BJ (MC) - 102

History of Print & Broadcasting in India

Syllabus
Unit-I [Pre and post independence Journalism in India]
1. James Augustus Hicky & early newspapers of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay; Growth of
Indian language press—Bangla, Marathi, Hindi and Urdu –prominent newspapers and
their editors.
2. Role of newspapers in India's freedom struggle, British curbs on Indian Press. Dawn of
freedom-changing role of the Indian Press.
3. Print media scenario during initial years of freedom- From 1947 onwards.
4. Growth of National Press (English & Hindi) & the emergence of regional language press.
5. Popular News magazines and periodicals.

Unit-II [News Agencies, Press Organizations and Current Trends]

1. News Agencies in India—English & Hindi –their set up, functions and role--PTI, UNI,
UNI-Varta, Bhasa. Samachar
2. Feature services & syndicates—INFA, Publication Syndicate, PTI Features.
3. Introduction to International News agencies & Photo agencies—Reuters, AP, AFP, UPI,
and TASS.
4. Government Media Organizations—PIB, Photo Division, DAVP, RNI, Directorate of
Information & Public Relations of various state governments
5. Other Media Related Organizations - ABC, INS, Editors Guild, IFWJ, NUJ, News
Broadcaster Association (NBA).

Unit-III [History of Radio Broadcasting in India]

1. Origin and development of radio in India—from Indian Broadcasting Company to All
India Radio—Growth of AIR from 1936 to 1950
2. Development of AIR since 1950.
3. All India Radio—Organizational structure, functions of different divisions and
Departments/units; News Service Division of AIR.
4. Objectives of broadcast—Information, Education & Entertainment .
5. Commercial Broadcasting Service, External Service Broadcast, National Service, Vividh
Bharati and FM service of AIR; three tiers of Radio Broadcast—Local, Regional and
National & Public Service Broadcast.
6. AIR Code, Commercial Broadcast Code and Guidelines of Election Broadcast
7. Autonomy of All India Radio---Chanda Committee to Verghese Group---- Prasar
Bharati Act 1997—Formation of Prasar Bharati —Composition and Functions of Prasar
Bharati.
Privatisation-leasing out time slots (1993)—Privatization policy (2000)—Expansion of
FM Radio channels - Development of Educational & Community Radio
Unit-IV [Growth of Television Broadcasting in India]
1. Origin and development of television in India—from B/W—to colour—from 1959 -1982.
Formation of Doordarshan (DD) as separate entity, SITE.
2. Doordarshan : The slow Beginings, Doordarshan as an information, education and
entertainment media.
3. DOORDARSHAN—Organizational structure, functions of different divisions and
Departments / units & Doordarshan News.
4. Commercialization of TV; Golden era of Doordarshan—1982-1993; Liberalization policy
of Govt. and entry of private broadcasters—Satellite television broadcast— Breaking of
monopoly of DD---- Television channels for niche audiences —entertainment, news,
sports, science, health & life style. Proliferation of DTH services
5. Growth of Private International, National & Regional TV Networks & fierce competition
for ratings
UNIT 1

James Augustus Hicky

James Augustus Hicky, a highly eccentric Irishman. He used to write articles to criticize and
against the activities of Lady Hastings, Lord Hastings' wife. Later on, he was jailed due to earned
the wrath of the then Governor-General Lord Warren Hastings. But he continued to write from
jail. Hicky's Bengal Gazette was an English newspaper published from Kolkata (then Calcutta),
India. It was the first major newspaper in India, started in 1780. It was published for two years.
Hicky published the 1st Indian newspaper “Bengal Gazette or the Calcutta General Advertiser” it
was the first English-language newspaper, and indeed the first printed newspaper, to be
published in the Indian sub-continent. The newspaper soon became very famous not only among
the British soldiers posted and it also inspired the Indians to write newspapers of their own.

Bengal Gazette was a weekly, founded on January 29, 1780, in Calcutta, the capital of British
India. The paper ceased publication on March 23, 1782.

Early Newspapers of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay

1780: Bengal Gazette from Calcutta.

1818: Before 1817 there was no news paper in Hindi or India language. Digdarshan, the 1st
monthly news paper in Indian language and its editor and publisher were British’s from
Serampore.

May 23, 1818: Samachar Darpan & Bengal Gazette in Bengali (weekly).

1818: Friend of India (English/ monthly).

1818: The two talents James Silk Buckingham & Raja Ram Mohan Roy entered in Indian
Journalism. J.S.B. launched “Calcutta General” in English. The paper shows freedom and
philosophical thoughts. It is criticizing the Govt and Mr. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is helping him.

1821: In against of it “Jaanbul” launched. It was considered as Govt news paper.

1822: Raja Ram Mohan Rai “Sambad Kaumudi” (Bengali weekly)main objective to stop “Sati
Pratha” and also launched Brahmancal Magazine to answer British’s and to explore his thoughts
launched “Mirat-ul-Akbar”(Parsian language).

1822: RRM Rai: Zaam-e-Zaahnama & Sammas-ul-Akbar

1825: John Adam(Teporary Governor General)didn’t support freedom of Press.

Made some hard law….finally Raja Ram Mohan Rai announced to close “Mirat-ul- Akbar”.

1822: Bombai Samachar (Gujrati)

1825: Bombay Gazette, Bombay Courier

1826: Oodunt Marthand (Pt. Yugal Kishore)

Governor General Lord William Bentic gave little liberty to Indian Press.

1829: RRM Rai launched “Bengal Herald”.

1829: Bangdoot (Neel Ratan Haldar)- There were good changes have been done in the decree of
Bentic(Viceroy of India). Like abolished Sati Pratha. The 1st achievement of developing Indian
News papers. The movement was led by Raja Ram Mohan Rai which led to the ban on Sati
Pratha by the Government.

1831: Sanwad Vartman (Nauroji Dorebazi Chandru)

1832: Journal Of the Royal Society of Bengal launched

1832: Bombay Darpan

• UP known as Western Province…publishing various news papers.

1835: A new Governor General Charles Mentcalf gave more liberty

1839: 26 European news papers, 9 daily, 9 in Indian language (Calcutta).

1839: 10 news paper by English men, 4 by Indian in Bombay. 9 news papers are running by
English Men.

1937: Sayyudul –Akhbar (1st Urdu News paper from Delhi)

1846: Sadar-ul-Akhbar (rajkiya college Agara Ussud-ul-Akhbar & Suraj –ul-Akhbar(Persian)

1847: Sudhakar-Akhbar, Banaras Akhbar, Banaras Gazette

• 1st Independence war (1857)

1856: Mentcalfs law ( xi 1835)…….the development had been the Press of India

(Bengal/Bombay/Madras/UP)

July 1, 1822: Bombay Samachar (1st Gujarati NP, Bombay)

1826: Oodunt Marthand (1st Hindi NP N 1st daily pulished)

1922: Anandabazar Patrika-by Prafulla Chandra Sarkar (regional language)

Since then, the prominent Indian languages in which papers have grown over the years are Hindi,
Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Urdu and Bengali.

India Language Press/Growth:

Hardt (1981) writes, 'Communication becomes a sine qua non of human existence and growth of
the society. The newspaper press rises to a powerful institution in the development of western
civilization; it is the medium for exchange of ideas and it facilitates the time-and space-binding
activities of the society. The press, as a technological invention or as a political medium, plays a
major role in the definition of the reality for the individual as well as for a nation; it supplies
identification and formulates public opinions; and it supplements industrial and economic
progress as an essential organizer of public sentiments.

1. Growth of Indian language press:Bangla, Marathi, Hindi and Urdu-prominent

newspapers and their editors.

Newspapers in India can broadly be classified into two groups - English newspapers and
language newspapers. As the name indicates, English newspapers are published in English
language, whereas language newspapers are published in different Indian languages. Unlike the
English papers, these are available even in the interior villages of the country. Thus they have a
major role in formulating public opinion across our country. In India, language papers are
published in more than 100 languages. But the main papers are published in 16 principal
languages. Language papers vary from English papers in their style, presentation and approach.
The reasons for the growth of newspapers in India is that, there are some factors that helped the
rise of the growth of language press. During the early days, the language press was looked down
upon as ‘vernacular dailies’ by the English press but with the rise and emergence of language
media as a major force this impression has changed. India has the world’s largest newspaper
market after China. While news papers are struggling in Europe and USA, in India and China
there is a boom. It is interesting to note that the world’s three top countries in newspaper
circulation are China with 98.70 million copies, India with 88.90 million copies and Japan with
69.10 million. At the time when India became independent, the country had only 3533
publications. Among them 330 were daily newspapers and 3203 were periodicals. After 50 years,
there has been a 12 fold increase in the number of publications. In 1997, according to the data
published by the Registrar of News Papers of India, there were 41705 publications among which
the number of newspapers was 4719. In 2006, this has gone up to 45600 publications, in which
5600 are newspapers. At present, India has 398 major newspapers with an overall circulation of
30,772,000 copies.

THE INDIAN VERNACULAR PRESS:

The British India administration was always worried about the impact of the vernacular press in
India, and the then rulers saw in it potential threat and present danger to their authority. The
Vernacular Press Act promulgated by the British in early twentieth century sought to regulate the
vernacular press, but it led to greater awareness among the Indian masses about the need to attain
freedom from the British rule. During the 1977 national emergency also, there were attempts to
muzzle the vernacular press. The Indian vernacular press has grown tremendously in the recent
past and they adopt various styles and methods to enlarge their readership. One of the ways that
they seek to achieve a larger clientele for their papers is to present catchy captions with valuable
information.

Urdu Journalism
• Urdu, listed among the 15 national languages in the VII schedule of the Constitution, is
spoken by six per cent of the population. It is the Official language in Jammu and
Kashmir and the second official language in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

• The first Urdu newspaper, Jam-i-Jahan-Numa, was published from Calcutta in April
1822. Calcutta was then the capital of India.

• In 1835 Raja Ram Mohan Roy brought out the Persian paper Mirat-ul-Akhbar (Mirror of
News).
• Mani Ram Thakur- Shamsul Akhbar.
• The Persian newspapers of West Bengal were fore-runners of the Urdu press. After the
decline of Persian as an official language, Urdu gained prominence. There was extensive
growth in Urdu journalism from the 1850s till Independence in 1947.
• Till 1835, North India had only six Indian language newspapers. They rose to 28 by
1850 and 1878. In 1848, when there were only 26 newspapers, 19 in Urdu, 3 in Hindi
and Persian and only 1 in Bengali.
• In 1857 every press had to acquire a government licence.
• In 1878, The govt brought in the Varnacular Press Act, to gag all regional language
newspapers. The Act put an end to many newspapers.
• By 1885 there were 117 Urdu Newspapers.
• By the time of Independence in 1947, the number of Urdu newspapers had to grown to
584 in the country of which 90 were dailies.
• Today, there are 250 newspapers in various parts of the country.
• Inquilab (best organized newspaper).
• Maulana Azad started the 1st Urdu Political paper, the ALHILAL in June 1912.
• Qaumi Awaz (Urdu daily): Jawaharlal Nehru
• Mahatma Gandhi also brought up an Urdu edition of his Harijan.
• The earliest Urdu newspapers came from the North-West Province (Particular from
Agara).
• On 14 January 1850, Munshi Harsukh Rai started the weekly Kohinoor, which had a
remarkably high (for those times) circulation of 350 copies. In 1858, Manbir Kabiruddin
started the Urdu Guide, the first Urdu daily, from Calcutta. Another important paper
founded that year was Roznamha-e-Punjab from Lahore. Oudh Akhbar by Munshi
Nawal Kishore was the first Urdu newspaper from Lucknow, also begun in 1858.
• From 1850
• The first Urdu newspapers of Delhi were Fawaid-ul-Nazarin and Kiran-us-Sadai,
founded by Rama Chandra in 1852. The Urdu press in Delhi became highly critical of
the British government. The best example of them is the Urdu Akhbar, edited by Syed
Hasan, which highlighted many civic issues like drainage, sanitation, adulteration of
food, and corruption.
• In 1877, Maulvi Nasir Ali, one of the founders of Anjuman Islamia- the Islamic
intellectual and political movement- founded 3 newspapers- Nusrat-ul-Akhbar, Nusrat-
ul-Islam and Mihir-e-Darakhshan. All three focused on current civil and political affairs
and were valuable aids of Muslim empowerment. In 1877, Oudh Punch, the first humour
magazine in Urdu was started by Sajjid Hussain.
• The first women’s journal in Urdu was Akhbar-un-Nisa.
• Urdu journalism took on a strongly nationalistic note towards the turn of the 20th
century.
• Zameendar, was started in Lahore in 1903. It was the first Urdu newspaper to subscribe
to news agencies. Zameendar was intensely nationalistic, which boosted its circulation to
over 30,000 copies.
• In 1902, Maulvi Sanaullah Khan started the weekly Watan, meaning motherland. Watan
was intensely nationalistic and continued for 33 years.
• Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar started Naqeeb-e-Hamdard in 1912.
• Another powerful political periodical was the Madina, edited by Hamidul Ansari.
• In 1919, the Pratap was started in Lahore by Mahshe Krishnan. It vigorously supported
Gandhi’s policies and the Indian National Congress. It was a victim of government
harassment and suspended publication several times. It had great influence among the
Urdu reading Hindus of Punjab and Delhi.
• In 1923, Swami Shraddhanand founded the Tej with Lala Deshbandhu Gupta as editor. It
had a wide circulation in Rajasthan, U.P. and Delhi. It was confiscate several times by
the government and banned in a number of princely states. In the same year, 1923, the
Arya Samaj started the Milap, a daily in Lahore. It was known for its powerful
nationalistic editorials.
• Jawaharlal Nehru founded Qaumi Awaaz in 1945.
• Urdu journalism suffered heavily, during and after Partition. Riots in Lahore lead to
mobs raiding the office of Milap and burning machines and newsprint. Its Managing
Editor, Ranbir was stabbed and the paper was closed for six weeks. It then shifted to
Delhi. Due to the unrest, the Pratap also shifted to Delhi.

• Some of the Urdu newspapers after partition in India are Dawat, now a bi-weekly,
started by the Jamat-e-Islami Hind. Maulana Abdul Waheed Siddiqui started Nai
Duniya, a popular Urdu weekly, now run by his son Shaheed Siddiqui.
• The Sahara Group started a weekly-Aalmi Sahara.
• In Pakistan the Daily Jang is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the
country. Other popular news papers are Daily Imroze, Daily
Mashriq, Khabrain, Millat and Nawa-i-Waqt.

Bengali Journalism
The first non English newspaper was named Samachar Darpan, in Bengali language and
was published by Serampore mission press by 1818. In 1821 another remarkable Bengali
journal was Sambad Kaumadi which was published under the patronage of Rammohan
Roy. The other Bengali journals during this time were Samachar Chandrika, Bangadoot,
Sambad, Pravakar, Tattobodhini etc. Sambad Pravakar was the first Bengali daily
newspaper published in 1839. Bengali journalism carried the message of Bengal
renaissance. Nationalist newspapers like Sandhya, Jugantar had a mass appeal. In
subsequent decades the Bengali press played significant role to create and sustain public
opinion.

Hindi Journalism
The first Hindi newspaper Oodhund Martand, a weekly was published in Kolkata on
May 30, 1826 'in the interest of Hindustanis'. However, its editor Yugal Kishore Shukla
(Jooghol Kishore Sookool- in some documents) faced many difficulties in running it. He
was not allowed postal concession and had to close down the paper within a year. He
made another attempt to start another paper in 1850 called Samyadani Martand but this
also failed.
The second Hindi newspaper Banga Doot was published in 1829 by Raja Ram Mohan
Ray and Dwarika Prasad Thakore with Nilratan Haldar as its editor. Besides Hindi, it
was also published in English, Bengali and Persian.
The first Hindi daily Samachar Sudha Varshan came out in June 1854 from Kolkata with
Shyam Sundar Sen as its editor and publisher. It was a bilingual paper in which market
and shipping reports were published in Hindi, the rest in Bengali. Between 1850 and
1857 a number of Hindi Newspaper were published. Among them were Benaras Akbar,
Sudhakar Tatwa Bodhini, Patrika and Sathya. A literary magazine which set the
standard for Hindi Journals in the early year of century was Saraswathi, a monthly edited
by Mahavir Prasad Dwibedy. It standardised the style and pattern of Hindi journalism
and developed literary criticism and book reviews. It became the torchbearer for later
day Hindi journalists who cultivated its prose style. Newspapers like Bharat Mitra
(1878), Sarsudhanidhi (1879), Uchit Wakta (1880) and Hindi Bangavasi (1890) were
published from Calcutta during the last three decades of 19th century. Bharat Mitra,
published from Calcutta became the leading Hindi newspaper of the time under the
dynamic stewardship of its early editors, Balmukund Gupta and Ambika Prasad Bajpai.

