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The availability of newspapers in different languages has meant that India’s newspaper market appeals to millions of non-English speakers. It was predicted that, the revenues for non-English papers will overtake that of English newspapers for the first time ever in 2017. The advanced changes in the printing technology increases the literacy rate across India which leads to the localisation of newspaper and literacy rates in rural areas of India has seen the investment in newspapers grow, and often, the greatest increase in circulation of newspapers has been in areas with increasing literacy rather than increasing economic power.
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By reading a newspaper people, who had been previously denied, have been given an opportunity to be involved in civic and political participation. Kerala is one such example. Throughout the twentieth century, this was an area with some of the highest literacy rates in India. There was also a strong sense of political involvement amongst the people, and the newspaper readership per 1000 was well above the national average for India, yet the average income for Kerala was below the Indian national average. Thus newspaper play an important role, they are now seen as a mass medium, and made a way for Indian citizens participating in national affairs.
One of the biggest reason why newspapers across India have continued to increase their circulation is may be due to the political engagement that they allow. The newspapers have provided an opportunity for the people who were previously marginalised, or unable to contribute to political debates, to make them engage with politics at both a regional and national level.
The technological growth and the imoprting of new printing equipment make the newspaper commercially viable to be printed in a variety of regional languages rather than predominantly either in Hindi or English.
The Growth Of Newspaper In India – Significance
Newspapers play an important role in human life. The newspaper increases general knowledge of the people. They are two types of newspapers in India. Some papers cover the news of the entire country and some other papers are strictly confined to the local State’s issues. Newspapers bring awareness about rights and duties of the citizen and they also help in doing justice to the needy. A newspaper is very cheap and almost every house in the country has it. Reading newspapers every day is a very good habit. If people spend at least ten minutes reading newspapers, there will be an increase in communication skills and general knowledge. It also educates about certain rules and regulations, brings lot of awareness of the injustice done to people, etc. A newspaper supports the public and in fact people associated with newspaper work day and night for conveying information to the public.
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On an average, a newspaper consists of twenty-two pages in it, and each and every page is interesting and knowledge-gaining. There are pages for sports and cinema, finance and business, etc. There are also some interesting puzzles & games which increases the thinking capacity of the reader.
A newspaper is also a very effective medium to resolve problems that require the attention of local authorities. The public can write to the editor of the local paper about a problem within their locality and the concerned authorities will take measures to solve the problem.
The main reason for the newspaper boom is that technology has improved to start new editions for newspapers, leading to an expansion into small cities and towns. Some of the factors that contributed to the boom of newspapers in India are
- Rise in literacy rate,
- Expansion of the middle class,
- Untapped market,
- Education of women,
- Technological advancement,
- Better purchasing power,
- Aggressive marketing, and
- Political awareness.
India’s First Newspaper
1: Who was the first woman President of India?
Bengal Gazette was the first English Newspaper of India. The English Journal, The Bengal Gazette was also called as ‘Calcutta General Advertiser’ as it was filled with lots of advertisements with this name. He was the sole editor, writer, and publisher of this newspaper. Initially, the journal had a neutral tone, but when the English official started targeting him and demanded a bribe, he criticized the corrupt English officials, even the Wife of Warren Hastings. He accused them of inefficiency, corruption, and Maladministration. As a result, he was jailed but he continued writing his views and accusing company officials of bribery and corruption from jail. The journal, the India Gazette, supported and funded by Warren Hastings, worked as a rival journal to the Bengal Gazette. Consequently, Hickey’s Journal stopped and was driven out of business.
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History Of Newspaper In India
News paper in India was first published on 29th January, 1780 by James Augustus Hicky under the British Raj and its name was “the Bengal Gazette” or Calcutta General Advertiser or commonly known as the “Hicky’s Gazette”. The period was characterised by strict government control and censorship. The British Government imposed strict surveillance on the print media.
The emergence of journalism in India was in the year 1857. As a result of Vernacular Press Act in 1876 this year is marked by the division of Indian press and British press . In the year 1861 the first edition of “The Times of India” was published by Robert Knight. Again in the year 1868 “Amrit Bazar Patrika” was started, this newspaper mainly focused upon the social reformers and political leaders and started contributing in the field of journalism.
During the British rule Indian newspaper immensely participated in the freedom struggle of India. After Independence the role of newspaper changed and it have become industrialised and started employing large number of people. Presently missionary phase of India has been replaced with a professional approach.
Modern India is updated by the information by a number of agencies. Presently India has four major news agencies – Press Trust of India, United News of India, Samachar Bharati and Hindusthan Samachar. Role of newspaper is to be interpreted very cautiously as it is the lifeline of our nation as well as the society.
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