UNIT I

OVERVIEW I: PRINT, RADIO, TELEVISION AND

ADVERTISING

SYLLABUS:
Beginning of printing in India: early origins of newspapers in India, Birth of the
Indian news Ad agencies. A brief overview of Print Newspapers advertisement
and magazines (The Times of India -Hindustan Times -The Hindu -The Indian
Express -The Tribune -Statesman -India Today, Outlook, Frontline).
 1. BEGINNING OF PRINTING IN INDIA: EARLY ORIGINS
OF NEWSPAPER IN INDIA

The emergence of the Printing Press in India

The first Indian printing press was established in 1556 at St. Pauls College in
Goa. Father Gasper Caleza mentioned in a letter to St. Ignatius of Loyola dated
April 30, 1556, that a ship carrying a printing press would travel from Portugal
to Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) to boost missionary activity in Abyssinia.
Due to certain conditions, it was forbidden for this printing press to leave India.
As a result, Joao De Bustamante initiated printing activities in Goa in 1556. A
professional printer and his Indian assistant were dispatched to follow the
printing press and begin operating it. The first printed publications in India were
not books but theses called Conclusoes, which were loose sheets presenting
disputed issues among people in St. Pauls College priesthood training.

Printing of Indian Script

Joao Gonsalves is credited with creating the first Indian Script-Tamil printing.
He was another Spaniard who contributed significantly to the development of
printing in India. Tamil: Doctrina Chrstam, Tampiran Vanakkam was the first
Indian language printed in 1558 on paper imported from China; it was a 1539
Portuguese translation of the Catechism (the first Tamil book in Romanized
Tamil script was printed in Lisbon in 1554.)
On October 20, 1578, the Jesuit Father printed Kerala’s first Indian language
book. In 1602, the Jesuits constructed a Chaldean (Syriac) printing press in
Vaipincota, near Cochin. Goa continues to utilize Latin-styled Konkani letters.
In different linguistic regions, Konkani has been written using similar scripts.
The Portuguese appear to have viewed the Roman script in Goa as more
advantageous for their political rule and colony surveillance.

According to reports, Portuguese printers deemed the Konkani alphabet to have

an & “uncouth shape” and the Kannada characters to be & “cumbersome”
Thomas Stephen, a Jesuit from England, came to Goa in 1579. He is
accountable for the expansion of Konkani literature. Purana Christda (Kristu
Purana - Life of Christ) was written in the Marathi language and is regarded as a
Marathi classic.
It was fashioned after the Hindu epic Ramayana (Amazon). This was the first
book published in 1616 by the Rachol Seminary Press.
Jardim de Pastores by Miguel de Almaida, printed in Goa between 1658 and
1659, was an important Konkani book. During the 17th century, over forty
publications on religious topics were written in Goa in Portuguese. PJ Thomas
said significant printing in Tamil and Malayalam was conducted at Ambalakad
after 1663. In 1670, the Ambalakad press was printing Padre De Nobili’s works.
Padri Paulino stated that Ejnasi Aichamoni, a Malayalee who prepared a
Malayalam lexicon for printing in 1679, printed the dictionary and made all
previous attempts to print it.
There is evidence that the first publication of a Malayali script book occurred in
the second half of the same century. The Ambalakad press operated before
Tipu Sultan’s takeover of Kerala. The church and seminary were destroyed in
the attack.
It wasn’t until Bartholomeus Zegenbel, a Danish missionary, came to
Tharangambari in 1706 that printing in India had a chance to flourish again. A
printing press arrived in 1712 or 1713, and Tranquebar Press issued its first
publication.
At Zegenbalg’s request, the first Tamil publication from the press was
meticulously documented in 1713, followed by the New Testament in 1714.

Early Origins of Newspaper in India:

Today the newspaper in India is a proud institution of our society. While
working as a vehicle of persuasion its basic function is to provide info-edu-
entertainment. It can be defined as a printed means of conveying current
information. This article deals with the history of Newspaper, how it has
evolved from past till now, what impact it paved in the society etc. History of
Newspaper in India
 - The first newspaper in India was published on 29 January, 1780 by James
Augustus Hicky under the British Raj and its name was ‘The Bengal
Gazette’. It was also called as ‘Calcutta General Advertiser’ and people
simply remember it as ‘Hicky’s Gazette.
- This period was marked by strict government control and censorship. If
some newspapers print any news against the government, then the strict
punishment was given.

Golden Era of newspaper in India

- Therefore, in the late 18th and early 19th century, no reputed journalist or
newspaper emerged. Then some merchants of Calcutta in 1811 started
‘Calcutta Chronicle’ and the editor was James Silk Buckingham. He had
introduced a new approach to Journalism in India. He initiated clear
journalistic practices and covered the problems of local people and their
lives. Even he had started a movement against the evil practice of ‘Sati’.

