Indian Newspaper Day is celebrated and observed annually on January 29th.
Indian Newspaper Day is celebrated annually on January 29. Today is Indian Newspaper Day. Indian Newspaper Day honors the first Indian newspaper's launch on January 29, 1780. The first weekly newspaper was called "Hickey's Bengal Gazette," and it was also known as "Calcutta General Advertiser."
"Hicky's Bengal Gazette," also known as "Calcutta General Advertiser," was India's first newspaper.
It was published on January 29, 1780, in Kolkata, India's capital at the time.
Newspapers changed the way things worked when news took days to reach the intended audience.
Print was the only medium that was not prohibitively expensive and contained useful information.
The first Asian newspaper to be printed was Hicky's Bengal Gazette. The British knew that newspapers could hurt their regime, so they stopped publishing it in 1782.
This time, the most important news of the day doesn't make the news. It's the paperwork.
According to the invitation issued by the Indian Newspaper Society, the 29th of January will be observed annually as "Indian Newspaper Day." On this day, the first newspaper was created and printed.
The creatives provided for the event are powerful and compelling. "If this were just a piece of paper, it wouldn't have lasted 225 years" might be written on a large expanse of blank white space. Another would be the simple statement, "Go Back to Reading the Newspaper," which encapsulates the majority of print companies' efforts to encourage reading habits in today's dynamic market.
“It is our way of recognising the milestones crossed by the print medium, and the fact that it has grown by leaps and bounds over the years,” says Bharat Kapadia, publisher of Chitralekha. Despite the emergence of new media like the internet, print has maintained its status. Newspapers continue to be consumers' primary source of information and play a significant role in their daily lives. Because advertisers are aware of and appreciate this fact, print trust levels have not changed.
"This day commemorates the birth of the first newspaper in India and the journey for so many entities within the print medium," continues Kapadia. The copy in the advertisements created for this occasion is persuasive and was developed internally by the INS. It conveys the message in a straightforward manner.
According to a number of studies, print advertising revenues are expanding at a much faster rate than those in other media. The distance traveled is even greater. In addition, the broadsheet is naturally the way out given the increasing clutter in television and low levels of participation.
An article by M. J. Akbar, which recounts the tumultuous history of India's first weekly newspaper, Hickey's Bengal Gazette, supports the cause of print and the strong history of this medium. The article would be published in all existing English newspapers and appropriately translated for regional publications.
A few snippets from the article:
“The fact that the first newspaper, a weekly called Hickey's Bengal Gazette, had a second name, the Calcutta General Advertiser, may be of some comfort to owners of contemporary newspapers. It was published on January 29, 1780, the same year that the Writer's Building in Calcutta was built to house junior East India Company civil servants. When the British declared war on Britain, Gwalior became a feudal state, and Haidar Ali became an ally of the French. Warren Hastings and Sir Philip Francis fought a duel in Calcutta; neither man died, but Hastings won the fight. The motto of the Gazette best describes the nature of the media industry: A Weekly Political and Commercial Newspaper Open to All Parties but Influenced by None News must be political and business-oriented.
A newspaper must be open to all viewpoints without being bound by any of them. Advertising must be respected in every way. The path breaker may contain all of the components of a modern newspaper if you notice that the title was misspelled and that it contained a lot of Calcutta gossip. A newspaper without typos is nothing.
What had made the Bengal Gazette famous?
The newspaper, which was established by an Irishman by the name of James Augustus Hicky, was known for expressing everything freely and objectively, which did not go over well with the British. The newspaper was harshly critical of Governor General Warren Hastings's administration. The newspaper was important for its fight for free speech in India and provocative journalism.
Although Hicky's Bengal Gazette was a weekly publication, its founding marked the beginning of a crucial shift. It was a significant step toward bringing the common man closer to those in power when news began reaching every household.
Newspaper's founder:
India got its first newspaper in 1780, and James Augustus Hickey, who had no help, made it possible. In India, a slew of brave writers have emerged as a result of the hero figure of reporting. In the eighteenth century, Irishman James Hickey invented the journalism system, earning him the British nickname of the "Father of Indian Press." At that time, the East India Company had authority over Calcutta. The Bengal Gazette, also known as "Hickey's Bengal Gazette" or "Calcutta General Advertiser," was launched by Hickey on January 29, 1780, and it first appeared in print. It was the first time journalism had appeared in quite some time, serving as a public watchdog against government corruption and public defilement.
Chronology of Events The Original Calcutta General Advertiser was another name for Hicky's Bengal Gazette.
James Augustus Hicky, an eccentric Irishman, started it, which was a weekly in English.