The beginning of the new century saw the birth of many Hindi dailies in Bombay,
Calcutta and Patna. The more prominent among them were Sri Venkateswar Samachar
and Calcutta Samachar. Viswamitra, which was started after the Calcutta Samachar
became defunct, offered serious competition to Bharat Mitra from 1918.

Hindi journalism made rapid progress during the first worldwar period and many
outstanding journalists came to the fore including Ganga Prasad Gupta, Nanda Kumar
Deo Dharma, M. P. Dwivedi, Hari Krishna Jouhar, ChhoteRam Shukla, Indra
Vidyavachaspati, Shri Ram Pandey, Lakshminarayan Garde and Narmada Prasad Misra.
One of the foremost Hindi journalists who earned a name for his patriotism was Ganesh
Shanker Vidyarthi. In 1913, he brought out weekly Pratap from Kanpur. He made the
supreme sacrifice in 1931 in the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity. Krishna Dutt Paliwal
brought out Sainik from Agra which became a staunch propagator of nationalism in
Western U. P. The noted Congress leader, Swami Shradhanand, started the publication
of Hindi journal Vir Arjun and Urdu journal Tej. After the assassination of Swami
Shradhanand, Vidyavachaspathi and Lala Deshbandhu Gupta, both prominent Congress
leaders continued the publication of these journals.

At the turn of the century almost all Calcutta based Hindi newspapers went vocal against
the suppressive and divisive policies of the Raj. This marked the beginning – in 1907- of
two outstanding magazines: Nrisinha and Devnagar. Nrisinha edited by Ambika Prasad
Vajpayee, a stauch supporter of Lokmanya Tilak was a political magazine and it joined
the protest against British rule. Devnagar on the other hand tried to work on a uniform
script.1 In 1920, the Aj was started in Banaras. It played a notable part in the freedom
struggle. Its first editor was Sri Prakasa, a great freedom fighter who occupied positions
of power and prestige in free India. He was assisted by Babu Rao Vishnu Parakar whose
contribution to the development of Hindi Journalism was considerable. Espousing the
national cause and waging a never-ending battle with the alien rulers, the Aj was a
bulwark of the Indian National Congress and its main forum to spread the message of
freedom to the Hindi-speaking masses of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and
Nepal. It set the tone and style for Hindi Journalism and was acclaimed for its impartial
objective reporting and illuminating and fearless editorials. A balanced blending of
national and international news was one of its strong features.
In Patna the Desh, a weekly, was an influential journal and the mouthpiece of the
Congress. It was founded by Babu Rajendra Prasad and his friends in 1920. But it was
not a profitable venture and had to close down. In 1924 there were 102 Hindi
newspapers; four of them were dailies (AJ, Banaras, Swatantra, Calcutta, Arjun, Delhi
and Calcutta Samachar, Calcutta) According to one historian, until 1926, Hindi dailies
were not financially successful. "Their get up and printing was poor, the reading
material not quite up to the mark and the editorials unwieldy and lengthy. The weeklies
were better edited and got up." Among the well-known better produced weeklies were
Bhavishya (Kanpur), Karmaveer (Khandwa) and Sainik (Agra). Among the important
Hindi dailies which flourished in 1930 were: Visvamitra and Bharat Mitra (Calcutta),
Savadho Bharat (Bombay). Lokkat (Jabalpur), Variman (Kanpur), Milap (Lahore)
besides AJ (Banaras), Arjun(Delhi) and Lokmanya (Calcutta).

As freedom struggle gained momentum, there was a steady rise of Hindi journalism both
in terms of quality and quantity. More number of Hindi publications took birth in almost
all North Indian states and also in Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh,
especially Hyderabad. Hindi publications like other language publications by and large
supported Nationalist movement and faced the suppression of the British rulers. One of
the important Hindi dailies to be published from the capital was Hindustan, sister
newspaper of the Hindustan Times, started in 1936. Wide news coverage and a variety
of special features marked the Hindustan. Started in 1940, Aryavari of Patna was a sister
publication of the Indian Nation and enjoyed considerable influence.

Hindi journalism grew more rapidly after independence. After independence Hindi was
adopted as the official language of India. 2 This also helped to spread Hindi language
nationwide. The Nav Bharat Times of the Times of India group started in Delhi in 1950.
The Amrita Patrika of Allahabad was another notable Hindi daily which was well-known
for its trenchant editorials. By 1964 Hindi had the largest number of newspapers among
language papers. The trend of publishing multiple editions from different states helped
Hindi newspapers to increase their reach and circulation.
According to RNI (Registrar of Newspapers) the total number of publications in Hindi
was 27, 527 in 2007-8 including 3418 daily newspapers.
By 2011 Hindi daily Dainik Jagran claimed to be the largest read newspaper of the
world. Six out of the top ten newspapers with highest number of readership in India are
Hindi. According to IRS (Indian Readership survey Q-2) the top ten largest read Hindi
newspapers are: Dainik Jagran (readership: 159.1 lakh), Dainik Bhaskar (140.1 lakh),
Hindustan (118.1 lakh), Amar Ujala (87.47 lakh), Rajasthan Patrika ( 70.33 lakh),
Punjab Kesari (34.79 lakh), Navbharat Times (25,89,000) Prabhat Khabar
(18,12,000), Nai Dunia (17.62 lakh) and Hari Bhoomi (14.37 lakh). All of the
newspapers have multiple editions from different cities and states.
Hindi newspapers are published from several states. Besides the North Indian Hindi belt,
sizable numbers of Hindi publications are there in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat
and other states. There are two good Hindi dailies from Hyderabad – Swatantra Vaartha
and Milap. Sanmarg has an edition from Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
There are over 100 Hindi news channels including Aaj Tak, IBN-7, Azad NEWS,
Maurya Tv, AryanNews, News 7 Network, Khoj India, India TV, Raftaar News
Channel, Live India, NDTV India, India News, News 24, Press TV, Sudarshan News,
Sahara Samay, STAR News, Zee News, Zee Business, DD News, Total TV, A2Z News,
Crime Nazar News, Channel No. 1, S-7 News, Mahua news, ETV Bihar, Time Today,
DayNightnews, Jansandesh.tv, GNN News, P7, TV 24 News, newsxpress, tv9 Mumabi,
Sea News, Taaza TV, etc.
There is innumerable number of Hindi news sites now.

Marathi Journalism
The Marathi press played a very important role in the development of Indian journalism
in the latter half of the 19th Century. It distinguished itself by campaigning on two
fronts, social and political. Outside Bengal, the battle for social reform first gathered
strength in Pune and Bombay before it spread to other parts of the country. The Marathi
press was in the vanguard of this movement.
On 6 January, 1832, Bal Shastri Jambhekar (6 January 1812 – 18 May 1846) published
Bombay Darpan, a Marathi-English fortnightly magazine from Bombay. By May 1832 it
became an eight-page weekly. The objective of Bombay Darpan was to “…convey
information on passing events and to point out ways and opportunities for improvement
of the conditions of the people.” It was the first medium of Marathi expression in
engagement with current and ‘passing’ events. Bombay Darpan played a notable part in
the social reform movement and had considerable influence. It specifically dealt with the
issue of widow re-marriage and tried to develop a scientific temper among the masses.
This resulted in a largescale debate in society and, finally, in a movement for the support
of widow re-marriage. After eight years, the weekly was named United Service Gazette
Journal. It ceased publication two years after the death of Jambhekar in 1846. In 1840,
Jambhekar started publishing the first Marathi monthly, Digdarshan, and edited it for
five years. Jambhekar, considered the Father of Marathi Journalism,1 trained many
journalists who went on to scale great heights in the field in Marathi.
On 24 October 1841, Govind Vithal Kunte began Prabhakar. Kunte was considered the
first professional Marathi journalist. Like in other states, Christian missionaries tried to
propagate their religion through publications in Maharashtra, too. They published
Jnyanodaya in 1842 for the purpose. However, in the early years of Marathi journalism,
many periodicals were concerned with social development, reform, spread of education
and knowledge. These include Jaganmitra (from Ratnagiri), Shubh Suchak (from Satara),
Vartaman Dipika and Vartaman Sangrah.
Krishnaji Triambak Ranade started Dynan Prakash in Pune in 1849. It was a weekly until
1904 when it became daily. It was later adopted by the Servant of India Society as its
organ. Hari Narayan Apte, a famous Marathi novelist served as its editor. Some of its
contributors included Mahadev Govind Ranade and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Three
popular weeklies during the period were Bartaman Deepika (Bombay) edited by V.B.
Gokhle, Vichara Lahari (Pune) edited by Krishnashastri Chiplunkar and Dhumkmetu
(Pune). Most of the journals engaged readers on the progressive ideas of the West.
 Role of newspapers in India's freedom struggle, British curbs on Indian Press. Dawn of
freedom-changing role of the Indian Press

Press in India
1) Before east India company from the beginning the human society constructed as a state
hence the politician started to give importance the value of society. Who is in the power,
he always tries to develop press and take the benefits of its. So that he can inform about
his policies to government act .
2) Society got inform about govt. policies
3) Govt got to know the needs or requirements about the society .
4) Govt can get feed back
• It is saying that need gave birth to the govt.
• EXAMPLE
1) Chanakya
2) Before mughal era there was an organization of news letter
3) It is saying that function and freedom were also found in Aurangzeb’s emperor:- once a
badsha asked to author that why did he criticize about his son in his book. It means. So we
can make out that the press had been established India before east India company.

THE ENTRY OF EUROPEAN AND MODERN PRESS

• Portuguese comes 1st even before Britishers or Englishmen. They not even started
business rather started to govern and explore
• The Portugese Vasco-De-Gama has been appreciated to discover India or the credit has
been given to him
• In 1662 Charles 2nd got married with the daughter of Portugal and the island of Mumbai
as dowry
• Few missionaries established press in 1550 from Europe first in Goa and published a
book in Malayalam language which belongs to Christianity
• Second 1602 Vippilete bishfs established
• 1616 when English people came in India that year also Portuguese established a press
• After 1679 there is he recorded about the present which had been established by
Portuguese
• 1662 Dhimji Parakh requested to governor general to establish a press ( printing ) in
Bombay
• 31 Dec 1600. East India Company had kept these feet on India’s land but at that time they
involved only in business and entered in politics and in 1857. They defeated Sirazzudaula
in the battle of plasey.
• 1772 Britishers established a printing press in madras.
• 1779 Kolkata it’s very strange that there was no newspaper before 1780.
• Newspapers were publishing in England and European depended on that.
• Indian Print media has been completed more than 230 yr’s. At present almost 70
thousand news papers are running in India.
 • By 2007 there were 6,580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a day.
The worldwide recession of 2008, combined with the rapid growth of web-based
alternatives, caused a serious decline in advertising and circulation, as many papers
closed.

A newspaper is a regularly scheduled publication containing news, information, and advertising,

usually printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. General-interest
newspapers typically publish stories on local and national political events and personalities,
crime, business, entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an
editorial page containing editorials written by an editor and columns that express the personal
opinions of writers. Other features include display and classified advertising, comics, and inserts
from local merchants. The newspaper is typically funded by paid subscriptions and advertising.
A wide variety of material has been published in newspapers, including editorial opinions,
criticism, persuasion and obituaries; entertainment features such as crosswords, sudoku and
horoscopes; weather news and forecasts; advice, food and other columns; reviews of movies,
plays and restaurants; classified ads; display ads, editorial cartoons and comic strips.

Before the invention of newspapers in the early 17th century, official government bulletins
were circulated at times in some centralized empires. In Ancient Rome, Acta Diurna, or
government announcement bulletins, were made public by Julius Caesar. They were carved in
metal or stone and posted in public places.

Print media scenario during initial years of freedom- From 1947 onwards.
After independence Bengali press gave up its adversarial role and adopted a supportive approach
to the govt. formed by Mr. J.L Nehru. Soon a press commission was constituted to review the
media scenario in India. Thus the twelve member first press commission was 3constituted in
1952 (Chairman G.S Rajadhakshya). In 1952 while press commission was situated the numbers
of dailies were 330. Gradually it increased 495(1965), 755(1970),1173(1979) and 7 crore 23
lakhs 1998.West Bengal is a state with population rate of 8,02,21,171. According to the census
report of 2001 the literacy rate of west Bengal was
68.64%. According to national family health survey or NFH`s report (2007) the literacy rate of
west Bengal is 71.6%. West Bengal has nearly five hundred and sixty published newspapers,
four hundred and thirty of which are in Bengali. The list of Bengali and English newspapers
from Bengal is as follows.
ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA: - most widely circulated daily newspaper in Kolkata founded in
1922 anandabazar patrika published from Kolkata, newdelhi & Mumbai it is published by the
annandabazar .

AAJKAL: - Leading, newspaper published in Kolkata. The newspaper was first published in
1981
BARTAMAN: - one of the top selling Bengali language newspapers published in Kolkata. The
newspaper was established in 1984.
GANASHAKTI PATRIKA: - daily broadsheet newspaper owned by communist party of India
(Marxist), west Bengal state committee

SANGBAD PRATIDIN: Bengali newspaper published in Kolkata. The newspaper was founded
in 1992.

Indian readership surveys according to the top 5 Bengali newspaper are (readership figures)
(i) Anandabazar patrika ( 155.14 lakhs)
(ii) Bartaman (81.33 lakhs)
(iii) Sangbad Protidin ( 41.67 lakhs)
(iv)Ganashakti (33.52 lakhs)
(v) Aajkal ( 29.53 lakhs)
Anandabazar Patrika is the largest circulated Bengali daily. This paper will try to understand the
trend of this Bengali daily and the business orientation of a largest circulated vernacular press as
the representative of Indian language newspaper. Though this is not based on empirical studies it
will only focus on the content analysis of the newspaper from 1st April 2011 to 10th April 2011.
This content analysis will try to understand how the published items had created impact on the
readers. In 1922 Anandabazar Patrika first came out as a four-page evening daily and had a
circulation of about 1,000 copies.Now the total readership of Anandabazar Patrika is 72,95,000 (
National Readership Survey,2006) readership in Kolkata 30,61,000( National Readership Survey
2006) total circulation ( Calcutta and Mumbai editions):12,77,801( Audit Bureau of circulations
July- December`08).The paper is accepted for its attractive page makeup, news presentation,
variety of content, different supplementary pages etc. It also published exclusive news stories. It
is famous for publishing investigative reporting. The reader can get feature, post editorial
column, letter to the editor, book and film reviews and many other topics which help them
understand any issue or event more elaborately. Recently the news presentations become more
interpretative and for this reason the news lost their objectivity. The newspaper gives emphasis
on regional news. Basically thus the newspaper tries to increase and sustain its popularity in
order to capture the market. The content analysis will try to prove it.

Growth of National Press (English & Hindi) & the emergence of regional language press.
Newspapers in India can broadly be classified into two groups - English newspapers and
language newspapers. As the name indicates, English newspapers are published in English
language, whereas language newspapers are published in different Indian languages. Unlike the
English papers, these are available even in the interior villages of the country. Thus they have a
major role in formulating public opinion across our country. In India, language papers are
published in more than 100 languages. But the main papers are published in 16 principal
languages. Language papers vary from English papers in their style, presentation and approach.
The reasons for the growth of newspapers in India are that, there are some factors that helped the
rise of the growth of language press. During the early days, the language press was looked down
upon as ‘vernacular dailies’ by the English press but with the rise and emergence of language
media as a major force this impression has changed. India has the world’s largest newspaper
market after China. While news papers are struggling in Europe and USA, in India and China
there is a boom. It is interesting to note that the world’s three top countries in newspaper
circulation are China with 98.70 million copies, India with 88.90 million copies and Japan with
69.10 million. At the time when India became independent, the country had only 3533
publications. Among them 330 were daily newspapers and 3203 were periodicals. After 50 years,
there has been a 12 fold increase in the number of publications. In 1997, according to the data
published by the Registrar of News Papers of India, there were 41705 publications among which
the number of newspapers was 4719. In 2006, this has gone up to 45600 publications, in which
5600 are newspapers. At present, India has 398 major newspapers with an overall circulation of
30,772,000 copies.
Popular News magazines and periodicals
This is a partial list of magazines circulated in India, sorted by their circulation. Most of the India
publications are secretive about their circulation numbers, including The
Week, Outlook and Frontline who along with India Today claim to be the Big 4 English
magazines in India.