- 1878 – “The Hindu” was started in the English language, which was
mainly distributed in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

- In newspapers, many changes took place after Independence. Even the

working style of journalists changed. After independence, most of the
newspapers brought into the hands of Indians. News agency services
became available on a regular basis with the Press Trust of India which
was started in 1947. And also known as PTI.
- Now missionary phase of newspaper was replaced with a professional
approach. It started provided employment to the public and so, the newspaper
agency became profit-oriented.
- Various technological developments took place, it involved in a readership
battle, literacy level rises, interest to know what is happening in the surrounding
made grow newspaper.
- In India by 1970s newspapers acquired the status of an industry. In fact, the
Indian newspaper industry is one of the largest in the world. It has a long and
rich heritage. All through these years, the Indian newspaper industry has
evolved into a powerful force. It informs, entertains and also educates the
readers so that they can fully participate in the affairs of the state.

Role of Newspapers
- During the British rule Indian newspaper came into existence and played an
important role in the country’s freedom struggle. In fact, newspaper worked as
‘mouth pieces’ of the freedom struggle whether at the national and regional
level.
- Bal Gangadhar Tilak brought Kesari and Mahratta newspaper, Mahatma
Gandhi started Young India and Harijan. Jawaharlal Nehru started the National
Herald. 
- However, Indian newspapers are characterised by their overt emphasis on
politics and crime. But now, Indian newspapers have a lot of entertainment
content in their columns, with colour pages and new designs. Which states
Freedom of Press.
 2. BIRTH OF THE INDIAN NEWS AND AD AGENCY

Birth of Indian News Agency

Introduction:
News agency, also called press agency, press association, wire service, or
news service, organization that gathers, writes, and distributes news from
around a nation or the world to newspapers, periodicals, radio and television
broadcasters, government agencies, and other users. It does not generally
publish news itself but supplies news to its subscribers, who, by sharing costs,
obtain services they could not otherwise afford.
All the mass media depend upon the agencies for the bulk of the news, even
including those few that have extensive news-gathering resources of their own.

Work of News agency:

Traditionally a news agency provides services for newspapers and broadcasting
companies and has often been owned by them. Many of them operate
cooperatively and generate their news as a sort of wholesaler on the customer’s
behalf. Particularly in smaller countries there tends to be one national news
agency which dominates the market. The core values of news agencies are
reliability, speed, impartiality and independence.
News agencies differ from other organizations because of their nature as
wholesalers. The News agency distributes its stories and other materials to a
large number of customers who either publish the stories as they are or use them
as background or supplementary material for the newspapers, radio station,
websites, TV Channel etc. A news agency office is always buzzing with
activity, since it has to serve not only the print media within the country, but
also transmit news to All India Radio and Doordarshan. 

How is it different from a newspaper?

You may wonder how a news agency is different from a newspaper. Firstly, the
news agency does not publish any newspaper of its own. Whatever its reporters
write, is transmitted to the newspapers and radio and television stations. It is
then up to the newspaper to use the news item sent by one news agency or that
sent by another news agency, or use the report prepared by its own reporter. In
fact, at times, a newspaper may even prepare an item quoting some paragraphs
from one agency, and some from another agency.
Thus, there is a constant flow of news from the news agency 24 hours a day,
whereas a newspaper 'goes to sleep' (the printing press) after midnight every
night.  These newspapers, in turn, pay a monthly subscription to use news
agencies for the news they receive. There are two other significant differences.
Every news agency report has to be attributed to a source, unlike a newspaper
story. Furthermore, there will be no comments, editorializing or interpretation in
a news agency report and it will be purely a factual report. 

Birth of Indian News Agency: -

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomas Reuters. The agency was
established in London in 1851 by the German-born Paul Reuter. Representing
the interest of Reuters in India and the Far East, he set up his two roomed office
on Hornby Road in Bombay. The British agency had already worked in India,
then a British colony, since 1866. The establishment of electrical means of
communication on 23 June, 1870 but it was only 1885, when the emphasis
began to shift towards Indian news. 
Asked by representatives from Reuters, Keshab Chandra Roy, a journalist from
Calcutta was convinced to create a new agency, in 1905 named the Associated
Press of India (API), and obtained an exclusive mandate to syndicate the
services of the British agency and then consolidated it as the main Indian news
agency. As early, 1908, Roy saw the possibilities of starting a national news
agency. K C Roy finally gave up in 1919 his brave effort to run an Indian-
owned domestic news agency and Reuters became the sole supplier of foreign
and domestic news to the government and to the newspapers of India. The
London-based Eastern News Agency, owned by Reuters, merely used the name
Associated Press of India.
The Combination of Reuters and the Associated Press meant official control and
this became apparent in the early twenties with Gandhi’s Movement. In his
early, journalistic Career, Swaminathan Sadanand worked with Reuters (rather,
in subsidiary Associated Press of India) for a while and while working there his
desire to have an independent Indian News agency was born. He did find Free
Press of India in 1920 an Indian nationalist-supporting news agency during the
period of the British Raj. It was the first news agency owned and managed by
Indians. Sadanand planned its creation in 1923. 
In 1924 he approached congress with his idea and costings about the
independent news agency that will collect and disseminate news with accuracy
and impartiality from the Indian viewpoint, and the news agency was actually
established in 1925. Due to the trouble by doubting business decisions and his
newspaper's securities were confiscated, Sadanand had to close down his
agency in 1935. 
In 1945 FPI revived and aimed to provide international news to Indian press but
FPI angered Sardar Patel, The Home Minister, by circulating a news story that
revealed unauthorized details of military movements and thus its revival was
abandoned in 1947. 
 The run-up to Independence had also thrown up ideas of running India's own
national news agency as an objective disseminator of information about a
resurgent nation, freed of the foreign yoke. API was to be registered as a private
limited company, wholly owned by Reuters, in 1945.
After two years of consultations and planning among senior journalists,
newspaper proprietors and national leaders like Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel,
free India’s first national news agency, the Press Trust of India, was
incorporated in Madras on August 27, 1947. 
However, PTI became a junior member of Reuters which retained its monopoly
of distributing international news to Indian newspapers.” PTI, registered in
1947, took over news operations from API from February 1, 1949. 
In 1953 PTI emerged as a free agent and is one of the oldest and largest news
agencies in India.   

