Reading the news: a worksheet

GST Collections Rise 14.7% YoY to Rs 2.04 Lakh Crore In September

7 reports from 6 outlets over 9 hours. Those outlets have 5 owners.

• The Hindu BusinessLine and The Hindu have the same owner: The Hindu Group.
• Business Today and Hindustan Times used nearly the same words. Headlines this close usually come from one news agency’s copy.

1. ND NDTV · 1 Oct
   GST Collections Rise 14.7% YoY to Rs 2.04 Lakh Crore In September

   Words only this outlet used: YoY.

2. BT Business Today · 1 Oct · ≈ same wording
   September GST collections rise 14.7% to ₹2.04 lakh crore
3. HB The Hindu BusinessLine · 1 Oct
   GST mop-up grows 14.7% to over ₹2.03 lakh cr in September

   Words only this outlet used: cr.

4. TH The Hindu Business · 1 Oct
   GST mop-up grows 14.7% to over ₹2.03 lakh crore in September 2026

   Words only this outlet used: 2026.

5. TI Times of India · 1 Oct
   GST collections cross Rs 2 lakh crore again, rise 14.7% in September
6. HB The Hindu BusinessLine · 1 Oct
   GST collections in September again crossed ₹2 lakh crore
7. HT Hindustan Times · 1 Oct · ≈ same wording
   GST collections cross ₹2 lakh crore in September, rise 14.7%

Questions

1. Which words do most headlines share? Which words does only one outlet use, and what do they stress?

2. Who reported it first, and how long did the others take? Does “first seen by Huduku” mean they broke the story?

3. How many different owners carried it? Do any outlets share an owner, or nearly the same words?

4. Which outlets you know did not carry it? What might explain that?

5. What is the original source (a judgment, notice, speech or set of figures)? Find it. Does any headline say more than the source does?

6. If you shared one of these headlines, which would it be, and why?

Each headline links to the outlet’s own report. Huduku shows headlines only. https://huduku.org/story/506