MODULE - 2

Print Media Notes 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
Introduction to Print Media relevance. Print media has the advantage of
making a longer impact on the minds of the
reader, with more in-depth reporting and
analysis.

5
OBJECTIVES
After studying this lesson, you will be able to
INTRODUCTION TO do the following : ⌘ identify the different
PRINT MEDIA forms of print media;
⌘ discuss the history of early printing;
⌘ describe the evolution of newspapers in
India;
In the previous module, you have learnt about
⌘ differentiate between print and electronic
different forms of mass media. Print media, as
you know is one of them. Print media is one of journalism. 5.1 NEWSPAPERS
the oldest and basic forms of mass
Print media generally refers to newspapers.
communication. It includes newspapers,
Newspapers collect, edit and print news reports
weeklies, magazines, monthlies and other
and articles. There are newspapers published in
forms of printed journals.
the evening also. They are called eveningers.

48 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media engagements and forgot about the accident.
Only today morning you recalled that incident.
Why do people read newspapers ? They read You were curious to know more about it. You
newspapers for a variety of reasons. Let us wanted to know how many passengers were
killed or injured.
consider a few examples.
Where will you look for these details?
Yesterday while going to the city you might
have seen an accident. Two buses had collided In a newspaper, of course. So you would pick
and by the mere sight you could make out that up a newspaper and read all about the accident.
many passengers must have been killed or
injured. You were busy with your daily
Fig 5.1: News of a rail accident

Ramu and Ravi were planning to go for a

movie. Both got pocket money from their
parents and permission to go for a film. Ramu
asked Ravi whether he knows the names of
films playing in different theatres in the City.
Ravi was also not sure about it. So they picked
up a newspaper. The paper gave all the details
about films shown in different cinema halls in
the city.

Print Media Notes

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Print Media Notes Fig 5.2: Cinema theatre list

You must have seen such columns in the

newspaper. They appear under the title
‘entertainment’. So you look into the
newspaper for entertainment also.
Raju is a resident of Bhopal. He wanted to visit
Introduction to Print Media
his uncle in Delhi. As he was busy during the
weekdays, he was free only during weekends.
Before booking the tickets, he wanted to know
about the train timings. He used to see that the
local newspaper carries a column on train
timings. So he picked up that paper and
decided on the train in which he should reserve
a ticket.

50 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media
 ⌘ information
5.2 HISTORY OF PRINTING
Have you seen a palm leaf? 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.

Fig 5.3: Railway timings list

You must have seen such columns in
newpapers. They give you such information.
So you are reading the paper for information
also. Thus newspapers play a very important
role in our daily life. We read the newspaper
for : Fig 5.4: Old manuscript on palm leaves
⌘ news
⌘ entertainment Print Media Notes
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Print Media Notes Fig 5.5: Buddhist Text of 1377

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 note books made of paper, send letters on
paper, use paper boxes to carry things and so
on and so forth. You have learnt in an earlier
Introduction to Print Media
lesson how this paper is made.Though the
Egyptians made paper by 3500 BC, it came to
The Chinese were the first to invent the art of Europe only by the 11th century. The first paper
printing. They made wooden blocks to print mill in Europe was set up in Spain in 1120.
letters. This was started during the period of
the Tang Dynasty in 600 AD. The oldest Block printing came to Europe by 1300. It is
known surviving printed work in a woodblock believed that Johannes Gutenburg of Germany
is a Buddhist scripture of 684 AD. It is now had developed printing technology around
exhibited in a calligraphy museum in Tokyo, 1439. Gutenburg also invented an oil-based ink
the capital of Japan. for printing. He printed the Bible in 1450. It
was in the Latin language and had 1282
The first printed book published in China was pages .He used movable printing blocks for the
the Buddhist text, the “Diamond Sutra” by book.
Wang Chick in 868 AD. Some copies of the
Buddhist scriptures printed in 1377 are
preserved in museums in China.
52 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media

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.