Other News Agencies in India: - 

-         United News Agency (UNI): this is sponsored by eight national dailies.
It has correspondents in more than 200 cities and towns and branch offices. It
collaborates with foreign news agencies such as in USA, Germany, Italy etc., It
has started Weekly Background Service, Agricultural Service, Economic News
Service to cater to the special needs of newspapers periodicals and other
subscribers.
-         Hindustan Samachar
This is the first multilingual news agency of India.
As early as 1948 Hindustan Samachar was set up by S.S. Apte, the first news
agency as a private limited company. The objectives were to educate the masses
to take part in national development and strive for national integration through
the promotion of Indian languages. Its unique structural feature was that it was
cooperative of those who worked for the agency which rendered it free of
government interference as well as control by the newspaper proprietors and
supplied news to over 135 subscribers in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi,
Urdu, Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Telugu and Malayalam.
The agency survives even now in its four regional offices at Bhubaneswar,
Ahmedabad, Jalandhar and Patna, where the news of a local or regional
significance is supplied by handwritten messages in the respective languages-
Oriya, Gujarati, Punjabi and Hindi.
-         Samachar Bharati
 It mainly serves the Indian language press.
The agency, named Samachar Bharati, was registered under the Companies Act
in 1962. It, however, took another five years before the agency began its
operations from January 1, 1967. Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha, took
active interest in getting it going and bore the initial expenditure.
Samachar Bharati suffered from the same defect as its rival, Hindustan
Samachar, in that it had spread itself far and wide without developing the
capacity to pay its own way. Several newspapers were nevertheless among its
subscribers and the agency provided services in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil,
Kannada and Urdu, besides AIR both in Delhi and at the regional centres.
Samachar Bharati even had arrangements for exchange of news with the
American UPI to bring world news to its newspaper clients as it strove to
provide a complete service to them. Its newsmen also monitored some foreign
broadcasting stations and filled the gap of news from neighbouring countries.
By 1979 it had reactivated its entire old bureau and opened several new ones
and had more than 100 subscribers. The agency found that a fourth of the
subscribers were exclusively dependent on it for news flow. It operates in 10
Indian languages- Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam,
Urdu, Bengali, Oriya and Punjabi.
State of News Agencies when India Attained Independence: -
When India attained its independence from British rule on August 15, 1947,
some vestiges of the British remained behind. The news agencies operating in
the country at that time were either foreign agencies with offices in India or
British-owned Indian agencies. The foreign agencies operating in India then,
which are still reporting from India, include Reuter (1851), the United Press
International (1928), the Agence France Presse (1835) etc. The Associated Press
came sometime later. In addition, there were India-based news agencies like the
United Press of India and the Associated Press of India, both of which had
owners who were only too willing to leave the country for their homeland at the
time of Independence. They soon began winding up operations. 
In the three decades prior to independence of India, the Reuters news agency
and its affiliates, such as the Associated Press of India (API), Eastern News
Agency and Indian News Agency Service, had more or less complete control of
newswire services in India. They supplied news services to the Government of
the British Raj in that country, as well as from India to the international media,
and vice versa.  
 3. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PRINT, NEWSPAPERS,
ADVERTISEMENT AND MAGAZINES