Rank Name Circulation Publisher

1 Mangalam Weekly 1,600,000 Mangalam Publications

2 India Today 1,100,000 Living Media

3 Readers Digest 600,000 Living Media

4 Devputra (children Monthly) 371,438 Saraswati Bal klyan Nyas Indore M.P.

5 Chandamama 200,000 Geodesic

6 Business Today 185,000 Living Media

7 Tehelka 110,000 Tarun Tejpal

8 Top Gear 115,000 Media

Rank Name Circulation Publisher

9 Coverdrive 123,060 Media

10 Prestorika (Youth Magazine) 99,000 Media

UNIT 2

News Agencies in India—English & Hindi –their set up, functions and role--
PTI, UNI, UNI-Varta, Bhasa Formation and deformation of Samachar
INTRODUCTION TO NEWS AGENCY

A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news

organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency
may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service. The news agency aims to
provide useful information related to the leading news agencies of India. The news agency
directory provides vast information resource on news agencies operating in India. Get the latest
news from the field of sports, current affairs, entertainment world, business, technology, fashion,
science, religion, etc. by using the online news agency directory of India. View an online website
listing of famous Indian news agencies. Access these websites to read online news and also get
valuable details such as contact information for these leading Indian news agencies.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA:

Press Trust of India is the largest news agency in India. Headquarter in Delhi and is a nonprofit
cooperative among more than 450 Indian newspapers and has a staff of about 2,000 writers
spread across 150 offices nationwide. It took over the Indian operations of the Associated Press
and Reuters soon after India's independence on August 15, 1947. It provides news coverage and
information of the region in both English and Hindi.

It exchanges information with several other news agencies including 100 news agencies based
outside India, such as Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, The New York Times and
Bloomberg L.P. Major Indian subscribers of PTI including Times of India, the Indian Express,
the Hindustan Times, the All India Radio and Doordarshan. PTI has a wide global presence with
offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Colombo, Dubai, Islamabad, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, New York
and Washington D.C..
Press Trust of India is the only news agency in South Asia which operates its own
communication satellite, an INSAT, to broadcast news and information.

History of PTI
Time Event
1910 Birth of Associated Press of India, PTI's forerunner floated by K C Roy
1919 Reuters takes over operations of API but still uses API credit line
1945 API registered as a private limited Indian company wholly owned by Reuters
1947, August
Press Trust of India incorporated in Madras
27
1949, PTI begins news services, taking over operations from API but still maintains
February 1 links with Reuters.
1953 PTI becomes a free agent, independent of Reuters
1976 PTI Economic Service is launched
1976, PTI, UNI, Samachar Bharati and Hindustan Samachar merge under pressure
February during emergency to become 'Samachar'
PTI and the other three news agencies go back to their original units to restart
1978, April
independent news operations
1980, July PTI Feature Service launched
1981,
PTI Science Service launched
October
1982,
PTI launches Scan, on-screen news display service
November
1984 PTI service launched for subscribers in USA
Computerization of news operations starts PTI service launched for subscribers in
1985
UK
1986,
PTI-TV launched
February
1986, April PTI-Bhasha launched
Experimental broadcast of news and pix via Inset-IB begins, Computer system
1986, August
made fully operational
1987, August Stockscan I launched
1987,
PTI photo service launched
October
1992, August PTI Mag launched
1993, August PTI Graphics service launched
1995, March PTI launches StockScan II
1996, PTI invests for the first time in a foreign registered Company, Asia Pulse, which
February provides an on-line data bank on economic opportunities in Asian countries
1997,
PTI introduces photo-dial up facility
December
1999, March PTI celebrates Golden Jubilee. PTI goes on internet
2003,
PTI launches internet delivery of its news and photo services
September

NEW DELHI: celebration on Diamond Jubilee of the newswire on February 2.

PTI CEO and Editor-in-Chief M.K. Razdan

About PTI

Press Trust of India (PTI) is India’s premier news agency, having a reach as vast as the Indian
Railways. It employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district
and small town in India. Collectively, they put out more than 2,000 stories and 200 photographs
a day to feed the expansive appetite of the diverse subscribers, who include the mainstream
media, the specialized presses, research groups, companies, and government and non-
government organizations.

PTI correspondents are also based in leading capitals and important business and administrative
centers around the world. It also has exchange arrangements with several foreign news agencies
to magnify its global news footprint.

Currently, PTI commands 90 per cent of new agency market share in India.

PTI was registered in 1947 and started functioning in 1949. Today, after 60 years of its service,
PTI can well and truly take pride in the legacy of its work, and in its contribution towards the
building of a free and fair Press in India. On its golden jubilee in 1999, President K R Narayanan
said: “We got independence in August 1947. But independence in news and information we got
only with the establishment of PTI in 1949. That is the significance of PTI.”

Administrative & Managerial Composition

PTI is run by a Board of Directors with the Chairmanship going by rotation at the Annual
General Meeting. The day-to-day administration and management of PTI is headed by the Chief
Executive Officer (who is also the Editor-in-Chief.

United News of India:

United News of India (UNI) is one of the two primary Indian news agencies.

It works in collaboration with several foreign news agencies and partners, including Reuters and
DPA.UNI began its operations on March 21, 1961, though it was registered as a company in
1959. Its head office is located in New Delhi. It employs approximately 325 journalists around
India and 250 "stringers" covering news events in other parts of the world, with correspondents
in Washington, London, Dubai, Islamabad, Dhaka, Colombo, Kathmandu, Singapore and
Sydney. UNI serves roughly 1000 subscribers globally. …..United News of India is the first
News Agency to place its Stringer in remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At present UNI has
a correspondent, Sanjib Kumar Roy posted at Port Blair, the capital city of Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.

UNI became the first Indian news agency to serve subscribers abroad in 1981, selling its wire
service directly to newspapers in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and in Singapore through
satellite channels. Its services are currently available in three languages: English, Hindi and
Urdu. The Hindi language service, "UNIVARTA", was launched on May 1, 1982, while the
Urdu service began in June, 1992.

UNI is said to be the first news agency in India to launch a Finance service, a Stock Exchange
service and a National Photo service. Other services offered include:

• UNIDARSHAN (TV news and features)

• UNISCAN (News display on TV sets for hotels, and government or corporate clients)
• UNI Direct (Services for executives in government, corporate and other sectors)
• UNI GRAPHICS (Ready-to-use computer-designed graph

Hindi Online News Agencies

• Bhasha Press Trust of India (PTI) : http://www.bhasha.ptinews.com/

Formation and dismantling of Samachar

1976 PTI Economic Service is launched 1976, February PTI, UNI, Samachar Bharati and
Hindustan Samachar merge under pressure during emergency to become 'Samachar' 1978, April
PTI and the other three news agencies go back to their original units to restart independent news
operations 1980, July PTI Feature Service launched.

Feature services & syndicates: INFA, Publication Syndicate, PTI Feature

India News & Feature Alliance (INFA):

Turn to India News & Feature Alliance (INFA), India’s most independent and objective
communication agency, established in 1959. Its founder Durga Das, Editor-in-Chief of the
Hindustan Times, a leading national daily, and author of the seminal work: India from
Curzon to Nehru and after, published in 1969 by Collins of Britain and John Day of the US!

INFA offers a daily fare of news and features and importantly analysis by top experts on
Indian politics, business and economics. It also reports major developments in India and its
various States as also about international relations. Topical backgrounders and features are
 provided on request. All are supplied by email in English and Hindi. Moreover, the agency
has joined hands with a popular internet site sarkaritel.com to offer INFA e-service daily.
INFA’s Parliament Spotlight provides the highlights of Parliament proceedings ---debates,
issues and legislative business --- of great importance to public institutions and businesses.
INFA Digest - available every Friday at our site - brings into focus top stories and
developments of the past week.

Besides supplying news and features INFA has a Publication Division. This brings out two
exclusive annuals: India Who’s Who -- biographical information on 5000 eminent Indians
across the board and Press & Advertisers Year Book – a concise book for those engaged in
media and advertising. Moreover, INFA brings out new editions of India From Curzon to
Nehru and After described by India’s third President as “Indian history seen from the inside.”
Durga Das also edited 10 volumes of the historic correspondence (1945-50) of India’s Iron
Man, Sardar Patel, free India’s Deputy Prime Minister.

NEWS AND FEATURES:

INFA service is provided by e-mail both in English and Hindi. The service comprises a column a
day or 30 articles a month for the editorial page together with two to three exclusive off-beat
news items. It also provides tailor made write-ups on request from its clients, such as
newspapers, government organizations, conglomerates etc. INFA columns cover a wide
spectrum and are written by acknowledged experts. These are released under seven titles each
week: Political Diary, a weekly column on national affairs with inside information and relevant
background.
Newspaper Syndicate: Newspaper syndicate also called Press Syndicate, or Feature
Syndicate, agency that sells to newspapers and other media special writing and artwork, often
written by a noted journalist or eminent authority or drawn by a well-known cartoonist that
cannot be classified as spot coverage of the news. Its fundamental service is to spread the cost of
expensive features among as many newspapers (subscribers) as possible. Press syndicates sell
the exclusive rights to a feature to one subscriber in each territory, in contrast to the wire news
services (see news agency), which offer their reports to all papers in a given area. Some
syndicates specialize in such entertainment features as comic strips, cartoons, columns of
oddities or humour, and serialized novels. Typical syndicated features are columns of advice on
child rearing, health, running a household, gardening, and such games as bridge. Syndicates
came into being in the United States at the end of the Civil War. Individual features, however,
had been syndicated as early as 1768 in the Journal of Occurrences, which was circulated by a
group of “Boston patriots.”
Introduction to International News agencies & Photo agencies—Reuters, AP, AFP, UPI,
and TASS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES:

AP, UPI, Reuter and AFP are the major foreign news agencies. AP and UPI both have some 200
bureaus operating the worldwide. It is the task of a bureau to gather and transmit information. AP
has its head office at New York. It exchanges news on mutual grounds with other news agencies.
UPI operates in more than 100 countries, serving 5000 publications and radio stations in the
United States. UPI is a privately owned company. Reuter was established in 1851 by Paul Julius
Reuter in England. Reuter provided free trial service to the newspapers in 1858. It is delivering
news to media in 15 countries. AFP was established in France. It has 12000 subscribers in 160
countries and is distributing news in six languages.

ROLE AND SCOPE OF NEWS AGENCY:

Basis function of a news agency is to deliver up-to-date, impartial and well written news. This
requires continuous revision of stores. An additional aim is to keep intact as much of each
original story as possible, so that material already set in type may be retained. The result is that a
basic story will be revised many times in bits ranging from an inserted phrase to a few
paragraphs. Generally, only the most timeless features and insignificant sidebars are moved in
single neat packages that “stand” for an entire transmission cycle. The stories are revised several
times in order to correct errors, add the latest information and improve emphasis, readability and
brightness. News agency has its own sources of news including its separate reporting section and
foreign based correspondents. A separate news room performs the selection and editing process
under the supervision of desk incharge and shift in charge. News agency’s writers and editors
usually work under time pressure. News agencies have main trunk distribution circuits running
across the country.

In the present situation, where electronic media is on top the role and scope of news agencies is
increasing. However, the print and electronic media is also increasing their reporters but for the
international news they are rely on news agencies. Foreign and local news agencies are
increasing their sources and appointing professionals to explore the world of news.

News agencies can be corporations that sell news (e.g. Press Association, Thomson Reuters,
UPI). Other agencies work cooperatively with large media companies, generating their news
centrally and sharing local news stories the major news agencies may chose to pick up and
redistribute (i.e. AP, Agence France-Presse (AFP), MYOP). Commercial newswire services
charge businesses to distribute their news (e.g. Business Wire, the Hugin Group, Market Wire,
PR Newswire, and ABN Newswire). Governments may also control news agencies: China
(Xinhua), Canada, Russia (ITAR-TASS) and other countries also have government-funded news
agencies which also use information from other agencies well.
The major news agencies generally prepare hard news stories and feature articles that can be
used by other news organizations with little or no modification, and then sell them to other news
organizations. They provide these articles in bulk electronically through wire services (originally
they used telegraphy; today they frequently use the Internet). Corporations, individuals, analysts
and intelligence agencies may also subscribe.

Internet-based alternative news agencies as a component of the larger alternative media

emphasizes a "non-corporate view" that is independent of the pressures of corporate media,
business media and government-generated news and releases.

CONCLUSION
As the news agencies are the first source of news in the early days of life of newspaper and with
the passage of time the print and electronic media is growing faster, however the reliance on the
news agencies are somehow is still there.
Basically news agencies are working on quantitative policy, they have agreement with the
newspaper’s management against the each news or bulk news. In some cases the authencity of
the news is doubtful. But still news agencies play a vital role in the modern media.
On the other hand to get news from the government department the role of news agency which is
government owned agency is very important. For the international news they play a major role.
Somehow, we can say the role of news agencies cannot be decreases.

Government Media Organizations—PIB, Photo Division, DAVP, RNI, Directorate of

Information & Public Relations of various state governments
Press Information Bureau:
The Press Information Bureau is the nodal agency of the Government of India to disseminate
information to the print and electronic media on government policies, programme initiatives and
achievements. Functioning as an interface between the Government and the media, PIB also
provides feedback to the Government as reflected in the media.
PIB functions through its corps of Departmental Publicity Officers attached to various Ministry
and important government organizations. Acting as interface between media and the
government, these officers also advise Ministries on media matters. Special feedback digests are
prepared analyzing country-wide coverage of major happenings and decisions. Over 2.5lakh
clippings on important issues and events are digitized in a year.
Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity:
The Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) is the nodal agency of
the Government of India for advertising by various Ministries and organizations of Government
of India including public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies. At the time of the Second
World War, the Government of India asked the leading advertisement agencies to form a
consortium and set up a publicity unit in Shimla to handle war propaganda, tackle rumour
mongering, put out messages about black-outs and handle recruitment to the armed forces. When
the war ended, this consortium was converted into its present form. IT came into being in
1955.IT has its headquarters and regional offices in DELHI and Regional offices in Bangalore
and Guwahati. Its work is further facilitated by two regional distribution centers at KOLKATA
and CHENNAI. The DIRECTORATE includes an Exhibition Wing, Mass Mailing Wing,
Outdoor Publicity Wing, Research Wing, Distribution Wing and Language Wing in addition to
the Audio Visual Publicity Cell.
Registrar of Newspapers for India:
The Office of the Registrar of Newspapers for India, more popularly known as RNI, came into
being on July 1, 1956, on the recommendation of the First Press Commission 1953 and by
amending the Press and Registration of Books Act 1867.

The PRB Act contains the duties and functions of RNI. On account of some more responsibilities
entrusted upon RNI during all these years, the office is performing both statutory as well as some
non-statutory functions. Under statutory functions, the following jobs are covered:

o Compilation and maintenance of a Register of Newspapers containing particulars about all

the newspapers published;
o Issue of Certificate of Registration to newspapers published under valid declaration;
o Scrutiny and analysis of annual statements sent by the publishers of newspapers every year
under PRB Act containing information on circulation, ownership etc;
o Informing district magistrates about availability of titles, to intending publishers for filing
declaration;
o Ensuring that newspapers are published in accordance with the provisions of PRB Act 1867
and the rules made there under;
o Verification under Section 19-F of PRB Act, of circulation claims furnished by the publishers
in their Annual Statements; and
o Preparation and submission to the Government on or before December 31 each year, a report
containing all available information and statistics about the press in India with particular
reference to the emerging trends in circulation and in the direction of common ownership
units etc.
The following fall under the non-statutory functions:

o Formulation of Newsprint Allocation Policy - Guidelines and issue of Eligibility Certificate

to the newspapers to enable them to import newsprint and to procure indigenous newsprint;
o Assessing and certifying the essential need and requirement of newspaper establishments to
import printing and composing machinery and allied materials.

Other Media Related Organizations - ABC, INS, Editors Guild, IFWJ, NUJ, PII, News
Broadcaster Association (NBA).
ABC:
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) of India is a non-profit circulation-auditing
organization. It certifies and audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers
and magazines in India. “ABC” is a voluntary organization initiated in 1948 and is presently
operating in different parts of the world. Until that time, the concept of circulation audit was yet
to be made in India and the publishers had no means to verify the actual circulation number of
publications that they used for advertising and had to depend more on their own judgment.
Publishers also found it difficult to convince advertisers of the relative values of their publication
for the purpose of advertising. It is with this background that eminent representatives of the
advertising profession and publishing industry came together to establish an organization which
could serve the common interest. Since then the benefit of ABC certificates of circulation have
been availed by advertisers, advertising agencies, publishers and organizations connected with
print media advertising.
INS:
The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) (formerly Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society) acts as
the central organization of the Press of India, an independent body authenticating circulation
figures of newspapers and periodicals in India. It is an organization which plays a major role in
protecting and promoting the freedom of press in India. The society was founded in 1939. Its
headquarters are at Rafi Marg, New Delhi.

