(i) Newspaper is one of the powerful means of communications.

(ii) The first newspaper in India was published in 1760 in English by an officer of the East India Company. This was followed by many others. These newspapers focused on providing information about Europe to Englishmen in India.

(iii) From the early 19th century, many newspapers began to appear in the vernacular languages. They were published by nationalists who had the interests of Indians in mind. News and views were carried across not only to the educated few, but through them to many others as well.

(iv) Many thinkers saw that British domination of India could be overcome only if the traditional ills of Indian society were first removed. These reformers not only campaigned directly, but also used the press to build public opinion. One such reformer was Raja Rammohan Roy of Bengal.

(v) In 1821, Rammohan began to publish the newspaper Samachar Kaumudi' in Bengali, followed by the Mierat-ul-akhbar' in Persian in 1822 and the 'Brahmanical Magazine' in English.

(vi) Through these papers, he advocated education of women and widow remarriage and attacked sati and the ills of the caste system. He also published numerous pamphlets underlining his vision of an ideal society based on the best teachings from major religions of the world.

(vii) He founded a community called the Brahmo Samaj which was joined by numerous educated and progressive men in Bengal. It was owing to the printing press that Rammohan's ideas could reach such a wide audience.

(viii) Newspapers and magazines do not merely give information about events and occurrences around the world, but also mould our ways of thinking. Ideas and views have of course been exchanged from time immemorial. What however is specific to modern forms of communication is that the transmission of ideas becomes a one-way process. While the owner of a newspaper can influence the views of its readers, the reader cannot exert a similar influence.