PRINT MEDIA
Print media is one of the oldest and basic forms of mass communication. It
includes newspapers, weeklies, magazines, monthlies and other forms of printed
journals. A basic understanding of the print media is essential in the study of
mass communication. The contribution of print media in providing information
and transfer of knowledge is remarkable. Even after the advent of electronic
media, the print media has not lost its charm or relevance. Print media has the
advantage of making a longer impact on the minds of the reader, with more in-
depth reporting and analysis.
History of Print Media
In ancient Rome, Acta diurna were published prior to 59 BC (as early as 131
BC). These were daily gazettes, or news sheets, created by the government that
contained information for the public: political news, military campaigns, trials,
and executions.
There was a time when people used to write on palm leaves. This was before the
discovery of paper. Some of the old manuscripts written on palm leaves are
preserved in our National Manuscript Library in Delhi. 
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 of 684 AD. It is now exhibited in a calligraphy museum in Tokyo, the
capital of Japan. The first printed book published in China was the Buddhist
text, the “Diamond Sutra” by Wang Chick in 868 AD. Some copies of the
Buddhist scriptures printed in 1377 are preserved in museums in China.
Can you imagine a world without paper? Nowadays paper has become an
integral part of our life. We read papers in the morning, write on notebooks
made of paper, send letters on paper, use paper boxes to carry things and so on
and so forth. Though the Egyptians made paper by 3500 BC, it came to Europe
only by the 11th century. The first paper mill in Europe was set up in Spain in
1120. 
Block printing came to Europe by 1300. It is believed that Johannes Gutenberg
of Germany had developed printing technology around 1439. Gutenberg also
invented an oil-based ink for printing. He printed the Bible in 1450. It was in
the Latin language and had 1282 pages. He used movable printing blocks for the
book.
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 Portuguese
language in Old Goa. It was Doctrina Christa by St. Francis Xavier.
The invention of printing has revolutionised mass communication. Books are
printed in large numbers and circulated in many countries. No other invention
has had such an influence in the history of mankind. 
Conclusion
Media is a good way for the transmission of news and information. Functions of
print media are information transmission, entertainment, doing advertising and
persuasive. Nowadays, internet has become a basic need for mostly people. Due
to technology changing day by day, we are not only collecting data from the
internet, we also are shopping through internet. Internet provides many
advantages towards varies industry. I seem that print media is suitable for
education and the internet is suitable for business and entertainment to transmit
information.

NEWSPAPER
While the newspaper industry is dwindling worldwide, the phenomenon has yet
to catch up in India where print media continues to dominate the market
alongside television and digital media. Print newspapers in India have been
seeing a significant surge in revenue, making it the largest global market for the
industry. From a little over 200 dailies published in the post-independence
India, to over a 100,000 registered newspapers and periodicals as of 2021, the
print media in India has matured to its full capacity.

A spurt in literacy rates along with a renewed focus on regional language

publications have been the main drivers of this growth anomaly. However,
another lesser-known fact is that Indian newspapers are primarily made from
recycled newsprint, while also being aided by government subsidies. This
makes newspapers in the country far more affordable when compared to other
parts of the world. Additionally, the credit also goes to the socio-culturally
embedded routine of having newspapers delivered to the doorstep every
morning amongst a large section of the society.
The first newspaper in the country was started in 1780 by the British and was
known as Hicky’s Bengal Gazette. This gave an impetus to establish other
newspapers that covered the tidings of the British Raj along with local news.
Notably, the oldest continuously published newspaper in the country is the
Bombay Samachar and was established in 1822.

The most popular daily in the country is Dainik Jagran that is published in

Hindi. Among English speaking Indians, The Times of India had the highest
average readership in 2019. Regional publications which are read avidly include
Malayalam Manorama, Daily Thanthi in Tamil, Eenadu in Telugu and Lokmat
in Marathi amongst many others.

As the younger population is increasingly embracing news on their screens, it

cannot be denied that some of the print sector has taken a hit in the country
compared to its growth trajectory from a few years ago. Moving on, the
challenge for India’s newsprint industry is to be able to retain their audiences
through digital platforms, while still maintaining enough advertising and
subscription revenue to continue the print editions.
 
International News Coverage in Four Indian Newspapers
In a modern society flooded with a vast range of media, newspapers provide a
variety of information to readers and help them in making informed choices.
Different types and categories of news events occurring at local, regional,
national and international levels, selected on the basis of news values and
newsworthiness form the core of a newspaper. International news bringing
events from beyond national boundaries is a good indicator of the emphasis a
newspaper places on global issues. The selection, placement and treatment
accorded to international news, in addition to information dissemination,
indicate the priorities and approach of a newspaper. In view of globalization, it
becomes even more important that international news be given adequate space
and projection in newspaper columns so that it contributes towards international
goodwill and peace and helps in the understanding of cross-cultural relations.
An overview of the Indian press will help to appreciate the projection of
international news in the Indian press and situate it in a larger context.
MAGAZINE
We are all familiar with magazines. Growing up, we all had a favourite
magazine whose next edition we eagerly awaited. Magazine literally means a
collection or a storage space. So, the name comes from the fact that a magazine
is a collection of written articles. These articles depend on what the magazine
has to offer to its readers. There is a wide variety of categories under which
magazines are published and each of these categories have their own set of
users. 

