Kannada language newspapers are mostly published from several major cities of southern India like Bengaluru, Manipal, Mangalore, etc. Some of the Kannada language newspapers concentrate only on providing local news, while many of them provide all types of local, national and international news catering to the need of the readers. Kannada is counted amongst the major Dravidian languages in southern India and is also considered one of the oldest languages in India. Kannada is the official state language of Karnataka and is included among the official languages of India. Kannada language newspapers have huge circulation in southern India.

The history of Kannada language newspapers dates back to the early half of the twentieth century, during the freedom movement of India. Like most of the newspapers in other languages, Kannada language newspapers also started their journey as a powerful instrument to fight against the British rule. They propagated and promoted patriotism, truth and nationalist ideals and encouraged the young Indians to try to free India from the rule of the British. Among the oldest Kannada language newspapers, Samyukta Karnataka is considered one of the prominent ones. Mohare Hanamanthraya, a renowned literary person and journalist, started the newspaper in the year 1929 and it was published by the Loka Shikshana Trust.

After India attained independence, Kannada language newspapers started to emphasise on the other important issues regarding the total development of Karnataka as well as of India. They started to cover relevant news items giving importance to the need of rural development, the upliftment of underdeveloped sections of people, the need of increasing literacy rate in the state, etc. The ownership pattern of the Kannada language newspapers also changed with time. Most of the Kannada language newspapers were run by private ownership in their initial period.

There are many Kannada language newspapers that have served the media industry significantly and have also earned significant recognition. Some of the prominent Kannada language newspapers include Hosa digantha, Kannada Prabha, Kranti Kannada Daily, Prajavani, Samyukta Karnataka, Sanjevani, Sanmarga, Udayavani, Usha Kirana, Vartha Bharathi and more. Prajavani is considered as the largest circulated Kannada newspaper in the recent years and it is the sister publication of the Deccan Herald. The Kannada language newspapers are playing an important role in disseminating valuable information about the latest happenings in and around the world.