Bangalore - Media

Media

The first printing-press in Bangalore was established in the year 1840. In 1859, Punjab Kesri became the first English bi-weekly newspaper to be published in Bangalore and in 1860, Mysore Vrittanta Bodhini became the first Kannada newspaper to be circulated in Bangalore. Currently, Vijaya Karnataka and The Times of India are the most widely circulated Kannada and English newspapers in Bangalore respectively, closely followed by the Prajavani and Deccan Herald both owned by the Printers (Mysore) Limited – the largest print media house in Karnataka.

• Radio: Bangalore got its first radio station when All India Radio, the official broadcaster for the Indian Government, started broadcasting from its Bangalore station on 2 November 1955. The radio transmission was AM, until in 2001, Radio City became the first private channel in India to start transmitting FM radio from Bangalore. In recent years, a number of FM channels have started broadcasting from Bangalore. The city also has India's Oldest Amateur (Ham) Radio Club – Bangalore Amateur Radio Club VU2ARC celebrating its Golden Jubilee along with Hamfest India HFI 2009 this November amongst various clubs for HAM radio enthusiasts. There are two operational community radio stations in Bangalore called Radio Active and Ramana Voices, managed by Mahaveer Jain College and Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy of the Blind (SRMAB), respectively. The latter is being co-managed by a media advocacy group in Bangalore called VOICES.

Bangalore has a number of newspapers and magazines that cater to the varied interests. number of news channels operate in the city, as well as in the state too. Magazines like Open and 080 cater to lifestyle, citizen issues and fashion, newspapers like Mid-Day, Bangalore Mirror, Vijaya Karnataka provide localised news updates. On the web, Explocity provides listings information. Deccan Herald, The Times of India and The Hindu provide e-paper services.

• Television: Bangalore got its first look at television when Doordarshan established a relay centre here and started relaying programs from 1 November 1981. A production center was established in the Doordarshan's Bangalore office in 1983, thereby allowing the introduction of a news program in Kannada on 19 November 1983. Doordarshan also launched a Kannada satellite channel on 15 August 1991 which is now named DD Chandana. The advent of private satellite channels in Bangalore started in September 1991 when Star TV started to broadcast its channels. Though the number of satellite TV channels available for viewing in Bangalore has grown over the years, the cable operators play a major role in the availability of these channels, which has led to occasional conflicts. Direct To Home services are also available in Bangalore now.

• Internet: The first Internet service provider in Bangalore was STPI, Bangalore which started offering internet services in early 1990s. This Internet service was however restricted to corporates, until VSNL started offering dial-up internet services to the general public at the end of 1995. Currently, Bangalore has the largest number of broadband Internet connections in India.