History of the rise of two magazines

The history of journalism and publishing is characterised by a close interplay of
technical innovation and social change, each promoting the other. Journalism
and publishing, as known today, depend on a series of several major inventions
– writing, paper, printing and investigative writing and well-researched
writings, besides one crucial social development — the spread of literacy in
urban as well as rural areas of our country. Basically, the magazine is a by-
product of the newspaper. It is a compilation of various items written by
different authors on the subjects like politics, social, sports, entertainment,
comments on current affairs, book reviews, etc.
The word magazine first appeared in 1731 with the occurrence of
the Gentleman’s Magazine. The word, magazine, derived from the Arabic word,
meaning ‘warehouse’, was used to describe the place which deposits large
quantities of various goods, while the analogy used to describe a book that
contained many useful information for the travellers and sailors.
The first publication which can be called a magazine was the German
‘Erbauliche Monaths Unteretungene’, launched in 1663. It was a literary and
philosophical publication, and after its release, several other periodicals with
similar content and topics, mostly targeted for an intellectual audience, were
published.
Initially, the magazine started as potpourri of various prime news items about
social, political or economic news covered in the newspapers, besides literary
and creative works like poetry, prose or reviews of prominent literary books.
Such magazines were issued after a week or alternate week after such items
were published first in the then newspapers.
The reception of success of the magazine was great but the cost of every issue
was higher than the previous issue. Printing cost was higher vis-à-vis
newspapers and the number of printed copies could not be more than couple of
thousand, because it was technically impossible to squeeze a larger amount of
paper through the machine at one go. Distribution was also a big problem
because it was difficult to move large number of magazines at great distances.
In the beginning, the thematic scope of a magazine was very narrow; it was
mainly written by one author. A publication similar to modern, rather I should
say today’s magazine – different themes and several authors – appeared in 1672
when a French author by the name of Jean Donneau Vize created de Mercure
Gallant. It had a variety of content covering current events, theatre, literature
and even sports. The concept of this magazine was copied by most of European
countries. Surprising enough, first woman’s magazine was released in London
by the name The Lady’s Mercury. It was published for only four weeks in 1693.
The first issue of the periodical was issued on 27 February 1693 by its founder,
publisher, editor John Dunton. All these publications in the initial years were
called periodicals.
 
Magazines in India
During early 16th century Christian missionaries brought printing presses to
India for publishing evangelical materials and literature besides the Bible. All
these activities were focused to assist conversion and evangelisation. This was
the beginning of mass printed materials for people’s consumption.
James Augustus Hicky, a British citizen, was responsible for the first newspaper
in India. Its first issue was released on 29 January 1780 in Calcutta, bearing the
name Bengal Gazette. It was a weekly newspaper published in English and
addressed exclusively to the large group of British residents in Calcutta. It was a
two-page newspaper and the size of the paper was 12x8-inches inches carrying
all the classified advertisements on front page and the content of the paper on
the other side. James Augustus Hicky was the founder, editor, printer, publisher
and promoter. But this so-called newspaper never carried any news items about
Indians.
Here, it should be pointed out that journalists or the newsman was always
hounded by the ruling class (as it is happening currently). So, Warren Hasting
finally took action against Hicky for defamation in 1781. Hicky was convicted
and sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs 2,000.
But Bengal Gazette continued to appear regularly while Hicky was in prison.
Hicky continued to lampoon Warren Hasting and in return, he was suppressed
and harassed by Warren Hasting by very mean methods like raiding and
confiscating his type faces and printing materials. This was the beginning of the
unceremonious end of India’s first newspaper. Finally, the seizure of the
printing press was a severe blow to the already hurt editor and Hicky died in
obscurity. Some say Hicky was the first creator of yellow journalism in India.
After the premature demise of Bengal Gazette, yet another Calcutta based
Britisher, Sir James Silk Buckingham assumed the charge of editorship
of Calcutta Journal in 1818 and the first issue of Calcutta Journal, much
talked-about in social circles, was launched on 2 October 1818. It was an eight-
page bi-weekly with a price tag of Re 1. Its content included political,
commercial, social and literary news and views. Calcutta Journal was in reality
the beginning of a news magazine sort of publication in our country. This
publication was entirely different from Hicky’s Bengal Gazette which mostly
carried gossip, scandals and scurrilous writings.
 
Language magazines
Pundit Jugal Kishore Shukla started the first newspaper-cum-magazine in India
in Hindi language and named it Udant Martanda and its first copy was launched
on 30 May 1826 in Calcutta. The paper was in Khari Boli and Brij Bhasha
dialects of Hindi. Only with 500 copies, the issue sold like hot cakes.
A serious and concentrated beginning of Hindi newspaper and periodical
publishing efforts goes back to Bhartendu Harishchandra’s efforts in the years
1850-1865 by publishing his own writings with a social message of mass
appeal. Several other Hindi writers followed his writings. A reputed publication
during that period was Saraswati, a monthly magazine published from
Allahabad by Chintamani Ghosh, on his owned printing press named Indian
Press, Allahabad. He handed over the command of editing of Saraswati to a
great litterateur Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi (1903-1920) and it led to the
flourishing of modern Hindi prose and poetry, especially in Khari Boli dialect.
This was followed by Gita Press, Gorakhpur publication Kalyan, which was
mostly dedicated to religious preaching and analytical articles about Hindu
scriptures. The Indian freedom movement gave a big boost to Hindi publishing
with scores of Hindi newspapers and periodicals being fielded to reach the
masses.
Maulavi Mohmmed Baqir in 1836 founded the first Urdu language newspaper-
cum-magazine by the name Delhi Urdu Akhbar.
 