INS membership comprises the owners, proprietors and publishers of print media who discusses
and suggest various measures to the government regarding the problems related to the newspaper
industry. It is a kind of pressure group which works to protect the interest of newspaper industry
in particular and print media in general. Indian newspaper industry today faces problems ranging
from rising cost and paucity of newsprint to shrinking revenue from advertisement due to boom
in electronic media. The executive committee of INS represents the current 990 members from
newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines. At present Mr K.N. Tilak Kumar is the
president of INS , elected on 13th September 2012 during the 73rd annual meet of the
Newspaper Society. He is a successor of Ashish Bagga from India Today.

Editors Guild:
The Editors Guild of India is deeply and seriously concerned at the increasing number of reports
detailing the pernicious practice of publishing "paid news" by some newspapers and television
channels, especially during recent elections.
The Guild, at its Annual General Meeting held on December 22, 2009, has strongly condemned
this practice which whittles the foundations of Indian journalism and calls upon all editors in the
country to desist from publishing any form of advertisement which masquerade as news.
The Guild noted that it had always stood for publication of news which is in public interest; news
which has been gathered due to the professional efforts of journalists; and news which is not
influenced by malice, bias, favoritism or monetary influence.
The Guild recognizes that news media in print and electronic form, has a genuine right to publish
and broadcast advertisements on all issues, subject to the voluntary Advertising Standards
Council code and the News Broadcasting Standards Code.
It is imperative that news organizations have to clearly distinguish between news and
advertisements with full and proper disclosure norms, so that no reader and viewer is tricked by
any subterfuge of advertisements published and broadcast in the same format, language and style
of news. The Guild decries the unsavory and unacceptable practice of some political parties and
candidates offering payment for "news packages" to news media and its representatives to
publish and telecast eulogize and misleading news reports on the political parties.
Both the media organizations and editors who indulge in it, and the customers who offer
payment for such "paid news" are guilty of undermining the free and fair press, for which every
citizen of India is entitled to. Such irresponsible acts by a few media organizations and
journalists are discrediting the entire media of the country, which has a glorious tradition of
safeguarding democratic rights and exposing all kinds of injustices and inequities.

IFWJ:
The largest journalist organization in the non-aligned world is the Indian Federation of
Working Journalists, founded in New Delhi on 28 October 1950.

• Independent India's first trade union of media persons.

• IFWJ has now over 30,000 primary and associate members, working for electronic
media, news agencies and 1,260 journals of 17 languages in 35 states and Union
Territories. Overseas Indians, employed in other continents, are among its primary
members.
• The only professional body of working journalists, having its branches in every city,
town and publication centre of India, the IFWJ’s regional and territorial units has set up
press clubs, press academies, reference libraries, training institutes and study circles.
They publish professional journals and engage in activities like media researches, trade
union struggles, human right campaigns, environmental protection and anti-war
movements.
• The IFWJ is actively involved in the worldwide journalist movement. It has bilateral
relations with over 47 national unions of the world.
• The IFWJ is headed by its president, elected in a nationwide direct voting by thousands
of its primary members every three years. The President is assisted by a Working
Committee which has a Secretary-General four vice-presidents, six secretaries, a treasurer
and 17 members of executive, chosen at the plenary session by hundreds of its National
Council members.

NUJ:

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom
and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of
the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Structure- There is a range of national councils below the NEC, covering different sections and
areas of activity. There is an industrial council for each of the NUJ's "industrial" sectors --
Newspapers and Agencies, Freelance, Magazine and Book, Broadcasting, New Media and Press
and PR.The union's structure is democratic and its supreme decision-making body its Annual
Delegate Meeting, a gathering of elected delegates from all branches across the UK, Ireland and
Europe. The General Secretary is responsible for the day-to-day running of the union and
directing its staff. However, important decisions such as authorizing industrial action must be
taken by the NEC.

National Union of Journalists

Founded 1907
Members 35,000
Country United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland

The News Broadcasters Association:

• NBA represents the private television news & current affairs broadcasters.
• It is the collective voice of the news & current affairs broadcasters in India .It is an
organization funded entirely by its members.
• The NBA has presently 20 leading news and current affairs broadcasters (comprising 45
news and current affairs channels) as its members. The NBA presents a unified and
credible voice before the Government, on matters that affect the growing industry.

Operations- The INBA is operated entirely through the efforts of volunteers. The association
has no paid staff or administrators, and has no physical center of operations.

Conventions- The INBA holds conventions twice annually to offer working journalists,
students, and people in related field’s opportunities to exchange ideas, learn the latest techniques
in broadcasting, and network with each other to encourage strength within the industry. These
conventions are held at locations determined each year, generally moving throughout the state in
order to promote universal appeal and attraction.

The INBA Foundation- In 2003, the INBA formed the INBA Foundation (INBAF) to raise
money for scholarships to aid deserving students of broadcast journalism.

Press Institute of India (PII) - Founded in 1963, the Press Institute of India, a first of its kind in
Asia, is an independent, non-profit trust, established to create and sustain high and responsible
standards of journalism required by a developing country committed to democratic functioning.

For many years, PII was the nodal agency for sending journalists - reporters, sub-editors and
photographers - for training to the Thomson Foundation, UK. Today, PII's training workshops
for journalists are conducted in-house or in cities and rural areas of India. There is a strong focus
on rural reporting, development journalism and writing on women's empowerment, the
panchayat movement, the fight against child labour, the fight for child rights, etc. Over the years,
PII has trained thousands of journalists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other
parts of Asia.

PII currently gives priority to promoting human development journalism, with emphasis on the
panchayat movement, rural reporting, education, economic and civic issues and women's
empowerment. This is to encourage coverage of vital issues affecting the lives of the majority of
our people, which mainstream media is really not in a position to cover substantially.

UNIT 3
Origin and development of radio in India—from Indian Broadcasting Company to All
India Radio—Growth of AIR from 1936 to 1950

Radio (History and Development):

RADIO (WORLD)
• 1909- radio broadcasting began in US (San Joes in California)
• 1920- regular broadcasting began in US
• Development for the growth of radio at the time of 1ST world war.
• Initially radio had been used by sailors.
• 1916-1st radio bulletin broadcasted.
• 1919-USA-a corporation had been established.
• 21Dec.1922-1st radio centre (radio broadcasting station) started at East Pittsburgh (US).
• 1922- Broadcasting company (British Broadcasting Company) started in Britain.
• Later on named British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

RADIO (INDIA)
• Amateurs were the 1st to start broadcasting.
• July 1927- Bombay Radio station of Indian Broadcasting Company started
• Actually radio entered in India very earlier in July 1924.
• A program broadcasted from Madras Presidency Radio Club.
• People were taking interest in broadcasting (Broadcasting Company Limited).
• Nov.1923-……Bombay radio station
• 1924-Chennai (1930-But closed down due to some financial problems).
• 1927-Organised broadcasting started by Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) in Calcutta
and Bombay.
• 15th July 1927-1st radio programme journal was started named “Radio Times”
• 9 oct.1931-announced to close down to Indian station broadcasting service.
• But under the pressure from radio dearer the Govt. took over Bombay and Calcutta
station in 1930.
• So the Govt. decided keep it continues till 5 may 1932 under to the Govt.
• 1936- Indian station broadcasting service named AIR.
• 1957- AIR named Akashwani.
• 1st Jan.1936- broadcasting service started from Delhi centre.
• 1935- Akashwani started in Mysore.
• 1938-Madras radio station started.
• 18 Jan 1939-rely service started.
• 24 Oct.1941-Information & Broadcast Department established.
• Till the time there were 14 radio stations.
• Opened AIR +headquarters.
• 9 were under the AIR and others were controlled by Indian Govt.
• 1930- Indian Broadcasting Service formed (IBS).
 • 10 Oct.1931-IBS closed due to1929 depression.
• 1932-BBC started an empire service.
• 1935-BBC waned the service of an eminent broadcasting administrator
Lionel Fielden who became controller of broadcasting (BC) in India.
• The 1st Indian Director General of BC was A.S. Bokhari. He took over from
Fielden in 1939.
• 18 Jan 1939-rely service started and news bulletin was started in Hindi, Bangla, Gujrati,
Tamil, Telgu, Marathi and Pashto.
• After partition 6 radio stations came to share of India, that is, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi,
Madras, Lucknow, Trichi. Then the princely states became part of India and 5 more
stations were added, they were Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Baroda, Trivandrum, Mysore.
• to make radio more interesting & entertaining some characters introduced in different-
different programs like Loha Singh of Patana, master ji and Rounakai ram of Jalandhar,
Alla Rakha and Nikky of Srinagar, Bahre Baba, Ramesh kaka are known to be
household names and enjoy respectable status in every family.
• radio broadcasting over the years has expanded not only in terms of number of radio
stations and transmitters which has made the reach easier, but also in terms of
introduction of programes to suit the changing socio-economic requirements of
developing nation.
• The birth of local radio stations was a new phenomenon. These stations were meant to
meet the specific requirements of a defined small zone without much of the formal
atmosphere of a normal broadcasting station. The broadcasting in India has become a
three-tier system (national, regional, local).
• 24 oct.1941-information & broadcast department.
• Nov. 1947-21 radio station and its reach were around to 21 percent population.
• At this time 5,46,319 radio set were under license.

Development of AIR since 1950

RADIO IN FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN (1951-56)

• During the plan there was tremendous development.
• 1952- 1st national orchestra was set up with pt. Ravi Shankar as the conductor.
• Sardar V.B. Patel became the 1st information and broadcast minister.
• 1953- Regional news bulletin was started from Lucknow and Nagpur in Hindi and
Marathi.
• In the same year 1st national programme of talks was started.
• 1955-1st national radio sangeet sammelan was aired.
• 1956-the 1st national symposium of poets was broadcasted and also national programme
of plays and feature were introduced.
• In the same year the numbers of radio stations increased to26.
• 1951-55-medium web transmitter.
• By this time radio covered 46 percent of the population.
• 9 dec.1945-samachar darshan started.
• Radio syllon (based on filmy song) started.

RADIO IN 2ND FIVE YEAR PLAN (1956-60)

• 31 oct.1956- Bhopal radio station started.
• 1957- vividh bharti was introduced.
• 1956-61-funds for bc were increased 4 times.
• By 1961 radio covered 55 percent of population.
• 1957-air named akashwani.
• Rural forum started.
• 15 sept.1959-president Dr. Rajendra Prasad inaugurated television (testing).
• 1959-radio Gramir Manch was started.

RADIO IN 3RD FIVEYEAR PLAN (1961-66)

• There were 54 stations and 77 percent of the population was covered.
• By the end of this plan there were 34 complete centre, 17 secondary centres, 26
vividh bharti.
• 4 radio centre, 49 receiving centre, 110 transmitters.
• 20 oct.1962- china attack
• 4 jan 1963- radio station started in kohima.
• 1st jun 1963-radio station started in Port Blair.
• 1965-1, 81, 657 hours regional broadcast and 54,483 hours of vividh bharti on the
name of ‘‘swadesh seva’’.
• 23 Nov. 1966-akashwani centre in Mathura.

RADIO IN 4TH FIVEYEAR PLAN (1967-71)

• By 1969 there were 127 transmitters and the number of akashwani centre increased
to66.
• During this plan a separate channel (Yuva-vani) launched for youths on 21 July 1969.

RADIO IN 5th FIVEYEAR PLAN (1972-76)

• 15 Jan 1972- radio station started in Silchar.
• 1974- Tawang akashwani started.
• 2 Feb. 1976- radio station started in Darbhanga.
• 1976-doordarshan and akashwani were separated.
• 1977- Janta govt. appointed a 12 member working group headed by B.G. Verghese,
former editor of Hindustan times.
• 1978-it submitted its report in 1978 and recommended a single autonomous body
called national broadcasting trust, to be known as Akash bharti.
• Since Morarji Desai govt. resigned and Indira Gandhi came to power and did not
pursue the bill to the parliament.
• 1980- Indira Gandhi worked out for akashwani and doordarshan.
• 1980- Radio set (licensed) increased.
 • 30 Dec.1989- the bill was moved to the loksabha by national front govt. led by V. P.
Singh.
• 30 Aug. 1990 the bill was passed and became an act in September 1990 this is known
as Prasar Bharti act 1990.
• 1996- Sengupta committee was appointed to review the working of Prasar Bharti and
then submitted its report.
• 1997-again the amendments were made in Prasar Bharti and the Prasar Bharti act
1997 was passed.

All India Radio—Organizational structure, functions of different divisions and

Departments/units; News Service Division of AIR (PPT)

News service division

The division puts out 316 news bulletins daily with a total duration of 39 hrs and 32 min

Objectives of broadcast—Information, Education & Entertainment

Radio is a powerful mass medium used in education for disseminating information, imparting
instruction and giving entertainment. It serves with equal ease in both developed and developing
countries. It spreads information to a greater group of population thereby saving time, energy,
money and man-power in an effective way. Radio is a simple and cheap medium readily
available as a small toy. Now small and handy transistors are available with even poorest of
people. A small transistor can carry the message to any place on - the earth. It needs very little
for maintenance and cheaper production can be taken up with more and more resources. Radio
speaks to an individual so also to millions at a time. Hence, any listener can think the broadcast
is meant for him whereas when listened in group all think the massage directed towards them.
Each student takes the broadcast as very intimate to him. Due to its portability and easy
accessibility radio could found its place everywhere whether it was a field, a school, a kitchen or
a study room. Radio is a blind man’s medium and is meant for ears only. It plays with sound and
silence where the sound can be anything like voice or word, music and effect. When one hears
radio, simultaneously one can imagine happenings in his/her mind. So it is called as theatre of
blind or a stage for the mind. Radio can be listened to simultaneously along with another work
like reading also.

Radio can be used as an effective and interesting tool in education both for formal and non-
formal education. Where conditions have permitted, it has become well established and wide
spread; yet, it seems to us that insufficient educational use is made of this virtually universal
method of distribution. People often seem to have been deterred by the repeatedly greater
efficiency of other media which, however, have the major defect, compared with radio of being
unable to cope for such widespread distributions - or anything like it for a long time to come.
The very low cost and adequate reliability in all climates of miniature transistor radios mean that
radio broadcasting should more and more be recognized as a particularly suitable medium for
educational purpose. Radio, in reality, has been used extensively as an educational medium both
in developed and developing countries since beginning. Its educational programmes supported in
a wide range of subject areas in different countries. Educational radio has also been employed
within a wide variety of instructional design contexts. In some cases it is supported by the use of
printed material, by local discussion group, and by regional study centers. It is sometimes so
designed to permit and encourage listeners’ reaction and comments. Evaluations are also carried
out with the feedbacks received.

Commercial Broadcasting Service, National Service, External Service Broadcast, National

Service, Vividh Bharati, FM service of AIR, three tiers of Radio Broadcast—Local,
Regional and National & Public Service Broadcast.

Commercial Broadcasting:
Broadcasting began in India with the formation of a private radio service in Madras (presently
Chennai) in 1924. In the very same year, British colonial government approved a license to a
private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company, to inaugurate Radio stations in Bombay and
Kolkata. The company almost went bankrupt in 1930 but the colonial government took away the
two transmitters and the Department of Labour and Industries started operating them as the
Indian State Broadcasting Corporation. In 1936, this very Corporation was renamed All India
Radio (AIR) and was controlled by the Department of Communications. When India became
independent in 1947, AIR was made a separate Department under the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting.

Indian radio also took up the task of aiding in the development of economic scenario. The Indian
Constitution was adopted in 1950 and authorized a strong role for the Indian State in the
economic development of the country. The use of broadcasting was further considered to be a
development process that was naturally a consequence to this state-led developmental
philosophy. Indian radio was specially designed programme to contribute to the process of social
modernization, which was an important pre-requisite of economic development. The dominant
development philosophy of the time scrutinized the problems of development as the basic ones in
the developing countries. These internal causes included traditional value systems; lack of
entrepreneurial ability, lack of innovation and lack of a national consciousness and experts could
suggest only communication solutions to bring upon. The main problem was that the old ideas
were influencing the young minds thus hindering the process of social change and
modernization. The role of broadcasting provided an inlet for the flow of modern ideas.

