Journalism and Current Affairs 1

Code: 105 Module Name: Journalism and Current Affairs I No Topic Compiled by 1 What is Journalism? Nehal Padbiri 2 The role and responsibility of a journalist. Aarti Boriya 3 A short history of journalism Neha Saluja 4 The growth of the print media in Europe and America Hardeep Dugal 5 The history of journalism in India Vaishnavi Bala 6 The evolution of the press in India Rohan Koshy 7 Development of well known newspapers Growth of English and vernacular press Role of newspapers in the freedom struggle Sunayan Bhattacharjee 8 Facts and figures about the Indian media Sonam Samal Hamsini Ravi 9 News Amrah Ashraf 10 News Reports Megha Nayar 11 Leads, Introductions, Caption writing, datelines, bylines Anwesh Roy Chowdhury Amrita Jain 12 Current Affairs(to be handed over in hard copy) Amrita Jain Hamsini Ravi

WHAT IS JOURNALISM:

Journalism is the process of collecting facts and writing for public. It is a tool of communicating news and information through writing in newspapers magazines periodicals and broadcasting through radio and television. People have an inborn desire to know what is novel or new. This curiosity is satisfied by the journalists rough their writing and broadcasting with media regarding current events and news. The word journalism is derived from the French word journal, which in turn comes from the Latin word Diurnalis or daily which means a daily register or a diary containing each days business or transaction. Thus journalism means the communication of information regarding the events of the day through written words, sounds or pictures. Journalist is a person who writes for or conducts a newspaper or a magazine. According to Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary, journalism means the profession of conducting or writing for public journals. Journalism is a report of things as they appear at the moment of writing. It is not a definitive study of a situation. In journalism, there is an element of timeliness which is not present in the more leisurely types of writing, say, for example the writing of a book. Journalism is an occupation of conducting a news medium; including publishing, editing, writing or broadcasting. Journalism is the timely reporting of events at the local, provincial, national and international levels. Reporting involves the gathering of information through interviewing and research, the results of which are turned into a fair and balanced story for publication or for television or radio broadcast. Journalism is not just: Fact-finding

 Media analysis Opinion writing, or Commentary Although all of these aspects can play a part at times. The oldest journalism is connected with the periodical journalism. A periodical is printed at a regular and fixed interval. A periodical can be called a newspaper if it appears at least weekly in a recognized newspaper format and it has the general public interest. News is one of the best known commodities in todays world. Everyone who understands a language and has access to mass media recognizes it. There is a big impact of journalism and it can often influence the course of events which are being reported, because, it sometimes brings public opinion into focus and at other times even creates it. At present journalism has become a highly organized activity. The increase in the scope of press in our present day life has also increased its responsibilities. Very often journalism becomes the initiating factor for many new developments and achievements. In modern times, journalism has become an exciting an interesting profession in the field of communication. There is no doubt that it is a noble profession aiming at the service of the people by the dissemination of news. Its aim is not only to spotlight the social, political and economic evils but also to educate inform and instruct the general masses. The work of a journalist has become varied. To perform his/her functions he/she must possess a great capacity for infinite work, a gift of imagination which sees news in the running brook and the power of conveying his/her news and views to the public in a clear and concise language. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth Journalism does not pursue truth in an absolute or philosophical sense, but it can-and must--pursue it in a practical sense. This "journalistic truth" is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Even in a

world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built--context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate. The truth, over time, emerges from this forum. Its first loyalty is to the citizens Commitment to citizens means journalism should present a representative picture of all constituent groups in society. The theory underlying the modern news industry has been the belief that credibility builds a broad and loyal audience, and that economic success follows in turn. In that regard, the business people in a news organization also must nurture--not exploit--their allegiance to the audience ahead of other considerations. It must serve as an independent monitor of power Journalism has an unusual capacity to serve as watchdog over those whose power and position most affects citizens. As journalists, we have an obligation to protect this watchdog freedom by not demeaning it in frivolous use or exploiting it for commercial gain. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant Journalism is storytelling with a purpose. It should do more than gather an audience or catalogue the important. For its own survival, it must balance what readers know they want with what they cannot anticipate but need. In short, it must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant. The effectiveness of a piece of journalism is measured both by how much a work engages its audience and enlightens it.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Journalist:

Journalist as an Objective reporter: Objectivity hinges on separating independently verifiable facts from subjective values (Schudson 1978:293). A commitment to objectivity in journalism can be defined as meaning that a persons statements about the world can be trusted if they are submitted to established rules deemed legitimate by a professional community (Schudson 1978:294). Objective reporting has been defined as: Balance and even-handedness in presenting different sides of an issue. Accuracy and realism in reporting.

 Presenting all main relevant points. Separating facts from opinion, but treating opinion as relevant. Minimizing the influence of the writers own attitude, opinion or involvement. Avoiding slant, rancour or devious purposes. Michael Schudson explains this objectivity norm further: The objectivity norm guides journalists to separate facts from values and to report only the facts. Objective reporting is supposed to be cool, rather than emotional in tone. Objective reporting takes pains to represent fairly each leading side in a political controversy. According to the objective norm, the journalists job consists of reporting something called news without commenting on it, slanting it, or shaping its formulation in any way. (Schudson 2001:150). Impartiality: The words impartiality and Objectivity are sometimes used interchangeably, but impartial reporting is normally defined as being neutral, while objective reporting is taken to be the reporting of verifiable facts. According to McQuail, impartiality means balance in the choice and use of sources, so as to reflect different points of view, and also neutrality in the presentation of news separating facts from opinion, avoiding value judgments or emotive language or pictures (Mcquail 2000:231). Like a map, a news report is still a selective and mediated representation of reality. Balance and neutrality have themselves been challenged by some journalists who advocate their abandonment in situations where to be impartial would mean standing neutrally between good and evil, right and wrong, the victim and the oppressor (Bell 1998:16)/ This raises inevitable questions about who defines good and evil and whether journalists who do take sides automatically abandon any claims to be able to report events objectively. It could be argued that such journalism, although not neutral, is actually more objective because the audience knows where the journalist is coming from. Many a times, Journalists use of objectivity has been described as a strategic ritual to distance themselves from stories; a defence against charges of bias and lack of professionalism. This formula involves presenting conflicting possibilities and supporting evidence, with attributed opinion and information, in an appropriate

sequence. The objectivity norm and the related concept of impartiality have been challenged for being impossible to achieve; for ignoring the existence of multiple perspectives; and for being undesirable in conflicts between right and wrong. Nonethless, most journalists appear to retain some sense of objectivity when assessing sources and checking facts to establish whether a story stands up. A Journalists role as an entertainer: A national survey of 25,000 adults revealed that while just over a third said they relied on newspapers to keep them informed, one in five admitted to reading a daily paper more for entertainment than for news [Powell 2001]. They are unlikely to be disappointed. A study of the UK national press found that many news stories seemed to have been included not because they contained serious information for the reader but because of their entertainment value (Harcup and ONeill 2001:274). Some stories are entertaining by virtue of their subject matter. Others can be rendered entertaining by being well written, by holding the attention of the audience, by the use of anecdotes or asides, or by injecting humour. One colleague used to speak of sprinkling topspin and stardust onto a news story, brightening it up with that extra bit of colour or drama to make it more entertaining. After all, we call news items stories because we adopt many of the conventions of the story-teller. Entertaining is not a new role for journalists. Hence the 19th century verse: Tickle the public, make em grin, The more you tickle, the more youll win; Teach the public, youll never get rich, Youll live like a beggar and die in a ditch. [Quoted in Engel 1997: 17] Telling stories is part of the journalists job, as is telling stories in entertaining ways. Even if you do want to teach the public, we wont get very far if nobody reads, watches or listens to our stories because they are too dull. Without an audience there can be no journalism, and we are not likely to gather much of an audience if we do not seek, at least in part, to entertain as well as inform. Jon Dovey explains that journalism in common with other media output is now part of a culture in which individual subjective experience is foregrounded at the expense of more general and authoritative truth claims (Dovey 2000:25). It is claimed that we of the bourgeois public sphere which in any case was a rather narrow and male we has now collapsed into fragmented individualised subjectivities (Dovey 2000: 165). This can

be translated into contrasting ways of looking at the media output:

Traditional Authoritative Film Public Service Observational documentary Investigation Argument TV News Working Elitist Boring Popular Reflexive Video Reality TV Docu-soap Entertainment Pleasure TV chat Shopping Democratic Fun There is a tendency for traditional investigative journalism to be replaced, on TV at least, by more entertainment-driven formats, which issues and social inquiry are to be actively avoided in favour of entertainment and diversion (Dovey 2000: 150 and 153.) But on the other side, whenever journalists address popular

subjects, or report in ways intended to entertain, they run the risk of being accused of dumbing down threatening civilization as we know it. People forget that the engagement with popular culture, leisure, life-style and entertainment does not mean that newspapers necessarily ignore more traditionally weight subject matter. In short, As this is the cultural market place in which journalists must sell their wares, it means that part of the journalists job is to entertain as well as inform. The trick for both journalists and audience is to recognise the difference between the two. And to remember that sometimes the facts of a story, simply told, can be the most entertaining of all. Responsibilities of a journalist : The fundamental objective of journalism is to serve the people with news, views, comments and information on matters of public interest in a fair, accurate, unbiased, sober and decent manner. Towards this end, the Press is expected to conduct itself in keeping with certain norms of professionalism universally recognised. The norms enunciated below and other specific guidelines appended thereafter, when applied with due discernment and adaptation to the varying circumstance of each case, will help the journalist to self-regulate his or her conduct. Accuracy & Fairness: The Press shall eschew publication of inaccurate, baseless, graceless, misleading or distorted material. All sides of the core issue or subject should be reported. Unjustified rumours and surmises should not be set forth as facts. Pre-publication Verification: On receipt of a report or article of public interest and benefit containing imputations or comments against a citizen, the editor should check with due care and attention its factual accuracy-apart from other authentic sources with the person or the organisation concerned to elicit his/her or its version, comments or reaction and publish the same with due amendments in the report where necessary. In the event of lack or absence of response, a footnote to that effect should be appended to the report. Caution against defamatory writings Journalists should not publish anything which is manifestly defamatory or libellous against any individual organisation unless after due care and checking, they have sufficient reason to believe that it is true and its publication will be for public good. Truth is no defense for publishing derogatory, scurrilous and defamatory material

