Kannada language newspapers are mostly published from several major cities of south India like Bengaluru, Manipal and Mangalore. Many Kannada language newspapers provide all types of local, national and international news, while some of them concentrate only on providing local news. Kannada is considered to be one of the major Dravidian languages of south India and is also considered to be 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 are widely circulated in south India. They are playing an important role in disseminating valuable information about the latest events in and around the world.
History of Kannada Language Newspapers
History of Kannada language newspapers dates back to the early half of the twentieth century, which coincides with the freedom movement in India. Like most of the newspapers in other languages, Kannada language newspapers 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 to be a prominent one. 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 emphasizing on other important issues like the total development of Karnataka as well as of India. They started covering relevant news items giving importance to the need of rural development, the development of underdeveloped sections of society, 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 owners in their initial period.
Different Kannada Language Newspapers
There are many Kannada language newspapers that have served the media industry significantly and have also earned recognition. Some of the prominent Kannada language newspapers include Hosa Digantha, Kannada Prabha and Prajavani. Hosa Digantha is a morning daily, which was founded in the year 1979. It has various editions like Mangaluru, Bengaluru, Shivamogga and Hubli Editions. Kannada Prabha is a morning daily, which was started on 4th of November, 1967. The founder of this newspaper is Ramnath Goenka. The owners of this newspaper are Jupiter Capital and The New Indian Express Group. Prajavani is considered to be the largest circulated Kannada newspaper in the recent years and it is the sister publication of the Deccan Herald. Usha Kirana was initially founded in March, 2005 by Vijay Sankeshwar. The newspaper was sold to Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. in 2006. They are the publishers of India`s popular newspaper, The Times of India. Other Kannada language newspapers are Kranti Kannada Daily, Sanjevani, Sanmarga, Udayavani and Vartha Bharathi.
