Newspaper

A newspaper is a regularly scheduled publication containing news, information, and advertising. By 2007 there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world (including 1456 in the U.S.) selling 395 million copies a day (55 million in the U.S). 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 or sharply retrenched operations.

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 op-eds; 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.

Newspaper History – the origin of newspapers in India & around the World

Origin of Newspapers:

The History of newspapers is arguably one of the most dramatic episodes of human experience. The actual origin of newspapers lies in the Renaissance Europe when local merchants used to distribute handwritten newsletters amongst each other. However it was not until the late 1400’s when Germany introduced the precursors of printed newspapers. Since then newspapers have evolved dramatically and today there are more than 6580 daily newspapers in the World.  A typical modern day newspaper is filled with various materials like editor’s columns, newspaper classified ads , newspaper display ads, forecasts, comic strips, entertainment section and much more. Unfortunately the sudden economic downturn has also seen the rise of electronic or web-based versions of newspaper journals which automatically resulted in a decline in newspaper classified advertising and circulation.

History and origin of newspapers in India:

The history of newspapers in India is equally interesting. The introduction of newspapers in India was hastened by the spreading sense globalization amongst the countrymen who wished to be informed about the recent events in the world.  It was during the same time that the first newspaper of the country was introduced in Calcutta (Kolkata).  The newspaper titled Calcutta General Advertise or Hickey’s Bengal Gazette was introduced by an eccentric Irishman called James Augustus Hickey during the 1780’s. In the years to come India was the establishment of another newspaper daily in the form of Bombay Herald followed closely by Bombay Courier.

History and Evolution of Indian Newspapers:

Although there was a flurry of English broadsheets during the eighteenth century, newspapers in regional languages made its way much later during the second half of the nineteenth century. First on the list were two Bengali newspapers called Samachar Darpan and Bengal Gazette while the first Hindi newspaper was Samachar Sudha Varshan. The Hindu newspaper which was launched as a competitor of Madras Mail became the first national newspaper of the country.  Soon it became the voice of the nation during the establishment period.

Newspapers in India, Indian PressNewspapers in India have played a major role in the growth and development of the nation.

Indian print media is at a massive business in the media world and its newspapers are said to offer majority of national and international news. The history newspaper in India began in 1780, with the publication of the Bengal Gazette from Calcutta.

The advent of the first newspaper in India occurred in the capital city of West Bengal, Calcutta (now Kolkata). James Augustus Hickey is considered the "father of Indian press" as he started the first Indian newspaper from Calcutta, the `Bengal Gazette` or `Calcutta General Advertise` in January, 1780. This first printed newspaper was a weekly publication. In 1789, the first newspaper from Bombay (now Mumbai), the `Bombay Herald` appeared, followed by the `Bombay Courier` in the following year. Later, this newspaper merged with the Times of India in 1861. These newspapers carried news of the areas under the British rule. The first newspaper published in an Indian language was the Samachar Darpan in Bengali. The first issue of this daily was published from the Serampore Mission Press on May 23, 1818. Samachar Darpan, the first vernacular paper was started during the period of Lord Hastings. In the same year, Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya started publishing another newspaper in Bengali, the `Bengal Gazetti`. On July 1, 1822 the first Gujarati newspaper, the Bombay Samachar, was published from Bombay, which is still in existence. The first Hindi newspaper, the Samachar Sudha Varshan started its circulation in 1854. Since then, the prominent Indian languages in which newspapers had been published over the years are Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Urdu and Bengali.

The Indian language newspapers eventually took over the English newspapers according to the NRS survey of newspapers. The main reason was the marketing strategy that was followed by the regional papers, commencing with Eenadu - a Telugu daily started by Ramoji Rao. The second reason was the growing literacy rate. Increase in the literacy rate had direct positive effect on the rise of circulation of the regional papers. The people were first educated in their mother tongue according to their state in which they live for and eventually, the first thing a literate person would try to do is read the vernacular papers and gain knowledge about his own locality. Moreover, localisation of news has also contributed to the growth of regional newspapers in India. Indian regional papers have several editions for a particular state to offer a complete scenario of local news for the reader to connect with the paper. Malayala Manorama features about 10 editions in Kerala itself and six others outside Kerala. Thus regional papers in India aim at providing localised news for their readers.