against a private citizen where no public interest is involved. No personal remarks which may be considered or construed to be derogatory in nature against a dead person should be published except in rare cases of public interest, as the dead person cannot possibly contradict or deny those remarks. The Press shall not rely on objectionable past behaviour of a citizen for basing the scathing comments with reference to fresh action of that person. If public good requires such reference, the Press should make pre-publication inquiries from the authorities concerned about the follow up action, if any, in regard to those adverse actions. The Press has a duty, discretion and right to serve the public interest by drawing reader's attention to citizens of doubtful antecedents and of questionable character but as responsible journalists they should observe due restraint and caution in hazarding their own opinion or conclusion in branding these persons as 'cheats' or 'killers' etc. The cardinal principle being that the guilt of a person should be established by proof of facts alleged and not by proof of the bad character of the accused. In the zest to expose, the Press should not exceed the limits of ethical caution and fair comments. Journalists should always distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Journalists should be vigilant about re-enactments of staged news events. If its necessary to tell a story, it should be labeled. Caution against identification: While reporting crime involving rape, abduction or kidnap of women/females or sexual assault on children, or raising doubts and questions touching the chastity, personal character and privacy of women, the names, photographs of the victims or other particulars leading to their identity shall not be published. Corrections: When any factual error or mistake is detected or confirmed, the journalists should publish (/broadcast) the correction promptly with due prominence and with apology or expression of regrets in a case of serious lapse. . Freedom of the Press involves the readers' right to know all sides of an issue of public interest. An editor, therefore, shall not refuse to publish the reply or rejoinder merely on the ground that in his opinion the story published in the newspaper was true. That is an issue to be left to the judgement of the readers. It also does not behove for an editor to show contempt towards a reader Covering communal disputes/clashes: News, views or comments relating to communal or religious disputes/clashes shall be published after proper verification of facts and presented with due caution and restraint in a manner which is conducive

to the creation of an atmosphere congenial to communal harmony, amity and peace. Sensational, provocative and alarming headlines are to be avoided. Acts of communal violence or vandalism shall be reported in a manner as may not undermine the people's confidence in the law and order machinery of the State. Giving communitywise figures of the victims of communal riot, or writing about the incident in a style which is likely to inflame passions, aggravate the tension, or accentuate the strained relations between the communities/religious groups concerned, or which has a potential to exacerbate the trouble, shall be avoided. Caste, religion or community references: In general, the caste identification of a person or a particular class should be avoided, particularly when in the context it conveys a sense or attributes a conduct or practice derogatory to that caste. Paramount national interest: Journalists should, as a matter of self-regulation, exercise due restraint and caution in presenting any news, comment or information which is likely to jeopardise, endanger or harm the paramount interests of the State and society, or the rights of individuals with respect to which reasonable restrictions may be imposed by law on the right to freedom of speech and expression under clause (2) of Article 19 of the Constitution of India. If information is received from a confidential source, the confidence should be respected. The journalist should not reveal such information and he cannot be compelled by the Press Council to disclose such source; but it shall not be regarded as a breach of journalistic ethics if the source is voluntarily disclosed in proceedings before the Council by the journalist who considers it necessary to repel effectively a charge against him/her. This rule requiring a newspaper not to publish matters disclosed to it in confidence, is not applicable where: consent of the source is subsequently obtained; or the editor clarified by way of an appropriate footnote that since the publication of certain matters were in the public interest, the information in question was being published although it had been made 'off the record'. Journalists should, as a matter of caution, avoid unfair and unwarranted criticism which, by innuendo, attributes to a judge extraneous consideration for performing an act in due course of his/her judicial functions, even if such criticism does not strictly amount to criminal Contempt of Court.

A SHORT HISTORY OF JOURNALISM The history of journalism, or the development of the gathering and transmitting of news, spans the growth of technology and trade, marked by the advent of specialized techniques for gathering and disseminating information on a regular basis that has caused, the steady increase of "the scope of news available to us and the speed with which it is transmitted." Early methods of transmitting news began with word of mouth, which limited its content to what people saw and relayed to others; accuracy in news depended on the scope of the event being described and its relevance to the listener. For centuries human civilization has utilized the printed media to spread news and information about political and social happenings to the masses. Ancient monarchial governments developed ways of relaying written reports, including the Roman Empire. The Roman Acta Diurna, appearing around 59 B.C, is the earliest recorded newspaper. After the empire collapsed, news dissemination depended on travelers' tales, songs, ballads, letters, and governmental dispatches. These details provided by the different sources from the word of mouth were being written down, which became a reliable and transferable source of medium. Ancient Egyptians use to write and announce. In the 8th century China, the first newspapers appeared as hand- written newssheets in Beijing. However, it was only with the invention of the printing press in the 14th century Europe, that the spread of news and information on paper increased dramatically. Short pamphlets reported on a news event and were circulated around the community. The first printed periodical was Mercurius Gallobelgicus; written in Latin, it appeared in 1594 in Cologne, now Germany, and was distributed widely, even finding its way to readers in England. Nevertheless, the first modern newspapers, or publications that would appear regularly and frequently, were a European invention.

The first half of the 17th century saw weekly news publications popping up in Germany, Italy, France, England, and many other western European nations. These newspaper featured items from all over Europe and occasionally America and Asia. The first regularly published newspaper in English was the Oxford Gazette (later the London Gazette, and published continually ever since), which first appeared in 1665. It began publication while the British royal court was in Oxford to avoid the plague in London, and was published twice a week. When the court moved back to London, the publication moved with it. An earlier news book, the Continuation of Our Weekly News, had been published regularly in London since 1623. The first daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, appeared in 1702 and continued publication for more than 30 years. Its first editor was also the first woman in journalism, although she was replaced after only a couple of weeks. By this time, the British had adopted the Press Restriction Act, which required that the printer's name and place of publication be included on each printed document. The ideal of Freedom of the Press made its way slowly to the American Colonies during the 1600s and 1700s. On September 25, 1690 the Boston based Publick Occurences Both Forreign and Domestick became the first American newspaper to be published. However, it would only go for printing once as one of its stories attacked Indians (Native Americans) who had been allied with the English against French. With the authorities expressing High Resentment and Disallowance towards the publication, they immediately barred further printing. It would not be until the Boston News Letter printed in 1704. It was not suppressed, but it was late reporting local and European news and survived until 1722. The first newspaper published outside New England was Andrew Bradfords American Weekly Mercury, which published between 1719 and 1746. The new generation newspapers tried to avoid political confrontations with colonial authorities. However, when James Franklin, publisher of the New England Courant; accused the colonial government of failing to adequately protect the area from pirate attacks in the 1720s he was thrown in jail and banned from running the publication. His younger brother, the famous Benjamin Franklin, soon took over the newspaper, and went on to begin publication of the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729. The Leeds Mercury, 1738- 1939 which maintained a high standard of Journalism, had considerable influence especially in the late 19th century. The political content of its editorial was particularly significant. In 1901, the paper appeared as the Leeds & Yorkshire Mercury, and in 1939, it merged with the Yorkshire Post one of the most

highly regarded newspapers in Britain. In 1739, The Champion appeared with the series of humorous, political, moral and critical newspapers. Hicky Bengal Gazette came in 1780 is the earliest recorded English newspaper in India. India Gazette, 1782-1788 and 1822-1843 started as a rival to Hicky's Bengal Gazette, it was used as a medium for publishing official advertisements. Under the editorship of Dr. John Grant, from 1822 to 1829, it became particularly influential. Newspapers soon began to play a huge role in inciting patriotic feelings throughout the colonies in the years preceding the American Revolution. The invention of the Telegraph in 1844 revolutionized the printed media industry. However, newspapers in the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century were not very objective. In 1841, Horace Greeley, one of the most talented American Journalists of the time, started the New York Tribune as a penny paper. Henry J. Raymond, founder of the New York Daily Times, which has been shortened to the New York Times, became a major player in the Republican Party in 1851. The second period of sensationalism came Joseph Pulitzer introduced his new journalism. He created the St. Louis Post- Dispatch in 1878 and then took over the New York World in 1833. In 1896, Alfred Harmsworth started the Daily Mail following the lines of Pulitzer. He also created the first modern, small- sized tabloid newspaper, the Daily Mirror in 1903. In the meantime, Joseph Medill Patterson and Robert R. McCormick decided to start tabloid journalism in the United States and came out with Illustrated Daily News in 1919 in New York, heralding the third period of sensationalism in American Journalism. India News, 1949-1961 from the High Commission of India, London, also published in London. The Straits Times, 18451942, 1982- till date published in Singapore. It covers both European and local News with columns on the London Finance Market.