Fig 5.6: Doctrina Christa

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. .....................................
2. Who invented the art of printing ? What did
they use for printing? 3 When and where was
INTEXT QUESTIONS 5.1
1. Write the names of any three national the first paper mill started?
dailies.
(i) ....................................................................... 5.3 THE FIRST NEWSPAPER
................................... Which was the first newspaper published in the
world? It is very difficult to point out a single
(ii) ...................................................................... newspaper as the first one. During the Maurya
.................................... period,

(iii) ..................................................................... Print Media Notes

MASS COMMUNICATION
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Print Media Notes The Gazette”.
But many such earlier newspapers could not
survive for long. The rulers were not happy
with these publications as some of them started
criticising their rule. So many papers were
forced to close down. In USA, a newspaper “
Introduction to Print Media The Public Occurances” lasted only for a day.
Similar was the fate of the “Daily Paper”
kings used to circulate news to the people as started by James Asher in UK.
proclamations. In ancient Rome, Acta Diurna, Newspapers underwent a lot of changes in their
or government announcements, were published form and content after that. In England , “The
regularly. They were inscribed in metal or Weekly News” was launched in 1622. The first
stone. These can be considered as the earliest newspaper in the modern concept was
form of newspapers. In China also, the published in Oxford in 1655 .It was the
government produced such news sheets called “Oxford Gazette”. The first newspaper to be
tipao. published from London was the Daily Courant.
Many researchers consider “The Peking It was edited by E. Mallet. In 1784, John
Gazette”, published from China, as the first Walter launched the “Daily Universal
newspaper. It was started in 618 .In the initial Register” from London which later adopted a
stages, this newspaper was hand written and new name “ The Times”. It is known to be one
distributed to the readers. Later it was printed of the greatest newspapers in the world.
and circulated. The Peking Gazette continued In USA, the first newspaper was “Public
its publication till the beginning of the Occurances”, which was launched in 1690.
twentieth century. Postmaster John Campbell started another
Newsletters circulated by rulers were the first paper in 1704, “The Boston Newsletter”. In
form of newspapers. In India, the East India 1783, “Pensilvania Evening Post” was started
Company circulated such newsletters. in USA that had all the features and content of
a modern newspaper. Later in 1851 came “The
According to the World Association of New York Times”.
Newspapers, the first newspaper in the modern
sense was published by Johann Carlous in Do you know which is the largest circulated
1605. The name of the paper is a bit long! “ newspaper in the world ? In which country is it
Relation aller Furnemmen und published? The largest circulated newspaper is
gedenckwandigen Historien”. In 1609, another the “Yomi Yuri Shimbun” published from
newspaper was started from Germany called “ Japan. It has a circulation of 1, 45, 57, 000
“File”. Yet another newspaper in the modern copies per day. The second and third largest
concept was published from Venice called “ circulated dailies in the world are also
published from Japan.

54 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media second and third largest circulated dailies.
Also find out the number of copies they sell.
Activity 5.1
5.4 NEWSPAPER PRINTING IN INDIA
Find out the names of the world’s
Do you know the old name of Kolkata City? It had two pages and later it was increased to four
is Calcutta. Did you know that Calcutta was pages. It’s size was 35 cms x 24 cms.
once the capital city of India? From 1774 to
1922 Calcutta was the Capital of India. The British East India Company did not
Calcutta has also many other firsts in the consider freedom of the press as good for
history of India. The first Railway Company society. They tried to suppress publication of
was started here.The first Metro Rail was also newspapers. Hickey was a very bold editor. He
in this City. The first Post and Telegraph office continued his criticism of British
and the first western style bank were also authorities .He published reports attacking the
opened in Calcutta. Our Supreme Court also East India Company officials. The British
began functioning from that city. authorities arrested Hickey many times.
Finally, they confiscated his paper and press in
All of you must have heard about Nobel Prizes. 1782 and stopped its publication. Hickey was
Calcutta city gave the country five Nobel asked to leave the country. He was sent back to
Laureates, Rabindranath Tagore, Sir C. V England. Copies of the Bengal Gazette are still
Raman, Mother Theresa, Ronald Rose and kept in the National Library in Kolkata and the
Amartya Sen. British Museum in London.

