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.
Print media generally refers to newspapers. Newspapers collect, edit and print news reports and articles. There are newspapers published in the evening also. They are called eveningers.
Why do people read newspapers ? They read newspapers for a variety of reasons. Let us consider a few examples. Yesterday while going to the city you might have seen an accident. Two
buses had collided and by the mere sight you could make out that many passengers must have been killed or injured. You were busy with your daily engagements and forgot about the accident. Only today morning you recalled that incident. You were curious to know more about it. You wanted to know how many passengers were killed or injured. Where will you look for these details?
In a newspaper, of course. So you would pick up a newspaper and read all about the 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. 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 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.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 :
news
entertainment
information
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.
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 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 lesson how this paper is
made.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 Gutenburg of Germany had developed printing technology around 1439.
Gutenburg 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 Portugese 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.
THE FIRST NEWSPAPER
Which was the first newspaper published in the world? It is very difficult to point out a single newspaper as the first one. During the Maurya period, kings used to circulate news to the people as proclamations. In ancient Rome, Acta Diurna, or government announcements, were published regularly. They were inscribed in metal or stone. These can be considered as the earliest
form of newspapers. In China also, the government produced such news sheets called tipao. Many researchers consider “The Peking Gazette”, published from China, as the first newspaper. It was started in 618 .In the initial stages, this newspaper was hand written and distributed to the readers. Later it was printed and circulated. The Peking Gazette continued its publication till the beginning of
the twentieth century. Newsletters circulated by rulers were the first form of newspapers. In India,
the East India Company circulated such newsletters.
According to the World Association of Newspapers, the first newspaper inthe modern sense was published by Johann Carlous in 1605. The name of the paper is a bit long! “ Relation aller Furnemmen und gedenckwandigen Historien”. In 1609, another newspaper was started from Germany called ““File”. Yet another newspaper in the modern concept was published from
Venice called “ 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 “ The Public Occurances” lasted only for a day. Similar was the fate of the
“Daily Paper” started by James Asher in UK. Newspapers underwent a lot of changes in their form and content after that in England , “The Weekly News” was launched in 1622. The first newspaper
in the modern concept was published in Oxford in 1655 .It was the “Oxford Gazette”. The first newspaper to be published from London was the Daily Courant. It was edited by E. Mallet. In 1784, John Walter launched the “Daily Universal Register” from London which later adopted a new name “ The Times”. It is known to be one of the greatest newspapers in the world.
In USA, the first newspaper was “Public Occurances”, which was launched in 1690. Postmaster John Campbell started another paper in 1704, “The Boston Newsletter”. In 1783, “Pensilvania Evening Post” was started in USA that had all the features and content of a modern newspaper. Later in 1851 came “The New York Times”. Do you know which is the largest circulated newspaper in the world ? In which country is it published? The largest circulated newspaper is the “Yomi Yuri Shimbun” published from Japan. It has a circulation of 1, 45, 57, 000 copies per day. The second and third largest circulated dailies in the world are also published from Japan.
NEWSPAPER PRINTING IN INDIA
Do you know the old name of Kolkata City? It is Calcutta. Did you know that Calcutta was once the capital city of India? From 1774 to 1922 Calcutta was the Capital of India. Calcutta has also many other firsts in the history of India. The first Railway Company was started here.The first Metro Rail was also in this City. The first Post and Telegraph office and the first western style bank were also opened in Calcutta. Our Supreme Court also began functioning from that city. All of you must have heard about Nobel Prizes. Calcutta city gave the country five Nobel Laureates, Rabindranath Tagore, Sir C. V Raman, Mother Theresa, Ronald Rose and Amartya Sen. You will find it interesting to note that Calcutta has one more first . It was from Calcutta that the first newspaper was published from India. It was a Britisher who started the first newspaper in our country. On January29, 1780 James Augustus Hickey launched the “Bengal Gazette”. It has another title “Calcutta Advertiser”. It was popularly known as “Hickey’s Gazette”. The first issue of the paper had two pages and later it was increased to four pages. It’s size was 35 cms x 24 cms. The British East India Company did not consider freedom of the press as good for society. They tried to suppress publication of newspapers. Hickey was a very bold editor. He continued his criticism of British authorities .He published reports attacking the East India Company officials. The British authorities arrested Hickey many times. Finally, they confiscated his paper and press in 1782 and stopped its publication. Hickey was asked to leave the country. He was sent back to England. Copies of the Bengal Gazette are still kept in the National Library in Kolkata and the British Museum in London.
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 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. 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.