The growth of Print Media in Europe and America EUROPE 59 B.C. Acta Diurna is published in Rome. Julius Caesar orders the major political and social events of the day to be made available to his citizenry. 1447 Johann Gutenberg invents letterpress printing, a process that will enable the mass production of the printed word. 1556 Venetian government publishes Notizie scritte, a monthly newspaper for which readers pay a gazetta, or small coin. 1588 In Cologne, Germany, Michael Entzinger publishes a 24 page newsbook reporting on the defeat of the Spanish Armada.Although the report came months after the actual event occurred, this is one of the earliest first reports of a significant historical event. 1605 Johann Carolus publishes the first printed newspaper, Relation, in Strasbourg, now in France but at the time a part of the so-called Deutsches Reich. 1621 In London, the newspaper Corante is published. 1631 The Gazette, the first French newspaper, is founded. 1639 First American colonial printing press 1645 Worlds oldest newspaper still in circulation, Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, is published in Sweden 1690 Publick Occurrences is the first newspaper published in America when it appears in Boston , edited by Benjamin Harris. The royal authority, wary of publications printed without its express consent, suppresses the newspaper after only one issue. 1704 Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe and often recognized as the worlds first journalist, begins to publish the Review, a periodical covering European affairs. 1812 Friedrich Koenig invents the Steam Powered Cylinder Press. In 1814, John Walter, publisher of The Times in London, began to assemble the new press in secrecy, fearing that his pressmen might riot if they discovered his plans. On the night of November 28, 1814, Walter took his pressmen away from their hand presses with the excuse that he was expecting important news from the continent. He then used Koenigs presses to produce the entire print run of The Times -- at an output of 1,100 sheets per hour. 1844 Telegraph is invented 1851 Reuters is established

1903 Alfred Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe) develops the first tabloid newspaper, the Daily Mirror, in London. The Daily Mirror introduced the concept of the exclusive interview. The first was with Lord Minto, the new Viceroy of India, in 1905. 1966 Behram Busybee Contractor begins publishing his column Round and About in the Evening News of India. Running until 2001, the satirical column became the longest running column in the history of newspaper journalism. Periodical Publications Periodical news books and news sheets began to spread across the cities of England in 1621 with the publication of the first coranto translated to English. The first dated and sequential news books began to be published in England in the following year. The years of the English Civil War (1642-51) saw the birth of many techniques of modern political journalism .e.g. the planted item ,the denied rumour, the inside story (Frank 1961:54),parliamentary and aristocratic corruption , the expose which is another staple of journalist manufactured news. The period also witnessed the first experiments with the advertising in periodicals. Also the news books of that time contained an impressive range of content from poetry to plays which all formed a part of a broad commentary on public life that was both informative and entertaining. Readers were being targeted not only as participants in political and broader cultural life but also as consumers who could deliver profits to printers and publishers. The term newspaper was first used in 1670, there was , nevertheless, a wide range of experimentation in journalistic form with the first daily newspaper, The Daily Courant appearing in 1702.The literary and political periodicals flourished in the years between the lapsing of the Licensing Act and the imposition of the Stamp Duties of 1712. During that time the main contributors to the development of journalism were Daniel Defoes Review. Richard Stelles Tatler begun in 1709 was even more hybrid than the review. From 1711 Stelle joined forces with Addison to produce the Spectator as a daily publication. The provocative Catos Letters in the London Journal started the trend of resistance to the restrictions made on the press and it was continued by Mists Weekly Journal ,Fogs Weekly Journal and the Craftsman and that contributed to the shaping of journalism from an oppositional perspective.In newspaper form the first entrant to the new world was the Daily Telegraph and then The Times . Magazines

The Journal des Sarvans was published in January 1665 as a twelve page weekly review of literature and ran for 250 years. A similarly highbrow venture emerged the same year with the Acta Philosophica Societa Anglia, published by Henry Oldenburg and it was later renamed the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. The first of its kind Womens magazine called Ladies Mercury made its first appearance in 1693. The popular Sunday press drew heavily on magazine formats and was very influential in the mass-market journalism that emerged in 1885.Some of the most popular ones were Lloyds Illustrated London Newspaper (1842), News of the World (1843) and Reynolds Weekly Newspaper (1850) , which defined the popular Sunday market and exerted a formative influence on the rest of the landscape of popular journalism for the rest of the century. A further development in print journalism was the rise of more specifically targeted publications. The Field in 1853 was the first hobby magazine and there was a lot of growth of such magazines. The Shooting Times and The Country Alagazine made their first appearances in 1882 followed by publications such as Amateur Gardening and Horse and Hound (1884) , Yachting World (1894) and the first British motor magazine , Autocar and Motor (1895).George Newness Tits-Bits also began mapping products onto the market. AMERICA The content of American newspapers in the colonial period and beyond consisted primarily of items taken from European newspapers. European newspapers provided the forms from which American journalism was cast and recast.. The first newspapers did not appear in Europe until the 17th century: The Civil War influenced newspapers more than any other event of the century. The extensive competition to report the war news led newspapers to introduce war correspondents ("specials") who were generally freer to cover events than modern wars. The turn of the 20th century saw a vibrant, if sometimes sensationalist , American press, and brought the advent a strong muckraking tradition the beginnings of investigative journalism. Throughout the century, but especially prominent during the turmoil of the 1960s and after, a kind of shadow or alternative press coexisted, often in parallel with the mainstream press. Such publications as I.F. Stones Weekly, the Village Voice, The Nation, and Mother Jones magazine have contributed a more politically inflected take on the news than counterparts like the New York Times and the Washington Post. The first newspaper in the colonies was Benjamin Harriss

Publick Occurences both Foreighn and Domestick which was suppressed in 1690 after only one issue. A second newspaper , the Boston Newsletter appeared in 1704.The first newspaper published outside New England was Andrew Bradfords American Weekly Mercury , which was published between 1719 and 1746. The first real colonial newspaper was The New England Courant, published as a sideline by printer James Franklin (brother of Benjamin Franklin).It was suspended and later James took over The Pennsylvanian Gazette in 1729.By 1750 , 14 weekly newspapers were published in the 6 largest colonies. The lost successful of these was printed three times a week. By the 1770s ,89 newspapers were published in 35 cities and by 1800 there were about 234 being published. As the 19th century progressed in America ,newspapers began functioning more as a private businesses with real editors rather than partisan organs ,though standards of truth and responsibility were still very low. The Industrial Revolution helped in the growth of the newspapers. The first newspaper to fit in the definition of a modern newspaper was the New York Herald founded in 1835 and published by James Gordon Benette. The New York Tribune (1841), edited by Horace Greeley, was the first paper with a national influence; by the eve of the Civil War, the Tribune was shipping thousands of copies daily to other large cities - 6,000 to Chicago alone. 1886, the Tribune took the lead in technology development by becoming the first newspaper to use Ottmar Mergenthaler's linotype machine, rapidly increasing the speed and accuracy with which type could be set. The New York Times now considered one of the best newspapers in the world, was founded in 1851 by George Jones and Henry Raymond. It established the principle of balanced reporting in high-quality writing. The ever growing demand for the urban newspapers to provide more news led to the organization of the first wire services, a cooperative between six large New York city based newspapers led by David Hale, the publisher of the Journal of Commerce, and James Gordon Benette to provide coverage of Europe for all the apers together which came to be known as the Associated Press in 1858.James Benettes Herald was another popular newspaper. Benette was also the first American publisher to bring an American newspaper to Europe by founding the Paris Herald and is the precursor of the International Herald Times. Charles Anderson Donna of the New York Sun developed the idea of a human interest story and a better definition of news value , including uniqueness of a story.

History of Journalism in India In India, the art of conveying news can be dated back to ancient India when the news was given in inscriptions on walls of temples and in copper plates and through victory coins and writing on rocks. Also there were government officials who by the beat of tom-tom announced policies and decisions of the king.

The relevant time for studying the history of journalism in India is more than 200 years, James Agustus Hickys Bengal Gazette was founded in 1780, more than a century-and-a- half after the first English newspaper was launched in London. He has the distinction of launching the first newspaper in India. His Bengal Gazette alias Calcutta General Advertiser came out on January 29, 1780, in Calcutta as a two-sheet weekly. It declared itself as a weekly political and commercial paper open to all parties but influence by none. Hickys fortune began to decline when a rival appeared in Indian Gazette in the same year when he began his venture. It was a better newspaper with four pages, each 16 inches long with three columns and well printed. In the social circle, Hicky was not popular. The publicity which he gave to the social life of European community was touched by malice and ridicule. While announcing marriages and engagements, he also published news of anticipated engagements and he utilized this to hit people he disliked. It was like a scandal sheet. Action was finally taken against him and he was imprisoned in June 1781. In spite of Hicky being in prison, Bengal Gazette was the forerunner of many newspapers and journals in Calcutta, which was the birth place of Journalism in India. In the other two presidency cities, Madras and Bombay there were not many newspapers. In Madras, Madras Courier was officially recognized and came out as a weekly in 1785. It was followed by Hurkaru which ceased publication after a year. The Indian Herald, too had a very brief existence.There was no newspaper in Bombay until 1789 when the Bombay Herald was started. It merged into Bombay Gazette in 1791. In the early years of 19th century, Calcutta saw the emergence of the first real journalist, the tallest in his profession at that time, James Silk Buckingham. Jawahar Lal Nehru described him as among the earliest champions of the freedom of the press in India and as one who will be forever remembered. He came to India as the editor of the Calcutta Chronicle in 1818. The first issue which came out on October 2, 1818, indicated that it would be a chronicle of political, commercial and literary news and views. He brought a breath of fresh air to an atmosphere polluted by the scandalmongering, flippancy of the European community. Buckingham was a scholar whose studies included Anthroplogy and Literature. He was a keen observer of the customs and habits of people among whom he lived. He introduced to his readers Lord Byron, Walter Scott and Washington Irving. He published drawings and charts to drive

home the point on any subject. The letters to the Editor were a notable feature of the Calcutta Chronicle. Buckingham laid emphasis on news of local conditions rather than fashions, life of the people rather than social round. His editorials concentrated on omissions and commissions of the government policies in regard to postal service, military establishment and governments indifference to gain monopoly. He was also fearless in condemning certain Indian traditions like Sati and governments failure to put an end to it. He was a stout champion of freedom of press and held views which would be called revolutionary. It will perhaps not be an exaggeration to think that Buckingham was the inspiration behind the history of Indian Journalism. Stage 1(1818-1868) - This stage comprises of Buckighams Chronicle and inspiring efforts by Raja Rammohan Roy against censorship, harassment, deportation and persecution. There was a struggle to establish some measure of freedom of expression, the dilemmas of colonial rulers. In 1826 the earliest Hindi newspaper was started in Calcuttta . It was called Oodut Martand. Due to high postal rates, its editor Jooghul Kishore Sookool, had to close it down within a year. The pro-Raj Times of India was founded in 1838 and served the Britsh residents of western India. It had a huge impact on political and intellectual mood of the first war of Independence. The fist Hindi daily Samachar Subha Varshan came out in 1854. It cultivated the style of Hindi Journalism. Stage 2 (1868-1919) - It witnessed the rise of the Indian press as part of nationalistic or anti-imperialist struggle and a manifestation of two lines of thoughts in the press. One line is the support to the colonial Raj and its policies; the other is a line of criticism and opposition. This stage saw major developments like the founding of the Amrita Bazaar Patrika in 1868 and The Hindu(1878), with the pro-Raj newspaper, The Staesman also appearing in 1875.The Hindu was started by G.Subramania Aiyer and M.Veeraraghavacharier who belonged to a society called the Triplicane Literay Society . Since its inception, The Hindu clashed with officialdom and exposed its misdeed and abuse of power. Amrita Bazaar Patrika is the oldest Inidan-owned daily and has been described as the best nationalistic newspaper. Hindi Patriot! Established in 1853, by the author and playwright, Grish Chandra Ghosh, it became popular under the editorship of Harish Chandra Mukherjee. In 1861, the paper