You will find it interesting to note that Calcutta Confiscation of a newspaper is a rare action
has one more first . It was from Calcutta that taken by the authorities if that paper publishes
the first newspaper was published from India. some news report or article that they think is
highly objectionable. Through confiscation,
It was a Britisher who started the first the government transfers the press and other
newspaper in our country. On January 29, 1780 materials of the publication to the treasury.
James Augustus Hickey launched the “Bengal Thereby, the office of the paper is sealed and
Gazette”. It has another title “Calcutta the publication stopped.
Advertiser”. It was popularly known as
“Hickey’s Gazette”. The first issue of the paper
Print Media Notes
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Introduction to Print Media
Print Media

Notes Fig 5.7

We have thus seen that Kolkata has a unique place in the history of Indian
newspaper publishing. But it is all the more interesting to note that the
second, third and fourth newspapers in the country were also launched
from this city.
Following in Hickey’s footsteps in 1780, the second newspaper was
launched from Calcutta “The Indian Gazette”. The “Calcutta Gazette”
which started publication in 1784 and the “Bengal Journal” which was
launched in 1785 were the third and fourth newspapers to come out from
Calcutta.
All these four earlier papers were published in the English language.
Slowly newspapers started coming out from other parts of the country also.
The “Madras Courier ” (1785) and “ Madras Gazette” (1795) were started
from Madras. From Mumbai, the “Mumbai Herald” was launched in 1789.
The press regulations and censorship imposed by the British stood in the
way of starting more newspapers in India. In 1818, Lord Hastings removed
the strict censorship measures for a milder set of policies. This led to the
emergence of many new newspapers, including many in Indian languages.
Raja Ram Mohan

56 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media

Roy who is known to have fought for the

freedom of the press edited a Persian weekly
called ‘Mirat-ul-Akhbar’.
The first language newspaper in India was
started in Kannada language, the “Kannada
Samachar”. But the publishers of this paper
were not Indians, but foreign missionaries. The
first Indian language newspaper published by
an Indian was also launched from Calcutta ,
“The Bengali Gazette” by Gangadhar
Bhattacharjee in 1816.

Fig 5.8: Mumbai Samachar

The Gujarati daily “Mumbai Samachar”

published from Mumbai is the oldest existing
newspaper not only in India but also in Asia. It
was established in 1822.

Activity 5.2
Collect the names of five early newspapers in
your state with year of starting.

Print Media Notes

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Print Media Notes newspapers were started in different parts of
the country. All this led to a boom in the
newspaper industry in India.

Some of the leading English newspapers were

also launched during this time. “The Times of
India” (1861) was started as a paper supporting
Introduction to Print Media
the British. Many of you might have heard
about “The Jungle Book”. The author of

“The Jungle Book” , Rudyard Kipling, started

“The Pioneer” in 1866 from Allahabad. “The
INTEXT QUESTIONS 5.2 Amrita Bazar Patrika”(1868), “The Statesman”
1. Which were the early newspapers in USA
(1875), “The Hindu” (1887) and “The
and UK ?
Tribune”( 1880) were also started during this
2. What is the importance of the city of period. “The Hindustan Times” was started
Kolkata in Indian newspaper history? 3. When later, in 1923. In the regional languages, some
papers that were launched during that period
was the Bengal Gazette launched? What was it
continue even now as leading papers like
otherwise called? “Malayala Manorama” (1888).

When Mahatma Gandhi returned to India, he

gave a great impetus to the freedom movement.
5.5 CULTURAL AWAKENING AND He was also a great editor. He took over
FREEDOM MOVEMENT “Young India”, the weekly started by the
Towards the end of the 19th century, many Home Rule Party in 1918. Gandhiji also
social reformers began actively campaigning launched another weekly, called the
for radical changes in Indian society. The “Navjeevan”, in Gujarati. Later, Gandhiji
reformation of Hinduism, the move for started the “Harijan” under the editorship of
abolition of sati and efforts to encourage Mahadev Desai. Gandhiji insisted that his
widow re marriage were some of the major papers will not carry any advertisements. But
reforms. Inspired by these great leaders, many all his publications had wide circulation among
readers.

58 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media
Fig 5.9

Fig 5.10

Print Media Notes

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Print Media Notes Fig 5.11: Navjeevan

Can you guess how many newspapers in India

have crossed 100 years of publication and are
still in circulation? There are 41 such
newspapers in the country and are called
centenarian newspapers. Among English
Introduction to Print Media dailies, four have crossed this mark: The Times
of India, The Hindu, The Tribune and The
Statesman. Among language newspapers,
Mumbai Samachar, Amrita Bazar Patrika,
Malayala Manorama and Deepika are among
the centenarians.
You will be learning more about language
newspapers in lesson 9. 5.6 ADVENT OF
MODERN TECHNOLOGY
Have you ever wondered how the pages of a
newspaper are printed ?