Eventually, the advertisers also realised the huge potential of the regional paper market, partly due to their own research and more owing to the efforts of the regional papers to make the advertisers aware of the huge market. These advertisers paid revenues to the newspaper house and in return publicised their products throughout the locality. Thus, newspapers in India not only acted as news providers but also promoters of certain market products. Some of the prominent newspapers in India in the recent times are The Times of India, The Statesman, The Telegraph, The Economic Times, Indian Express and so on. The Economic Times is one of the India`s leading business newspapers; carrying news about the Economy, Companies, Infrastructure, Trends in the Economy, Finance, Stocks, Forex and Commodities, news from around the world and from the world of politics besides editorial and various other features. The Malayala Manorama releases daily, weekly, monthly and annual publications from Kerala. Started in 1988 in Tamil and Telegu languages, it is now published in other regional languages like Hindi,

Bengali, as well as in English. Among the various publications, the Malayala Manorama Daily has the largest circulation, selling about 11 lakhs 50 thousand copies daily. The Times of India was founded in 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce by Bennett, Coleman and Company, a colonial enterprise now owned by an Indian conglomerate. The Times Group publishes The Economic Times (launched in 1961), Navbharat Times (Hindi language), and the Maharashtra Times (Marathi language).

The newspapers collected their news from the news agencies. India has four news agencies namely, the Press Trust of India (PTI), United News of India (UNI), Samachar Bharti and Hindustan Smachar. Newspapers and magazines in India are independent and usually privately owned. About 5,000 newspapers, 150 of them major publications, are published daily in nearly 100 languages. Over 40,000 periodicals are also published in India. The periodicals specialize in various subjects but the majority of them deal with subjects of general interest. During the 1950s, 214 daily newspapers were published in the country. Out of these, 44 were English language dailies while the rest were published in various regional languages. This number rose to 2,856 dailies in 1990 with 209 English dailies. The total number of newspapers published in the country reached 35,595 newspapers by 1993 (3,805 dailies). Newspaper sale in the country increased by 11.22% in 2007. By 2007, 62 of the world`s best selling newspaper dailies were published in countries like China, Japan, and India. India consumed 99 million newspaper copies as of 2007, making it the second largest market in the world for newspapers.

Newspapers in India have almost created a huge industry in the nation. It publishes the largest number of `paid-for titles` in the world. In 1997, the total number of newspapers and periodicals published in India was around 41705, which include 4720 dailies and 14743 weeklies. However, in the last one decade the news media in India has changed rapidly. All the major news media outlets have an accompanying news website. A new class of newspapers in India is entirely Internet based.

Newspaper circulation

A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Newspaper circulation rates are currently experiencing a downward trend. Circulation is one of the principal factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost to the reader. Readership figures are usually higher than circulation figures because of the assumption that a typical copy of the newspaper is read by more than one person.

In many countries, circulations are audited by independent bodies such as the Audit Bureau of Circulations to assure advertisers that a given newspaper does indeed reach the number of people claimed by the publisher.

This is a list of the top 30 newspapers in India by daily circulation. These figures are mainly compiled by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Some newspapers whose circulation figures are under dispute do not appear on this list.

Newspaper Language

City, StateDaily

Circulation(in

Millions) Owner

1 The Times of India EnglishVarious cities and states

3.146

Owned by Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd.

2Dainik Bhaskar

दै�नि�क भा�स्कर HindiVarious cities and states

2.547 DB Crop Ltd.

3Dainik Jagran

दै�नि�क जा�गरण HindiVarious cities and states

2.168Jagaran Prakashan Ltd.

