‘Harivansh’s Experiment with AD-Vocacy Journalism’ book traces Prabhat Khabar’s editorial evolution

A new coffee table book documenting the editorial campaigns of Prabhat Khabar has been launched. Titled Rise of Prabhat, the book is authored by veteran media professional A. S. Raghunath.It captures the newspaper’s journey under the leadership of Harivansh, highlighting how the daily used journalism and public service advertising to drive social change across Bihar, Jharkhand, and Bengal.

Led by editor Harivansh, the newspaper launched many campaigns between the 1990s and 2016. These campaigns covered issues like education, gender equality, voter awareness, and government accountability.

The coffee table book chronicles 35 hand picked editorial AD-Vocacy campaigns, comprising over 400 uniquely crafted ads. It documents how grassroots pamphlets- written and designed in-house on leftover newsprint during the 1990s during the resource crunch days of the daily - evolved into high-impact campaigns led by top national ad agencies by 2005 and continued till 2016, all executed on bootstrap budgets.

The book includes accounts from journalists involved in the campaigns, advertising professionals who worked on them, media peers, and academics who offer broader context. It also outlines the role played by Prabhat Khabar’s management in supporting these initiatives through resource allocation and dedicated news space for long-running campaigns.

The book is now available on both Amazon and Flipkart in Hard cover Coffee Table Book and also in Kindle version.