James Augustus Hickey began editing the Bengal Gazette, a weekly magazine that advertised itself as a commercial paper open to anyone, in 1780. but without being affected by anyone’ So it was a private English enterprise that began English printing in India, proud of its independence from colonial influence. Hickey ran a number of adverts, including those for the import and sale of slaves. He did, however, publish a number of rumours regarding the Company’s top executives in India. Governor-General Warren Hastings was enraged at this, and promoted the publication of officially sanctioned newspapers to offset the flow of information that harmed the colonial government’s image.