4

Malayala Manorama

മലയാ�ള മനോ��രമ

Malayalam

Various cities in Kerala and a few other cities

1.514

Owned by Malayala Manorama Group

5 The Hindu EnglishVarious cities and states

1.360

Founded in 1878, owned by Kasturi & Sons Ltd., exposed the Bofors scandal

6Eenadu

ఈనాడు� Telugu

Various cities in Andhra Pradesh and few other cities

1.350Founded in 1974, owned by Ramoji Group.,

7 Deccan Chronicle EnglishVarious cities and states

1.349

Owns Deccan Chargers franchise of the Indian Premier League

8

Ananda Bazar Patrika

আনন্দবা�জা�র পত্রিকা�

BengaliKolkata, West Bengal

1.277Owned by Ananda Publishers

9Amar Ujala

अमर उजा�ला� HindiVarious cities and states

1.230Mainly prominent in the Hindi heartland

10 Hindustan Times English Various cities 1.143 Owned by HT

and states Media Ltd

11Hindustan

नि�न्दुस्ता�� HindiVarious cities and states

1.142Hindi extension of the Hindustan Times

12Sakshi

సాక్షి Telugu

Various cities in Andhra Pradesh and major cities in India

1.256

Established in 2008, owned by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Also runs the Sakshi news channel

13Mathrubhumi

മ�തൃഭു�മ Malayalam

Various cities in Kerala and a few other cities

1.077Owned by The Mathrubhumi Group

14Gujarat Samachar

ગુ�જરા�ત સમા�ચા�રા GujaratiAhmedabad, Gujarat

1.051Owned by Lok Prakashan Ltd.

15Punjab Kesari

पं�जा�ब क� सर� HindiStates of Punjab, Harayana

.902

Founder Jagat Narain was assassinated by Sikh militants on September 9, 1981

16Dinakaran

தி�னகரன் Tamil

Various cities in Tamil Nadu and a few othercities

.901Bought out by SUN TV group in 2005

17Sakaal

सक�ळ MarathiVarious cities in Maharashtra

.879

Launched English version Sakaal Times in 2008

18Dina Thanthi

தி�னத்திந்தி�Tamil

Various cities in Tamil Nadu and a few other cities

.854Founded by S. P. Adithanar

19Divya Bhaskar

દિ�વ્ય ભા�સ્કરા GujaratiAhmedabad, Gujarat

.840Gujarati version of the Dainik Bhaskar

20Aaj

आजा HindiVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh

.748

21The Economic Times

EnglishVarious cities and states

.651

Owned by Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd.

22 The Telegraph EnglishVarious cities and states

.465Owned by Ananda Publishers

23 DNA EnglishVarious cities and states

.400Owned by Diligent Media Corporation

24Prajavani

ಪ್ರ�ಜಾವಾ�ಣಿ Kannada Karnataka .364

Owned by The Printers (Mysore) Private Limited

25The New Indian Express

EnglishVarious cities and states

.309Owned by Express Publications Ltd.

26 Deccan Herald EnglishVarious cities and states

.214

Owned by The Printers (Mysore) Private Limited

27Udayavani

ಉದಯವಾ�ಣಿ Kannada Karnataka .185Owned by Udayavani

28 The Statesman EnglishVarious cities and states

.172Owned by The Statesman Ltd.

29The Hindu Business Line

EnglishVarious cities and states

.163Owned by Kasturi & Sons Ltd.

30 Business Standard EnglishVarious cities and states

.144

Owned by Business Standard Ltd. (BSL)

Type Daily newspaper

Price Rs.2.00

Owner Kasturi & Sons Ltd.

Publisher The Hindu Group

Editor-in-chief N. Ram

Founded September 20, 1878

Language English

Headquarters859-860 Anna Salai Rd, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600002

India

Circulation 1,453,405 daily[1]

ISSN 0971-751X

OCLC 13119119

Official website beta.thehindu.com

The Hindu is an English-language Indian daily newspaper. With a circulation of 1.45 million,[1] The Hindu is the second-largest circulated daily English newspaper in India after Times of India, and slightly ahead of The Economic Times. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2008 The Hindu is the third most-widely read English newspaper in India (after Times of India and Hindustan Times) with a readership of 5.2 million.[2] It has its largest base of circulation in South India, especially Tamil Nadu. Headquartered at Chennai (formerly called Madras), The Hindu was published weekly when it was launched in 1878, and started publishing daily in 1889.