CULTURAL AWAKENING AND FREEDOM MOVEMENT
Towards the end of the 19th century, many social reformers began actively campaigning for radical changes in Indian society. The reformation of Hinduism, the move for abolition of sati and efforts to encourage widow remarriage were some of the major reforms. Inspired by these great leaders,
many 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 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 Amrita Bazar Patrika”(1868), “The Statesman” (1875),
“The Hindu” (1887) and “The Tribune”( 1880) were also started during this period. “The Hindustan Times” was started later, in 1923. In the regional languages, some papers that were launched during that period continue even now as leading papers like “Malayala Manorama” (1888). When Mahatma Gandhi returned to India, he gave a great impetus to the freedom movement. He was also a great editor. He took over “Young India”, the weekly started by the Home Rule Party in 1918. Gandhiji also launched another weekly, called the “Navjeevan”, in Gujarati. Later, Gandhiji started
the “Harijan” under the editorship of Mahadev Desai. Gandhiji insisted that his papers will not carry any advertisements. But all his publications had wide circulation among readers.
There are 41 such newspapers in the
country and are called centenarian newspapers. Among English 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.
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.
In earlier days, newspapers were printed only in black and white. Colour printing was not possible at that time. But now almost all the newspapers print colour pages . Some papers print colour only in supplements and special pages. Colour printing has made the pages look brighter and attractive.
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 according to their size. They are broadsheets, tabloids and Berliners or Midis. Morning newspapers are generally broadsheets. They are big in size. In India, all major newspapers are broadsheets. Examples include “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” and “ Metro Now”.Presently some of the new morning papers have also adopted the tabloid format. Berliners or Midis are very small newspapers. European papers such as La Monde and La 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?
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.
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 published once in two weeks. A bi-weekly is published twice every week. A tri-monthly is one which is published every three months. These are also known as quarterlies. Then
there are certain publications that come out only once a year which are called annuals. “India Today” is a weekly, while “Champak” is a fortnightly. “Grihasobha” and “Vanitha” are monthlies.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRINT MEDIA AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA
After the advent of printing nearly six centuries ago, the print media was the
only form of mass communication. Then came the electronic medium. Though
both print and electronic media deal with mass communication, there are
certain basic differences.
Print Media
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.
Print media generally refers to newspapers. Newspapers collect, edit and print news reports and articles. There are newspapers published in the evening also. They are called eveningers.
Why do people read newspapers ? They read newspapers for a variety of reasons. Let us consider a few examples. Yesterday while going to the city you might have seen an accident. Two
buses had collided and by the mere sight you could make out that many passengers must have been killed or injured. You were busy with your daily engagements and forgot about the accident. Only today morning you recalled that incident. You were curious to know more about it. You wanted to know how many passengers were killed or injured. Where will you look for these details?
In a newspaper, of course. So you would pick up a newspaper and read all about the 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. 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 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.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 :
news
entertainment
information
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.
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 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 lesson how this paper is
made.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 Gutenburg of Germany had developed printing technology around 1439.
Gutenburg 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 Portugese 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.
THE FIRST NEWSPAPER
Which was the first newspaper published in the world? It is very difficult to point out a single newspaper as the first one. During the Maurya period, kings used to circulate news to the people as proclamations. In ancient Rome, Acta Diurna, or government announcements, were published regularly. They were inscribed in metal or stone. These can be considered as the earliest
form of newspapers. In China also, the government produced such news sheets called tipao. Many researchers consider “The Peking Gazette”, published from China, as the first newspaper. It was started in 618 .In the initial stages, this newspaper was hand written and distributed to the readers. Later it was printed and circulated. The Peking Gazette continued its publication till the beginning of
the twentieth century. Newsletters circulated by rulers were the first form of newspapers. In India,
the East India Company circulated such newsletters.
According to the World Association of Newspapers, the first newspaper inthe modern sense was published by Johann Carlous in 1605. The name of the paper is a bit long! “ Relation aller Furnemmen und gedenckwandigen Historien”. In 1609, another newspaper was started from Germany called ““File”. Yet another newspaper in the modern concept was published from
Venice called “ 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 “ The Public Occurances” lasted only for a day. Similar was the fate of the
“Daily Paper” started by James Asher in UK. Newspapers underwent a lot of changes in their form and content after that in England , “The Weekly News” was launched in 1622. The first newspaper
in the modern concept was published in Oxford in 1655 .It was the “Oxford Gazette”. The first newspaper to be published from London was the Daily Courant. It was edited by E. Mallet. In 1784, John Walter launched the “Daily Universal Register” from London which later adopted a new name “ The Times”. It is known to be one of the greatest newspapers in the world.
In USA, the first newspaper was “Public Occurances”, which was launched in 1690. Postmaster John Campbell started another paper in 1704, “The Boston Newsletter”. In 1783, “Pensilvania Evening Post” was started in USA that had all the features and content of a modern newspaper. Later in 1851 came “The New York Times”. Do you know which is the largest circulated newspaper in the world ? In which country is it published? The largest circulated newspaper is the “Yomi Yuri Shimbun” published from Japan. It has a circulation of 1, 45, 57, 000 copies per day. The second and third largest circulated dailies in the world are also published from Japan.
