Khabar Lahariya
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Meera Jatav
| Type | Rural Weekly Newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Founder(s) | Kavita Devi Meera Jatav |
| Editor-in-chief | Kavita Devi |
| Founded | 30 May 2002 in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Language | Multiple editions in Hindustani dialects such as Bundeli, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Bajjikka, etc English |
| Headquarters | Karwi, Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh |
| Circulation | 6000 copies with a claimed readership of 20,000 (2012) |
| Website | www |
Khabar Lahariya (translation: News Wave[1]) is an Indian newspaper, published in various rural dialects of Hindi, including Bundeli, Avadhi and Bajjika dialects. The newspaper was started by Nirantar, a New Delhi–based non-government organisation which focuses on gender and education.[2][3] Initially seen as a women-only publication,[4] it now covers local political news, local crime reports, social issues and entertainment, all reported from a feminist perspective.[2] As of September 2012, its total print-run, all editions included, was around 6000 copies; the management claimed an estimated readership of 80,000. Since its digitalisation its outreach has massively extended.
Established in 2002, Khabar Lahariya is an eight-page weekly local newspaper founded by Kavita Devi (CEO) and Meera Devi (Managing Editor). The inaugural issue of the newspaper was published in May 2002 from the town of Karwi in Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh, in the local Bundeli dialect of Hindi. In 2012, the newspaper launched editions from Mahoba, Lucknow, and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh in Bundeli, Awadhi, and Bhojpuri dialects, respectively. The newspaper also publishes an edition from the Sitamarhi district of Bihar in Bajjikka dialect and from Banda, Uttar Pradesh, in the Bundeli dialect. As of September 2012, its total print run, including all editions, was approximately 6,000 copies sold in approximately 600 villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The newspaper has an estimated readership of 20,000.
Khabar Lahariya’s website was launched on February 13, 2013, in Mumbai. The website, which closely resembles the printed newspaper, curates and republishes the most noteworthy articles from the newspaper. Notably, it is the sole website where content is accessible in the local dialects in which the newspaper is published. Additionally, some stories on the website are now available in English.
Starting in 2016, the newspaper shifted largely to a digital format launching a video channel and creating news in video clips.[5] The women journalists collective now runs a digital media agency covering stories from rural India, mostly from the state of Uttar Pradesh.[6] As a result of digitalisation, the news outlet has substantially increased its reach.[7] Owing to the support of the readers' community, Khabar Lahariya grew from a local newspaper in 2002 to publishing their own website in 2013, and launching their own subscription model, Sound, Fury and 4G in 2019.[citation needed]
Distinctive features
The intellectual input for the newspaper is provided by a collective of 40 rural women journalists. The newspaper is written, edited, produced, distributed and marketed entirely by rural women from disadvantaged communities (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Dalits and Muslims).[8] The women who report the stories also edit, produce, distribute and market the newspaper. Meera Jatav is the Editor-in-Chief and has been working from Karwi since the newspaper was started in 2002. The newspaper specialises in exposing local scandals. It mainly carries local news that, although primarily of interest to its rural readership, has wider resonance nationally and internationally. Examples are reports on violence against women, discrimination against Dalits, deaths in illegal mining operations, and the rise of Hindu nationalism.[9]