The Hindu became, in 1995, the first Indian newspaper to offer an online edition.[3]

The Hindu is published from 13 locations — Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Madurai, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

History

The first issue of The Hindu was published on September 20, 1878, by a group of six young men, led by G. Subramania Aiyer, a radical social reformer and school teacher from Thiruvaiyyar near Thanjavur. Aiyer, then 23, along with his 21-year-old fellow-tutor and friend at Pachaiyappa's College, M. Veeraraghavachariar of Chingleput, and four law students, T.T. Rangachariar, P.V. Rangachariar, D. Kesava Rao Pantulu and N. Subba Rao Pantulu were members of the Triplicane Literary Society. The British-controlled English language local newspapers had been campaigning against the appointment of the first Indian, T. Muthuswami Iyer, to the Bench of the Madras High Court in 1878. "The Triplicane Six," in an attempt to counter the dominant attitudes in the English language press started The Hindu on one British rupee and twelve annas of borrowed money. Aiyer was the editor and Veeraraghavachariar the Managing Director. The first editorial declared, "[the] Press does not only give expression to public opinion, but also modifies and moulds it."

Three of the students soon left the paper and took up careers in law, while Pantulu continued to write for The Hindu. The founders of the newspaper maintained a neutral stance regarding British rule, and occasionally, as in an editorial of 1894, held that British rule had been beneficial to Indian people. "However, it was equally convinced that the Anglo-Indian Press should be challenged, despotic bureaucrats condemned, and the abuse of power exposed," writes historian S. Muthiah.[4]

Initially printing 80 copies a week at the Srinidhi Press in Mint Street, Black Town, The Hindu was published every Wednesday evening as an eight-page paper, each a quarter of today's page size and sold for four annas (1/4 Rupee). After a month of printing from the Srinidhi Press, the newspaper switched to the Scottish Press, also in Black Town. The earliest available issue of the paper is dated June 21, 1881. In 1881, it moved to Ragoonada Row's 'The Hindu Press' of Mylapore, with the intention of making it tri-weekly. This plan did not materialize until it moved to the Empress of India Press, where, starting on October 1, 1883, is was published on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening; it continued maintaining the same size as before.

The offices moved to rented premises at 100 Mount Road on December 3, 1883. The newspaper started printing at its own press there, christened "The National Press," which was established on borrowed capital as public subscriptions were not forthcoming. The building itself became The Hindu's in 1892, after the Maharaja of Vizianagaram, Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju, gave The National Press a loan both for the building and to carry out needed expansion.

Its assertive editorials earned The Hindu the nickname, the Maha Vishnu of Mount Road. "From the new address, 100 Mount Road, which to remain The Hindu's home till 1939, there issued a quarto-size paper with a front-page full of advertisements - a practice that came to an end only in 1958 when it followed the lead of its idol, the pre-Thomson Times - and three back pages also at the service of the advertiser. In between, there were more views than news."[4] After 1887, when the annual session of Indian National Congress was held in Madras, the paper's coverage of national news increased significantly, and led to the paper becoming an evening daily starting April 1, 1889.

The partnership between Veeraraghavachariar and Subramania Aiyer was dissolved in October 1898. Aiyer quit the paper and Veeraraghavachariar became the sole owner and appointed C. Karunakara Menon as editor. However, The Hindu's adventurousness began to decline in the 1900s and so did its circulation, which was down to 800 copies when the sole proprietor decided to sell out. The purchaser was The Hindu's Legal Adviser from 1895, S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, a politically ambitious lawyer who had migrated from a Kumbakonam village to practise in Coimbatore and from thence to Madras. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar's ancestors had served the courts of Vijayanagar and Mahratta Tanjore. He traded law, in which his success was middling but his interest minimal, for journalism, pursuing his penchant for politics honed in Coimbatore and by his association with the `Egmore Group' led by C. Sankaran Nair and Dr T.M. Nair.