NEWSPAPER PRINTING IN INDIA
Do you know the old name of Kolkata City? It is Calcutta. Did you know that Calcutta was once the capital city of India? From 1774 to 1922 Calcutta was the Capital of India. Calcutta has also many other firsts in the history of India. The first Railway Company was started here.The first Metro Rail was also in this City. The first Post and Telegraph office and the first western style bank were also opened in Calcutta. Our Supreme Court also began functioning from that city. All of you must have heard about Nobel Prizes. Calcutta city gave the country five Nobel Laureates, Rabindranath Tagore, Sir C. V Raman, Mother Theresa, Ronald Rose and Amartya Sen. You will find it interesting to note that Calcutta has one more first . It was from Calcutta that the first newspaper was published from India. It was a Britisher who started the first newspaper in our country. On January29, 1780 James Augustus Hickey launched the “Bengal Gazette”. It has another title “Calcutta Advertiser”. It was popularly known as “Hickey’s Gazette”. The first issue of the paper had two pages and later it was increased to four pages. It’s size was 35 cms x 24 cms. The British East India Company did not consider freedom of the press as good for society. They tried to suppress publication of newspapers. Hickey was a very bold editor. He continued his criticism of British authorities .He published reports attacking the East India Company officials. The British authorities arrested Hickey many times. Finally, they confiscated his paper and press in 1782 and stopped its publication. Hickey was asked to leave the country. He was sent back to England. Copies of the Bengal Gazette are still kept in the National Library in Kolkata and the British Museum in London.
Confiscation of a newspaper is a rare action taken by the authorities if that paper publishes some news report or article that they think is highly objectionable. Through confiscation, the government transfers the press and other materials of the publication to the treasury. Thereby, the office of the paper is sealed and the publication stopped.
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. Slowlynewspapers 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 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. 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.
CULTURAL AWAKENING AND FREEDOM MOVEMENT
Towards the end of the 19th century, many social reformers began actively campaigning for radical changes in Indian society. The reformation of Hinduism, the move for abolition of sati and efforts to encourage widow remarriage were some of the major reforms. Inspired by these great leaders,
many 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 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 Amrita Bazar Patrika”(1868), “The Statesman” (1875),
“The Hindu” (1887) and “The Tribune”( 1880) were also started during this period. “The Hindustan Times” was started later, in 1923. In the regional languages, some papers that were launched during that period continue even now as leading papers like “Malayala Manorama” (1888). When Mahatma Gandhi returned to India, he gave a great impetus to the freedom movement. He was also a great editor. He took over “Young India”, the weekly started by the Home Rule Party in 1918. Gandhiji also launched another weekly, called the “Navjeevan”, in Gujarati. Later, Gandhiji started
the “Harijan” under the editorship of Mahadev Desai. Gandhiji insisted that his papers will not carry any advertisements. But all his publications had wide circulation among readers.
There are 41 such newspapers in the
country and are called centenarian newspapers. Among English 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.
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.
In earlier days, newspapers were printed only in black and white. Colour printing was not possible at that time. But now almost all the newspapers print colour pages . Some papers print colour only in supplements and special pages. Colour printing has made the pages look brighter and attractive.
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 according to their size. They are broadsheets, tabloids and Berliners or Midis. Morning newspapers are generally broadsheets. They are big in size. In India, all major newspapers are broadsheets. Examples include “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” and “ Metro Now”.Presently some of the new morning papers have also adopted the tabloid format. Berliners or Midis are very small newspapers. European papers such as La Monde and La 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?
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.
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 published once in two weeks. A bi-weekly is published twice every week. A tri-monthly is one which is published every three months. These are also known as quarterlies. Then
there are certain publications that come out only once a year which are called annuals. “India Today” is a weekly, while “Champak” is a fortnightly. “Grihasobha” and “Vanitha” are monthlies.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRINT MEDIA AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA
After the advent of printing nearly six centuries ago, the print media was the
only form of mass communication. Then came the electronic medium. Though
both print and electronic media deal with mass communication, there are
certain basic differences.
Print Media
- Literacy is a basic requirement for the print media. Only a literate person can read it.
- Print media works according to a deadline.Usually a morning paper carries news received upto the midnight of the previous day.
- In print media readers have the choice to go back and recheck. What they have read.
- Print media provides more scope for in depth analysis of events.
- Print media does not provide scope for a live discussion.
- Language is more literary and flowery and reader –friendly.
- Frequent update of news is not possible.
Electronic Media
- Even an illiterate person can watch a news bulletin and grasp its contents though the written matter on the screen cannot be read.
- There is no deadline for the electronic media. News can be updated anytime.
- Viewers cannot go back and recheck what they have seen.
- Less scope for such long in depth analysis.
- Live discussions are possible.
- Language used is spoken and more viewer -friendly.
- Even a minute-to-minute update is possible.
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