Seminar Series: Abstract

The Revolution Continues, 2000-09: Indian-Language Newspapers and How They Grow
Professor Robin Jeffrey

The paper, which is based on the epilogue to a new edition of India’s Newspaper Revolution (New Delhi: OUP, 2003) attempts to explain why and how Indian-language newspapers have continued to expand over the past decade. Spreading politicization, consumer capitalism and literacy are key ingredients in an answer, but they take different forms and respond to different pressures in India’s 13 major languages. The paper examines ownership, advertising, ethics and social diversity and trails its muddy coat unhygienically across discussion of “the public sphere.”