EVOLUTION OF PRINT MEDIA

Buddhist Text of 1377

PRINT MEDIA has its origin traced

back to the invention of papers:

Tsai Lun,a Chinese official: attributed

with the invention of paper in A.D.105

The chinese are also accredited the

discovery of the art of printing

Pi,sheng invented the first movable

types

The Chinese were the first to invent

the art of printing. They made wooden
blocks to print letters. This was started
during the period of the Tang Dynasty
in 600 AD. The oldest known surviving
printed work in a woodblock is a
Buddhist scripture ‘Diamond sutra ‘of
684 AD. It is now exhibited in a
calligraphy museum
in Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
1276:Printing to reach Europe in the form of paper mill

Johann Gutenberg refined the method of printing books and pamphlets on his
Gutenberg press(movable cast type printing)

1470:Nicolas Jenson invented Roman type face for publication

1476:William Caxton set up the first printing press in England

Bible was printed –World’s first printed matter(Latin and each page 42 lines and hence
known as 42 line Bible
17th century:technical and administraive
improvements took place New era for type faces
and publication.
Newsbook:Europe /coranto :
London/Diurnals/gazettes
Printingtechnologies:Monotype/Linotype,lithograp
hy,rotary printing,offset printing

18th century :daily publication of newspapers

with miscellaneous content
Press regulations began to be imposed:licensing

March 11,1702:first daily newspaper appeared in

London and it was called Daily Courant.It was
produced by E.Mallet but it lasted only for a few
days.However it was revived by Samuel Buckley
who was conscious of the newspaper
standard.printing on a single sheet of paper with
reverse devoted to advertising ,he had not much
space to experiment in make up.
The 18th century also saw the emergence of
great writers like Robinson Crusoe,Jonathan
Swift,Defoe,Steele and Addison
.

PRINT MEDIA IN
INDIA

Printing technology came to India in

1556.

It was the Jesuit priests who

brought this technology to our country.

 The first book printed in India was in

Portugese language in Old Goa.

It was Doctrina Christa by St. Francis

Xavier
The first attempt to start a newspaper
was made in Calcutta in 1776 by
Mr.William Bolts,an ex-officer of the East
India Company

Bolts resigned owing to censure by the

court of Directors of the Company for
carrying on private trade beyond
company’s authority

He announced”in manuscript many

things to communicate which most
intimately concerned every
individual”This raised alarm in in the
official quarters.

He was directed to quit Bengal and

proceed to Madras and from there to
Europe
Hence the first attempt of journalistic
venture proved abortive
After Bolt,it was James Augustus Hickey who actually started the
Bengal Gazette/Calcutta General Advertiser on Jan.29,1780(1st )
The Bengal Gazette was a two sheet weekly which declared itself
as a weekly political and commercial paper open to all parties but
influenced by none
It printed items taken from the English np at home ,letters from
local readers and items of gossips and scandal of intrest to the
european community.He devoted a considerable space to
scurrilious attacks on private lives of the officials of the company
including the Governor-General Warren Hastings and The Chief
Justice Elijah Impey.
Hicky lampooned Hastings and called him Sir.F.Wronghead,The
great Moghul and quite simply the Dictator.He made him sing a
song the title of which was known then,war is my pleasure
Hicky was deprived of the previledge of circulating his newspapers
through the channel of the General Post Office
His fortunes began to decline further when a rival appeared in the
Indian Gazette in the same year.
Indian Gazette was a much better np with four pages,each 16
inches long with 3 columns and well printed.
When Hicky found his customers were deserting him,he attacked
first the Swedish Missionary,John Zachariah,whom he suspected of
supplying types to his rivalsand then the proprietors,peter Read and
John Zachariah sued Hickey for Libel
Hastings launced another action against Hicky in March 1782.As a
result,the types for printing the paper were seized and that was the
end of Hicky’s gazette.
The Bengal Gazette was the forerunner of many more
journals and newspapers which appeared in Calcutta, the
birth place of Journalism in India.

In 1780:publication of Indian Gazette by Messink and

Peter Read.It obtained the consent of the Governor –
General and was fortunate to get postal concessions .