In late 1980s when its ownership passed into the hands of the family's younger members, a change[citation needed] in political leaning was observed. Worldpress.org lists The Hindu as a left-leaning independent newspaper.[5] Joint Managing Director N. Murali said in July 2003, "It is true that our readers have been complaining that some of our reports are partial and lack objectivity. But it also depends on reader beliefs." [6] N. Ram was appointed on June 27, 2003 as its editor-in-chief with a mandate to "improve the structures and other mechanisms to uphold and strengthen quality and objectivity in news reports and opinion pieces", authorised to "restructure the editorial framework and functions in line with the competitive environment".[7] On September 3 and 23 , 2003, the reader's letters column carried responses from readers saying the editorial was biased.[8][9] An editorial in August 2003 observed that the newspaper was affected by the 'editorialising as news reporting' virus, and expressed a determination to buck the trend, restore the professionally sound lines of demarcation, and strengthen objectivity and factuality in its coverage.[10]

In 1987-'88 The Hindu's coverage of the Bofors arms deal scandal, a series of document-backed exclusives set the terms of the national political discourse on this subject. The Bofors scandal broke in April 1987 with Swedish Radio alleging that bribes had been paid to top Indian political leaders, officials and Army officers in return for the Swedish arms manufacturing company winning a hefty contract with the Government of India for the purchase of 155 mm howitzers. During a six-month period the newspaper published scores of copies of original papers that documented the secret payments, amounting to $50 million, into Swiss bank accounts, the agreements behind the payments, communications relating to the payments and the crisis response, and other material. The investigation was led by part-time correspondent of The Hindu, Chitra Subramaniam

reporting from Geneva, and was supported by Ram in Chennai. The scandal was a major embarrassment to the party in power at the centre, the Indian National Congress, and its leader Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The paper's editorial accused the Prime Minister of being party to massive fraud and cover up.[11]

In 1991, Deputy Editor N. Ravi, Ram's younger brother replaced G. Kasturi as Editor. Nirmala Lakshman, Kasturi Srinivasan's granddaughter, became Joint Editor of The Hindu and her sister, Malini Parthasarathy, Executive Editor.

In 2003, the Jayalalitha Government of the state of Tamil Nadu, of which Chennai is the capital, filed cases against the paper for "breach of privilege" of the state legislative body. The move was widely perceived as a government's assault on freedom of the press. However, The Hindu emerged unscathed from the ordeal, scoring both political and legal victories, as it instantly commanded the support of the journalistic community throughout the country.[12]

The younger generation of The Hindu's editors have also contributed much to its commercial success. They built a modern infrastructure for news-gathering, printing and distribution. On the look of the newspaper, editor-in-chief Ram writes, "The Hindu has been through many evolutionary changes in layout and design, for instance, moving news to the front page that used to be an ad kingdom; adopting modular layout and make-up; using large photographs; introducing colour; transforming the format of the editorial page to make it a purely 'views' page; avoiding carry-over of news stories from one page to another; and introducing boxes, panels, highlights, and briefs." Major layout changes appeared starting <date missing< (redesign by Edwin Taylor) and starting Apr 14, 2005 (redesign by Mario Garcia and Jan Kny). The focus of Garcia's redesign was on "giving pre-eminence to text, including (where appropriate and necessary) long text, but also by enabling photographs, other graphics, and white space to have an enhanced role on the pages; by giving the reader more legible typography, an efficient indexing or 'navigation' system, a clear hierarchy of stories, a new and sophisticated colour palette; and by offering the advertiser better value and new opportunities."[13]

The Hindu is family-run. It was headed by G. Kasturi from 1965 to 1991, N. Ravi from 1991 to 2003, and by his brother, N. Ram, since June 27, 2003. Other family members, including Nirmala Lakshman, Malini Parthasarathy, Nalini Krishnan, N Murali, K Balaji, K Venugopal and Ramesh Rangarajan are directors of The Hindu and its parent company, Kasturi and Sons. S Rangarajan, former managing director and chairman since April 2006, died on 8 February 2007. Ananth Krishnan, who is the first member of the youngest generation of the family to join the business has been working as a special correspondent in Chennai and Mumbai since 2007.

Partial list of directors

G. Subramania Iyer (1878–1898) M. Veeraraghavachariar (1898–1904) Kasturi Ranga Iyengar (1904–1923) S. Rangaswami (1923–1926) K. Srinivasan (1926–1959) G. Narasimhan (1959–1977) N. Ram (1977–), Editor-in-Chief

Board of Directors

The Hindu Group is managed by the descendants of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar. As of 2010, there are 12 directors in the board of Kasturi & Sons - N. Ram, N. Ravi and N. Murali (sons of G. Narasimhan); Malini Parthasarathy, Nirmala Lakshman and Nalini Krishnan (children of S. Parthasarathy); Ramesh Rangarajan, Vijaya Arun and Akila Iyengar (children of S. Rangarajan); K. Balaji, K. Venugopal and Lakshmi Srinath (children of G. Kasturi).

