Deccan Herald facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Deccan Herald

The Power of Good
2023 cover
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner(s)	The Printers, Mysore
Founder(s)	K. N. Guruswamy
Founded	1948; 77 years ago (1948)
Political alignment	Centre-left
Language	English
Headquarters	75 MG Road Bangalore, Karnataka 560001.
Readership	1,243,000 (IRS 2019)
OCLC number	185061134

Deccan Herald is a popular English language daily newspaper from India. It is published in the Indian state of Karnataka. The newspaper was started by K. N. Guruswamy, a successful businessman, and first came out on June 17, 1948. It is published by The Printers Mysore, a company owned by Guruswamy's family. Deccan Herald is printed in seven cities: Bengaluru, Hubballi, Davanagere, Hosapete, Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Kalaburagi.

How Deccan Herald Started

Deccan Herald began on June 17, 1948. Its founder, K. N. Guruswamy, wanted to start a newspaper business. He bought a place called Funnel's in March 1948. Even though he had no experience with newspapers, Guruswamy decided to launch two newspapers in Bangalore. There were no similar English newspapers at that time. A famous journalist named Pothan Joseph became its first editor. This helped the paper become strong.

K. N. Guruswamy (1901–1990) was from a well-known business family in Ballari. His family later moved to Bangalore. They were involved in traditional businesses and expanded their work across what was then called Mysore. Bangalore was ruled by the Wadiyar dynasty and did not have an English newspaper. The then leader of Mysore, Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, encouraged Guruswamy to start an English daily. Guruswamy then started the company, The Printers (Mysore) Pvt Ltd. Justice P P Medappa suggested the name Deccan Herald.

Guruswamy provided most of the starting money for the newspaper. Other people also invested in the company. Deccan Herald first came out as an eight-page tabloid. It cost one anna, which was a small amount of money. Later, it changed to a larger broadsheet newspaper.

In October 1948, Deccan Herald launched a sister newspaper in Kannada, called Prajavani. T. S. Ramachandra Rao was its first editor. Prajavani became very important in Kannada journalism. The company also launched a lifestyle magazine called Sudha in 1965. A literary magazine, Mayura, was launched in 1968.

Early Challenges and Growth

It took eight years for the company to start making a profit, in 1956. Guruswamy had to get bank loans and sell many of his buildings to keep the business going. He left his other businesses by 1986.

Guruswamy's adopted son, K. A. Nettakallappa, was a well-known journalist. He helped the newspaper grow a lot in the 1950s and 1960s. Sadly, he passed away at age 47. Nettakallappa and Prajavani editor Ramachandra Rao helped create the Press Club of Bangalore.

Deccan Herald Today

Since the early 1980s, Nettakallappa's sons have led the company. They are K. N. Hari Kumar, K. N. Tilak Kumar, and K. N. Shanth Kumar. The family still owns and manages the business. Their newspapers aim to be "objective, fair, and truthful." The current slogan for Deccan Herald is "The Power of Good."

Sitaraman Shankar became the editor of the Deccan Herald in September 2018. Later, he also became the chief executive officer of the company.

In August 2019, Deccan Herald changed its look to attract younger readers. A design company from Edinburgh helped with the new design. The newspaper got a new nameplate in aqua blue. This colour was chosen to appeal to young people. They also added new sections. These include a business section on Mondays and a Sunday opinion page called The Prism. There is also an entertainment section, Showtime, on Saturdays. It focuses on movies and streaming shows. A Travel & Living supplement comes out on Tuesdays.

Achievements and Challenges

According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) in 2013, Deccan Herald was one of the top ten English newspapers in India. The survey said it was the eighth largest English daily in the country. About 458,000 people read the newspaper regularly. In Bangalore city alone, 338,000 people read it.

Deccan Herald has also faced some challenges. Plans for an evening English newspaper and an edition in New Delhi did not work out. Since the late 1990s, it has faced more competition. Other English newspapers started publishing in Bangalore.

However, Deccan Herald was one of the first newspapers in India to hire women journalists for reporting roles.

How it's Printed and Online

The Deccan Herald's Bengaluru edition is printed at a modern facility. This facility is in the Kumbalgodu Industrial Area and has been used since 1998. The main edition of the newspaper has been printed in colour since 1985.

Deccan Herald was also one of the first Indian newspapers to launch its own website. It went online on April 15, 1996. As of 2018, the website gets about 14 million page views every month.

Notable People (Past and Present)