Lokmat's record news spread of a world record

Mumbai -  In what is claimed to be an unprecedented innovation by a broadsheet, an English daily recently produced a full-colour picture and story spread over 16 columns across the front and back pages to commemorate a Guinness World Record event in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district, an official said here Thursday.

The Lokmat Media Group’s Lokmat achieved the feat by spreading its front page seamlessly across the back page to highlight a picture and story of over 100,000 people singing the National Anthem at an Aurangabad stadium, setting a new Guinness World Record.

“It seemed as if all of Aurangabad had surged to respond to our call to set the world record. Lokmat Connect had assembled over 100,000 people inside the stadium and another around 50,000 outside to set the world record in simultaneous singing of the National Anthem,” said Rishi Darda, LML’s editorial director and joint managing director.

At the post-event editorial meeting the next day, the priority was how to convey to the readers a sense of the scale of mammoth turnout at the record-making event.

Explaining the motive behind the world record making event, Darda said the LML wanted to gift the nation a world record on the National Anthem, on the eve of the Republic Day, and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of "Jana Gana Mana", besides celebrating LML's 30-year presence in Aurangabad.

He said that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, the next day's edition was also a world-first: A 16-column colour picture with the lead story, seamlessly spanning across the front and back page of the paper.