National Service:

In India whatever the service given by Radio as Air either its news or entertainment is national
service of Radio.
External Service: The external services of All India Radio broadcast in 27 languages to
countries outside India—primarily via high-power shortwave band broadcasts, although medium
wave is also used to reach neighboring countries. In addition to broadcasts targeted at specific
countries by language, there is a General Overseas Service broadcasting in English with 8¼
hours of programming each day aimed at a general international audience. The external
broadcasts were begun on 1 October 1939 by the British government to counter the propaganda
of the Nazis directed at the Afghan people. The first broadcasts were in Pushto, beamed to
Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier Province. Soon broadcasts began in other languages
including Dari, Persian, Arabic, English, Burmese, Japanese, Chinese, Malay and French. The
external services broadcast in 16 foreign and 11 Indian languages, with a total program output of
70¼ hours per day on medium- and shortwave.

Vividh Bharti:- Vividh Bharti is one of the best-known services of AIR. Its name roughly
translates as "Multi-Indian Service", and it is also known as the Commercial Broadcasting
Service (CBS). It is the most commercially-accessible of the AIR networks and is popular
in Mumbai and other large cities. Vividh Bharti offers a wide range of programmes including
news, film music and comedy programs. It operates on different medium wave-band frequencies
for each city.

Some programs broadcast on Vividh Bharti are:

Hawa-mahal: Radio plays based on novels and plays

Santogen ki mehfil: Comedy
FM service of Radio: The FM Rainbow channel of All India Radio was launched at a time
when radio listening was on the decline especially in big cities. Technological improvements in
the field of sound recording tempted young music lovers to opt for other modes of listening to
music. Hi–fi, stereo sound on digital electronic equipments became preferred and fashionable.
FM transmission on radio effectively served this purpose by ensuring noise free high quality
reception to its listeners.

AIR was the pioneer in bringing FM radio to listeners in the country. The first FM Channel was
launched on an experimental basis in 1977 in Chennai. The local radio stations of AIR which had
their beginning in 1984 were all based on FM technology. They introduced the concept of
community radio using the FM transmitter which provided local/limited coverage focused on the
needs of the local populace and served the community effectively. Listeners of All India Radio
thus got exposed to hi-fidelity sound quality for the first time. FM transmission subsequently got
a huge boost with the opening up of radio broadcast to private players.
AIR launched the FM Rainbow channel on 01.02.1993. This was a channel to cater primarily to
the young listener on the move. The Radio Jockey (RJ) replaced the Announcer. The
presentation style became fast paced and informal to suit the changing listener
profile. The vibrant programming and quality receptioncaught the imagination of the youngsters
and allured them to come closer to their radio. In its round the clock broadcast, radio listeners
were served with a varied menu of new formats of entertainment.
At present AIR has 206 FM transmitters across the country, by which it covers 24.94% of the
area and 36.81% of the population of the country. FM Rainbow is originated from 15 centres, at
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Lucknow, Panaji, Jalandhar, Cuttack, Kodaikanal,
Tiruchirapalli, Coimbatore, Vishakhapatnam, Puducherry and Vijayawada. AIR Delhi Rainbow
is relayed fully from Mussorie, Kanpur, Aligarh, Kasauli, Kurseong, Leh, Aurangabad, Kochi,
Cherrapunji and Shillong and partly from Hyderabad, Bhadrava, Poonch, Rajauri, Naushera, RK
Srinagar, RK Jammu, Jhansi, Dharamshala, and Bhatinda. The programming of FM Rainbow
includes Pop music, Film songs, Classical & Devotional music, News Headlines, informal chat
shows, phone-in programmes etc. AIR FM Rainbow commands an impressive listening and
holds its own among private FM Channels.

Three tiers of Radio Broadcast—Local, Regional and National & Public Service Broadcast:
AIR has a three-tier system of broadcasting. These three levels of programmes are the National,
Regional and Local each having distinct audiences.

National programmes are broadcast from Delhi for relay by the Capital, Regional and Local
Radio Stations. Some of these are the National Programme of Talks and Features in Hindi and
English, the National Programmes of Drama and Music.

The National Channel of All India Radio located in Delhi broadcasts programmes which are
heard on Medium Wave and also on Short Wave. Started on 18th May 1988, this channel works
as a night service from 6.50 PM to 6.10 AM the next morning. Broadcasting in Hindi, Urdu and
English, the programme composition of the channel has been designed to make it representative
of the cultural mosaic and ethos of the country.

The Regional Stations in different States form the middle tier of broadcasting. They originate
programmes in the regional languages and dialects. Regional Channels are located in the major
linguistic-cultural region of every state. 116 Regional Channels are spread over 29 states & 6
Union Territories including the North-Eastern Service at Shillong that projects the vibrant
cultural heritage of the North-Eastern region of this country. The Regional Channels, broadcast
largely on the Medium Wave frequency, follow a composite programme pattern comprising of
music - classical, light, folk and film, News and Current Affairs, Radio plays, features, Farm and
Home programmes, programmes on Health & Family Welfare and programmes for Woman,
Children etc.

Local Radio is relatively a newer concept of broadcasting in India. Local radio stations serve
small communities, showcase local culture and broadcast area specific programmes for the
benefit of the community. The transmission is in the FM mode. The programming is flexible and
spontaneous and the stations function as the mouth piece of the local community. At present
there are 86 Local Stations spread across the country.

Public Service The Indian broadcast media, Akashvani and Doordarshan, owned and controlled
by the Government of India, refer to them as the public service broadcasting media. But, are
they, in reality, public service media? Let us take a closer look.

When India became free in August 1947, television was not on the scene. We had only sound
broadcasting. A radio club came up in Calcutta under private auspices as an experiment in 1923.
Similar stations came up in Madras, Bombay and elsewhere. It was in 1927 that a private
company, Indian Broadcasting Company Limited, initiated a regular broadcasting service. This
company went into liquidation in 1930 and was taken over by the Government of India, which
started broadcasting under the Indian State Broadcasting Service. The service was re-designated
All India Radio and was a part of the Department of Industries and Labour till it was transferred
to the Department of Communications. Finally it came under the Department of Information and
Broadcasting in 1941. It was this AIR that the free Government of India inherited in August
1947.

This first Prime Minister of free India, Jawaharlal Nehru, shared his loud thinking on this subject
during discussions in the Constituent Assembly and suggested something on the lines of the BBC
structure for AIR, but added that the opportune moment had not yet arrived for it. By the mid-
sixties Akashvani had grown into a big network. Experimental Television had also started in the
country. During the Indo-Chinese conflict certain deficiencies were noticed in the information
media servicing the border areas. With all these things in mind, the GOI appointed a committee
headed by Mr Chanda in 1964 to review the work of the various media organisations and make
their recommendations for improvement. It recommended that since an information medium
cannot operate efficiently within departmental rules, it should be given certain latitude to frame
its own rules and regulations including those of recruitment. The government felt that the
moment was not yet opportune for such a degree of autonomy. The first change came in 1976,
when Television, by then called Doordarshan, was constituted as a separate Department in the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. But, it did not have even functional autonomy. It was
tied to AIR’s apron-strings. The News Services of AIR also serviced Doordarshan and the latter
could not change even the order of presentation of the news, let alone the content. This was in
spite of it being recognised the world over that radio and television were different and distinct
media with their own potential and limitations and therefore, different needs. The monopoly and
proprietary instincts were so strong in the broadcast media that it led, sometimes, to ludicrous
situations. I shall mention just a couple of examples to illustrate this point. The Film Institute of
India was established in Pune in 1961. Later, when television came to India, it was decided to
have a television-training institute also on the same campus. It was obvious that the personnel for
the two media would, in future days, work hand-in-hand. Yet these two institutions operated
independently.

In the early days, when the head of the television training paid periodic visits to Pune, he was not
even on speaking terms with his counterpart in film. In later years, the Film and Television
Institute of India was established as an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting. But, when, as a logical step, it was proposed to consolidate film and television
training into one course, to enable both media to have a steady and larger group of talented and
trained young person’s to service them, all hell broke loose and Doordarshan opposed it tooth
and nail. It behaved as if the family silver was being sold away.

Just before the Asian Games in Delhi, the FTII was told that for almost a year it would not be
possible to send any trainees from Doordarshan. The Director of the Institute felt that, rather than
keep the training staff and resources idle for this period, they could be utilized to train private
sector television technicians, who could be asked to pay a reasonable fee. This was done, thanks
to the sagacity of the Board of Governance, despite opposition from Doordarshan.

On another occasion, when colour television had arrived, post-Asian Games, the FTII was asked
to introduce colour TV in its training programme. But DD refused to share the color video
cameras, they had imported from Japan, with the FTII on the ground that they could not part with
their equipment to an ‘outside’ body. There was a ban by the Government of India on the import
of any equipment. It was when the Director refused to start the training course without at least
one set of cameras that had been acquired by Doordarshan earlier, being provided to the Institute
for training purposes, that the Secretary ordered one set of equipment to be flown to Pune and the
training began. Whether it was radio or television, government departments were loathe to giving
up their monopoly. Akashvani behaved no better when it was suggested that selected universities
be allowed to have their own radio stations, franchised by Akashvani, to enhance the quality of
teaching in graduate and post-graduate classes.

It was only the Emergency in 1975 and the opposition that built up in its aftermath that created
the environment for the breaking of this monopoly. The public at large felt that the electronic
media had been misused to serve the interests of the ruling party in power. It was during the first
non-Congress government that a Working Group was set up under the chairmanship of the well-
known journalist, B. G. Varghese, in August 1977. It started work earnestly and submitted a draft
bill for an autonomous institution for Indian broadcasting in February 1978. This has never been
pursued to its logical conclusion. What we have today is an autonomous institution, called Prasar
Bharati, in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and under its control. IN the early days,
when broadcasting was a Central Government monopoly, an autonomous institution naturally
meant putting it outside the pale of government control. Many people genuinely felt that private
sector broadcasting was the solution to this problem. Now they know better.

In this regard, let us take a brief look at the experience in the USA, which is still looked upon as
the Mecca of private enterprise. There is no doubt that private sector broadcasting did an
excellent job in the early days. During the Second World War [1939-1945], it was sound
broadcasting that served listeners the world over. There was one broadcaster, Edward Murrow,
of CBS network who became a star broadcaster. His live broadcasts from London during the
Nazi blitzkrieg brought him worldwide fame. After the war, he returned to his base in the US.
Soon radio lost its prime place, which was taken by television. Murrow was trained in drama and
voice culture. Sound broadcasting was his forte. He did not relish television very much.
However, since the future was in television broadcasting, Murrow’s colleagues persuaded him to
try his hand at television. He did so reluctantly. Thus was born the CBS television feature, ‘See It
Now’. Soon it caught public attention and viewers eagerly looked forward to it. It was a current
affairs programme, which presented important events in perspective so that they could be better
understood. The early fifties was a period when the Cold War between the USA and the Western
countries on the one side and the Soviet Union and the socialist countries on the other was at its
height. The first Prime Minister of free India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was criticized as a ‘commie’ by
conservatives in the USA for his advocacy of seating Red China in the UN Security Council. The
Committee for Un-American Activities was born, the leading light of which was Senator
McCarthy from Wisconsin. This Committee went on to denounce several US liberals, artistes
and writers including, among others, Paul Robeson Sr, Arthur Miller and Charles Chaplin.
Several persons wanted Murrow to notice these events in his television programme. But, he took
his time. Things came to a head when an innocent officer of the US Armed Forces was named by
the Un-American Activities Committee and his discharge from service was demanded, on the
ground that some of his close relatives were reading socialist literature in the past. Liberal public
opinion in the USA was shocked. Murow went into action. He featured a programme on
McCarthy. This proved to be a turning point in the Senator’s career. That he ultimately had to
leave in disgrace is not relevant to this article but what happened to the television programme is.
CBS announced the discontinuance of the feature because the sponsors had withdrawn their
sponsorship. This should provide a lesson to those who advocate private sector broadcasting to
get over government control.

The Verghese Committee had recommended the setting up of a National Broadcasting Trust by
an Act of Parliament, which would be answerable to Parliament but would be completely
independent with its own financial resources. Now the times have completely changed.
Broadcasting is no longer a Central Government monopoly. We have private sector broadcasting.
Commercial broadcasting is a huge revenue earner, both for private broadcasting and Prasar
Bharati, which runs Akashvani and Doordarshan. Even so, the Verghese Committee’s
recommendations could be implemented, with some modifications. But it would be unrealistic to
expect the government to let go its hold on Prasar Bharati, which wields enormous power. So,
the question for civil society remains: how can the misuse of broadcasting by the party parties in
power be eliminated at least in some crucial areas?

In considering this problem in today’s context, two things have to be borne in mind.
Broadcasting is no longer a government monopoly. It has to face tough competition from private
sector broadcasting. Secondly, broadcasting attracts enormous advertising income, both to
private sector broadcasting and Prasar Bharati. The Central Government does not have to finance
Prasar Bharati. In many ways, it is doing an admirable job in sound and television broadcasting.
But, it is not a truly a public service system. Since it may not be practicable to expect the
Ministry of I & B to give up control over Prasar Bharati, let us examine how the lack of a public
broadcasting system threatens an open democratic society before we consider a solution.

The world over we have seen that any authoritarian party or parties in coalition, on capturing
power, try to get control of two areas, news and views immediately and, in the long run,
education. We saw this in Nazi Germany, Stalinist USSR, China, India during Emergency and
during the NDA regime, and in Pakistan. At one time it was thought that if people of
unimpeachable integrity were associated with the management of Prasar Bharati, it might
provide a solution to this problem. Such a man, the late Nikhil Chakravartty, the then doyen of
Indian journalists, a man whose integrity would not be questioned even by those who were
opposed to his socio-political and economic views, was named Chairman of Prasar Bharati. But
he left when he realised that the Corporation, the way it was constituted, would not be able to do
much.

Separate National Broadcasting Corporation, on the lines suggested by the Verghese Working
Group, by an Act of Parliament to oversee and control news, views and educational
broadcasting. This will be in the interests of every political party that professes faith in an open
and democratic society. Every such party has called foul when in Opposition and when it has
found that the party in power has tried to use the government media for its own purpose. No
party can hope to be in power forever. So, this is the only possible safeguard against the abuse of
the government media. It goes without saying that that the NBT must have financial
independence. Even a small percentage of the present budget of Prasar Bharati should be enough.
This should be voted by Parliament. A small committee of experts could work out the details.
Fortunately, Verghese himself is with us and still able and active.

AIR Code, Commercial Broadcast Code and Guidelines of Election Broadcast

AIR Broadcast Code: Broadcast on All India Radio by individuals will not permit:
 1. Criticism of friendly countries;
2. Attack on religions or communities;
3. Anything obscene or defamatory;
4. Incitement to violence or anything against maintenance of law & order
5. Anything amounting to contempt of court;
6. Aspersions against the integrity of the President, Governors and the Judiciary.

Commercial Broadcast Code of AIR & Doordarshan

Advertising is an important and legitimate means for the seller to awaken interest in his goods
and services. The success of advertising depends on public confidence; hence no practice should
be permitted which tends to impair this confidence. The standards laid down here should be
taken as minimum standards of acceptability which would be liable to be reviewed from time to
time in relation to the prevailing norm of listener’s susceptibilities.

The Prasar Bharati Corporation consists of two wings namely All India Radio and Doordarshan
Commercials were introduced on AIR on st November, 1967 and on Doordarshan on Ist January,
1976.
Both AIR and Doordarshan have served as an effective instrument for advertisers to publicise
their goods and services. As a public service broadcasting organisation, AIR and Doordarshan
has responsibility to ensure that the advertisements either in terms of contents, tone or treatment,
do not mislead the listeners and viewers as well as the consumers or are not repugnant to good
taste.

The code for advertisements to be aired on DD an AIR was made by Ministry of I&B. These ate
as follows-

1. Advertising shall be designed as to confirm to the laws of the country and should not
offend against morality, decency and religious susceptibilities of the people.
2. No advertisement shall be permitted which:-
i. derides any race, caste, color, creed and nationality;
ii. is against any of the directive principles, or any other provision of the
Constitution of India;
iii. tends to incite people to crime, cause disorder or violence, or breach of
law or glorifies violence or obscenity in any way;
iv. presents criminality as desirable;
v. adversely affects friendly relations with foreign States;
vi. exploits the national emblem, or any part of the constitution or the person
or personality of a national leader or State Dignitary;
 vii. relates to or promotes cigarettes and tobacco products, liquor, wines and
other intoxicants;
3. No advertisements message shall in any way be presented as News.
4. No advertisements shall be permitted the objects whereof are wholly or mainly of a
religious or political natures; advertisement must not be directed towards any religious or
political end or have relation to any industrial dispute.

