The Statesman
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 The 30 March 2010, front page of The Statesman |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Nachiketa Publications Limited |
| Publisher | The Statesman Ltd. |
| Editor | Ravindra Kumar |
| Founded | 1811, 1875 |
| Political alignment | Independent[1] |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 4 Chowringhee Square, Kolkata, 700001 |
| Circulation | 180,000 Daily 230,000 Sunday |
| Sister newspapers | Dainik Statesman |
| OCLC number | 1772961 |
| Official website | thestatesman.net |
The Statesman is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in Kolkata, New Delhi, Siliguri and Bhubaneswar. The Statesman is owned by The Statesman Ltd., its headquarters at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Calcutta and its national editorial offices in Statesman House, Connaught Place, New Delhi. It is a member of the Asia News Network.
The Statesman has an average weekday circulation of approximately 180,000 and the Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000. This ranks the Statesman as one of the leading English newspapers in West Bengal, India.[2]
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[edit] History
It was incorporated and directly descended from two newspapers: The Englishman and The Friend of India, both published from Kolkata. The Englishman was started in 1811. An Englishman named Robert Knight - previously the principal founder and editor of The Times of India - founded the new newspaper with a name of The Statesman and New Friend of India on 15 January 1875. Soon after, the name was shortened to the present The Statesman. During the British era, it was British run and managed, but after independence, control passed to Indians.
Its first Indian editor was Mr Pran Chopra.
In February 2009, the editor (Ravindra Kumar) and publisher (then Anand Sinha) of The Statesman were arrested on charges of "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims.[3] BBC reported that the Muslims were upset with the Statesman for reproducing Johann Hari's article "Why should I respect these oppressive religions?" from the UK's The Independent daily in its 5 February edition. [4]
[edit] Character
It is known for its independent anti-establishment stance. It opposed the shifting of India's capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1911 in the following terms: "The British have gone to the city of graveyards to be buried there".
It strenuously opposed Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1975-77.
The Statesman Award for Rural Reporting is presented to outstanding journalists every year, irrespective of affiliation, for furthering the social uplifting of Indian indigents. The awards are presented on 16 September every year, the death anniversary of Justice Sudhi Ranjan Das, former Chief Justice of India's Supreme Court and chairman of The Statesman during the tumultuous Emergency years.
The newspaper is characterised by its terse reporting style.
From once being the most widely read English daily in West Bengal, the Statesman has lost ground to The Times of India, Hindustan Times and The Telegraph (Kolkata edition) in the states.
[edit] Supplements
Notable among all of the supplements of The Statesman is the Thursday feature supplement called "Section 2" which is published in New Delhi. The four page supplement is widely recognised for in-depth analysis on art, dance, drama, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. In Kolkata, supplement Voices focuses on schools and schoolchildren. It has gained enormous popularity since its inception in 1995. It gives the opportunity to school children to showcase their writing skills with research articles, poems and short news clips.
Voices boasts of a large number of "Coordinators", or school reporters who form the basic framework of Voices and the conduit between The Statesman and school children. Among other activities every year, Voices hosts the 2-day long festival called "Vibes" in Calcutta, which showcases inter-school competitions in different fields and also shows by popular musicians and bands.
The Sunday supplement, 8th Day, is the major literary section of the paper, consisting of the reader-contributed 'Short story' and 'Stanza'(poem) while the other Sunday Supplement, Evolve, mainly deals with the cultural scene in India. Marquee, published every Saturday, covers the film and entertainment scene.
The Statesman and Bartaman (a Bengali newspaper) have joined their resources to facilitate yearly and half yearly subscription at cheaper cost.[5]
[edit] Key Editorial Personnel
Ravindra Kumar is Editor of The Statesman. Usha Mahadevan is Resident Editor of The Statesman, Delhi. K. Ravi is Resident Editor of The Statesman, Bhubaneswar.
[edit] Sister publication
Dainik Statesman, a daily Bengali newspaper, was launched in June 2004 and is published simultaneously from Kolkata and Siliguri.
[edit] See also
- Dainik Statesman
- Indian English
- List of newspapers in India by circulation
- List of newspapers in the world by circulation
[edit] References
- ^ "World Newspapers and Magazines". Worldpress.org. http://www.worldpress.org/newspapers/ASIA/India.cfm. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
- ^ About Statesman. Subir Bhaumik.
- ^ Pair held for 'offending Islam' BBC News. Subir Bhaumik.
- ^ The editor and publisher of a major Indian newspaper.. The Independent
- ^ The Statesman and Bartaman Combination. Subir Bhaumik.
[edit] External links
- Official site of The Statesman
- The Statesman and Bartaman Combination Rates
- Indian Newspapers and Magazines Online from worldpress.org