Achievements

The Hindu has many firsts in India to its credit, which include the following

1940 - First to introduce colour 1963 - First to own fleet of aircraft for distribution 1969 - First to adopt facsimile system of page transmission 1980 - First to use computer aided photo composing 1986 - First to use satellite for facsimile transmission 1994 - First to adopt wholly computerized integration of text and graphics in page

make-up and remote imaging 1995 - First newspaper to go on Internet 1999 - Becomes India national news paper

Features and Supplements

Hindu has a wide appeal on the English-speaking section of India and is also quite popular among the government officials and business leaders. The newspaper provides the readers with a broad and balanced news coverage with great reporting and sober, thoughtful comments. The journalistic excellence is well showcased by the newspaper. Its correspondents posted in major capitals have a sharp nose for news and give priority to reason over emotion. Its dedication and confidence of news publication has made a newspaper to look for today, tomorrow and forever......

Supplements

On Mondays Metro Plus Business Review Education Plus

On Tuesdays Metro Plus Education Book Review

On Wednesdays Metro Plus

On Thursdays Metro Plus Science, Engineering, Technology & Agriculture

On Fridays Friday Features covering cinema, arts, music and

entertainment Young World, an exclusive children's supplement. Quest, a supplement by children for children, appears

once a month.

On Saturdays Metro Plus

On Sundays Weekly Magazine covering social issues, art, literature,

gardening, travel, health, cuisine, hobbies etc.

Apart from The Hindu, the group publishes:

» The Hindu Business Line - Business Daily

» Sportstar - Weekly Sports magazine

» Frontline - Fortnightly magazine

» Survey of Indian Industry - An annual review on Indian Industries

» Survey of Indian Agriculture - An annual review on Indian Agriculture

» Survey of the Environment - An annual review of the Environment

» THE HINDU SPEAKS ON series - Libraries, Information Technology, Management, Education, Religious Values, Music, Scientific Facts.

» FROM THE PAGES OF THE HINDU: Mahatma Gandhi - The Last 200 days.

Contacts

Please email, clearly mentioning the subject.

Letters to the Editor (Your complete mailing address is required):letters@thehindu.co.in

Readers' Editor:readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

Advertisements Queries (Online/Print):inetads@thehindu.co.in

Subscription Queries:subs@thehindu.co.in

Comments on the website:web.thehindu@thehindu.co.in

Phone : 91-44-2857 6300

The Times of India

Type Daily newspaper

Price Rs.2.00

Owner Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

Publisher The Times Group

Editor-in-chief Jaideep Bose

Associate editor Jug Suraiya

Founded 3 November 1838

Language English

Headquarters

Times House

7 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi, Delhi 110002

India

Circulation 3,146,000 Daily

OCLC 23379369

Official website Timesofindia.com

The Times of India (TOI) is an English-language broadsheet newspaper that is widely read throughout India. It has the largest circulation among all English-language newspapers in the world, across all formats (broadsheet, tabloid, compact, Berliner and online). It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. which is owned by the Sahu Jain family.

In 2008, the newspaper reported that (with a circulation of over 3.14 million) it was certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations as the world's largest selling English-language daily newspaper, placing as the 8th largest selling newspaper in any language in the world. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2010, the Times of India is the most widely read English newspaper in India with a readership of 13.4 million. This ranks the Times of India as the top English newspaper in India by readership. According to ComScore, TOI Online is the world's most-visited newspaper website with 159 million page views in May 2009, ahead of the New York Times, The Sun, Washington Post, Daily Mail and USA Today websites.

History

The Times Of India was founded on November 3, 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, during the British Raj. Published every Saturday and Wednesday, The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce was launched as a bi-weekly edition. It contained news from Britain and the world, as well as the Subcontinent. The daily editions of the paper were started from 1850 and in 1861, the Bombay Times was renamed The Times of India. In the 19th century this newspaper company employed more

than 800 people and had a sizable circulation in India and Europe. It was after India's Independence that the ownership of the paper passed on to the then famous industrial family of Dalmiyas and later it was taken over by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain group from Bijnore, UP.