Provision : 'But advertisements in the form of spots and jingles on payment of prescribed
fees, from Political parties / Candidates / any other person shall be accepted only in
respect of General Elections to Lok Sabha / General Elections to the State Assemblies /
General Elections to Local bodies during the period when the model Code of Conduct is
in force. Such advertisements shall be subject to pre-broadcast scrutiny by the Election
Commission of India / authorities under the Election Commission of India in respect of
elections to Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies and State Election Commissions in the
case of Local bodies. '

5. Advertisements for services concerned with the following shall not be accepted:-

i. Money lenders;
ii. Chit funds;
iii. Saving schemes and lotteries other than those conducted by Central and State
Government organizations, nationalized or recognized banks and public sector
undertakings;
iv. Matrimonial agencies;
v. Unlicensed employment services;
vi. Fortune tellers or sooth-Sayers etc. and those with claims of hypnotism;
vii. Foreign goods and foreign banks.
viii. Betting tips and guide books etc. relating to horse-racing or the other games of
chance.

6. The items advertised shall not suffer from any defect or deficiency as mentioned in
Consumer Protection Act 1986.
7. No advertisement shall contain reference which is likely to lead the public to infer that
the product advertised or any advertised or any of its ingredients has some special or
 miraculous or super-natural property or quality, which is difficult of being proved, e.g.
cure for baldness, skin whitener, etc.
8. No advertisement shall contain the words ‘Guarantee’ or ‘Guaranteed’ etc., unless the full
terms of the guarantee are available for inspection by the Directorate General, All India
Radio, are clearly set out in the advertisement and are made available to the purchaser in
the writing at the point of sale or with the goods; in all cases, terms must include details
of the remedial action available to the purchaser. No advertisement shall contain a direct
or implied reference to any guarantee which purports to take away or diminish the legal
rights of the purchaser.
9. Advertisers or the agents must be prepared to produce evidence to substantiate any claims
or illustrations. The Director General reserves the right to ask for such proofs and get
them examined to his full satisfaction. In case of goods covered by mandatory quality
control orders, the advertiser shall produce quality certificate from the institutions
recognized by the Government for this purpose.
10. Advertisements shall not contain disparaging of derogatory references to another product
or service.
11. Testimonials must be genuine and used in a manner not to mislead the listeners.
Advertisers or Advertising Agencies must be prepared to produce evidence in support of
their claims.
12. No advertisement of any kind of jewelry (except artificial jewelry) or precious stones
shall be accepted.
13. Information to consumers on matters of weight, quality or prices of products were given
shall be accurate.
14. Advertisements indicating price comparisons or reductions must comply with relevant
laws.
15. No advertisement shall be accepted which violates AIR Broadcast Code which is
reproduced below:-

GENERAL AIR CODE:

a. Criticism of friendly countries.

b. Attack of religious or communities.
c. Anything obscene or defamatory;
d. Incitement to violence or anything against maintenance of law and order;
 e. Anything amounting to contempt of court;
f. Aspersions against the integrity of the President and Judiciary

Guidelines of Election Broadcast:

The EC of India drawn a model code of conduct is established for electronic media both to
ensure that it is not misused as well as to ensure that it be used in the best interest of democracy
and the voter.

Don'ts of AIR during elections:

1. There should be no coverage of any election speeches or other material that incites
violence, against one religion, against one language, against one group etc.
2. In any constituency, only one candidate should not be projected. While it is not necessary
to cover every single candidate (as some constituencies may have several candidates), at
least the more important candidates should be covered in any reports from a constituency.
The following could be covered in a balanced and fair manner:- Campaigning and
excerpts from campaign speeches. Symbols, banners, flags and other campaign materials
of parties. Results of opinion polls by non-political, professional organizations with a
proven track record. Party manifestoes (critical analysis of which is also perfectly
legitimate.) Candidates and their views in different constituencies across the country.

3. By balanced and fair it is meant that among the major political parties:- No political
parties should be given substantially more coverage than others. The balanced need not
be achieved in any single day or in a single story, but over a reasonable period of time,
say one week. Balance does not mean each party must get exactly the same air time to
the last second, but parties should be given broadly the same amount of time.
4. Procedures: All producers must record a copy of their program off air for use as reference
in case of any disputes. The EC shall be the final arbiter in any dispute.
5. The final interpretation of any disputed passage or story should be with.

Autonomy of All India Radio:

In India the autonomy started with the Chanda Committee (1966) followed by the Verghese
Committee (1978), the Joshi Committee (1985), the Sen Gupta Committee (1990) and, finally,
the Prasar Bharati Act (1990) which was enforced through an ordinance nearly a decade after it
was enacted.
Chanda Committee to Verghese Group

A.K. Chanda Committee was formed under the Broadcasting & Information media to evaluate
work of different media under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It also examined
the role of media and their policies as well.

i. 1964 ASHOK CHANDA COMMITTEE

ii. 1966 REPORT
 iii. 1970 REPORT ON PARLIAMENT

Recommendations

1. Look into the Working of Various media units in the information and broadcasting
ministry.
2. Indian context is not possible for a creative medium like broadcasting to flourish under a
regime of departmental rules and regulations.
3. An institutional change is needed to liberate the present rigid financial administrative
procedures of the govt.
4. For efficiency and economy the committee stressed the need for decentralization.
5. The committee recommended a corporate financial accounting system for AIR its
recruitment and financial activity.
6. The corporation must be set up only by an act of parliament.
7. Recommended the separation of television from radio and requested the formation of an
independent television corporation.

Verghese Group

Boobli George Verghese was a senior Indian journalist, who was editor of the leading
papers Hindustan Times (1969–75) and Indian Express (1982–86).The janta government had
designed a working group on the autonomy of the Akashwani and Doordarshan in August 1977
and B.G. Verghese was the chairman of that committee. The committee submitted its report on
February 24, 1978. The committee’s main recommendation was “formation of Akash Bharti or
“National Broadcasting trust”, both for the AIR and Doordarshan. The committee noted that the
people want an independent corporation because, the executive, abetted by a captive parliament,
shamelessly misused the broadcasting emergency and this must be prevented for all times.

Prasar Bharti Act 1997: Prasar Bharti was established on November 23, 1997 following a
demand that the government owned broadcasters in India should be given autonomy like those in
many other countries. The Parliament of India passed an Act to grant this autonomy in 1990, but
it was not enacted until September 15, 1997.
Prasar Bharti is a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar Bharti Act and came
into existence on 23.11.1997 following a demand that the government owned broadcasters in
India should be given autonomy like those in many other countries. The Parliament of
India passed an Act to grant this autonomy in 1990, but it was not enacted until September 15,
1997. It is the Public Service Broadcaster of the country. The objectives of public service
broadcasting are achieved in terms of Prasar Bharti Act through All India Radio and
Doordarshan, which earlier were working as media units under the Ministry of I & B and since
the above said date became constituents of Prasar Bharti.
Privatization -leasing out time slots (1993)-Privatization policy (2000)—The Indian media has
never given much of importance to freedom of radio, even though most of the media houses own
radio channels, like Radio Mirchi is a part of Times of India group, Perhaps the commercial
bodies of these channels think that people are still unaware of the power of radio, for them it is
just a music device, and the same media criticizes china for censorship in media when in their
own country radio Is suffering the same faith. Indian radio is currently changing from a
government monopoly to highly commercialized broadcasting. But this media needs to be
democratized too. Privatization and total deregulation will not mean much to the average citizen
if radio fails to get a chance to play a vital role in their lives. Perhaps radio will have a success
story in India someday and the country will have sports channels, entertainment channels and
many genres in radio.
Expansion of FM Radio channels: The first FM broadcasting in India was in the 1977 at
Madras. In the mid-nineties, when India first experimented with private FM broadcasts, the
small tourist destination of Goa was the fifth place in this country of one billion where private
players got FM slots. The other four centers were the big metro
cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. These were followed by stations
in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Lucknow.
Indian policy currently states that these broadcasters are assessed a One-Time Entry Fee (OTEF),
for the entire license period of 10 years. Under the Indian accounting system, this amount is
amortized over the 10 year period at 10% per annum. Annual license fee for private players is
either 4% of revenue share or 10% of Reserve Price, whichever is higher.
Earlier, India's attempts to privatize its FM channels ran into rough weather when private players
bid heavily and most could not meet their commitments to pay the government the amounts they
owed. Content
News is not permitted on private FM, although the Federal Minister for Information-
Broadcasting (I. and B. Ministry, Govt. of India) says this may be reconsidered in two to three
years. Nationally, many of the current FM players, including the Times of India, Hindustan
Times, Mid-Day, and BBC are essentially newspaper chains or media, and they are already
making a strong pitch for news on FM.
Development of Educational & Community Radio- Broadcasting in India is speedily shifting
its profile. Indian radio is currently changing from being a government monopoly to highly-
commercialized broadcasting. But this media needs to be democratized too. Privatization and
total deregulation will not mean much to the average citizen if radio fails to get a chance to play
a vital role in their lives. India has so far clearly given step-motherly treatment to public service,
community, educational and development broadcast networks.
Community radio in India - In the developing countries, as a Rockefeller Foundation report,
making Waves:
Stories of Participatory Communication for Social Change affirms, community radio is
“one of the best ways to reach excluded or marginalized communities in targeted, useful
ways.”17 India being a developing country is in dire need of community radios which actually
come across as a very appropriate medium for responding effectively to the development issues
at stake. Community radio constitutes India’s rich oral story-telling tradition. It also constitutes
empowered communities, enhanced citizenship and democratic involvement which are essential
for a country like India.
 In India, for over ten years, non-profit development organizations and media activist groups
have been campaigning for the right to set up low-cost local radio broadcasting facilities, in order
to support their developmental works. Finally on 16th
November 2006, the Union Cabinet cleared the community radio policy after much delay, but
presenting a well deserved victory to the communities and civil society groups, who have been
waiting for their right to broadcast18. In India, where roughly 70% of the national population are
primarily rural inhabitants; community radio is the most viable alternative for targeting the rural
communities. In this country, for a long time there was a cry to set up community radio
transmitting stations by Non-Government Organizations and Universities. Now that in December
2002, the Government announced a policy for the Grant of Community Radio Licenses to
educational sectors, institutions and organizations; it can be used for education and socio-
economic revolution at the grass- roots. The educational institutions and organizations are to be
selected according to the prescribed eligibility terms and conditions given in the Guidelines for
the grant of licenses for community radio stations. No license fee is being charged as the
community radio broadcasting operates on non-commercial basis. License will be issued in the
shared frequency band from 87.5 to 100 MHz19. There is no license fee for community radio in
India, but the WPC (Wireless Planning and Co-ordination Wing) of the Ministry of IT and
Communication levies a Spectrum Usage Fee20
.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting proposes to organize a workshop on community radio
in collaboration with UNDP and UNESCO. At present with the help of grants from the Union
Government, State Governments purchase, install and maintain community receivers. Local
communities also pay a part of the cost. There are about 70,000 community receiving sets in all.
In most villages, electricity has not reached yet, and so battery operated sets are need to be
installed there21
.
India’s first campus community radio station became operational since 1st
February 2004 at Anna University,Chennai, after receiving grant of license by the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting22. A good example of community radio-like radio station utilized
for educational purposes is that, Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU) has launched a small but able FM radio station’s network all over the
country. It has set up 40 such stations named Gyan Vani till now, with a target of
10023. A voluntary social action group VOICES – a unit of Madhyam Communications of
Bangalore, has launched India’s first Community Radio in Chitradurga24. Madhyam has taken
up community broadcasting experiments in Kolar district. Grameen Niyojan
Kendra in Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, on the border of Nepal, routinely produces programs on
malaria and Japanese encephalitis25
.
Community radio is truly the third wave of communication in India, print being the first and
television the second. The programmes broadcasted through community radio deal with local
issues like health, education, environment, agriculture, culture, women, children, child rearing,
sports, fishery, human rights, elections, social welfare, HIV/AIDS, etc. Programmes promoting
family, improving sanitation and hygiene, increasing agricultural productivity, education for
adults, encouraging traditional and new crafts, discouraging superstitions, are also broadcasted
through community radios.
In India community radio looks forward to the upliftment of the communities and society at
large. Some technical issues like spectrum management, proper bandwidth usage and receiver
technologies hold the key to the growth of community radio in India26
.
Holding the hands of community radio, with its limited reach but invaluable potentiality,
Indian people should enjoy radio as a medium having truly democratic nature.

Educational radio in India

The Radio Club of Bombay broadcast the first radio programme in India in June 1923 (Sharma,
2002a). Afterwards a Broadcasting Service was set up (that began broadcasting in India in July
1927) on an experimental basis at Bombay and Calcutta simultaneously. This was done under an
agreement between Government of India and a private company called the Indian Broadcasting
Company Ltd. In the year 1947 (when India became independent), the AIR network had only six
Stations located at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Lucknow and Tiruchirapalli with a total
complement of 18 transmitters - six on the medium wave and the remaining on short wave.
Radio listening on medium wave was confined to urban limits of these cities. As against a mere
2,75,000 receiving sets at the time of Independence, now there are about 111 million estimated
radio sets in about 105 million household in the country. Presently the broadcast scenario has
drastically changed with 198 broadcasting centers, including 74 local Radio Stations, covering
nearly cent-per-cent country's population (http://www.air.org.in). As of today AIR network
broadcasts nearly 2000 programme hours every day in 24 languages and 146 dialects. It reaches
97.1 per cent of the population, which includes substantial population in rural area, and covers
89.7 percent of the geographical area of the country. The AIR is expected to cover an estimated
97.7 percent of population in the country on completion of various ongoing projects under the
8th Five-Year Plan (IGNOU, 2000).

Major Educational Radio Projects in India the main projects that describe the growth of
educational radio are:

1. School Broadcast Project - This project was commissioned in 1937 and the target group was
School students. This programme started from Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. In the
beginning the school programme were not strictly governed by the curriculum. With the passages
of time and acquisitions of more experience, the AIR tried to make its radio broadcasts more
curriculum oriented, but in absence of common syllabi and time tables in schools, even within
the same state, it could not succeed in its aim.

2. Adult education and community development project (Radio Forum) Commenced in 1956,
the Villagers of 144 villages in the vicinity of Poona (in Maharastra state), were the main
beneficiaries of this project. This was agriculture-based project, which was originally designed
and tried out in Canada. With the help of UNESCO, it was tried in 144 villages of Poona and
was named as ' Radio forums Project' (defined as a listening cum-discussion-cum-action group).
The members of the forum could listen thirty-minute radio programme on some agricultural or
community - development programme, then discuss and decide regarding its adoption in their
own village. This project was a great success. Many action programmes were planned and put
into practice.

3. Farm and Home Broadcast Project - This project was commenced in 1966 and again
targeted at Farmers and villagers. These broadcasts were designed to provide information and
advice on agricultural and allied topics. The aim was to educate the farmers and provide them
assistance in adopting innovative practices in their fields as per the local relevance. The experts
also conducted occasional farm radio schools, which proved to be very effective.

4. University broadcast projects - This project for University students was initiated in 1965,
with an aim to expand higher education as widely as possible among the different strata of
society. The Programme consisted of two types- 'General' & 'enrichment'. The general
programmes included topics of public interest and enrichment programmes supported
correspondence education offered by universities in their respective jurisdictions. School of
Correspondence studies, University of Delhi and the Central Institute of English and Foreign
Languages, Hyderabad is well known for preparation and broadcast of their programmes through
AIR.

5. Language Learning Programme - The project, popularly known as 'Radio Pilot project' was
started in 1979-80 jointly by AIR and Department of Education Government of Rajasthan, with
an aim to teach Hindi to School going children as first language in 500 primary schools of Jaipur
& Ajmer districts on experimental basis. The project was found useful in improving the
vocabulary of children. With its success, similar project was repeated in Hoshangabad district of
Madhya Pradesh with some modifications but had limited success.

6. IGNOU-AIR Broadcast - In collaboration with IGNOU, AIR stations of Mumbai, Hyderabad

and Shillong started radio broadcasts of IGNOU Programmes from January 1992. Main target
group of this project were students of Open / Conventional Universities. Although Shillong
started this but discontinued later on. Therefore presently it is being broadcast from AIR Mumbai
(Every Thursday and Saturday from 7:15AM-7:45AM) and AIR Hyderabad (Every Tuesday,
Thursday & Saturday from 6:00 AM - 6:30 AM) only. This programme is still popular in the
respective region.