Changes over the years
In the Western world, things were moving faster vis-à-vis India because of
technology being at their disposal. Great Britain closely followed continental
Europe’s lead in producing magazines during the early 18th century, resulting in
three major influential magazines The Review by Daniel Defoe; The Tatler by
Sir Richard Steele, and The Spectator by Joseph Addison. All the three
publications were published either daily or several times a week. They were
supplied as frequently as newspapers but the content was very close to that of
magazines.
The first American magazine which appeared on the scene was American
Magazine in 1741 and was published by Andrew Bradford. This publication
was followed by a new publication General Magazine by Benjamin Franklin.
Neither of these magazines did last long. The first one ceased publishing after
three months and the second one just after six months of its inception.
The first really successful magazine in the United States was the Saturday
Evening Post. This weekly magazine first hit the newsstands by 1821 with very
wide circulation until 1969. Saturday Evening Post featured famous artists and
authors. The popularity of those writers contributed to the continuing success of
the magazine. Yet another mass magazine was Youth’s Companion. Then there
were exclusive news magazines like Time and Newsweek.   
 
Rise of Indian magazines
On the home front, Indian journalism scene kept on marching ahead with the
slow spread of literacy in early 19th and late 18th century. By this time several
English and regional language newspapers had taken roots in the minds of the
educated class of people and the need for more reading materials was
needed. Illustrated Weekly was launched by Bennett and Coleman Group under
the flagship Times of India in 1923, which ceased publication in 1993. Its first
copy appeared on the scene way back in 1880 by the name of ‘Times of India
Weekly’. Illustrated Weekly was considered to be an important English
language publication in the country for more than a century. This publication
was edited by many illustrious editors. But the most popular was Khushwant
Singh. It is well-known that he gave a big boost not just to the Weekly but to all
magazine journalism in India.
New Delhi-based Delhi Press gave a real and new twist to Hindi magazine
journalism by starting a cost-effective Hindi household magazine by the
name Sarita in 1945, immediately after its English magazine Caravan, which
was launched in 1940. What made Delhi Press group stand out was its capacity
to publish popular consumer magazines for women and children,
besides Caravan, Alive and Sarita, for more than 76 years. The group has
always maintained affordable cover price of the magazine while using cost-
effective technology to produce them.
 
ADVERTISING
India’s advertising industry plays an important role, like in other world markets,
in shaping sentiments towards products and services in the minds of its
consumers. The brand recall for several companies over the decades has hung
solely on the balance of their advertisements. From the “utterly, butterly
delicious” Amul cartoon girl, to Vodafone’s Zoozoos, and being a Complan
boy/girl, among numerous other tag lines that are synonymous with specific
consumables, it comes as no surprise that the country has one of the most
successful ad markets in the world.

India has one of the fastest-growing advertising industries, recording just under

750 billion Indian rupees in revenues in 2021, indicating a speedy recovery
since the pandemic. A high share of television ownership across the country
made it the leading source of revenues for ads, having long overtaken
print. Television in India remains the booming source for ads among traditional
media – thanks mostly to a sustained love for daily soaps, reality shows,
movies, and cricket in particular.

Digital advertising in India has seen tremendous growth in recent years.

Propelled by the Digital India initiative and the rapid adoption of smartphones
with the availability of cheap data, mobile ads made up the largest share within
this segment. Other catalysts included the decreasing urban-rural gap, enabling
a more homogenous reach of all online content. Social media made up the
highest share in terms of format for ads in this category, followed by paid
search. With the highest levels of online video consumption among digital users
in the country, the outlook for growth remained optimistic.

Despite digital media overtaking print in terms of advertising revenue, the latter
continued to retain an integral position for ads even with one of the slowest
growth rates. This was probably also complemented by the continuing morning
routine of reading newspapers along with the first cup of chai in many
households. However, the surge in production costs coupled with the
digitization of several publications predict a rocky future for the country's
massive print industry. Among other traditional segments, radio advertising has
also witnessed a dwindling share in ad expenditure. Meanwhile, this
segment's ad revenue trajectory indicates a painstakingly slow
recovery amounting to just over 20 billion Indian rupees by 2024.

The fast-moving consumer goods market contributed the most in terms of ad

spends in India. E-commerce recorded the highest growth rates compared to
other categories. Cricket seasons, specifically the Indian Premier League, make
for special competition between brands, putting forth their best and brightest
scripts and copies. Celebrity endorsements play a major role in all formats,
regardless of ad category or month of the year. Additionally, cultural festivals,
especially centered around the Diwali season lead to a surge in sales every year,
ensuring a wave of new ads. It remains to be seen, however, if and how much
the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will impact the market in the medium
and long term, affecting businesses and the market overall.
The Advent of the Industrial Revolution
 The industrial revolution resulted in a massive export of goods to colonial
India. Consequentially, British business houses drastically increased the number
of advertisements through print media. Prominent newspapers like ‘The
Statement’ and ‘The Times of India’ used their advertising departments to offer
facilities to ‘agents’ who functioned as space contractors, getting advertisements
on a commission basis.
 
