Print Media in Odisha and Its Changing Contours

Abstract

This article is based on the case study of four newspapers in Odisha, namely Utkala Dipika, The Samaj, Prajatantra and the Sambad. It traces the early beginning of Odia print media in the 19th century that marked the beginnings of an Odia national identity. Media then was seen as an institution committed to societal welfare. The print media in Odia played a defining role in the making of its public sphere. Each newspaper studied in this article in some way or other reshaped the public sphere. This holds true of the print media in both its early years and in the globalised era where media operated primarily as an industry. This article is based upon a historical approach that entailed archival sources as well as case studies of thirty journalists from both rural and urban backgrounds working in different capacities starting from reputed editors to stringers.