7. IGNOU-AIR Interactive Radio Counselling (IRC) - started in 1998 for students of Open /
Conventional Universities, this project is also very successful. In order to bridge the gap between
Institutions and learners by instantly responding to their queries and also to provide Academic
Counselling in subject area, IGNOU in collaboration with AIR Bhopal started this project in
May 1998 as an experimental programme for one year (Sharma, 2002a). With the success of the
experiment, it was extended to 8 other AIR stations (Lucknow, Patna, Jaipur, Shimla, Rohtak,
Jalandhra, Delhi and Jammu). Presently Interactive Radio counseling is being provided on every
Sunday for one hour (4:00 PM - 5:00 PM) from 186 radio stations of All India Radio. This
includes two Sundays on the National hook-up. Toll-free telephone facility is available from 80
cities (effective from February 2001) enabling the learners to interact with experts and seek
clarification, without paying for their telephone calls. The first and third Sundays of the month,
AIR stations of Delhi (Hindi) and Kolkata (in English) broadcast from national hook-up, which
186 radio stations relay either of them. The 2nd and 4th Sunday are slotted for programmes of
various regional centers of IGNOU and State Open universities respectively. The slot of 5th
Sunday (if any) has also been given to region-based programmes of IGNOU. This programme is
gaining popularity day by day.

8. Gyan-Vani (Educational FM Radio Channel of India) - This project is recently launched

(in year 2001) and again the target group is students of Open / Conventional Universities. Gyan
Vani (Gyan = Knowledge, Vani = aerial broadcasting) is Educational FM Radio Channel of
India, a unique decentralised concept of extending mass media for education and empowerment,
suited to the educational needs of the local community (Sharma, 2002b). It is operating presently
through Allahabad, Banglore and, Coimbatore FM stations of India on test transmission mode.
The network is slotted to expand to a total of 40 stations by June-2002. Gyan Vani stations will
operate as media cooperatives, with day-to-day programmes contributed by different Educational
Institutions, NGO's and national level institutions like IGNOU, NCERT, UGC, IIT, DEC etc.
Each stations will have range of about 60-KM radius, covering the entire city /town plus the
surrounding environs with extensive access. It serves as ideal medium addressing the local
educational developmental and socio cultural needs (IGNOU, 2001).

Gyan Vani is not only for the conventional educational system but also a main tool in making
available the dream of education for all come true. Gyan Vani's main intention is to take
education to the doorsteps of the people. Gyan Vani, in addition to giving the hardcore education
will also deal with awareness programmes including the ones for Panchayati Raj Functionaries,
Women Empowerment, Consumer Rights, Human Rights, the Rights of the Child, Health
Education, Science Education, Continuing Education, Extension Education, Vocational
Education, Teacher Education, Non-formal Education, Adult Education, Education for the
handicapped, Education for the down trodden, education for the tribals and so on. Gyan Vani is
available through commercial FM radio set.

9. Radio-Vision (Multimedia through Digital Radio)- Pioneered by the BBC, the technique of
radio-vision allows the subject matter to be presented through two channels, the audio and the
visual. The visuals are presented in the form of still filmstrips, charts, slides, models, etc, while
the explanation is given through recorded narration. Educational institutions use this as a
substitute for educational television. Radio-vision has its own advantages:
• It is economical
• It can cater to different categories of learners

• It is easy to produce such programmes at the institutional level or at the learning centers
• It provides visual support to the concept that is taught.

A small experiment in the use of radio-vision technique was carried out by The National Council
of Education Training and Research, India in 1975-76 using it as one of the components of the
multi-media package for in service teacher training designed and operated during SITE. A series
of charts and picture cards were presented to about 24,000 participating teachers 2400 centres
along with verbal explanation provided through specially prepared radio broadcasts. The results
were found to be encouraging.

UNIT 4

Origin and development of television in India—from B/W—to color—from 1959 -1982.

Formation of Doordarshan (DD) as separate entity, SITE.

Television in World:
By 1939, television broadcasts began in the United States also. US and UK, these two countries
were clearly ahead in the race. Other countries began television broadcasting on a wide scale
only by the 1950s. Though the Second World War slowed down the rapid development of the
new medium, the post war years made up for it. The early television broadcasts were all black
and white.

The first successful programme in color was transmitted by Columbia Broadcasting System
(CBS) in USA in 1953. The television set became one of the important mediums of
entertainment with the advent of several popular shows. Television gradually matured as a
medium during the next two decades. From being “radio with pictures” it acquired a unique style
of its own. As a result of this, this phase is often called the “golden age” of television.

DATES TO REMEMBER:
1936 - British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of Britain began the first television service of the
world
1939 - Television broadcasts began in US
1950s - Other countries began television broadcasting on a wide scale
1953 - The first successful programme in color was transmitted by CBS in USA.

In today’s world, television has become one of the most powerful means of mass
Communication. It can impart education, information and entertainment. Television has become
an integral part of our lives. However, early television viewing was not like what we see on a
television set today. It was quite primitive. The limitations of the early camera forced the actors
and anchors to work with impossibly hot lights.

Television in India:

The television broadcasts started in India under All India Radio. Television began in India
on 15th September 1959 as an experiment. There were only two one-hour programmes a week,
each of one hour duration. All India Radio handled these initial broadcasts.
1959- Television Began In India On An Experimental Basis: The early programmes on these
experimental broadcasts were generally educationalprogrammes for school children and farmers.
Several community television sets were set up in Delhi’s rural areas and schools around Delhi
for the dissemination of these programmes. By the 1970s, television centers were opened in other
parts of the country also. In 1976, Doordarshan, which was All India Radio’s television arm until
then became a separate department.
From 1959-1982 (50 years of Indian Television): During the last 50 years television, one of
the greatest inventions of the scientific world has contributed immensely to the development of
mankind. It has brought people of different countries and regions closer to each other, enabling
them to learn about the culture and traditions flourishing in different parts of the world. It is
perhaps the most powerful means of mass communication for education and entertainment.
The history of television in India started around later fifties. In 1955 a Cabinet decision was
taken disallowing any foreign investments in print media which has since been followed
religiously for nearly 45 years. Under this circumstances, television in India was introduced on
September 15, 1959 in Delhi when UNESCO gave the Indian Government $20,000 and 180
philips TV sets. The programs were broadcast twice a week for an hour a day on such topics
as community health, citizens’ duties and rights, and traffic and road sense. In 1961 the
broadcasts were expanded to include a school educational television project. The first major
expansion of television in India began in 1972, when a second television station was opened in
Bombay. This was followed by stations in Srinagar and Amritsar (1973), and Calcutta, Madras
and Lucknow in 1975. In 1975, the government carried out the first test of the possibilities of
satellite based television through the SITE ((Satellite Instructional Television Experiment))
program. For the first 17 years, broadcasting of television spread haltingly and transmission
was mainly in black & white. By 1976, the government found it running a television network
of eight television stations covering a population of 45 million spread over 75,000 square
kilometers. Faced with the difficulty of administering such an extensive television system
television as part of All India Radio, the government constituted Doordarshan, the national
television network, as a separate Department under the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting.
There were initially two ignition points: the first, two events triggered the rapid growth of
television in the eighties. INSAT-1A, the first of the country's domestic communications
satellites became operational and made possible the networking of all of Doordarshan's
regional stations. For the first time Doordarshan originated a nation-wide feed dubbed the
"National Programme" which was fed from Delhi to the other stations. In November 1982, the
country hosted the Asian Games and the government introduced color broadcasts for the
coverage of the games. In this period no private enterprise was allowed to set up TV stations
or to transmit TV signals.
The second spark came in the early nineties with the broadcast of satellite TV by foreign
programmers like CNN followed by Star TV and a little later by domestic channels such as
Zee TV and Sun TV into Indian homes. When the solitary few soaps like Hum Log (1984),
and mythological dramas: Ramayan (1987-88) and Mahabharat (1988-89) were televised,
millions of viewers stayed glued to their sets. Fifty years after it switched on, Doordarshan,
 India’s public television broadcaster, continues to face the trinity of the three R’s that haunt
such broadcasters worldwide: REVENUE, RELEVANCE and REACH.
Nonetheless, mainstream media for most seemingly news-hungry Indians today is TV. TV
news is India’s vicarious new reality. When urban Indians learnt that it was possible to watch
the Gulf War on television, they rushed out and bought dishes for their homes. Others turned
entrepreneurs and started offering the signal to their neighbors by flinging cable over treetops
and verandahs. According to an IRS survey, there are now 67 TV channels in 11 Indian
languages devoted only to news-way above any country in the world. TV viewership for news
has gone up from 333 million in 2000 to 437 million in 2007.
Advertising had discovered television in early nineties. In years to come, it would reorder the
medium to serve its purpose. Beginning with equipment gifted from a foreign government, a
makeshift studio and a clutch of 21 television sets installed in homes, TV now means 160
satellite channels broadcasting into India, earning revenues of more than Rs. 79 billion from
advertising alone. Now, with over 66 million homes connected to Cable, India is the third
largest cable-connected country in the world after China (110 million) and quickly closing in
on the US (70 million).

Doordarshan: the slow Beginnings, Doordarshan as an information, education and

entertainment media

Doordarshan is the public television broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati, a
public service broadcaster nominated by the Government of India. It is one of the largest
broadcasting organizations in the world in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters.
Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,
Doordarshan celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Doordarshan had a modest beginning with the experimental telecast starting in Delhi on 15
September 1959 with a small transmitter and a makeshift studio. The regular daily transmission
started in 1965 as a part of All India Radio. The television service was extended to Bombay (now
Mumbai) and Amritsar in 1972. Up until 1975, only seven Indian cities had a television service
and Doordarshan remained the sole provider of television in India. Television services were
separated from radio in 1976. Each office of All India Radio and Doordarshan were placed under
the management of two separate Director Generals in New Delhi. Finally Doordarshan as a
National Broadcaster came into existence.

1976- Doordarshan Became a Separate Department:

Independent of All India Radio (Air)- Several community television sets were distributed as a
part of one of the important landmarks in the history of Indian television, the Satellite
Instructional Television Experiment (SITE). It was conducted between August 1975 and July
1976. Under this programme, the Indian government used the American satellite ATS-6 to
broadcast educational programmes to Indian villages. Six states were selected for this experiment
and television sets were distributed in these states.
1975-1976 Satellite Instructional:

Television Experiment (Site)- August 1, 2000 was a historic day in the history of India's
communication scene. On this day in1975 that the first satellite broadcasting was started in the
country. The journey of satellite broadcasting was started in the form of the famous Satellite
Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975-76. It used the American satellite ATS-6 and
transmitted development programmes through direct reception to 2400 remote villages scattered
in six different states of the country. SITE, described as the biggest techno-social communication
experiment in the world.
SITE was an important step taken by India to use television for development.
The programmes were mainly produced by Doordarshan which was then a part of AIR. The
telecasts happened twice a day, in the morning and evening. Other than agricultural information,
health and family planning were the other important topics dealt with in these programmes.
Entertainment was also included in these telecasts in the form of dance, music, drama, folk and
rural art forms. A major milestone in the history of Indian television was the coverage of the
Ninth Asian Games in 1982. Doordarshan provided national coverage for the first time through
the satellite INSAT 1A. Also, for the first time, the transmission was in colour. In addition to the
domestic transmission, Doordarshan was also providing content for the broadcasters of many
other countries. After 1982, there was a huge increase in the live coverage of sports by
Doordarshan.

1982- Doordarshan Provided National Coverage for The First Time Through The Satellite
Insat 1a: By 1983, government sanctioned a huge expansion of Doordarshan. Several new
transmitters were set up throughout the country. Thus towards the end of 80s around 75 per cent
of the population could be covered by the transmitters. Many of the programmes of Doordarshan
like Hum Log, Buniyaad and Nukkad were immensely popular.

1983- Government Sanctions: Huge Expansion of Doordarshan In 1997, Prasar Bharati, a

statutory autonomous body was established. Doordarshan along with AIR was converted into
government corporations under Prasar Bharati. The Prasar Bharati Corporation was esablished to
serve as the public service broadcaster of the country which would achieve its objectives through
AIR and DD. This was a step towards greater autonomy for Doordarshan and AIR. However,
Prasar Bharati has not succeeded in shielding Doordarshan from government control.

1997- Establishment of Prasar Bharati- Doordarshan programmes through its network. From
its humble beginning as a part of All India Radio, Doordarshan has grown into a major television
broadcaster with around 30 channels. This includes Regional Language Satellite Channels,State
Networks, International Channel and All India Channels like DD National, DD News, DD
Sports, DD Gyandarshan, DD Bharati, Loksabha Channel and
DD Urdu.

DATES TO REMEMBER
1959 - Television started in India as an experiment.
1975 - SITE programme starts
1976 - Doordarshan, which was AIR’s television arm, becomes a separate department
1982 - Coverage of Ninth Asian Games. Doordarshan starts national coverage and colour
transmission for the first time.
1983- Government sanctions a huge expansion of Doordarshan
1997 - Establishment of Prasar Bharati

DOORDARSHAN—Organizational structure, functions of different divisions and

Departments / units & Doordarshan News. (PPT)

Organizational Structure of Doordarshan

The Director General, Doordarshan is responsible for the overall administration of the
Doordarshan network which consists of 60 Doordarshan Kendras / ProductionCentres, 126
Doordarshan Maintenance Centres, 194 High Power Transmitters, 830 Low Power Transmitters
and 379 very Low Power Transmitters as on31.12.2004. Doordarshan is presently operating 26
channels.

Doordarshan is divided into four wings:

• Programme,
• News,
• Engineering,
• Administration & Finance

Programme Wing deals with all aspects relating to programme conception, production and
procurement at the national, regional, and local level. News Wing puts out news bulletins and
other current affairs programmes at the national and regional level.
Engineering Wing deals with all the hardware requirements of the entire network, including the
space segment and the studios, transmitters etc. Administration & Finance Wing deals with
theadministrative and financial aspects including general administration, personnel management,
and budget and plan coordination.
In most of the ways, the organizational structures of Doordarshan and All India Radio are more
or less the same. But Doordarshan these days are growing bigger interms of number of sections,
subsections and staff of various kinds.

The overall head of all the departments in Doordarshan is the Director General.
The rank of the Director General of Doordarshan is equivalent to that of the Director General of
All India Radio, while earlier it was not the case. In Doordarshan, the Director General heads the
Department of Programme and Administration. His main job is to supervise, guide, govern and
control the entire functioning of the department. He is assisted by:
•Additional Director General and Deputy Director General (Development)
•Deputy Director General (News and Current Affairs)
•Deputy Director General (Communication & film)
•Deputy Director General (Production & Transmission)
•Director (Finance & Personnel Control)

The Additional Director General looks after News and Current Affairs, Programme Policy,
Programme Coordination, Planning, Public Relations, etc. The rank of Additional Director
General is equivalent to that of Joint Secretary, Govt. of India. He is assisted by Controller of
Programme (Policy), Controller of Programme (Coordination), Controller of Programme
(Development), Public Relations Officer, etc.

The Deputy Director General (Development) looks after the proper and sequence-wise
development of the programme and is supported by Director, Audience Research, Controller of
Programme (Development) and Deputy Controller of Programme. The Deputy Director General
(News & Current Affairs) looks after the administrative part of current newsgathering, news
selection, news processing, and news evaluation and news presentation. Chief Editor News,
Chief Producer News and News Editor support him.

The Deputy Director General (Communication & Film) monitors the entire communication
process of the organization. He is assisted by Controller of Programme (Communication) and
Deputy Controller of Programme (films).

The Deputy Director General (Production & Transmission) looks after the entire activities of
Production and transmission and is supported by Deputy Director Administration in the
discharge of his vast duties.

The Director (Finance &Personal Control), guides, governs and controls the financial activities
and personnel works and in the discharge of his vast duties.

Deputy Director Administration and Senior Analyst support him. The Department of
Engineering is headed by Engineer-in-Chief who is answerable to the Director General. The
Engineer- in-Chief is responsible for the growth and maintenance of all the engineering and
technical activities. In the discharge of his enormous duties, he is assisted by Chief Engineer
(Project and Budget) and Chief Engineer (Maintenance and INSAT).The Chief Engineer (Project
& Budget) supervises and prepares various projects and budgets and is supported by Director
Engineering (Study Design Coordination with ISRO), Director Engineering (Teletext), Director
Engineering (Purchase),Director Engineering (Progress and Budget), Director Engineering
(Estimates & NLF) and Director Engineering (Transmitter Design)

Commercialization of TV; Golden era of Doordarshan—1982-1993; Liberalization policy

of Govt. and entry of private broadcasters—Satellite television broadcast— Breaking of
monopoly of DD---- Television channels for niche audiences —entertainment, news, sports,
science, health & life style. Proliferation of DTH services

Commercialization of TV:
When television was introduced in the country in 1959, it started as an experiment in social
communication for which small tele clubs were organized in Delhi and provided with
community television sets. Educational television began in 1961 to support middle and higher
secondary school education. Its experiments in teaching of science, 6Mathematics, and language
proved successful and received appreciation from many UNESCO experts (Kumar, 2000).
A few years later telecasts for farmers began in the form of Krishi Darshan. It was telecast on
Wednesdays and Fridays for 20 minutes each day and served 80 villages (around Delhi) provided
with community television sets. This pilot project was initiated by the Department of Atomic
Energy in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, All India Radio, the
Indian Agricultural Research Institute and the Delhi Administration (Kumar, 2000).
Vikram Sarabhai, the architect of India’s satellite communication experiments, in 1969 presented
a paper entitled “Television for Development” at the Society for International Development
Conference in New Delhi. The idea that the backward countries can and should tap the most
advanced communication technologies including television for leapfrogging into rapid economic
growth and social transformation was first presented here (Joshi, 1985). Indian television in its
infancy was managed by All India Radio. In 1976, television was separated from radio and given
a new name – Doordarshan. This adjunct arrangement is seen by some commentators as an
impediment to the natural development of television in its initial years (Page and Crawley,
2001).
The public service broadcaster – Doordarshan has been used over the years to deliver a number
of useful messages. These include messages on family planning, immunization, nutrition of the
mother and the child, the need to stem bias against the girl child, among others. Experience
suggests that some communication campaigns have worked better than others. A key reason for
the failure of many development communication campaigns was the lack of co-ordination with
field level agencies (Ninan, 1995; Singhal and Rogers, 2001).