The publication of the newspaper took place in Calcutta, the hub of colonial India at the time.
Hicky wrote, edited, and published the newspaper.
Hicky used the tabloid-like paper to make fun of various East India Company officials with whom he had personal disagreements.
The newspaper initially took a neutral stance on issues. But later on, he changed his mind and began to make fun of the Company and its employees.
When discussing real-life personalities, he frequently made up names and innuendos.
Colonial officials in Calcutta read a lot of his paper, and they didn't like what he wrote.
He said that the East India Company was corrupt and didn't work well. Additionally, he targeted Governor-General Warren Hastings and accused him of wrongdoing.
He even suggested that Hasting's wife was corrupt. He was convicted of libel and sued right away.
From prison, Hicky published his paper, in which he further accused Hastings and others of corruption.
He was the target of new lawsuits. The India Gazette, a rival publication funded by Hastings, stated circulation later.
The Bengal Gazette quickly went out of business because it was unable to compete with the competition. It stopped being published on March 23, 1782.
Hicky's Bengal Gazette inspired later educated Indian reformers to start their own newspapers with more serious anti-colonial and nationalist views, despite its short lifespan.
The 18th century saw the publication of numerous additional newspapers, including the Bombay Herald, Calcutta Gazette, Bengal Journal, Oriental Magazine of Calcutta, and others.
The oldest newspaper still in print in Asia is the Bombay Samachar, which was founded in 1822. It is written in Gujarati.
Since its inception in 1838, the Bombay Times has been known as the Times of India.
India is currently the world's second-largest newspaper market. In English and a variety of other languages, there are more than 1 million publications in the nation.
In their own way, newspapers have contributed to the struggle for freedom and the development of the nation after independence by disseminating information and keeping public opinion on a variety of topics alive.
Conclusion James Augustus Hickey is still revered by many authors as an example of daring newscasting. James Hickey Sarani has been given the new name Decker's Lane in Kolkata. As more newspapers, television channels, and websites enter the market, reporting continues to rise. In addition, reporting in India had moved ahead of the times, when one had to have faith that the newspaper would appear or that All India Radio would broadcast early evening news. Everything began with James Hickey, no matter how many steps we take.
What was the Bengal Gazette's writing style like?
The sarcastic and provocative writing style of Hicky's Bengal Gazette was well-known. The newspaper argued for the rights of the poor and the right to taxation with representation, in contrast to many other newspapers of its time, and it discussed taboo subjects and proto-class consciousness.
People's perceptions of everything changed significantly as a result of powerful articles and images in newspapers. The public was able to more easily compare and contrast what was beneficial to them.
Not only did the British soldiers stationed in India at the time read the newspaper, but it also inspired Indians to create their own.
It is essential to pay tribute to the print media industry on January 29 because it was instrumental in dispelling myths and inspiring younger generations to effect positive change.
In India, which holiday falls on January 29?
Happy 2023 Republic Day: To celebrate India's 74th Republic Day, here are our best wishes, images, messages, patriotic quotes, and greetings.
Questions that are frequently asked: What is the significance of a newspaper?
Ans: The world's news is conveyed by newspapers. Newspapers provide general and data-based information. News about a nation's finances, sports, games, entertainment, trade, and exchange can be found in newspapers. Reading newspapers is now a part of modern life and contributes to a healthy routine.
How many different kinds of newspapers do we have?
Ans: Newspaper and broadsheet are the two primary organizations for newspapers in print reporting. These terms, strictly speaking, refer to the sizes of these papers' pages. However, each arrangement has specific affiliations and accounts.
What do newspapers do?
Ans: Most newspapers have an office that handles top management, finance, bookkeeping, and human resources; a news division where photographers and columnists work; a place where the paper is created and prepared for publication; a division and flow-promoting factor.
What is Hickey's Bengal Gazette's legacy?
Hicky's Bengal Gazette was both the first printed newspaper and the first English-language newspaper to be published in Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Not only did the British soldiers stationed in India at the time read the newspaper, but it also inspired Indians to create their own.
What was the Bengal Gazette's writing style like?
The sarcastic and provocative writing style of Hicky's Bengal Gazette was well-known. The newspaper argued for the rights of the poor and the right to taxation with representation, in contrast to many other newspapers of its time, and it discussed taboo subjects and proto-class consciousness. It frequently mocked the leadership of the East India Company for their expansionist and imperialist goals and was strongly anti-war and anti-colonial.
What had made the Bengal Gazette famous?
The newspaper, which was established by the highly eccentric Irishman James Augustus Hickey, was a vocal critic of Governor General Warren Hastings' administration. The newspaper was important for its fight for free speech in India and provocative journalism.