The transformation that came to the media after independence was that (I) the Nationalist Press got a boost and made its presence felt in the maintenance of the newly won freedom (II) though weak in resources, yet the press enjoyed freedom of activity and independence they had never felt before (III) new developments took place in the newspaper world

Directions: Read the following passages and answer the question that follows:

PASSAGE – II

Any survey of the Indian press cannot but reflect the different stages of growth and development that Indian democracy has gone through since independence. When freedom came, the press was proud of its role, as the bulk of the fraternity had actively participated or contributed to the awakening of the people through different phases of the struggle against foreign rule. The press, particularly those owned by the Indians, served as an auxiliary of the freedom struggle. With each phase of the national movement, it moved forward and faced the consequences for doing so.

The phenomenal expansion of the language press was mainly due to two reasons: political and technological. An overwhelming majority of the language press had grown up along with the struggle for independence, as its active organ. The political leaders, on their part, grew up into effective communicators in the freedom struggle. When many of the leaders of the freedom struggle days took over the reins of administration, it was but natural that the leaders of the newly-recognized State Governments should try their best to establish a rapport with the press, particularly the language press of the region.

This shift in the press focus to the politics of the regional or state level has also had an effect on the content of the newspapers. One of the features of our national press during the freedom struggle was the extraordinary attention to what is called foreign news as distinct from domestic news. The ownership pattern of the press has undergone striking changes in the last 60 years. At the time of Independence, most of the Indian language newspapers which participated in the freedom struggle or stood by it were poorly financed, with primitive printing arrangements.

After Independence, two developments took place: first, the Nationalist Press, though materially weak, got a boost and the new political elite became aware of the power of the press in the running of the new edifice of freedom.The second development was that most of the British - owned newspaper establishments sold off their assets and overnight these papers became Indian - owned. The change in the pattern of ownership entailed new developments in the newspaper world. Earlier, the newspaper-owners were mostly Nationalists, with a sprinkling of them taking up a moderate, liberal approach. The rest were all ardent supporters of the British Raj.