From the days of wooden block printing,

newspapers have undergone a sea change.
Technological revolution has modernised the
print media. For a long time, these were
produced by hand composing. Later, these
were replaced by monotype and linotype. In
this process, a machine operated by a key
board was used to compose letters. This has
also become obsolete now. Typesetting in
computers, offset printing and laser printing
have taken over. Desktop publishing has
become quite common now.

60 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media

LINOTYPE
LINOTYPE Fig 5.12: Monotype, Linotype
In earlier days, newspapers were printed only
in black and white. Colour printing was not
MONOTYPE
MONOTYPE
possible at that time. But now almost all the
newspapers print colour pages . Some papers Morning newspapers are generally broadsheets.
print colour only in supplements and special They are big in size. In India, all major
pages. Colour printing has made the pages look newspapers are broadsheets. Examples include
brighter and attractive. “The Times of India “and “Hindustan
Times”.Tabloids are only half the size of
broadsheets. In India most of the evening
papers are tabloids. Examples are “Mid-day”
INTEXT QUESTIONS 5.3 and “ Metro Now”.Presently some of the new
1. Name three English newspapers launched at morning papers have also adopted the tabloid
the end of 19th century in India. format.
2. Which is the oldest existing newspaper in
India?
3. Name two publications started by Gandhiji.

5.7 SIZE OF NEWSPAPERS

You may have noticed the fact that all

newspapers are not of the same size; some are
big, some small and some are very small.
Newspapers are classified into three categories Fig 5.13: Broadsheet
according to their size. They are broadsheets,
tabloids and Berliners or Midis.
Print Media Notes
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Print Media Notes Stampa are Midis. “ Mint ” is the name of a
Berliner published in India. In India, some
magazines print special booklets in this format.
Can you now tell the size of the newspaper that
you read every day ? Is it a broadsheet or a
tabloid?
Introduction to Print Media 5.8 INTERNET PAPERS AND EDITIONS
Have you seen an internet cafe? Nowadays
internet cafes are as common as STD /ISD
booths. If you have not visited an internet café,
please go and see what is happening there.
Internet is a computer based worldwide
interlink network. It has no country barriers. So
a person sitting in India can access an internet
site in USA through the computer network.
This has made revolutionary changes in
communication the world over.
Recently almost all newspapers have internet
editions. For example, the Hindustan Times or
Indian Express or Times of India can be read
on the internet through their net editions. Each
paper has a dotcom name for their site,
like www.hindustantimes.com or
www.times of india.com. While you
have to pay for buying a newspaper,
the internet edition of that newspaper is free of
charge and is accessible if you have a computer
and internet connection.
Activity 5.3
Collect names of five internet editions of
newspapers.
Some newspapers are published only on the
internet. These are called web newspapers. One
Fig 5.14: Tabloid
advantage of internet papers is that they are
Berliners or Midis are very small newspapers. available worldwide.
European papers such as La Monde and La

62 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media
 one which is published every three months.
These are also known as quarterlies. Then there
INTEXT QUESTIONS 5.4 are certain publications that come out only
1. Write the names of five broadsheet once a year which are called annuals.
newspapers.
“India Today” is a weekly, while “Champak”
2. Name three tabloid newspapers is a fortnightly. “Grihasobha” and “Vanitha”
are monthlies.
3. Name three internet newspaper sites.