Advertising at the beginning of the 20th century
Swadeshi Movement (1907-11) and the installation of the printing machine in
Calcutta (1907) were the two main events that were responsible for the
ascendancy of the Indian advertising agencies. In the next few years, all
newspapers installed the new machines that produced cost-effective newspapers
with a large national circulation.
Post-Independence Advertising
After 1957, the British owned agencies were acquired by Indian businesses.
This period saw a massive boom in the expansion and growth of the
advertisements in newspapers and other public dissemination forms. Ad
business took a giant leap with the introduction of multi-colour printing,
efficient and fast printing machines and the development of commercial art.
Advertising in the Technological Era
With the importance of Advertising playing a prominent role in consumerist
behaviour, it is shaping societal attitudes and influencing consumer behaviour.
Corporate organizations whose sole motive is profit are investing enormously in
marketing, research in consumer buying trends is prioritizing the training of
their employees in AMPR certification (Advertising Management and Public
Relations). Online advertising management & public relations programs are
being fostered by big business conglomerates with the aim to create goodwill
and faith in the consumers to ensure customer retention and brand loyalty.
 
The Indian advertising market size reached INR 667 billion in 2021. Looking
forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach INR 1,272 billion by 2027,
exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind
the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the
direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use
industries. These insights are included in the report as a major market
contributor.
Advertising refers to a marketing strategy that involves the paid promotion of
brands, products, and services to attract customers and increase sales of
companies. It includes roadside hoardings, websites, electronic and print
newsletters, product packaging, restaurant placemats, event bulletins, video and
image content on social media platforms, television (TV), sides of cars and
trucks, and subway car walls. It helps introduce a new product in the market,
supports salesmanship, offers more employment opportunities, and educates
business customers. It also enables companies to focus on the competitive
advantages of their products, the distinctive added value to customers, and
sustain the market competition. As a result, various organizations in India are
relying on innovative advertising solutions to reach targeted audiences, enhance
customer experience, and increase profitability.
Indian Advertising Market Trends:
Rapid urbanization and economic growth of India are encouraging businesses to
increase investments in aggressive marketing strategies, promotional activities,
innovative packaging solutions, and celebrity endorsements. In addition, the
rising focus of companies on improving customer retention and attracting new
buyers represents one of the key factors positively influencing the market. Apart
from this, the growing adoption of digital advertising solutions due to the
increasing penetration of high-speed internet connectivity in India is creating a
positive market outlook. This, along with the widespread utilization of
smartphones, laptops, and tablets facilitates the use of digital advertising. The
increasing reliance of individuals on social media platforms is also offering
numerous opportunities to companies to promote their services and products.
Shifting consumer preference toward online shopping and continuous
improvements in the e-commerce infrastructure are offering lucrative growth
opportunities to leading advertising industry players. Furthermore, the
expansion of media and entertainment channels and the advent of subscription-
based channel models are strengthening market growth. Additionally, the
emerging trend of advertisement through key sporting events, including the
Indian Premier League and sports expo in India, is offering a favourable market
outlook. Moreover, the rising spending of the Government of India (GoI) on
political advertising is propelling market growth.
 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

NEWSPAPERS:

1) TIMES OF INDIA (TOI):

The Times of India (TOI) is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and
digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-
largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest selling English-language
daily in the world. It is the oldest English-language newspaper in India, and the
second-oldest Indian newspaper still in circulation, with its first edition
published in 1838. It is nicknamed as "The Old Lady of Bori Bunder", and is an
Indian "Newspaper of Record".
Editions and Publications
TOI is published by the media group Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (B.C.C.L.).
The company, along with its other group of companies, known as The Times
Group, also publishes Ahmedabad Mirror, Bangalore Mirror, Mumbai Mirror,
Pune Mirror; Economic Times; ET Panache (Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore on
Monday to Friday) and ET Panache (Pune and Chennai on every Saturday);
Ei Samay Sangbadpatra, (a Bengali daily); Maharashtra Times, (a Marathi
daily); Navbharat Times, (a Hindi daily).

2) HINDUSTAN TIMES:
Hindustan Times is one of the largest circulated newspapers in India by
circulation figures and it is the second most widely read newspaper in the
country. Founded by Sunder Singh Lyallpuri, founder-father of the Akali
movement and the Shiromani Akali Dal in the Punjab Province. It played
integral roles in the Indian independence movement as a nationalist daily. The
newspaper is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It is the flagship publication of HT
Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family.
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Hindustan Times has a circulate
is the second-most widely read English newspaper. The second-most widely
read English newspaper is popular in North India, with simultaneous editions
from New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi and Chandigarh.
Today, HT Media Limited, or HTML, owns most of the HT group’s main media
businesses, including the English newspapers, radio channels, digital and
commercial printing businesses. This ownership is direct as well as indirect
through its subsidiaries.