published a play, Neel Darpan and launched a movement against the British, urging the people to stop cultivating the crop for the white traders. This resulted in the formation of a Neel Commission. Later, the paper was taken over by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The paper strongly opposed the Governments excesses and demanded that Indians be appointed to top government posts. In 1861, The Pioneer was founded by by George Allen, an Englishman who had had great success in the tea business in north-east India in the previous decade. It was brought out three times a week from 1865 to 1869 and daily thereafter. In 1874, the weekly Pioneer Mail became the Pioneer Mail and India Weekly News and began to also feature short stories and travel writings. The paper during that point of time was known for its strong imperialistic ideas. The Lahore Civil and Military Gazette was started in 1862. The vernacular press act (mainly directed towards Amrita Bazaar Patrika) was passed in 1878 a highly controversial measure repressing the freedom of vernacular press. But the patrika had become English weekly and hence escaped the clutches of the act. Introducing the Bill, the Law Member of the Council narrated how the vernacular newspapers and periodicals were spreading seditious propaganda against the government. The British were of the perception that the educated Indians who read the English newspapers were less likely to get misled than those who were influenced by language press. It must be noted that the vernacular press had a huge role to play in mobilizing people. The stage also witnessed the Sedition trials of Tilak(1897 and 1908), the return of Gandhi to India in 1915 and the struggle against the Rowlatt acts and uncivilsed colonial repression. Tilak and Gandhi, themselves considerable journalists, wielded a major influence on the field. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre closes this stage, with the press sharply divided into the section which condemns the crime and the opposite camp which defends or provided apologies for this brutal response to the intensification of the freedom struggle. Stage 3(1919-1937)- This stage saw the differentiation of the Inidan press into moderate and radical tendencies in relation to the tactics involved in the freedom struggle. Nationalist newspapers like Hindustan Times was established in 1924 by Sunder Singh Lyallpuri, father of the Akali movement in India. The opening ceremony was

performed by Mahatma Gandhi on September 15, 1924. Indian Express was established in 1931, owned by S. Sadanand, founder of the Free Press Journal. It was started by Chennai based Veradharajulu Naidu. In 1933, it opened its seond office and launched the tamil edition Dhinamani. Stage 4(1937-1947)- This stage saw the maturing of the press and and significant professional developments such as news services, pooling of arrangements and expanded coverage of foreign news. The National Herald was founded in 1938 by Jawahar Lal Nehru which had a forward looking stand and was nationalistic in its approach. In this period, the newspapers played a great role in reflecting the opinion of the people. The newspapers greatly opposed the Communal riots and the Partition It should be noted that during the British regime, Indian newspapers were not allowed to publishmatters which were seditious.As a result, Underground press was very active and few journalists were arrested. At the dawn of independence, Indian press was in a strong position. Both english and vernacular papers flourished, well produced, displayed news of national and international importance, just like the counterparts in the west.After Independence, the press had to function in a greatly transformed situation, with new perspectives and tasks. Now it was the duty of the press to safeguard the new found independence and the democracy of the country. The Indian press enjoys full freedom like the press in Britain and America. What hampers this freedom and causes its diminution is its reliance on government for its existence and efficient functioning. Though the press is more interactive now, the editorial columns do not have the same appeal to readers as they had to a previous generation. The winds of change have been felt and great attention is being paid to investigative reporting and stories in depth and a niche audience is sought by each newspaper which makes it very specialized. EVOLUTION OF THE PRESS IN INDIA The evolution of the Indian media has continuously been fraught with developmental difficulties; illiteracy, colonial constraints and repression, poverty, and apathy thwart

interest in news and media. The repressive policy pursued by the East India Company against Indian weeklies delayed the mergence of Indian journalism. A number of English and Anglo-Indian editors of the first new journals were imprisoned, fined or transported. Others were made to put up with the indignity of submitting their copy to unimaginative censors In their hours of adversity, the English papers had the support of the Company's disgruntled servants and probably received financial and other assistance from them. The Indian language press could not have expected even that much of backing from any quarter. They had, therefore to wait for better times to come. Further, there was the dearth of good printing presses in Indian languages. Patriotic movements grew in proportion with the colonial ruthlessness, and a vehicle of information dissemination became a tool for freedom struggle. In the struggle for freedom, journalists in the twentieth century performed a dual role as professionals and nationalists. Indeed many national leaders, from Gandhi to Vajpayee, were journalists as well. Calcutta, Madras, Bombay and Delhi were four main centers of urban renaissance which nourished news in India. It was only during and after the seventies, especially after Indira Gandhi's defeat in 1977, that regional language newspapers became prevalent. Compared with many other developing countries, the Indian press has flourished since independence and exercises a large degree of independence. British colonialism allowed for the development of a tradition of freedom of the press, and many of India's great English-language newspapers and some of its Indian-language press begun during the nineteenth century. As India became independent, ownership of India's leading English-language newspapers was transferred from British to Indian business groups, and the fact that most English-language newspapers have the backing of large business houses has contributed to their independence from the government. The press has experienced impressive growth since independence. In 1950 there were 214 daily newspapers, with forty-four in English and the rest in Indian languages. By 1990 the number of daily newspapers had grown to 2,856, with 209 in English and 2,647 in indigenous languages. The expansion of literacy and the spread of consumerism during the 1980s fueled the rapid growth of news weeklies and other periodicals. By 1993 India had 35,595 newspapers--of which 3,805 were dailies--and other periodicals. Although the majority of publications are in indigenous languages, the English-language press, which has widespread appeal to the expanding middle

class, has a wide multi-city circulation throughout India. There are four major publishing groups in India, each of which controls national and regional English-language and vernacular publications. They are the Times of India Group, the Indian Express Group, the Hindustan Times Group, and the Anandabazar Patrika Group. The Times of India is India's largest English-language daily, with a circulation of 656,000 published in six cities. The Indian Express , with a daily circulation of 519,000, is published in seventeen cities. There also are seven other daily newspapers with circulations of between 134,000 and 477,000, all in English and all competitive with one another. Indian-language newspapers also enjoy large circulations but usually on a statewide or citywide basis. For example, the Malayalam-language daily Malayala Manorama circulates 673,000 copies in Kerala; the Hindi-language Dainik Jagran circulates widely in Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi, with 580,000 copies per day; Punjab Kesari , also published in Hindi and available throughout Punjab and New Delhi, has a daily circulation of 562,000; and the Anandabazar Patrika , published in Calcutta in Bengali, has a daily circulation of 435,000. There are also numerous smaller publications throughout the nation. The combined circulation of India's newspapers and periodicals is in the order of 60 million, published daily in more than ninety languages. India has more than forty domestic news agencies. The Express News Service, the Press Trust of India, and the United News of India are among the major news agencies. They are headquartered in Delhi, Bombay, and New Delhi, respectively, and employ foreign correspondents. Although freedom of the press in India is the legal norm, it is constitutionally guaranteed, the scope of this freedom has often been contested by the government. Rigid press censorship was imposed during the Emergency starting in 1975 but quickly retracted in 1977. The government has continued, however, to exercise more indirect controls. Government advertising accounts for as much as 50 percent of all advertisements in Indian newspapers, providing a monetary incentive to limit harsh criticism of the administration. Until 1992, when government regulation of access to newsprint was liberalized, controls on the distribution of newsprint could also be used to reward favored publications and threaten those that fell into disfavor. In 1988, at a time when the Indian press was publishing investigative reports about corruption and abuse of power in government, Parliament passed a tough defamation bill that mandated prison sentences for offending journalists. Vociferous protests from journalists and opposition party leaders ultimately forced the government to withdraw the bill. Since the late 1980s, the independence of India's

press has been bolstered by the liberalization of government economic policy and the increase of private-sector advertising provided by the growth of India's private sector and the spread of consumerism. The national television (Doordarshan) and radio (All India Radio, or Akashwani) networks are state-owned and managed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Their news reporting customarily presents the government's point of view. For example, coverage of the 1989 election campaign blatantly favored the government of Rajiv Gandhi, and autonomy of the electronic media became a political issue. V.P. Singh's National Front government sponsored the Prasar Bharati (Indian Broadcasting) Act, which Parliament considered in 1990, to provide greater autonomy to Doordarshan and All India Radio. The changes that resulted were limited. The bill provided for the establishment of an autonomous corporation to run Doordarshan and All India Radio. The corporation was to operate under a board of governors to be in charge of appointments and policy and a broadcasting council to respond to complaints. However, the legislation required that the corporation prepare and submit its budget within the framework of the central budget and stipulated that the personnel of the new broadcasting corporation be career civil servants to facilitate continued government control. In the early 1990s, increasing competition from television broadcasts transmitted via satellite appeared the most effective manner of limiting the progovernment bias of the government-controlled electronic media (see Telecommunications, ch. 6). Since the 1980s, India has experienced a rapid proliferation of television broadcasting that has helped shape popular culture and the course of politics. Although the first television program was broadcast in 1959, the expansion of television did not begin in earnest until the extremely popular telecast of the Ninth Asian Games, which were held in New Delhi in 1982. Realizing the popular appeal and consequent influence of television broadcasting, the government undertook an expansion that by 1990 was planned to provide television access to 90 percent of the population. In 1993, about 169 million people were estimated to have watched Indian television each week, and, by 1994, it was reported that there were some 47 million households with televisions. There also is a growing selection of satellite transmission and cable services available (see Television, ch. 6). Press Laws: Much of India's legal framework is built upon its colonial legacy. Legal statutes and regulations have been undergoing certain changes as India's democracy grows. India's freedom came at a high cost. The country was divided. India's border conflicts