5.9 OTHER FORMS OF PRINT MEDIA

Filmfare, Champak, Grihasobha,
Chandamama, India Today, The Week,
Outlook . Are these names familiar to you ?
They are also part of the print media. But they
are not newspapers. They are called magazines.
Can you tell the difference between
newspapers and magazines ?
Like newspapers, magazines and weeklies are
other forms of print media. They are published
at regular intervals.
How do you differentiate beween them? A
weekly is published once a week and a
monthly once a month. A fortnightly is Fig 5.15: Magazines
published once in two weeks. A bi-weekly is
published twice every week. A tri-monthly is
Print Media Notes
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Print Media Notes 3. In print media readers have Viewers cannot
go back and recheck the choice to go back and
what they have seen.
recheck. What they have read.
4. Print media provides more Less scope for
such long indepth scope for indepth analysis of
Introduction to Print Media analysis.
events.
5.10 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRINT 5. Print media does not provide Live
MEDIA discussions are possible. scope for a live
AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA discussion.
After the advent of printing nearly six centuries 6. Language is more literary Language used is
ago, the print media was the only form of mass spoken and more and flowery and reader –
communication. Then came the electronic viewer -friendly.
medium. Though both print and electronic friendly.
media deal with mass communication, there are
certain basic differences. 7. Frequent update of news Even a minute-to-
minute update is is not possible. possible.
Print Media Electronic Media
1. Literacy is a basic Even an illiterate person
5.11 LARGEST CIRCULATED DAILIES
can requirement for the print watch a news
bulletin and grasp media. Only a literate its India has a live and active print media. India is
contents though the written matter person can known for its vastness of area, diversity of
read it. on the screen cannot be read. culture and multiplicity of languages which are
2. Print media works There is no deadline for spoken and written. India has 28 states and
the electronic according to a deadline. media. seven union territories .Most of them have their
News can be updated Usually a morning paper own language. When India became
anytime. Independent in 1947, there were only 3533
newspapers and periodicals. Among them 330
carries news received
were newspapers and 3203 were other
upto the midnight of
publications.
the previous day.

64 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media monthlies and the rest are other publications.

After 50 years in 1997, their number has However, the newspaper circulation varies
increased 12 times. Every year new from year to year. Though some newspapers in
publications are coming up in almost all some languages continue to occupy the
languages in India. This has resulted in a position of largest circulation for years
manifold increase of newspapers , magazines together, it may not be the same in other states
and weeklies across all languages in the and languages. So even if the circulation
country. As of March 31, 2006 India has 62550 position of one particular year is given here it
publications. Among this 2130 are can vary in subsequent years.
newspapers,3428 are weeklies and 1471
You may be interested in knowing the latest 3. Name two fortnightlies published from our
circulation figures. For this, you may go country.
through the following websites :
Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI)
http//rni.nic.in 5.12 WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT
Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC)
Newspapers Magazines
www.abc.org
You will learn more about the circulation of

News entertainment information weekly

newspapers in lesson 8. INTEXT biweekly monthly annual ⌘ History of printing

⌘ Newspaper printing in India
QUESTIONS 5.5
⌘ Size of newspapers Broadsheet
1. Name five weeklies published from our Tabloid
country.
Berliner
2. Name two monthlies published from our
country. Print Media Notes
MASS COMMUNICATION
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Print Media Notes 4. Give an account of internet papers and
describe their advantages. 5. What are the
differences between the print media and the

Introduction to Print Media electronic media? 5.14 ANSWERS

TO INTEXT QUESTIONS
⌘ Cultural awakening and freedom movement
5.1 1. (i) Times of India (ii) Hindustan
Times(iii) Indian Express (iv) any other
newspaper that you can think of.
⌘ Modern technology desktop publishing 2. The Chinese were the first to invent the art
of printing. They used wooden blocks to print
colour printing
letters.
⌘ Internet papers and editions 3. The first paper mill was started in Europe in
1120.
⌘ Largest circulated dailies in India
5.2 1. The Public Occurances in USA and The
⌘ Differences between print and electronic
media Weekly News in UK. 2. Refer to section 5.5
3. It was launched from Calcutta on 29 January
1780. It was popularly known as Hickeys
5.13 TERMINAL EXERCISES Gazette.
5.3 1. (i)The Times of India (ii) The Pioneer
1. Give a detailed description of early (iii) The Statesman (iv) any other newspaper
newspapers in the World. 2. Describe the that you can think of.

history of early printing of newspapers in 2. The Gujarati Daily Mumbai Samachar

published from Mumbai . 3. NavaJeevan and
India.
Harijan
3. Give an account of the growth of the print
media in India during and after freedom 5.4 1. (i)Times of India (ii) Hindustan Times
movement. (iii) Indian Express,(iv)The Hindu (v) The
Pioneer (vi) any other newspaper

66 MASS COMMUNICATION
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Introduction to Print Media www.hindustantimes.com

2. (i) The Mail Today (ii) The Mint (iii) The (iv) any other

Sun (iv) any other 3. (i) www.times of 5.5 1. (i) India Today (ii)The Week (iii)

india.com (ii) www.the hindu.com (iii) Outlook (iv) Time (v) Newsweek (vi) any other
2. (i) Readers Digest (ii) Filmfare (iii) any other
other
3. (i) Front line (ii) Business Today (iii) any Print Media Notes

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