ABSTRACT
Bengali language journalism, as a consequence of the entrance of Doordarshan Kendra, Kolkata, has undergone a tectonic shift from its print days, challenging many taboos and setting new paradigms and trends in vernacular journalism. It is indeed interesting to note that the Bengali audience market responds to regional programming quite differently from that of other languages in India. Although people of this region are conversant with English and Hindi, yet there is a lot of pride in the language spoken at home. This chapter explores the sociocultural and political context and the challenges in which various Bengali newspapers and television channels made their appearance and operated, and their implications on the Bengali society since their emergence.