with two hostile neighbors, which forced at least three large scale wars, eclipsed other political issues. The democratic process, corrupted by criminals, unscrupulous bureaucrats and politicians, created a social climate that widened social and economic inequality. Freedom of speech and expression is a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right of the Indian people. Article 19 (1; a) ensures the implicit freedom but Article 19 (2) qualifies this in explicit terms. The Parliamentary Proceedings (protection of Publication) Act of 1977 and the Prevention of Publication of Objectionable Matter (Repeal Act) of 1977 further reinforce and restrict these freedoms. While constitutional guarantees ensure freedom of the press and expression, press and media are obligated by a self-regulatory system of ethics that protect individuals and organizations from libelous behavior. The Press Council Bill of 1956, introduced in the Indian parliament, stipulated the establishment of the Press Council of India representing working journalists, the newspaper management, literary bodies and the Parliament. The Indian Press commission accepted the following postulate: "Democratic society lives and grows by accepting ideas, by experimenting with them, and where necessary, rejecting them, the Press is a responsible part of a democratic society". While The Central Press Accreditation Committee seeks to ensure quality and selfrenewal, The Press Council of India was established in 1966 to uphold editorial autonomy. Restrictions on free speech were imposed after Indira Gandhi's infamous Emergency rule. The Press Council of India was abolished after editor George Verghese's criticisms of the Indira government. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting carefully regulates the press and its liberties. The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was enforced to intimidate reputedly autonomous newspapers in the seventies. The Press Council, resurrected in 1979, has no legal standing to impose penalties. The Indian press, generally believed as "managed," is a self-restrained institution generally reluctant to take on the governmental policies. All India Radio (AIR) and its management exemplify this "man-aged" system. The Registrar of Newspapers: The Registrar of Indian newspapers, among these official and professional agencies, regulates and records the status of newspapers. Electronic news, Web sites, magazines and house publications, and a number of professional organizations (like Editors Guild of India, Indian Language Newspapers' Association, and All India Newspapers Editors' Conference etc.) enrich the self-renewal process of the news enterprise. Educational and training programs are gaining importance as

professionalization of specialized fields is a prioritized activity under the privatization process. The Office of the Registrar of Newspapers for India, popularly known as RNI came into being on July 1, 1956, on the recommendation of the First Press Commission in 1953 and by amending the Press and Registration of Books Act (PRB Act) 1867. From April 1998 to February 1999, RNI scrutinized 18,459 applications for availability of titles, of which 7,738 titles were found available for verification, while in the remaining applications, titles were not found available. During the same period, 2,693 newspapers/periodicals were issued Certificates of Registration (2,145 fresh CRs and 548 revised CRs) and circulation claims of 1536 newspapers/periodicals were assessed. News Agencies: News agencies provide regularity and authenticity to news. K.C. Roy is credited with establishing the first Indian news agency, which became The Associated Press of India (API). However, it soon became a British-controlled agency unwilling to report about the national freedom movement. The Free Press of India News Agency came into existence under the management of S. Sadanad who had served Reuters. The United Press of India, The Orient Press, The Globe News Agency, The NAFEN News Agency, The United News of India and a number of syndicates later came to serve the news business. The Non-aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP), formally constituted in 1976 for the purpose of correcting imbalances in the global flow of information, is an arrangement for exchange of news and information among the national news agencies of non-aligned countries, including Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. Its affairs are managed by a coordinating committee elected for a term of three years. India is at present a member of the coordinating committee. The cost of running the pool is met by the participating members. The Press Trust (PTI) continued to operate the India News Pool Desk (INDP) of the NANAP on behalf of the government of India. India continued to contribute substantially to the daily news file of the Pool Network. The reception of news into the Pool Desk during the year 1998-99 has been in the range of 20,000 words per day. INDP's own contribution to the Pool partners during the year has averaged 7,000 words per day. The organization and structure of Indian news agencies has been undergoing a controversial transformation for quite sometime. This represents a mutual mistrust between privately owned news agencies and governmental structures. Their autonomy, believed to be crucial for objectivity and fairness, is based on their role as cooperatives and non-profit groups. News agencies in general are discouraged from

taking any governmental favors. There is nothing in the Indian constitution, however, that can prevent government to nationalize its news agencies. There are four dominant news agencies in India: The Press Trust of India (PTI); the United News of India (UNI); the Hindustan Samachar (HS); and Samachar Bhatia (SB). Broadcast Media Television programming was initially kept tightly under the control of the government, which embarked on a self-conscious effort to construct and propagate a cultural idea of the Indian nation. This goal is especially clear in the broadcasts of such megaseries as the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata . In addition to the effort at nation-building, the politicians of India's ruling party have not hesitated to use television to build political support. In fact, the political abuse of Indian television led to demands to increase the autonomy of Doordarshan; these demands ultimately resulted in support for the Prasar Bharati Act. The 1990s have brought a radical transformation of television in India. Transnational satellite broadcasting made its debut in January 1991, when owners of satellite dishes--initially mostly at major hotels--began receiving Cable News Network (CNN) coverage of the Persian Gulf War. Three months later, Star TV began broadcasting via satellite. Its fare initially included serials such as "The Bold and the Beautiful" and MTV programs. Satellite broadcasting spread rapidly through India's cities as local entrepreneurs erected dishes to receive signals and transmitted them through local cable systems. After its October 1992 launch, Zee TV offered stiff competition to Star TV. However, the future of Star TV was bolstered by billionaire Rupert Murdock, who acquired the network for US$525 million in July 1993. CNN International, part of the Turner Broadcasting System, was slated to start broadcasting entertainment programs, including top Hollywood films, in 1995. Competition from the satellite stations brought radical change to Doordarshan by cutting its audience and threatening its advertising revenues at a time when the government was pressuring it to pay for expenditures from internal revenues. In response, Doordarshan decided in 1993 to start five new channels in addition to its original National Channel. Programming was radically transformed, and controversial news shows, soap operas, and coverage of high-fashion events proliferated. Of the new Doordarshan channels, however, only the Metro Channel, which carries MTV music videos and other popular shows, has survived in the face of the new trend for talk programs that engage in a potpourri of racy topics. Electronic News Media Most Indian newspapers, magazines, and media outlets are easily accessible through

the Internet. Internet Public Library (IPL) is a concise Internet source for information on Indian newspapers. The Onlinenewspapers.com Web site lists about 120 online newspapers for India with access to each of those papers for reading. The official Web site for the Library of Congress in New Delhi is also accessible on the Internet, where e-mail contact information is provided. This directory is published biennially. The directory includes newspapers published in India, the name and language of the newspapers, circulation, frequency of publication, and names and addresses for the publishers of each paper. Paper status is also included. Internet Public Library's list of India's contemporary newspapers exists to enable instant access to existing information resources. Among them in 2002 were 62 Indian newspapers that were available online.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF WELL KNOWN NEWSPAPERS.

Since Indian newspapers started in the 18th century, many papers have fallen by the way side and many journalists during the earlier years had to enjoy the hospitality of one or the other of His Majestys innumerable prisons. Despite these earlier handicaps, Indian newspapers have flourished and are flourishing and, let us hope will go on flourishing for ever. The earliest newspapers that are still going strong and are the brightest newspapers of the country are The Hindu of Chennai and The Amrit Bazar Patrika of Kolkata. The late C. Subramania Iyer was one of the greatest editors India has produced. He founded The Hindu of Madras and edited it for many years. After Subramania Iyer left The Hindu, the late Parameswaran Pillai and the late Dewan Bahadur C. Karunakara Menon in succession edited that paper, and both were brilliant journalists. If The Hindu has been more or less of an institution in the benighted presidency, The Amrit Bazar Patrika holds an analogous position in Bengal. The editor late Babu Motilal Ghosh was not only a brilliant journalist and writer, but also an inspired editor. One short pithy sentence of his could damage his opponents more than whole leading articles of others. He would talk in parables; and by so doing, would do more deadly execution in the enemys camp than all his colleagues put together. His memory would also come to assistance wonderfully. Among the victims was no less a man than Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India. He once in his convocation address to the students of the Calcutta University, spoke of truth as a western virtue, and more than hinted that the Orientals like the Cretans, were liars, and that they were given to flattery and other heinous sins. What a satire, indeed! Such was Babu Motilal Ghosh. He was the Patrikas second editor, having succeeded his elder brother, Babu Sisir Kumar Ghosh, in that office. It was originally published in Bengali, but to escape the consequences of the Vernacular Press Act, was changed overnight into an English paper, which was certainly a stupendous achievement. In Allahabad, Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha founded the Indian People in 1903; it was later on incorporated with the Leader, which began its existence in 1909, owing to the efforts principally, of that revered son of India, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. In Lahore there was the Tribune, which Sardar Singh Majithiya started way back in the eighties of the nineteenth century. One of its ablest editors was the Late Mr. N. Gupta, who went over to Lahore from Allahabad where he was Joint Editor of the Leader, with the Late Sir (then Mr.) C.Y. Chintamani. A later editor of the Tribune,

Kali Nath Roy, was also a journalist of the first rank. The Pioneer of Lucknow and the Civil & Military Gazette of Lahore had, at one time, the distinction of encouraging the budding genius of that Imperial laureate, that bard of the banjo, that master of the drum-and-trumpet history, Rudyard Kipling. The former, for long, was more or less a Government organ; whatever is published was regarded as having come straight from the horses mouth, as it were. The mention of the Times of India of Bombay and the Statesman and the Englishman of Calcutta are a must. The first-named was originally called the Bombay Times. When Robert Knight purchased it he rechristened it the Times of India. Shortly after purchasing it he left the western Presidency to instal himself in Calcutta, where he bought the Statesman. He conducted it in unexceptionable style and it was then really the Friend of India. During those days there was the Englishman, also a beautifully-written paper, which ceased upon the midnight with no pain in 1920. The men who were really responsible for putting the Times of India on the journalistic map were the Lovat Fraser and Sir Stanley Reed, the latter of whom retired from its editorship. The Statesman had Sir Alfred Watson as its editor for some time; he had been connected with the old Westminster Gazette of London and had served under the late Mr. J.A. Spender. The association of Sir Alfred with that great Liberal journalist seemed to augur well for future of the Statesman, but events belied that pious hope. He cannot now be distinguished from a true-blue Tory. In due course he left the country, and was succeeded by Mr. Arthur Moore; during his tenure the Statesman again became more or less a pro-Indian paper, and remained such even under Mr. Ian Stephens, who had taken over Mr. Moores duties. When Delhi became the seat of the Government of India the Statesman started publishing a Delhi edition; as a journalistic venture this was unique in India. The Times of Indias nationalist outlook on Indian affairs dates from the days of Sir Stanley Reed whose editorship shed great lustre on the paper. Times of India has always been very ably edited since the Second World War when editorials became a class by themselves. Its weekly, Letters from London were also of very high standard. It had the distinction of being the first newspaper in the country to have an Indian war correspondent.