The Calcutta Gazette, The Bengal Journal and a

monthly,The Oriental Magazine of Calcutta Amusement,
Calcutta Chronicle, The Madras Courier, The Hurkaru
,Madras Gazette, Indian Herald, Bombay Herald, Courier,
Bombay Gazette, Indian World, Bengal Harkaru were some
initial publications.

19th century newspapers saw the imposition of rigid

control on press and the publication of :
The Bengal Gazettte by Gangadhar Bhattacharjee:The
first Indian np to be published by an Indian.
The Sreerampore Missionaries started three journals –
The Dig-Durshan, a monthly magazine in Bengali,The
Samachar Durpan a weekly Bengali paper and Friend Of
India, a monthly periodical
19th century marked the appearance of 2 important
personalities:James Silk Buckingham and Raja
Rammohun Roy.

James Silk Buckingham : editor of the Calcutta

Chronicle (2nd Oct,1818)

Very commonly known as father of indian

journalism.
Calcutta Chronicle was an 8 paged publication
,which would be published twice a week.

He was a versatile editor and could bring in

fresh air to an atmosphere polluted by the
intrugue,scandal,and easy going life of the European
community

He introduced drawings ,local reports and letters to

the editors ventilating their grievances.

He gave prominence to news and views in Bengali

and Persian journals.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833) has been described
by Jawaharlal Nehru as a founder of the Indian Press.

By some ,he is referred to as “the first modern Indian”

His incursion into journalism was through the

Brahamanical Magazine published in English. This
magazine was to conteract the propaganda of the
missionaries

He founded :
1.The Sambad Kaumudi(Moon of Intelligence) in 1821 in
Calcutta.
2. Mirat Ul Akhbar(Mirror of News) in 1822 in persian
3. The Jami-jahan-Numa and the Shams-ul-akhbar
4. Three journals all connected with Ram Mohan Roy
,The Reformer, The Inquirer, and the Gyan Auneshun
Ram Mohan Roy’s campaign against sati gave a fillip to
language Journalism
The following era saw the advent of :

 Darokenath Tagore who started the Bengali Herald,

an English Weekly and Bangla Doot in Bengali.
He gave financial assistance to many newspapers like
The Englishmen .

Girish Chandra Ghosh who started of an english

weekly “The Hindu Patriot”in 1853.After two years the
paper had passed in the hands of Harish Chandra
Mukherjee who wrote fierceful articles on
Indigo Plantations. After Mukherjee death the patriot
passed into the hands of Social reformer ,Iswar
Chandra Vidyasagar who appointed Kristo Pal as its
editor

Manamohan Ghosh in 1871 started of the Indian

Mirror,an English fortnightly.

Keshub Chunder Sen started of another journal the

Sulab Samachar
With the growth in the number of newspapers in India, the next century saw the
imposition of several press regulations
1799 –first restriction on press was imposed by Marquis of Wellesley,who came to
India in 1798
1823 –Saw the imposition of Adam Act which made mandatory licensing
1835 –Imposition of Metcalfe act which spoke of submission of declaration.
1857 –Imposition of Gagging Act in the wake of Sepoye Mutiny which spoke of
reimposition of all the restrictions of Adam
1867 –Imposition of the PRB act which made mandatory publication
declaration,preservation and assigning responsibilities to the editor, printer and
proprietor
1878 –Imposition of the Vernacular Press Act by Lord
Lyton .The law was imposed only on the regional
newspapers of India and its clauses made it one of the
most unpopulous and controversial press law to be ever
imposed on Indian Press.

The clauses of it included:

1.Mandatory signing of bonds by the printers and

publishers declaring of no objectionable publication
failing which may result in confiscation of the press

2.The printers and publishers would not be allowed to

approach the court for help

3.Issuance of search warrants to enable govt. ofiicials to

search any newspaper premise

4.Deposition of Rs.10,000 while signing the bond

1881- the law was repealed by Lord Rippon

By the later half of the 19th century ,some
European owned newspapers known as the Anglo
Indian Papers dominated the scene viz.

