P rint M edia We have seen how important newspapers and magazines were for the spread of the freedom movement. It is often believed that with the growth of the television and the Internet, the print media would be sidelined. However, in India, we have seen the circulation of newspapers grow. As Box .
suggests, new technologies have helped boost the production and circulation of newspapers. A large number of glossy magazines have also made their entry to the market. As is evident, the reasons for this amazing growth in Indian language newspapers are many. First , there is a rise in the number of literate people who are migrating to cities.
The Hindi daily Hindustan in printed , copies of their Delhi edition, which jumped to , by . The reason The Indian Language Newspaper Revolution The most significant happening in the last few decades has been the Indian language newspaper revolution. Hindi, Telugu and Kannada recorded the highest growth. Print publications in the country had an increase in the average daily circulation of .
million copies from to . From . million in , the average number of copies circulated a day grew to . million, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of .
per cent from to . Among the four main geographic zones, the north showed the highest growth at . per cent. Growth in the south, west and east was .
per cent, . per cent and . per cent, respectively. The top two Hindi dailies in India are Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar with average qualifying sales of .
million and . million, respectively (July–December ). Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation, – . The Eenadu story also exemplifies the success of the Indian language press.
Ramoji Rao the founder of Eenadu , had successfully organised a chit-fund before launching the paper in . By associating with appropriate causes in rural areas, like the anti-arrack movement in the mid- 1980s, the Telugu newspaper was able to reach the countryside. This prompted it to launch ‘district dailies’ in . These were tabloid inserts or features carrying sensational news from particular districts, as well as, classified advertisements from villages and small towns of the area.
By , Eenadu was being published from towns in Andhra Pradesh and its circulation accounted for per cent of the audited Telugu daily circulation.