GROWTH OF ENGLISH PRESS. It was not until James Augustus Hicky dared to start his Bengal Gazette (also called Hickys Gazette) in 1780 that the age of English Press dawned in the country. England had already had a taste of the Spectator papers of Addison and Steele, and of lesser known periodicals as well, and learnt about the power of the periodical essayists, to laugh to scorn the manners and mores of society, and those in high places. Five newspapers made their appearance in Bengal in six-years time - all started by Englishmen. Some of these newspapers received government patronage. The Madras Courier and the Bombay Herald (which later merged with the Bombay Courier) were than launched in the two cities. They were subservient to the government, and therefore flourished. The total circulation of all these weeklies was not more than

2,000; yet, the government issued Press Regulations (1799) making the publication of the name of the printer, editor and proprietor obligatory. The regulations also ordered these to declare themselves to the Secretary of the Government; and to submit all material for prior examination to the same authority. Pre-censorship was to dog the Indian journalist for many years to come. In 1876 the Vernacular Press Act was promulgated. During the next two decades, many English language newspapers like The Times of India, the Pioneer, the Madras Mail, and the Amrit Bazar Patrika came into existence all except the last edited by Englishmen, and serving the interests of English educated readers. The English Press played down the inaugural meeting of the Indian National Congress on December, 28, 1885 in Bombay. World War I introduced severe press laws. Annie Besants New India became the mouthpiece of Home Rule advocates, ably supported by the Bombay Chronicle (edited by Benjamin Horniman). The swadeshi movement was supported by yet another English language daily called The Hindu Published from Madras. Meanwhile, the Free Press of India, which began as a news agency, started The Indian Express in Madras and the Free Press Journal in Bombay.

GROWTH OF VERNACULAR PRESS.

The pioneers of vernacular press were the Serampore Missionaries with Samachar Darpan and other Bengali periodicals, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy with his Persian newspaper Miratool Akbar. The object of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the social reformer, in starting the paper was to lay before the public such articles of intelligence as may increase their experience, and tend to their social improvement, and to indicate the rulers a knowledge of the real situation of their subjects, and make the subjects acquainted with the established laws and customs of their rules. Roy ceased publishing his paper later in protest against the Governments Press Regulations. The first regional language newspaper in Bombay was the Gujarati daily Mumbai Samachar published in 1822 by Fardoonjee Marzban. And remarkably Mumbai Samachar is still going strong being regularly published even today as Indias oldest newspaper. It was almost a decade before daily vernacular papers like Mombai Vartaman (1830), the Jan-e-Jamshed (1831), and the Bombay Darpan (1850), began publication. In the south, a Tamil and a Telegu newspaper was established with the aid of a government grant, and in the North West Provinces, a Hindi and an Urdu periodical started off under the governments patronage. The Bengali press with as many as nine newspapers in 1839 had a circulation of around 200 copies each, even as the British press with 26 newspapers (sis of them dailies) grew in strength and power, under the liberal rule of Lord Metcalfe, and later of Lord Auckland. Meanwhile the first Marathi daily to be published was Dig-Dursan. The first issue of Dig-Dursan came out in 1837. While Mumbai Samachar was the first regional language newspaper in Bombay, Sangbad Kaumudi, a Bengali newspaper was the first regional language newspaper to be published from India. These regional language newspapers were all targeted towards educating the Indian masses on social issues, hence it was not a surprise that all of the pioneering Indian regional language newspapers concentrated on various social issues. It was only in the year 1851 when Dadabhai Naoroji founded the first political newspaper named Rast Goftar that regional newspapers began to fuel the freedom movement. Interestingly, when K. N. Kabraji took over as the publisher of the paper, he stopped all political commentary. This led to much distress on the part of Naoroji who accused Kabraji from deviating from the original agenda of the paper.

In 1878 the Government of India passed the Censorship Act. Four years later, in 1882, the newspaper Kaiser-i-Hind was founded by Framjee Cowasjee Mehta. This became a platform for the Congress since its inception in 1885.

THE ROLE OF NEWSPAPERS IN THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE. At the time of the first war of independence, any number of papers were in operation in the country. Many of these like Bangadoot of Ram Mohan Roy, Rastiguftar of Dadabhai Naoroji and Gyaneneshun advocated social reforms and thus helped arouse national awakening. At was in 1857 itself that Payam-e-Azadi started publication in Hindi and Urdu, calling upon the people to fight against the British. The paper was soon confiscated and anyone found with a copy of the paper was persecuted for sedition. Again, the first Hindi daily, Samachar Sudhavarashan, and two newspapers in Urdu and Persian respectively, Doorbeen and Sultan-ul-Akhar, faced trial in 1957 for having published a Firman by Bahadur Shah Zafar, urging the people to drive the British out if India. This was followed by the notorious Gagging Act of Lord Canning, under which restrictions were imposed on the newspapers and periodicals. Notable Role In the struggle against the British, some newspapers played a very notable role. This included the Hindi Patriot! Established in 1853, by the author and playwright, Grish Chandra Ghosh, it became popular under the editorship of Harish Chandra Mukherjee. In 1861, the paper published a play, Neel Darpan and launched a movement against the British, urging the people to stop cultivating the crop for the white traders. This resulted in the formation of a Neel Commission. Later, the paper was taken over by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The paper strongly opposed the Governments excesses and demanded that Indians be appointed to top government posts. The Indian Mirror was the other contemporary of this paper which was very popular among the reading public.

Yet another weekly, Amrita Bazar Patrika which was being published from Jessore, was critical of the government, with the result that its proprietors faced trial and conviction. In 1871, the Patrika moved to Calcutta and another Act was passed to suppress it and other native journals. Marathi Press Mahadev Govind Rande, a leading leader of Maharashtra, used to write in Gyan Prakash as well as the Indu Prakash. Both these journals helped awaken the conscience of the downtrodden masses. Another Marathi weekly, Kesari was started by Tilak from January 1, 1881. He alongwith Agarkar and Chiplunkar started another weekly journal, Mratha in English. The Editor of the Daccan Star Nam Joshi also joined them and his paper was incorporated with Maratha. Tilak and Agarkar were convicted for writings against the British and the Diwan of Kolhapur. Tilaks Kesari became one of the leading media to propagate the message of freedom movement. It also made the anti-partition movement of Bengal a national issue. In 1908, Tilak opposed the Sedition ordinance. He was later exiled from the country for six years. Hindi edition of Kesari was started from Nagpur and Banaras. Press and the First Session of Congress: The Editors commanded a very high reputation at the time of the birth of the Indian National Congress. One could measure the extent of this respect from the fact that those who occupied the frontline seats in the first ever Congress session held in Bombay in December 1885 included some of the editors of Indian newspapers. The first ever resolution at this Session was proposed by the editor of The Hindu, G. Subramanya Iyer. In this resolution, it was demanded that the government should appoint a committee to enquire into the functioning of Indian administration. The second resolution was also moved by a journalist from Poona, Chiplunkar in which the Congress was urged to demand for the abolition of India Council which ruled the country from Britain. The third resolution was supported by Dadabhai Naoroji who was a noted journalist of his time. The fourth resolution was proposed by Dadabhai Naoroji. There were many Congress Presidents who had either been the editors or had started

the publication of one or the other newspapers. In this context, particular mention may be made of Ferozeshah Mehta who had started the Bombay Chronicle and Pandit Madan Malaviya who edited daily, Hindustan. He also helped the publication of leader from Allahabad. Moti Lal Nehru was the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of the leader. Lala Lajpat Rai inspired the publication of three journals, the Punjabi, Bandematram and the People from Lahore. During his stay in South Africa, Gandhiji has brought out Indian Opinion and after settling in India, he started the publication of Young India; Navjeevan, Harijan, Harijan Sevak and Harijan Bandhu. Subash Chandra Bose and C. R. Das were not journalists but they acquired the papers like Forward and Advance which later attained national status. Jawaharlal Nehru founded the National Herald. Revolutionary Movement and the Press So far as the revolutionary movement is concerned, it did not begin with guns and bombs but it started with the publication of newspapers. The first to be mentioned in this context is Yugantar publication of which was started by Barindra Kumar Ghosh who edited it also. When the Ghadar party was organized in America, Lala Hardayal started publication of the journal Ghadar. Within one year, millions of copies of this journal were published in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and English and sent to India and to all parts of the world where Indians were residing. In the beginning the copies of the journal were concealed in parcels of foreign cloth sent to Delhi. It was also planned to smuggle the printing press into India for this purpose. But then the war broke out and it became almost impossible to import printing machinery from abroad. Lala Hardayal was attested in America and deported to India. One of his followers Pandit Ramchandra started publishing Hindustan Ghadar in English. With the U.S. joining the war, the Ghadar party workers were arrested by the American Government. When the trail was on, one of the rivals of Pandit Ramchandra managed to obtain a gun and shoot him dead in the jail itself. The death of Ramchandra led to the closure of this paper. In 1905 Shyamji Krishna Verma started publication of a journal Indian Sociologist from London. It used to publish reports of political activities taking place at the India House in London. In 1909 two printers of this journal were convicted. Shyamji Krishna Verma left England for Paris from where he started the publication of the

journal. Later on, he had to leave for Geneva. He continued to bring out the journal from there for two or three years more. In Paris, Lala Hardayal, in collaboration with Madam Cama and Sardar Singhraoji Rana brought our Vandematram and Talwar. After Yugantar, it was Vandematram that played a significant role in the freedom struggle. This journal was established by Subodha Chandra Malik, C. R. Das and Bipin Chandra Pal on August 6, 1906. its editor, Aurobindo Ghosh, the editor of Sandhya B. Upadhyay and editor of Yugantar B.N.Dutt had to a face a trial for espousing the cause of freedom. So far as the Hindi papers were concerned, they looked to government for support for some time. Bhartendu Harish Chandra was the first to start a journal Kavi Vachan Sudha in 1868. its policy was to give vent to the miseries of the people of India. When the Prince of Wales visited India, a poem was published in his honour. The British authorities were given to understand that the poem could also mean that the Prince of Wales should get a shoe-beating. The government aid to journals like Kavi Vachan Sudha was stopped for publishing what was objectionable from the government point of view. Bhartendu Harish Chandra resigned from his post of an honorary Magistrate. His two friends, Pratap Narain Mishra and Bal Krishna started publication of two important political journals Two friends, Pratap Narain Mishra and Bal Krishna Bhatt started publication of two important political journals Pradeep from Allahabad, and Brahman from Kanpur. The Pradeep was ordered to be closed down in 1910 for espousing the cause of freedom. The Bharat-Mitra was a famous Hindi journal of Calcutta which started its publication on May 17, 1878 as a fortnightly. It contributed a lot in propagating the cause of freedom movement. The journal exposed the British conspiracy to usurp Kashmir. Several other papers published from Calcutta which played an important role in freedom struggle included Ambika Prasad Vajpayees Swantrantra, Ramanand Chatterjees Modern Review in English, Pravasi Patra in Bengali and Vishal Bharat in Hindi. One of the foremost Hindi journalist who has earned a name for his patriotism was

Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi. In 1913, he brought out weekly Pratap from Kanpur. He made the supreme sacrifice in 1931 in the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity. Krishna Dutt Paliwal brought out Sainik from Agra which became a staunch propagator of nationalism in Western U.P. The noted Congress leader, Swami Sharadhanand, started the publication of Hindi journal Vir Arjun and Urdu journal Tej. After the assassination of Swami Sharadhanand, Vidyavachaspathi and Lala Deshbandhu Gupta continued the publication of these journals. They were themselves prominent Congress leaders. In Lahore, Mahashaya Khushal Chand brought out Milap and Mahashaya Krishna started publishing Urdu journals which helped a lot in promoting the national cause. In 1881, Sardar Dayal Singh Majitha on the advice of Surendra Nath Bannerjee brought out Tribune under the editorship of Sheetala Kant Chatterjee. Bipin Chandra Pal also edited this paper for sometime. Later in 1917, Kalinath Rai joined the paper as its editor. There is not a single province in India which did not produce a journal of newspaper to uphold the cause of freedom struggle A. G. Horniman made the Bombay chronicle a powerful instrument to promote militant nationalism. He himself took part in the meetings where Satyagraha used to be planned. He published vivid accounts of Jallianwala Bagh carnage for which one correspondent of his paper, Goverdhan Das, was sentenced to three years imprisonment by a military court. Horniman too was arrested and deported to London even though he was ill at that time. Amritlal Shet brought out the Gujarati Journal Janmabhumi which was an organ of the people of the princely states of Kathiawad, but it became a mouthpiece of national struggle. Similarly another Gujarati journal Saanjvartman played a prominent role under the editorship of Sanwal Das Gandhi, who played a very significant role in the Quit India Movement in 1942. It was soon after independent formed a parallel Government in Junagarh and forced the Nawab of Junagarh to leave the country. The three editors of the Sindhi journal Hindi Jairam Das Daulatram, Dr. Choithram Gidwani and Hiranand Karamchand, were arrested, their press closed and the property of the paper confiscated. In Bihar the tradition of national newspapers was carried forward by Sachidanand Sinha, who had started the publication of Searchlight under the editorship of Murtimanohar Sinha. Dev Brat Shastri started publication of Nav Shakti and

Rashtra Vani. The weekly yogi and the Hunkar also contributed very much to the general awakening

Facts and figures about the Indian Media : Print Media 1. The total number of registered newspapers, as on 31 March 2003: 55,780. 2. The number of new newspapers registered during 1.1.2002 -31.3.2003: 3820. 3. Percentage of growth of registered publications over the previous year: 7.35%. 4. The number of newspapers reported published(submitted Annual Statement): 7156 5. The total circulation of newspapers: 14,20,05,543 6. The percentage of growth of circulation over the previous year: 23.21% 7. The largest number of newspapers & periodicals registered in any Indian language: Hindi (22,067). 8. The largest number of newspapers & periodicals reported published (submitted Annual Statement) in any Indian language: Hindi (3,410). 9. The second largest number of newspapers & periodicals registered in any language: English (8,141). 10. The second largest number of newspapers & periodicals reported published (submitted Annual Statement) in any language: English (750). 11. The State with the largest number of registered newspapers: Uttar Pradesh (9,071). 12. The State reported to be publishing (submitted Annual Statement) the largest number of newspapers: Uttar Pradesh (1,578).

13. The State with the second largest number of registered newspapers: Delhi (7,491). 14. The State reported to be publishing (submitted Annual Statement) the second largest number of newspapers: Delhi (817). 15. The largest circulated Daily: The Hindustan Times, English, Delhi [Printed from 8 centers] (11,12,160 copies) 16. The Second largest circulated Daily: The Hindu, English, Chennai [Printed from eleven centres] (9,22,407 copies) 17. The third largest circulated Daily: The Times of India, English, Delhi (8,20,289 copies). 18. The largest circulated multi-edition Daily: Dainik Bhaskar, (18 editions), Hindi (17,17,294 copies). 19. The second largest circulated multi-edition Daily: The Times of India (Eight editions), English, (13,94,646 copies). 20. The largest circulated periodical: Saras Salil, (Fortnightly) Hindi, Delhi (10,49,362). Electronic Media: India is the third largest television market in the world with more than 112 million television households that comprise 60 per cent of the total households in the country. At present, the country has more than 350 channels. Leading channels have already framed strategies to launch around 50 channels over the next few years. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers - FICCI survey, the television entertainment industry is likely to touch Rs.51, 900 crore by 2011.The entertainment and media industry, which is pegged at Rs.43, 700 crore, is likely to grow at a compounded annual rate of 18% over the next few years. Of this, television occupies over 40 percent market share at Rs.19,120 crore and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22 per cent to cross Rs.51,900 crore by 2011 with a 51 per cent market share in the overall entertainment and media pie.

NEWS INTRODUCTION: In common parlance, news is what is new. News is what everyone wants to know about. A newspaper offices main concern is to gather news and report news-local, state, regional, national, and international. The basic understanding about news is essential for any editorial work in a newspaper, news agency and news magazine. DEFINITION OF NEWS: There are several definitions of news. News may be defined as anything timely that interests a large number of people and the best news is that which has the greatest interest in greatest number of persons. In other words, news is the timely report of

events, facts and opinions and interests a significant number of persons. News is a piece of information about significant and recent events that affect the audience and is of great interest to them. By the above definitions one can understand the basic essence of news but not a concrete definition. This is because news is an abstract concept whose shape changes as the interests of humans change. (Reporting and Writing News, 1983). News is relative in nature. It changes with the changes in other factors related to it the definition of news is dependent on: 1. size of the community(readers). 2. the periodicity of the publication(weekly, monthly etc). 3. the social character and economic base of the community. 4. the focus of attention or emphasis of the community (e.g. a provincial city s municipality election will be of no interest to the readers of Delhi or Mumbai). John B. Bogart, city editor of New York, SUN defines news like this, when a dog bites a man its not news but when a man bites a dog it is news. He pointed out very correctly that unusual events fall under the purview of news. Another famous editor of the Sun, defined news as everything that occurs, everything which is of significance importance to arrest and absorbs the attention of the public or of any considerable part of it. Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of New York world defined news as original, distinctive , dramatic, romantic, thrilling, unique, curious, quaint, humorous, odd and apt to be talked about. The founder of the first school of journalism, Walter William defined news as, in its broadest sense, that which interests the readers and public. The salient features of news are: 1. perishable- when the event is understood and the tension is eased off, then news gets less informative and becomes history. 2. news is of interest to large number of people. 3. news is unusual events and happenings. 4. news is new to people.

HARD NEWS AND SOFT NEWS: Hard news is mostly event centric. It is the narration of an event. Hard news items

are centered on who , what, when, why, when and how. It does not dig beneath the upper crust of the layer. It is informative but does not lead to interpretations. Major thrust of the newspaper is hard news. Soft news on the other hand is becoming a very important segment of newspapers. Mere reporting of events does not satisfy the readers. They would like to enter beneath the upper crust of the hard news. They want reasons, backgrounders, interpretations, & analysis. This is called soft news. INGREDIENTS OF NEWS: 1. Timeliness: news must be timely and new. It will not arouse interest if it is already known, or brought to notice long after its occurrence. 2. Nearness and proximity: people are more interested in what happens under their nose in their village, city, country rather than some distant land. Similarly they are more interested in what has direct impact on them. E.g. the news that the price of rise may rise will make them sit up more than a report that the govt subsidy on fertilizers has been withdrawn. 3. Conflict: people gather in a street when there is a fight or a conflict. Conflicts of all kinds make a good story. 4. Prominence: what happens to important people makes news. The value of news increases with the prominence of the person/persons involved. former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi s assassination made world headlines but a murder of the village panchayat head will not arouse interest in people living in the city and will be carried only in the local newspaper. 5. Government action plan: the passing of a new law or other orders concerning general public, cabinet meetings, parliament and assembly sessions, notification about rules and regulations are news worthy. 6. Development projects and issues: this is not news about government action activities, though sometimes it will also qualify to be covered. The invention of high yield variety rice and its success in changing the life style is of interest to people. 7. Human interest stories: people are interested in knowing what s happening to other people and about their lives. If a woman gives birth to quadruplets in a village, the story will interest everybody. In addition, oddities, humour, tragedy, triumph over handicap, motivational stories, bravery etc all make good human interest story. 8. Weather and sports: both weather and sports generate a lot of interest in people and thus make important stories. Arrival of monsoons or cyclones is a front page story. An entire page or two is dedicated to sports.

9. Follow up: the news items become very interesting for people when followed up and updated timely. It is important to remember that follow up stories keep the reader s interest alive in the issue.