3) THE HINDU:
The Hindu is an English-language, Indian Daily Newspaper owned by The
Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the Indian
newspapers of record and the second most circulated English-language
newspaper in India, after The Times of India. The Hindu was founded in
Madras on 20 September 1878 as a weekly newspaper. Started in order to
support the campaign of Sir.
In 1923, the Hindu became the first newspaper to acquire a rotary press. The
Hindu Offices were opened in London, Bombay and Calcutta in 1933. Then in
the year 1936, The Hindu illustrated, Sunday paper in broadsheet format is
launched. The Hindu uses modern facilities for news gathering, page
composition and printing. It is printed in seventeen centres including the Main
Edition at Chennai (Madras) where the Corporate Office is based. In all this
times, The Hindu can claim to be the most respected paper in India.

4) THE INDIAN EXPRESS:

Indian Express Limited is an Indian news media publishing company. It
publishes several widely circulated dailies, including The Indian Express and
The Financial Express in English, the Loksatta in Marathi and the Jansatta in
Hindi. The company's newspapers are published from over a dozen cities daily,
including New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune,
Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Vadodara and
Chennai. Its weekly entertainment magazine Screen, covering Indian film
industry, also has a popular following.

At a time when India was struggling for her freedom, oppression was rife and
the press virtually gagged, one voice dared to break the silence. Founded by
Shri Ramnath Goenka in 1932, The Indian Express gave India a voice of
opinion that was fearless and true.
From a single-edition paper in Madras (now Chennai) in 1932, The Indian
Express grew into a multiple-edition paper influencing thought and policy
across the country. Packed with a fair mix of news, knowledge and information,
The Indian Express hits the heart of the issue without any fear or favour. Reason
why they have been identified with credible and fiercely independent journalism
in India. Something we call ‘Journalism of Courage’.
A recipient of the prestigious IPI (in 2003, 2006 and 2009), Oberoi and
ICRISAT awards, The Indian Express is known to go the extra mile and give
voice to stories that otherwise go untold.
5) STATESMAN:
The Statesman is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper
founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in Kolkata, New Delhi, Siliguri
and Bhubaneswar. It incorporates and is directly descended from The Friend of
India, founded in 1818. It is owned by The Statesman Ltd and headquartered at
Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Kolkata, with its national editorial
office at Statesman House, Connaught Place, New Delhi. It is a member of the
Asia News Network.

The Statesman has an average weekday circulation of approximately 148,000,

and the Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000. This ranks it as one of
the leading English newspapers in West Bengal, India.
Editorial Style:
The Statesman is characterized by its terse reporting style. It holds a Centre-
Right position. It opposed the shifting of India's capital from Calcutta to New
Delhi in 1911, stating that "[he British have gone to the city of graveyards to be
buried there". It also strenuously opposed Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1975–
77. Under the editor Ian Stephens (who was editor from 1942 to 1951), the
newspaper published highly disturbing images, on 22 and 29 August 1943, of
the effects of the Bengal famine of 1943, despite the British colonial
government's attempts at censorship. The images played a major role in
changing world opinion on imperialism.

MAGAZINES:

1) INDIA TODAY:
India Today is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by
Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India,
with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, India Today launched a new
online opinion-orientated site called the DailyO.
India Today was established in 1975 by Vidya Vilas Purie (owner of Thompson
Press), with his daughter Madhu Trehan as its editor and his son Aroon Purie as
its publisher. At present, India Today is also published in Hindi, Tamil,
Malayalam and Telugu.
According to the Indian Readership Survey, the English language magazine
India Today was the leading Indian magazine from December 2019 to March
2020.
India Today Magazine is one of India's leading news and current affairs
magazine for more than a decade now with a total readership of 15.9 million.
"India Today" was the first Indian magazine available on the internet.
2) OUTLOOK:
Outlook was first issued in October 1995 with Vinod Mehta as the editor in
chief. It is owned by the Rajan Raheja Group. The publisher is Outlook
Publishing (India) Pvt. Ltd. It features contents from politics, sports, cinema,
and stories of broad interests. By December 2018, Outlook magazine’s
Facebook following had grown to over 12 lakh (1.2 million).
Journalist Vinod Mehta was the Founder Editor-in-Chief of Outlook Magazine.
He was associated with the group till 2012. A collection of Vinod Mehta’s
articles under the title ‘Mr Editor, How Close Are You to the PM?’ was
published in 2001.

3) FRONTLINE:
Frontline is a fortnightly English language magazine published by The Hindu
Group of publications headquartered in Chennai, India. Vaishna Roy is the
editor of the magazine. It is a news and views magazine that provides in-depth
coverage on various topics such as politics, world affairs, culture, science,
health, business and personalities. Frontline gives coverage to developmental
issues and issues related to the working classes, unorganized sectors, tribal
regions and other under-served regions in India. It excels in long-form
journalism. Its science coverage has won international acclaim. Frontline was
first published in December 1984. It was originally intended to be a newspaper
when it was started by the founders. The magazine has remained particularly
focussed on people’s concerns and has therefore refused to accept uncritically
the policies and programmes of successive governments. It has fought, and
supported the battles against social evils. Its fact-based, non-sensational stories
with a strong human-interest component have had an impact on decision-
making at regional and national levels.

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