ABSTRACT
In the new millennium, post the liberalisation of the Indian economy and the accompanying growth of the advertisement market, Indian newspapers have seen a tremendous increase in profitability. Circulation figures of newspapers have skyrocketed, not least due to the attention editorial teams pay to local news. Overall, the number of vernacular newspapers has grown, national dailies produce separate city additions for metropolitan regions and many news outlets print separate customised pages for districts and towns. Appearing prominently in newspapers, the local experiences remediation. On one hand, city editions participate in creating a ‘global local’ (Udupa, 2012 ), with the stated purpose of capturing the imagination of readers from affluent classes. It is the local seen through the prism of consumer modernity and citizens’ emancipation. On the other hand, vernacular press boosts (local) politics by reporting expansively about grassroots movements, popular protests and citizens’ opinions. It has strengthened Hindu nationalist forces, regional parties and the Dalit Movement. Interwoven into society, India’s dynamic press is a significant social and political force that recursively shapes the meaning of locality and direction of local politics.