FUNDAMENTAL QUALITIES OF NEWS: 1. Accuracy: accuracy is basic to any news item. When you fail in accuracy, you lose credibility. Cross check all your facts and figures. Check figures, names and facts. People usually get offended by misspelled names. If you are paraphrasing a speech from a text given to you, make sure you do not change the meaning or quote statements out of context. Exclude rumour and gossip from your report.the reporting should be truthful. 1. Balance: to be balanced in reporting is as important as being accurate. If you are writing about a controversy then make sure you are not biased. Give both sides of the story. While reporting a strike, for instance, give claim of the authorities and the workers on how far it is successful. A story may appear imbalanced and thus biased if much importance is given to the government s point of view or the workers. 2. Objectivity: you should not mix your opinion in the story. Report only facts. You should be a disinterested observer, reporting an event without taking sides. 3. Clarity: a story maybe best in verbiage. Your introductory statement should be brief and simple. It should be relevant to the topic and should be in active voice to the maximum extent possible. The ideal length of the para should be about 4-5 lines containing small sentences to facilitate easy understanding. The news report should be written in the inverted pyramid style. 4. Impact: whenever you do a news report, consider the impact your story will create: Will it induce some changes for the better or will it incite people negatively?

News reporting From being nothing more than a channel of diffusion of information, to being an allencompassing amalgamation of media that touches practically every aspect of our day-to-day life, journalism has indeed come a very long way. Gone are the days when the sole purpose of journalism was transmission of data to its audience: today, a journalist must also know how to educate, influence, and also entertain, if the reader and readership are to be retained. In todays dog-eats-dog world, it is but natural for every media house to aspire for the highest level of reader interest, and in the process, sensationalisation and hyping up of news have become commonplace. At the same time, every journalist tries to present his news piece that will make the reader want to stay put in his place, and want to know what comes next. It is this very fundamental concept of Journalism that is at the heart of what is commonly known as the 5 Ws and 1 H in journalism terminology. The writing of a news story has to be such that 3 basic points are taken care of: The readers questions must be answered straightaway. The reader must have the liberty to choose what and how much he wants to read. The reader must be able find out what has happened even if he does not have the time or the inclination to go through the entire article. The above points clearly highlight the basic tenets that a journalist has to keep in

mind while framing a story, and accordingly, the article should be one that shall not only provide the basic information required at the very first go, it shall also be so constructed that after having procured the information that he desired, the reader is free to make a move at any point of time. Therefore, it is considered imperative to try and answer as many of the readers questions as possible in the first paragraph itself. This is known as the lead of the story. The lead of the story is its most pertinent part, since it provides an insight into what is coming up, and tells the reader what to expect. It is also that section that provides a basic outline of the entire story, and should therefore have the capacity to satiate the readers initial curiosity. This is why the need to apply the concept of the 5 Ws and 1 H arises. The 5 Ws and the 1 H are the following: Who (did it?) What (happened/took place?) When (did it take place?) Where (did it take place?) Why (did it take place?) How (did it take place?) Let us take an example: Eton College is to become the first top public school in Britain to appoint an imam to help pupils gain an understanding of Islamic culture and thought. Here, the questions are answered thus: WHO: Eton College WHAT: is going to become the first at appointing an imam WHEN: by the end of the termWHERE: in Britain WHY: to help students gain a better understanding of Islamic culture and thought. HOW: by appointing him as faculty. The above example illustrates how it is possible to answer the 5-6 most crucial questions at the very beginning in order to sustain interest, by framing the lead paragraph appropriately. It should be remembered that every story has one key idea. This should be introduced first in the article, and the answers to the abovementioned 5 Ws and 1 H should follow immediately. It is to be remembered though that it is not obligatory to answer each and every one of these questions in the first paragraph itself, as it might lead to clutter. In such circumstances, the ideal would be

to answer the most pivotal 2-3 questions in the lead, only to be followed up immediately in the next paragraph with the remaining answers. In any news article, the news is revealed thrice: in the headline, then in the lead, and finally in the body of the article. The above statement makes it very clear that the reader has three different options as to how he wishes to imbibe the story, and at the end, he indeed takes it in three times. This is makes it all the more important to write the news feature that will enable the reader to quickly glance through whatever he feels is important, and easily omit the rest. The inverted pyramid style of writing serves precisely the same purpose. It is very easy to understand the logic behind the inverted pyramid structure: in terms of information, it is top-heavy. This is so that the readers curiosity can be satiated right away. This style of writing ensures that the information dissemination happens efficiently in the beginning itself. It also has another major advantage: it separates the truly interested readers from the ones who are just taking a cursory glance. So those that are reading the piece just to have an aerial view of what happened can afford to move on after the lead, as almost everything important has been revealed by then. And if the reader is one who wishes to know the whole story, he can conveniently continue reading beyond the lead. There is another major advantage too: if the news piece is to be altered in the editing room, then it is all the more easy for the editor to cut the story off from the tail-end: it may not be possible to chop in a similar way, a story that presents facts in increasing order of importance, or even maintains neutrality of importance. It is estimated that almost 95% of the worlds stories can be written in the inverted pyramid style. This makes it very easy for the news writer to keep all types of readers happy.

LEADS AND INTROS: Most news stories are told in a logical order. This means that the most important fact appears in the lead, regardless of its place in the time sequence involved. Thereafter, the facts are arranged more or less in order of descending importance. Editors prefer stories using logical organization because they take fewer words and therefore less space and they are more easily trimmed when space is limited. Further, logical organization best serves the busy reader: it tells what he most wants to know right at the beginning. Logical organization consists of two main parts: lead (also referred to as intros) and body. The lead makes the point, and the body supports it with solid, factual and concrete information. Since getting attention is the first step, editors put a premium on striking leads. Any device that will make the reader look twice direct address, a colourful quotation, a question or even a verse is considered legitimate as long as it doesnt misrepresent the facts, violate the tone, or distort the overall meaning of the story. The lead, or intro, establishes the point, the thrust, the basis and the essence of the news or feature at the beginning. In short, the first few sentences in any article or report are critical. Each one must be provocative and compel the reader to continue reading. Without such a hook, or "lead," one risks losing your reader. DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEADS AND INTROS: Informative leads: These leads provide information in a nutshell by addressing the 5Ws and 1H. Question leads: These leads use the first sentence of an article to answer one of the "w" questions in journalism, who, what, when, where and why. Another question is how, and question leads can use this too. Basically you use the lead to answer one question to make the reader wonder the answers to the rest. Summary leads: This kind of lead is mostly used in news stories because of the fact that news stories need to be concise, to the point and put the most information into the least amount of words. That's why with summary leads you summarize the entire

article in the lead, or in other words, put the most important piece of information into the first sentence and go from there. Blind leads: This is a lead where you start off the article by summarizing but leaving out one essential detail, this is done to catch the interest of the reader. As journalists you want people to read and be interested in your work, and in feature writing especially confusing the reader in the beginning is sometimes a very good way to catch their interest. Right after a blind lead you have to clarify the missing piece of info though. Narrative leads: These leads are another feature type that actually takes you into the mind of the main person in an article. Narrative leads tell a story from a person's specific perspective; it's the most classic and in some instances most effective way to start out a feature. Pick a person and start your article out with their story and tie it into the main point. Quote leads: This is a lead where you start off the article with a quote that expresses the idea you want to get across well. In some newsrooms quote leads are banned because finding the perfect quote for an article is a very challenging task that most newspapers do not have the time for. Articles are written fast and frequently, and finding a good lead is essential and needs to be done very quickly. Feature leads: These leads are a vital part of newspaper writing. The feature lead permits you to take a mundane straight news piece and transform it into a story that captures the interest and empathy of the readers. Feature leads must fit the mood of the story. If you intend to set a particular mood or point of view in a story, your intent or tone should be set at the beginning of the story. Authoritative lead: This is a lead where the reporter acts like an authority and incorporates an instructive tone in the lead. Humorous lead: These leads grip the readers attention by invoking humour. Anecdote lead: These leads are commonly used in features. In such leads, a short narrative or case history is picked for its attention getting quality and its ability to humanize the story. It aptly illustrates the general situation. Direct Address Lead: A question or a sentence is addressed to the reader as if the writer were directly talking to him to encourage him to read and react to the whole article. Incident Lead: This lead cites an incident to introduce the topic of the article. The incident may be real or fictitious, unlike the news summary lead which should be factual. Descriptive Lead: This type of lead uses vivid description to hook the reader to finish

the article. This type is best used for travelogues and personality sketches. Staccato Lead: This type uses a series of phrases or sentences that produce a rhythm. It is another dramatic way of introducing the topic of the feature article. Do: Be specific and concrete, give a picture. Convey energy and action. Donts: Too much secondary detail Abstract and general language Vagueness ARCHIVES: It is the place where public records or historical documents are saved. A person who works in archives is called an archivist. The study and practice of organizing, preserving, and providing access to information and materials in archives is called archival sciences . Archivists tend to prefer the term 'archives' (with an S) as the correct terminology to serve as both the singular and plural, since 'archive,' as a noun or a verb, has meanings related to computer science. TYPES OF ARCHIVES: 1. Academic Archives 2. Government Archives 3. Business(Paid) Archives 4. Church Archives 5. Historical or library Archives 6. Non profit or Community Archives MORGUES: Its a collection of reference works and files of reference material in a newspaper or news periodical office. CAPTION WRITING, DATELINES AND BY LINES CAPTION: A caption is description given of pictures, cartoons, maps and diagrams published in a newspaper. There are certain essentials which should be followed while captioning pictures. Looking at a picture without a caption is like watching television with the sound

turned off. The photograph should attract the attention of the reader and introduce the story, but only a good caption can continue that story and fill in the details which are not apparent in the picture. One should not state the obvious. Use specifics rather than generalities. A man of 70 is better than an old man. 1. Do not editorialize. 2. Do not tell the obvious. 3. Use specifics rather than generalities. 4. Omit phrases like the above picture shows 5. Caption in the present tense enhances the immediacy of the picture. 6. Accuracy should always be kept in mind. 7. The caption should depict the picture and not the event; otherwise the reader would be confused. DATELINE: The dateline conveys the date and place from where a news story is sent. Though newspaper styles differ, it is generally mentioned right after the headline and before.