Dawn (newspaper)
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| File:Dawnfrntpg.PNG The July 24, 2007 front page of Dawn (newspaper) | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Dawn Group of Newspapers |
| Publisher | Hameed Haroon |
| Editor | Abbas Nasir |
| Founded | 1941 |
| Political alignment | Liberal/Moderate |
| Headquarters | Haroon House, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Saddar, Karachi |
| Website | www.dawn.com |
Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely-read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and Spider, an information technology magazine. Pakistan's newspaper of record, it is considered to be something of a national institution.
It was founded in 1941 by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Delhi, India. The newspaper has offices in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, as well as representatives abroad.[1] As of 2004[update], it has a weekday circulation of over 138,000. The CEO of Dawn group is Hameed Haroon, and the current editor of Dawn is Abbas Nasir.
Early history
Founded by Mohammad Ali Jinnah on 26 October 1941 as a mouthpiece for the Muslim League, Dawn was originally a weekly publication, published in New Delhi, then the capital of Hindustan. Jinnah summed up the paper's purpose when he stated:
"The Dawn will mirror faithfully the views of India's Muslims and the All India Muslim League in all its activities: economic, educational and social and more particularly political, throughout the country fearlessly and independently and while its policy will be, no doubt, mainly to advocate and champion the cause of the Muslims and the policy and programme of the All India Muslim League, it will not neglect the cause and welfare of the peoples of this sub-continent generally".
Dawn became a daily newspaper in October 1942 under the leadership of its first editor, Pothan Joseph. In 1944 Altaf Hussain took over as the editor and brought nationwide fame to its daily circulation. After the creation of Pakistan, Altaf Hussain moved the newspaper to Karachi, the capital of the newly formed nation state, under the instruction of Mr.Jinnah, the owner of DAWN in Delhi which was then the official organ of the Pakistan Muslim League. Dawn reflected and espoused the cause of the Muslims of India.It was the sole voice of the Muslims in English language. Altaf Hussain, its editor galvanized the Muslims of India by his powerful inspiring and passionate editorials, which earned him wrath of the entire Hindu leadership of the Congress Party as well as Lord Mountbatten the last Viceroy and Governor General of the British Raj. In early August 1947 some senior DAWN staff led by Mr. Altaf Hussain arrived in Karachi to start the publication of DAWN from August 15, 1947. The day after Pakistan gained its independence. Mr. Yusuf Haroon a close confidant of Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah was given the task to facilitate the publication of DAWN. The offices of the newspaper were housed in the small premises on the commercially busy and a crowded narrow street then known as South Napier Road. These premises belonged to Mr. Haroon. He was at that time planning to bring out a newspaper called "The Herald". Instead at the bidding of Mr. Jinnah he agreed to publish DAWN at his facilities. DAWN grew strength to strength as a most out spoken publication under the editorship of Altaf Hussain. He became a legend both at home and abroad for his fearless opposition to the tyranny and corrupt practices of politicians and military dictators after the independence of Pakistan. He was forced by President General Ayub Khan to leave his newspaper job to become a cabinet minister in his government. So DAWN said goodbye to Mr. Altaf Hussain in 1965. The street where Dawn was first published is now known as Altaf Hussain Road. Since then DAWN has prospered and has moved to new and larger premises. DAWN still shines as an icon amongst many other newspapers that are being published today in Pakistan.
Features
In addition, Dawn regularly carries syndicated articles from western newspapers like The Independent, The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.
In Pakistan Dawn has in-paper magazines such as Sci-tech World, Young World, "Images", "Books & Authors" etc.
On Sundays, the weekend advertiser carries three sections namely "Ad Buzz", "Career" & "Real Estate".
Staff
Regular op-ed contributors include Ardeshir Cowasjee, Irfan Hussain, Nadeem F. Paracha, Muhammad Hanif, Asma Jahangir, Jawed Naqvi, I.A. Rehman, Ayesha Siddiqa, Anwar Syed, Cyril Almeida, Kamran Shafi, Huma Yusuf, Kunwar Idris, Kuldip Nayar, Mahir Ali, Dr Tariq Rahman, Amb Tariq Fatemi, Shahid Javed Burki, Dr Riffat Hassan, Zubeida Mustafa, A.G. Noorani, Ahmad Faruqui, Zafar Masud, Asghar Ali Engineer, Rafia Zakaria, Murtaza Razvi and Shada Islam.
Other op-ed contributors include Pervez Hoodbhoy, Prof Mohammad Waseem, Nasser Yousaf, Faizullah Jan, Beena Sarwar, Bina Shah, Rakesh Mani, Asha'ar Rehman, S.M. Naseem, Dr Ishrat Hussain, Nilofar Farrukh, Shahid M. Amin, Anees Jillani, Brig Javed Hussain and Rina Saeed Khan
24-hour News Channel
On Friday, May 25, 2007, DAWN Group of Newspapers launched the test transmission of Dawn News. It is the first 24-hour English news channel in Pakistan. The launching ceremony of the channel was inaugurated by then President Pervez Musharraf. The channel started full transmission in late July.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Our International Business Representatives". Dawn Media Group.
- ^ "Jinnah and the Muslim press". JANG Newspaper Group.
External links
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