India's press in the 1840s was a motley collection of small-circulation daily or weekly sheets printed on rickety presses. Few extended beyond their small communities and seldom tried to unite the many castes, tribes, and regional subcultures of India. The Anglo-Indian papers promoted purely British interests. Robert Knight (1825–1892) was the principal founder and the first editor of the Times.

The son of a son of a London bank clerk from the lower-middle-class, Knight proved a skilled writer and passionate reformer. Knight helped create a vibrant national newspaper industry in British India. When the Sepoy Mutiny erupted, Knight was acting editor of the Bombay Times and Standard. He broke with the rest of the English language press (which focused on Indian savagery and treachery) and instead blamed the violence on the lack of discipline and poor leadership in the army. That angered the Anglo community, but attracted the Times's Indian shareholders, who made him the permanent editor. Knight blasted the mismanagement and greed of the Raj, attacking annexation policies that appropriated native lands and arbitrarily imposed taxes on previously exempt land titles, ridiculing income taxes, and exposing school systems that disregarded Indian customs and needs. Knight led the paper to national prominence. In 1860, he bought out the Indian shareholders and merged with the rival Bombay Standard, and started India's first news agency. It wired Times dispatches to papers across the country and became the Indian agent for Reuters news service. In 1861, he changed the name from the Bombay Times and Standard to the Times of India. Knight fought for a press free of prior restraint or intimidation, frequently resisting the attempts by governments, business interests, and cultural spokesmen.

Times today

The Times of India is published by the media group Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. This company, along with its other group companies, known as The Times Group, also publishes The Economic Times, Mumbai Mirror,Pune Mirror, the Navbharat Times (a Hindi-language daily broadsheet), the Maharashtra Times (a Marathi-language daily broadsheet).

The Times is self-declared as a liberal newspaper, and is sometimes described as irreverent.

The present management of The Times Group has been instrumental in changing the outlook of Indian journalism. In India, as is elsewhere in the world, the Editor of a newspaper has traditionally been considered as the most notable position in a newspaper

set up. The Times of India, however, changed this in the early 1990s, in keeping with the management policy of treating the newspaper as just another brand in the market. The main newspaper and its many sub-editions are now run by editors who are appointed within the ranks and the company gives equal chance to everyone to occupy the editor's seat. The Times Group also places equal focus and importance to every department and function - which has made it a professional entity and ensured its place as the most profitable newspaper in the country.

In January 2007, the Kannada edition was launched in Bangalore and in April 2008 the Chennai edition was launched. Their main rivals in India are The Hindu and Hindustan Times, which hold second and third position by circulation.

According to the Indian Relationship Survey conducted by the Media Research User Council, the list of top 10 newspaper of India are as follow:Dainik Jagran

Dainik Bhaskar Hindustan local Amar Ujala Lokmat Daily Thanti Dinakaran Ananda Bazar Patrika Eenadu Rajasthan Patrika The Times of India Hindustan Times The Hindu The Telegraph Deccan Chronical

World Top 10 - English Language Newspaper

Newspaper Country Average Daily Circulation

The Sun U.K. 3,472,841

USA Today USA 2,610,255

The Daily Mail UK 2,476,625

The Mirror UK 2,187,960

Times Of India India 1,879,000

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New York Times USA 1,109,000

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Daily Express UK 957,574

Los Angeles Times USA 944,000

The Hindu is an English-language Indian daily newspaper. With a circulation of 1.45 million, The Hindu is the second-largest circulated daily English newspaper in India after Times of India, and slightly ahead of The Economic Times. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2008 The Hindu is the third most-widely read English newspaper in India (after Times of India and Hindustan Times) with a readership of 5.2 million. It has its largest base of circulation in South India, especially Tamil Nadu. Headquartered at Chennai (formerly called Madras), The Hindu was published weekly when it was launched in 1878, and started publishing daily in 1889.

The Hindu became, in 1995, the first Indian newspaper to offer an online edition.

The Hindu is published from 13 locations — Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Madurai, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.