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 state language of Karnataka and is included among the official languages of India. About 50 million people speak this language. Many newspapers are published in Kannada language with a view to provide necessary information on various topics to such a vast number of people. The Kannada language newspapers are mostly published from cities like Bangaluru, Manipal, Mangalore, etc. While some of them concentrate only on providing local news, there are many newspapers that provide all types of local, national and international news to their readers.

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, the 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 most prominent ones. The renowned literary person and journalist in Kannada, Mohare Hanamanthraya started the newspaper in 1929 and it was published by the Loka Shikshana Trust.

After India got independence, the 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 news items on need of rural development, the upliftment of underdeveloped sections of people, the need of increasing literacy rate in the state, etc. They also took care of proper supervision of Kannada language and tried to keep the originality of the language intact. The Kannadigas have helped the Kannada language newspapers a lot, by patronising them in their difficult times. The ownership pattern of the Kannada language newspapers has also changed a lot. Most of the newspapers were run by private ownership in their initial period. However, the top media houses like Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd., the Indian Express Group, etc. have bought renowned Kannada newspapers in the recent years and infused more money for their better management.

There are many Kannada language newspapers that have served news for several years and have also earned significant recognition. The premium Kannada language newspapers include the Samyukta Karnataka, Janathavani, Kannada Prabha, Kannada Ratna, Prajavani, Praja Pragathi, Kranti Kannada Daily, Sanjevani, Taranga, Udayavani, Usha Kirana, Vijaya Karnataka, Vaartha Bhaarathi, etc. Prajavani is considered 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 Karnataka, India and also about the world, to the Kannadigas.

A list of the Kannada language newspapers and their place of publication is given below:

Name of Newspaper	Place of Publication	Editor
Kannada Prabha	Bangaluru, Mangalore, Shimoga, Belgaum, Hubli, Hyderabad	H R Ranganath
Kranti Kannada Daily	Bangaluru
Samyuktha Karnataka	Hubli/ Bangaluru
Prajavani	Bangaluru	K N Shanth Kumar
Sanjevani	Bangaluru
Udayavani	Manipal, Bangaluru, Mumbai
Usha Kirana	Bangaluru
Vijaya Karnataka	Bangaluru	Vishveshvara Bhat
Vaartha Bhaarathi	Bangaluru, Mangalore	A.S. Puthige
Taranga	Mangalore	Sandhya S Pai
Janathavani	Davangere
Kannada Ratna	Bangaluru
Praja Pragathi	Mangalore	K. Nagabhushan