and culture, and sometimes include entertainment features, such as comics and crossword puzzles. In nearly all cases and in varying degrees, newspapers depend on commercial advertising for their income.

HISTORY OF SUB-CONTINENT NEWSPAPERS

Like all other human fields of improvement, newspapers also had a systematic, slow but steady growth. A short history of the press as it began in early times can help us in understanding the dimensions of its growth. The history of the modern press is closely linked up with the invention of printing and the printing press.

The institute of newsletters came much later. Dr. Abdus Salam Khurshid pioneering work on â??Newsletters in the Orientâ? throw light on the origin of newsletters in the sub-continent. It was the Ghaznavide Muslim rulers who are said to have introduced the system in India towards the end of the 10th century. The newsletters played the major role in satisfying this quest for news and moulding public opinion before the printed newspapers became a reality.

Bengal, a part of which is now Bengla Desh, was the forerunner in modern journalism in the whole of the sub-continent. It was in Bengal that the first newspapers in India made there appearance and then the seeds of awakening were spread over the length and breadth of the rest of the country, beginning of course, with some pockets of British colonies such as Madras and Bombay. Since, modern newspapers in India had their origin in the needs of the small but growing European colonies sprinkled over the capitals of the presidency towns.

Journalism in those days was hardly considered a profession for decent men. The government of Bengal, under the Company rule, once contemplated the publication of a newspaper of their own so that, among other things, they may â??put out of existence and needy indolence a few European adventures who were found unfit to be emerged in any creditable method of subsistenceâ?. It is stated about C. H. Clay, the editor of the â??Madras Courierâ?, that â??he had the entry of good society, because he was clerk of the Chief Justiceâ?. In 1768, William Bolts was deported from Calcutta to Madras enrooted to Europe, because he dared to set up a printing press in Calcutta. In 1780, James Augustus Hickyâ??s â??weekly political and commercial paper open to all parties but influenced by noneâ?, the Bengal Gazette, or the Hicky Gazette as it was popular and known, was refused transmission through the post office, and, after a historical struggle with Warren Hastings, in which the pioneer journalist of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent scored some success, it was finally cursed. William Duan of the Bengal Journal, was expelled from India, went to America and established himself as a newspaperman. Almost from its birth, the all absorbing interest of the Indian press had been politics. James Augustus Hickey started the Bengal Gazette in 1780; some eighty years after the first daily newspaper in England had commenced publication.

Even before Indian editors used their pens to fight for the freedom of their homeland, there was a strong political flavour to the press and very soon censorship of one kind or another was enforced, even though the people on whom it was imposed belonged to the ruling race. Editors in madras and Bombay soon followed their Calcutta forerunner into trouble with authority, which then of course was the company, very jealous of its position and highly intolerant of criticism by what were regarded as outsiders.

James Augustus Hickey, at any rate, was the proprietor of the Bangal Gazette or Calcutta General Advertiser, the first newspaper to be published in India. The first issue appeared on Saturday, January 29, 1780, announcing itself as a weekly and commercial paper, open to all parties, but succeed by none, â??many of its pages were devoted It was a two sheet paper, about 12 inches by 8 inches, with three columns printed on both sides. The second newspaper to be started in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent was â??The Indian Gazette or Calcutta Public Advertiserâ? published in 18th century. This was launched by Mr. P. Reed and Mr. B. Messink in November 1780.

The contents of the press in the 18th century reveal the influence of James Augustus Hickey. Foreign news, parliamentary debates of England, extracts from English newspapers, social news, letters to the editors and poets corners furnished most of the reading material. The second stage of Indian journalism started when the Baptist missionaries at Serampur, a Dutch settlement, started bringing out a monthly magazine in Bengali, the first of its kind to be published in a native language. â??The Friend of Indiaâ? a monthly periodical was also launched by the Serampur missionaries in April, 1818.

