''Andhra Prabha'' is a Telugu-language daily newspaper in India, circulated primarily in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

. Founded on 15 August 1938, by

Ramnath Goenka Ramnath Goenka (22 April 1904 – 5 October 1991) was an Indian newspaper publisher. He bought the majority stake of ''The Indian Express'' in 1930s. He created the Indian Express Group with various English and regional language publications.'' ...

under the

Indian Express Group Indian Express Limited (IEL) is an Indian news media publishing company. It publishes several widely circulated dailies, including ''The Indian Express'' and ''The Financial Express'' in English, the '' Loksatta'' in Marathi and the ''Jansatta ...

, it has become one of the longest-running Telugu dailies. Over the decades, the newspaper has undergone various editorial and ownership changes, including a transition from The New Indian Express Group to its current proprietorship under Muttha Gopalakrishna, an businessman and former MLA from

Kakinada Kakinada (; formerly known as Cocanada) is a Port, port city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated along the Bay of Bengal, it serves as the headquarters of Kakinada district and is a prominent economic and c ...

. ''Andhra Prabha'' also expanded into broadcasting in 2018 with the launch of India Ahead, a nationwide English news channel, marking a significant step as the first such channel to be based in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

Early history

''Andhra Prabha'' was started in Madras (now,

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

) on 15 August 1938 by

under his

and published from major towns inside

from the 1950s to challenge the prominence of the then leading Telugu newspaper, ''

Andhra Patrika ''Andhra Patrika'' was an Indian Telugu-language newspaper founded by Kasinathuni Nageswara Rao on 9 September 1908. It was initially a weekly publication and later transformed into a daily newspaper. It played an influential role in India� ...

''. In 1960, ''Andhra Prabha'''s circulation was 53,000 for its two editions from

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

and Chittoor. Ten years later, then publishing from Vijayawada and

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

circulation reached 1,16,000, vastly surpassing that of ''

''. A reader from

Ballari Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Steel, JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of ...

originally suggested the name "''Andhra Prabha"'' and the management of the newspaper awarded him with the sum of ₹116 as a token of their gratitude. Retrieved on 8 May 2010. The paper was initially edited by Khasa Subba Rao (joint editor of ''

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...

'') who was succeeded by Nyayapati Narayana Murthy. In 1942, Narla Venkateswara Rao was promoted from news-editor to editor of the paper. He held this position for seventeen years. He was responsible for many revolutionary changes in headline and caption writing, in the framing of action photos, in news display and in page make-up. It was during Narla's editorship that the paper was closed down for a brief period during the Quit India Movement. The newspaper was shut down for a few months in order to protest the British Government's attempt to impose censorship on the press. The ''Andhra Prabha'' was also banned from the State of Mysore and the State of Hyderabad because it opposed the feudal nature of these regimes.N.V.R.Jyoti Kumar: "Newspaper marketing in India: a focus on language press", Anmol Publications, 2003, Narla later tendered his resignation when he had a falling-out with Ramnath Goenka over his sympathy with the workers in the press which resulted in a strike in Madras. He was succeeded by Neelamraju Venkataseshaiah. Venkataseshaiah was succeeded by Panditharadhyula Nageswara Rao, from 1969–1976. In July 2018, it entered into broadcasting space by launching a nationwide English news channel named " India Ahead". It became the first English News Channel to be beamed out of South India.

Editions

Currently there are editions of ''Andhra Prabha'' in Bangalore,

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, Chennai,

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

and Vijayawada. Until 1959, ''Andhra Prabha'' was published only from Madras (now Chennai). In 1960, anticipating the impending launch of '' Andhra Jyothy'', ''Andhra Prabha'' launched its second edition from Vijayawada. A Chittoor edition was brought out briefly in the early 1960s which was shifted to Bangalore in 1966. A Hyderabad edition was launched in 1977 and, in 1985, to counter the launch of '' Eenadu'', an edition was launched in

Features and supplements

The paper carries the following features regularly – Muhurtam, Graha Balam, Kreeda Prabha, Aurah!, Nayika and Chintana.
Supplements include: *Monday : Sahiti Gavaksham, Chintana, Life *Tuesday : Kulasa, Chintana *Wednesday: Yuva, Chintana *Thursday : Chitraprabha *Friday : Sirigamulu *Saturday : Bala Prabha (Entertainment and Knowledge for kids), Chintana *Sunday : A 32 Page Mini Weekly

References

External links

Official Website''Andhra Prabha'' ePaper
{{Newspapers in India Telugu-language newspapers Daily newspapers published in India Mass media in Andhra Pradesh Indian Express Limited 1938 establishments in India Newspapers published in Vijayawada Newspapers published in Hyderabad