Ninan (1995) explains just why the family planning message, the mainstay of development
communication messages on television, failed to work. She attributes the 7 failure to the inability
of state agencies to provide back-up facilities in rural areas that were required to make the
campaign successful. On the other hand, certain messages conveyed through television have
worked well. Notable in this category are the health, hygiene, sanitation, and oral rehydration
messages which people have adopted to a large extent (Ninan, 1995).
Educational Television is another area in which Doordarshan has made significant contribution.
Ever since the inception of television in India in 1959, one major responsibility entrusted to it is
to provide support for the education system in the country.
School television (STV) was launched in October 1961 as an organised, systematic and
sequential support to formal school instruction. Teachers appreciated STV as a tool for teaching
and presentation of content (Kumar, 2000). The country-wide classroom initiative of the
University Grants Commission dedicated to higher education started its telecast on Doordarshan
in 1984 with one-hour educational programmes. Though the urban youth may not even be aware
of such programmes, these were found to be very useful in the small towns and remote areas of
the country where people had less access to other sources of information (Ninan, 1995). In order
to boosteducational telecasts, a satellite channel devoted exclusively to education Gyandarshan
was launched in 2000 in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource Development and
the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Gyandarshan offers interesting and informative
programmes of relevance to special categories – pre-school kids, primary and secondary school
children, college and university students,youth seeking career opportunities, housewives, adults,
and many others. In addition to educational fare, programmes from abroad are also broadcast to
offer viewers a window to the world (Agrawal and Raghaviah, 2006).

For three decades ever since the inception of television, the dominant theme was communication
for development so as to improve the quality of life for the vast rural 8 majority. The logic was
that in an underdeveloped, largely rural country; television could be used to convey messages on
agricultural improvement, health care, and family planning to millions of people without
depending on the extension infrastructure such a task would normally require. But the irony was
that none of this was done imaginatively or consistently (Ninan, 1995).Commenting on the
weaknesses of India’s educational and instructional broadcasts, the Verghese Committee set up
in 1977 to suggest an autonomous framework for broadcasting, noted that in the absence of co-
ordination with concerned government departments and educational institutions; the health, farm
and educational broadcasts have not been very effective. Another area where it felt the broadcast
media was found inadequate was in promoting social justice and educating the underprivileged
about their rights (Verghese, 1978). Despite some such shortcomings, Indian television also has
to its credit significant initiatives of promoting social change in rural areas. Notable among them
are SITE, the educational telecasts and the Kheda Communication Project. One of the most
extensive educational and social research projects, perhaps the largest national television
experiment in the world, has been SITE (Vilanilam, 2005). Some of these landmark initiatives
are discussed in the next section.

Golden era of Doordarshan—1982-1993:

The era of TV serial making in country began with Harish khanna. The head of doordarshan(dd),
khanna, categorically was in favour of entertainment, educational and patriotic content.
doordarshan ably carried ahead the responsibility of infotainment media. patriotic tv serials
consistently were shown . DD achieved phenomenal success I towards meaningful and popular
broadcasting. The overwhelming response it received motivated the launch of private tv
channels. However they failed to make popular TV serials as compared to dd. initially satellite
channels didn’t focused on the subject at all. With passage of time DD’s effort also lagged
behind. Today it is nowhere near what it was as its time of inception.
Patriotic TV serials on DD post the “golden era” is behind their predecessors.

The 1985 tv series “kahan gaye wo log” can be looked upon as beginning of golden era of
patriotic tv broadcasting. The first episode was being telecast on on 29 dec 1985.
Azadi ki kahani follwed the suit, but couldn’t left the lasting impression .khan Gaye. since its
inception won overwhelming response. Then vice president Mr. Shankar Dayal Sharma
presented the foundation (aadharshila) award best patriotic serial to “kahan gaye”. produced and
directed by film actor Dhiraj kumar. The serial with its immortal patriotic stories won wide
recognition. The success of serial paved way for production of other tv series. Patriotism
freedom struggle educational and cultural unity was being promoted. The era proved “golden”
with almost all serials registering popularity.
Well known film maker Hrishikesh Mukherjee took to small screen and made “hum Hindustani”.
it was all about a hospital, four women each different in their religion. the 1987 serial showed
how religious distinctions are no above human relations. highly encouraged with success of
serial B.R. Chopra further produce two more serials for dd. Bollywood old doyen maintained his
cause for India’s cultural unity and integrity. Buniyaad written by Manohar shyam joshi
successfully depicted the pains and atrocities of people of the country post partition. buniyaad
showed that however the cause of a separate nation was solved, partition for many on this side of
nation proved a blessing in disguise. famous film maker ramesh sippy took the cause with
buniyaad and rest is history. buniyaad is a milestone .

The famous ‘Tamas’ written by bhism sahni was adopted successfully into a cinematic version
by Govind nihlani. nihlani shot in limelight with this serial. TAMAS is still looked upon as one
his finest work. Tamas a film actually was aired in DD as tv series.

The golden era also saw the lights of Shyam Benegal conceptualizing a tv series on Jawaharlal
Nehru’s popular book- a discovery of India. Benegal the father of new wave cinema did his job
right rigorous research and study. It was Benegal dedication only that made “bharat ek khoj” a
milestone. A cinematic reference point never achieved later. The cinematic of the discovery of
India is great experience. The tv series is still looked upon as great source of information on
India.
The phenomenal “bharat ek khoj” motivated others such as Manju Singh. Manju Singh’ made
swaraaj. An epic tv series highlighting the concept of Swaraaj. The story was a bit freedom
fighters and their struggle for freedom. The serial in its first attempt of its kind recreated the high
points freedom movement. Balwant gargi’s saanjha chulha and RK Kapoor’s fauzi is also worth
mentioning. Lieutenant colonel R.K. kappor’s fauzi in the first attempt of its kind focused on the
lives of army men. Fauzi’s great success empowered the nation’s sensibilities. It was meant for
Shahrukh khan one of the lead in serial shot into fame with fauzi. He became a popular name.
The cast and crew of fauzi won revise. Shahrukh khan switched to bollywood big screen.

The golden journey of patriotic tv serials however continued with “jahnsi ki raani”, the sword of
“Tipu Sultan”, the great maratha and yug. The sword of Tipu, which was depicted the life and
stuggle of brave Tipu. Sanjay khah’s great effort did not go in vein. Jhansi ki rani with its
storyline content and cast crew proved significant. The serial recreated the the bravery and
valour of lakshmi bai. sanjay khan banking on successof the sword of tipu sultan made the great
maratha. a storyline about maratha warriors. A topic not touched earlier. sanjay khan’s initiative
took the shape of the great Maratha. Sunil agnihotri’s yug an also be mentioned here. An
explosion of revolutionary sentiments yug ran for more than three hundred episodes. The golden
run of patriotic tv serials on dd continued with A. S. bedi’s “ye gulistaan humara” raaj babbar’s
“main delhi hoon”, gufi pental’s “maharana pratap”.

At present serials can be seen as good initiative for national integrity patriotism however DD’s
contribution, the initiative it took, the concepts it brought, will remain victorious. And golden
long live our patriotism. Though the entertainment and movie industry has reached great heights
today, it must be said that the roots and origin of entertainment came from the authentic
Doordarshan. Yesterday, the Doordarshan has crossed one benchmark as it completed 50 years
of its existence. Doordarshan, the public broadcaster completed its 50th year of existence on
Tuesday.15 September, 1959 was the first day when the transmission of television programme
began in India at a make shift studio in the All India Radio building. Pramita Puri was the first
announcer who started the programme with “shehnai recital' of Ustaad Bismillah Khan. The
programme was transmitted in a radius of 25 kilometers with small transmitters. From Black&
White to becoming color in 1982 to digital telecast in 2004, the public broadcaster has grown
with tune of time. The regular daily transmission started in 1965 as a part of All India Radio. The
television service was extended to Bombay and Amritsar in 1972. Till 1975, seven Indian cities
had television service and Doordarshan remained the only television channel in India. Television
services were separated from radio in 1976. Each office of All India Radio and Doordarshan
were placed under the management of two separate Director Generals in New Delhi. Finally
Doordarshan as a National Broadcaster came into existence.

National telecasts were introduced in 1982. In the same year, color TV was introduced in the
Indian market with the live telecast of the Independence Day speech by then Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi on 15 August 1982, followed by the 1982 Asian Games being held in Delhi. Now
more than 90 percent of the Indian population can receive Doordarshan (DD National)
programmes through a network of nearly 1400 terrestrial transmitters and about 46 Doordarshan
studios produce TV programs today. The first ever daily soap Hum Log and later on Buniyaad
and Nukkad and mythological dramas like Ramayan (1987-88) and Mahabharat (1989-90) glued
millions to Doordarshan and later on Bharat Ek Khoj, The Sword of Tipu Sultan and The Great
Maratha. Hindi film songs based programs like Chitrahaar, Rangoli, Ek Se Badkar Ek, Superhit
Muqabla. Crime thrillers like Karamchand, Barrister Roy, Byomkesh Bakshi, Reporter,
Tehkikaat and Janki Jasoos,Suraag were popular among the masses. Presently, Doordarshan
operates 19 channels – two All India channels-DD National and DD News, 11 Regional
languages Satellite Channels, four State Networks, an International channel, a Sports Channel.

Liberalization policy of Govt. and entry of private broadcasters—Satellite television

broadcast— breaking of monopoly of DD:
Today we have many channels other than Doordarshan. The introduction of communication
satellites has improved the situation greatly. Star TV, Aaj Tak, NDTV, Zee etc are a few of the
many television channels available to us today. The private channels came into the Indian
Television scene quite recently. In the earlier days, Doordarshan had a monopoly as it was the
only channel available to the Indian television audience. This changed in the 1990s with the
arrival of private channels. The coverage of the Gulf War bythe American news channel, Cable
News Network (CNN) propelled the arrival of satellite television in India. Satellite dishes were
used to catch the CNN signals and cable operators took to satellite broadcasting immediately.

1990s: Advent of Private Television Channels:

Hong Kong based STAR (Satellite Television Asian Region) entered into an agreement with an
Indian company and Zee TV was born. It became the first privately owned Hindi satellite
channel of India. The agreement between STAR and Zee did not last long. But the Indian
television audience was waiting for a shift from the monopoly of Doordarshan and soon a
number of private channels emerged.
The Supreme Court ruling of 1995 which stated that the airwaves are not the monopoly of the
Indian government boosted their growth. Several regional channels also came into being during
this period. Sun TV (Tamil), Asianet (Malayalam) and Eenadu TV were a few of them. Today
almost all major Indian languages have television channels in them. Apart from the regional
channels, a host of international channels like CNN, BBC and Discovery are also available to the
Indian television audience. With different categories of channels like 24 hour news channels,
religious channels, cartoon channels and movie channels, there is something for everyone to
watch.

Breaking of monopoly of DD /New Trends in Television:

Now Television content can be delivered in a variety of ways. It can be distributed through
terrestrial transmission. In this system, an antenna connected to the television viewer is used to
receive the signals telecast by the broadcaster’s transmitter. This is the traditional method of
television broadcast. Other methods of delivery include distribution through cable networks and
direct broadcast satellite. The cable distribution in India can be seen as a chain which begins with
the signal sent by the broadcaster to the cable operator. The cable operators then relay these
signals to our homes. There are free to air channels and pay channels. For the free to air
channels, the broadcaster does not charge the cable operator. Examples of free to air channels
include Aaj Tak, Sahara and Times Now. Pay channels like Sony and Star Plus charge a certain
amount of money per subscriber per month.

Proliferation of DTH services

The digital market in India involving digital cable, direct to home (DTH), IPTV, and mobile TV
is at its peak and would proliferate, offering several options to the viewers.

India is going digital. The analog mode of transmission would soon get a setback from new
technologies such as DTH, digital cable, and IPTV. Home and platform owners of these new
technologies are expected to receive unlimited channels, digital sound and quality, and several
other choices. India presently has approximately 7 million DTH subscribers and according to the
industry estimates, the DTH industry would increase to 60 million by 2015.

What is DTH?
DTH stands for Direct-to-Home Television. Through DTH service, you can receive TV
programs through your own personal mini dish fixed outside your home. The signals are directly
beamed in your home from the satellite through the mini dish.
DTH has digital transmission and stereophonic sound effects, thus offering better quality picture
and sound. It can also access remote areas which are not covered by Cable TV.

The survey found that while the cable homes are migrating to DTH in urban India, a general
trend found in rural India is the transition from terrestrial homes to DTH. This ensures that DTH
is already making waves and creating a new multi-channel universe concept in rural India. Cable
penetrations have shown a relationship to two attributes mainly - market intrinsic landscape
(density and topography) and price (soft-spots). In urban India, the price band ranges from Rs. 75
- Rs. 125 per month while in rural India, the price band ranges from Rs. 45 - Rs.80 per month.

DTH has registered a huge growth in the last two years and has grown across urban and rural
markets while there is limited growth for cable STB, owing to the CAS implementation. The
urban DTH is governed by pay DTH service providers while rural India is heavily governed by a
single free-to-air (FTA) DTH service provider - Doordarshan's DD Direct Plus.

Growth of Private International, National & Regional TV Networks & fierce competition
for ratings:

International broadcasting: DD India is broadcast internationally via satellite. It is available in

146 countries worldwide; however information on receiving this channel in other countries is not
easily available. In the UK, DD-India was available through the Eurobird Satellite on the Sky
system on Channel 833 (the logo is shown as Rayat TV). The timing and programming of DD-
India international is different from that of India. Transmissions via Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
ceased in June 2008 and those via DirecTV in the United States in July 2008.

The central government launched a series of economic and social reforms in 1991 under Prime
Minister Narasimha Rao. Under the new policies the government allowed private and foreign
broadcasters to engage in limited operations in India. This process has been pursued consistently
by all subsequent federal administrations. Foreign channels like CNN, Star TV and domestic
channels such as Zee TV and Sun TV started satellite broadcasts. Starting with 41 sets in 1962
and one channel, by 1991 TV in India covered more than 70 million homes giving a viewing
population of more than 400 million individuals through more than 100 channels. A large
relatively untapped market, easy accessibility of relevant technology.

IPTV: Another interesting technology is Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) which allows you
to watch television on computers and mobile phones. This allows the consumers to watch
television, record programmes and share their experiences with their friends with the help of an
internet connection and a set top box provided. Under this system, a cell phone can be used to
schedule of a programme. This will offer the consumers greater choice, control and convenience.
Many of the major Indian channels provide video clips of their programmes through their
websites.

References:

• The Press in India by K. S. Padhy and R.N. Sahu

• History of Press (Press Laws and Communication by B.N. Ahuja
• History of Journalism in India by Dr. G.K. Kundra
• History of Indian Press by B. N. Ahuja
• Suchana Kranti Aur vishwa Bhasa Hindi by Prof. Hari Mohan
• Research Paper: language press in India: a study of contemporary bengali journalism of
Tanaya Roy
• Research Paper: Television and Development Communication in India: A Critical
Appraisal of Rommani Sen Shitak

• notes of mgkv
• www.ptinews.com/
• www.uniindia.com/
• www.nba.com/india
• Radio in New Avatar by Dr. Ambrish Saxena
• www.aiaer.net/ejournal/vol19107/8.htm
• www.preservearticles.com/.../esay-on-the-brief-history-of-radio-broadcast
• http://allindiaradio.gov.in/Information/AIR+Code
• www.ddindia.gov.in/

• http://www.allindiaradio.com