The first Indian-owned newspapers did not come out till the beginning of the 19th century. These newspapers were brought out to counteract the English and missionary influence on the local population. It is significant to note, therefore, the first such newspaper that was to come out was neither in the language of the area where it originated, that is, Bengal, nor in the language that was still deeply entrenched in the soil and in the courts and other official dealings, Persian. It was in English. Within the space of a few years, many other local owned newspapers were on the scene. The first Urdu newspaper in the subcontinent was â??Jam-i-Jahan Numaâ? appeared in 1822. Bengal also claims the rare distinction of being the home of the first Hindi newspaper as well, â??Qodunt Martundâ? launched in Calcutta in 1826. Calcutta, which was first to fall under British colonial rule of the three English colonies other two being Madras and Bombay â?? remained the most important and largest press centre during 19th century.
1.7 GROWTH OF MUSLIM PRESS IN SUBCONTINENT

The tempo of political agitation was quickened by the Muslim Press in particular in 1919 which set up new traditions of sacrifice. The Zamindar reappeared in December 1919; its circulation was 6145 in 1920. Another was â??Paighamâ? by Abdul Kalam Azad from Calcutta in 1921 and â??Sabahâ? by Qazi Abdul Ghaffar from Delhi. Al these newspapers made their contribution to the success of the non-cooperation movement. In 1922, the Press Act was withdrawn after the movement stopped under directive from Mahatma Gandhi.

The pro-league Muslim Press during 1924 â?? 1937 was spear-headed by the â??Muslim Outlookâ? and â??Inqilabâ? whose lead was accepted by Muslim papers all over the sub-continent. During 1938 â?? 1947 the Muslim press grew rather rapidly. A number of English language newspapers sprang up while Urdu Press too had new additions. Together with the old newspapers, they voiced Muslim political aspirations with still greater force and played the major role in mobilising public opinion in support of the Pakistan movement.

After the Lahore Resolution was passed, the Quaid-i-Azam sponsored a â??create Muslim Press campaignâ? and collected funds for that purpose. He founded the â??Dawnâ? in October 1942 as a daily from Delhi and placed it under a trust of which he was the Managing Trustee. Quaid-i-Azam also started â??Manshoorâ? and Urdu daily from Delhi which was the official organ of the Al India Muslim League. This bright and fancy daily was edited by Syed Hassan Riaz.

HISTORY OF PAKISTANâ??S NEWSPAPERS

When journalism crossed the borders of Pakistan, it had made considerable progress both intellectually and technically. Lahore had the distinction of having not only the oldest Paper in Punjab but that in the whole of Pakistan. It is ironical to note that there was no devoted and influential Press in Indo-Pakistan sub-continent to voice Muslim opinion during the days of struggle for independence. The majority of first class English dailies such as The Statesman, The Times of India, The Pioneer, The Hindu, The Bombay Chronicle and The Hindustan Times used to appear in Province which now apart of India. In Pakistan, Karachi at best could boast of three English newspapers. The Daily Gazette, The Sindh Observer and the Karachi Gazette all of them Hindu-owned. Peshawar had only one English newspaper, Khyber Mail, while Rawalpindi, Multan, Quetta, Sialkot and other big cities had none. In the Punjab, during the pre-Partition days, â??The Civil and Military Gazetteâ? and â??The Tribuneâ? were the most prominent English dailies.

As had been stated earlier, the territories now forming Pakistan were never the centre of prominent English dailies. The reason may be due to the political and educational backwardness of the majority of the Muslim population of these regions. The Muslim League could hardly have expected any positive contribution to its stand from these Papers. The founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam says, â??The role of newspapers in voicing and moulding public opinion cannot be over emphasisedâ?. The press has played an important role not only in the creation of Pakistan by mounding and expressing Muslim Public Opinion in support of the idea of Pakistan but, also in the development of this new state.

OBJECTIVES

This study has been aimed to investigate the following:

? To study the news-seeking patterns of the Academicians and administrators of AIOU readers with respect to the selected aspect namely gender, age, and qualification.
? To investigate the news-seeking patterns of the Academicians and administrators of AIOU readers with respect to the selected aspect namely selected medium of newspapers as well as their time of reading newspaper.
? To find out differences in news-seeking patterns among Academician and administrators of AIOU