1.The Englishmen:founded in 1821.It was bitterly

anti –indian in outlook and policy.J.O.Stockqueler
was its editor

2.The Statesman:Founded by Robert

Knight.1868:Bombay Statesman was established
and in 1875:Indian statesman was
founded.Introduced the concept of
features,articles and Sunday publications.

3.The Times of India:3rd November,1838 as the

Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce.Initially
it was a bi –weekly publication on every
Wednesday and Saturday.It became a daily
newspaper from 1850 and it was only in 1861 that
it was renamed as the Times of India after the
merger of the Bombay Times,The Standard and
The Telegraph.
The Madras Time: Founded in 1860 By Lawson and
Cornish

5.The Madras Mail:1868

6.The Civil and military gazette of Lahore:1872

Published in Lahore and later merged with papers
like Mofussiliten of Agra,The Lahore Chronicle ,The
Punjab Times and The Indian Public Opinion.
There was a clear demarcation observed between
the treatment in the native press and the anglo
Indian papers.

7.Pioneer of Allahabad:1865 by George Allen in

Allahabad.The pioneer mail was an important
supplement of the paper.
•20th century phenomenon :

Bal Gangadhar Tilak ,also known as the lion of

Maharashtra came up with important Publications
like:

1.Kesari :1881.It acted like a watchman and was

used to create overall awareness about social and
political issues in India

2.Maharata :1881.It was an English publication and

helped in creating authorative spokesperson.It
aimed towards publication of selected views and
opinions from leading foreign journals.

Both the newspapers marked impassioned writing

,lofty patriotism and courage of conviction.
Short,direct and powerful sentences with
historical examples made his write ups deep
penetrating and impactful .
In Bengal Surendranath Banerjee and Bipin Chandra Pal were the leading
protagonists .

Surendranath Banerjee’s important publications included the daily Bengalee which

acted as an important mouthpiece for all racial discriminations and other social
injustices born out to Bengalis

Bipin Chandra Pal’s important publication included Paridarshak,Bengali Public

Opinion,Lahore Tribune,Bande Mataram and New India
Mahatma Gandhi’s ascendency to Indian Journalism is the
golden era of Indian Journalism
Tremendous outburst in patriotic fervour and saw the highest
mass impact .All newspapers replicated and published all
publications of Gandhi.

Important newspapers of India:

a.Young India: 1919-1932 .Weekly English newspaper.it had a

circulation of 45,000.

b.Navjivan: gujrati weekly later also published in Hindi -12,000

circulation figure

c.Harijan (1933 -1948)in Gujrati(Harijan Bandhu),Harijan

Sevak(Hindi )

d.Indian Opinion (1903 -1914 –lasted for 11 yrs)while in South

Africa. –legal memoranda,reports,and remedies,historical
antecedents,righteous appeal,religious ideals from various
scriptures
Gandhiji laid down strict standards for
himself.No Advertisements were accepted.No
restrictions on the paper.Preaching peace and
goodwill.Conductors –voluntary workers .
The salary to be returned to the subscriber in
some or the other form or utilized for some
constructive public activity or other.Answered
back all the letters to the editor

His style would be Simple, Factual,

rational,Effective,Clear words and short
sentences with
no ambuigity or confusion,Wrote with his
soul,Compassion,humility,nobility and his
concern for the poorest of poor breathed
through his writings
It was under Gandhiji’s leadership that India
and the press in India gained it’s
independence
The second war of independence for Indian press in India had be
fought after the imposition of the Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi
on 25th june,1975.
The emergency lasted for 21 months till 21st March,1977

There was absolute censorship observed by the Press in India and had
brought absolute halt to democracy in India.
28 newspapers were put in banned list,accreditions of foreign
journalists cancelled,Indian correspondents were asked to vacate
official houses,no newspapers were allowed from outside,no
newspaper to criticize Indira Gandhi,Govt.advertisements were with
held ,independently working 4 news agencies were all coerced into one
called Samachar,newsprint supply began to be controlled through State
Trading Corporation.

Post liberalization era :saw the entry of FDI’s in Print.

FDI in Print media is as follows :
Scientific and Technical Journal -100%
Non News and Current Affairs Publication -74%
News and Current Affairs Publication -26%