - Rs.30,000 per issue. Dr Nayeem who did some home work reported that the minimum cost-effective print order for web offset printing is 5,000. And per copy cost of a four-pager, double colour, would be Rs.2.  This means a Rs. 10,000 printing cost per issue; and a monthly over-all budget of Rs.25,000.

Our hunch is that the first two or three issues may have to be fully funded by us before we can hope for advertisement sponsorship. Mr Nagakumar has offered ad. support right from the word ‘go’. We are talking expenses of the order of Rs.35,000, to cover the first three fortnightly issues, four pager.

FUNDING: Do we have it in us to generate Rs.35,000 that would see us through six weeks ( needed to mobilize advt. support) Dr.Nayeem, Capt Anup Murthy and Mr B R Ramaprasad have offered to chip in. If they quantify their support, we would get an idea of the shortfall.

Mr Prashant, a web designer and multi-media professional, has volunteered to do page design and make-up. Mr Raghottam Rao offered to take care of registration formalities.

Mr Gouri Satya showed us a four-page, black only printing, publication of the Karnataka Consumers’ Forum - Grahaka Tharanga. My enquiries with its editor, Dr. S P Thirumala Rao, indicates that printing cost for 1,000 copies would be Rs.1,200- Rs.1,500. Going by these figures, it may not be a bad idea to make a modest start, with just 1,000 copies. At any rate , till such time we are in a position to mobilize the required advt. support. A four-page, 1,000-copy, single colour, start may not be impressive. But it would help us test the waters, at the minimum possible cost.

I realize the importance of the look & design of any publication. More important, to my mind, is the quality and social relevance of content. This can be judged, no matter how it is printed - on glossy paper with multi-colour printing or just plain printing on the least expensive paper. The idea has found favour with Mr Gouri Satya, Mr Bapu Satyanarayana and Mr E R Ramachandran. Would appreciate others to give their thoughts on a shoe-string start. 

Meanwhile, here is a dampener.Dr Thirumala Rao reckons it might take us three to five months to get the publication registered with the Registrar of News Papers, New Delhi.