Mysore shapes media publications

Mysore, Feb 10 (UNI) The heritage city has many 'firsts' and one among them is that it is the bastion of media publications since the pre-independence period.

The omnipresent media had helped in shaping public opinion during the freedom struggle and the latest figures stand at an impressive 65.

Media experts here said many publications catering to a population of less than a million was considered to be good. Apart from this, there were about 300 dailies and weeklies in the district. This South Indian city had been a breeding ground for journals since the early stages of modern journalism.

However, quality of output and the content of some publications had been questioned recently.

Historians reckon that the history of modern journalism in Mysore could be traced to the launching of the 'Recorder' in 1859, a bilingual weekly newspaper edited by a few Europeans settled in the region. It was mostly catering to the British community.

The one Kannada weekly which flourished for more than 50 years was Vrittanta Patrike, which was launched in 1887 and was printed at the Wesley Press and edited by Henry Haigh.

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