Ranveer Singh associates with Catchnews

Patrika group releases the commercial of the Bollywood star Ranveer Singh

That technology has caused a seismic disruption in media is no longer news. What is? The fact that no-one across media now has a clue what works. For all the listicles, graphs, gifs, Twitter embeds and card stacks we’re generating, the fact remains we’re in the middle of a giant global experiment.

Time was when the only requirement for a high-impact story was the story. Now it’s all about special formats. Videos. Graphics. Interactivity. Engagement. A social media strategy. A mobile-first strategy.

And that’s all great but what most media platforms seem to be forgetting is that, at the heart of journalism is still the story.

At Catchnews, one of the newest entrants on India’s buzzing digital landscape, we’re certainly betting on new ways to tell stories, but always, keeping the story at the heart of our proposition.

The complex news landscape

India’s complex, chaotic DNA is perfectly reflected in its media mix.

Regional language newspapers have incredible reach. English newspapers and television have prestige and, importantly, access to policymakers’ ears. But beyond the big names, there are literally thousands of TV channels, newspapers, magazines and websites in every language that shape the country’s imagination.

An intriguing start

Into this complex landscape has arrived Catchnews.

Catch has made a conscious decision to stay away from the hysteria of TV-style news reporting and the opinion-heavy bent of many new media outlets. Instead, the site is betting on the fact that as noise grows – on Twitter, on television, in real life, on news outlets – readers who genuinely want to deepen their understanding rather than just their information have nowhere to turn. It’s also why their first video campaign focuses on credibility and the rushed news consumer.

Ranveer Singh epitomises the bright, buzzing but always busy new young reader. He’s alert and interested, and he wants a news site that reflects his sensibilities. A site that’s modern, and quick – but for whom credibility is a given. A site that tells him what he wants to know – but also what he needs to know. This belief that has shaped the website’s focus on analysis and interpretation rather than just breaking news, as well as its tone of informed comment.

It has also shaped Catch’s clear intention to not go niche. There’s no question that niche sites have been able to make a mark online, finding an audience whose needs it serves and then serving it well.

Catch, though, is betting on the reverse.

Editor-in-Chief Shoma Chaudhury says she was always clear she didn’t want to define the site narrowly. “Catch is about the ideas and events that shape our world,” she explains. “The world is no longer a linear space. Science affects politics affects art affects the environment. I imagined Catch as a vibrant, inclusive space that explores all these connections that shape the human experience today.”

That means a gritty, gutsy photo story on the manual scavengers of Mumbai sits next to a snob warning on overrated wine that should never make it to your table. An analysis of the nuclear deal PM Modi just signed with Japan is neck-to-neck with an analysis on why Olivier Rouesting is fashion’s ‘It’ boy this minute.

For readers like Ranveer, it’s a way to stay ahead of the information curve, without having to log in to multiple sites. What’s haute in style, what’s cool in tech, what’s ignored in the trenches, what’s trending in Parliament, all in one place.

The numbers tell a great story

And it seems to be working for the site, launched late June this year and still in version 1.0. This October, Catchnews.com hit many millions monthly unique visitors and has aggressive plans to double that number in the next couple of months. Part of the massively successful Jaipur-based Rajasthan Patrika group, Catch has the backing of a big-name business but wants to make it on its own terms.

Going graphic

To answer to this unusual housing, the site needed an unusual visual language – and it seems to have found one. Conceptual visuals often front the site’s stories, and the homepage can reflect a range of visual styles, from pop-artish to sleek, depending on the day’s story mix. Photo-illustrations, bold use of colour, and a stylised feel give the site a distinct identity, and it’s one that has found appreciation from varied quarters including the legendary Sir Harry Evans of The Sunday Times, who said “I love it. It’s rare to find something so original.”

Gabe Doppelt, who has been at a host of top media publications from W magazine to the Daily Beast, called it “sensational.” “The architecture of the site is particularly good,” she said. “Best thing I’ve seen since the Beast.”

The site is hoping to innovate on its storytelling formats – already, it has a host of interesting tools including a Quick Pill (a bulleted synopsis of the story for readers-on-the-go); an X-Pack, creative card stacks with multimedia capabilities and The Deck, the site’s deep-dive zone. There’s an intent to build more audio, video and multimedia capabilities.

But above all, Catch and its founding editorial team are clear that the hero is always the story – told as clearly, as cleanly, and as calmly as possible.

Is it any surprise that Bollywood’s brightest, boldest, most unconventional maverick loves us?

It has been over 5 months since the launch of Catch News and the response has been overwhelming from media fraternity and readers alike. In a short span our monthly readership has reached over many million UVs. Nearly 30 percent of the readers are from outside India and interestingly 40 percent readers are female making Catch News a destination for a very premium digital audience.

Some of the Industry Testimonies

Harold Evans, former editor of The Sunday Times says, "Rare to find something so original"

Raghav Bahl, Founder of Network 18 group and the new digital news venture The Quint, Raghav Bahl calls Catch News "Spectacular".

Ronnie Screwvala, Founder of UTV says, "Great start - loved the mix of high and low, fast and slow. The Sushma- Lalit reportage was super and spot on. Text with short paragraphs work well and I really like the trailer for Arranged Marriages."

You can find the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZMO9S-qlL8.