The history of print media in the subcontinent begins with colonial journalism. The textbook states that the Hickey's Bengal Gazette, also known as the Calcutta General Advertiser, started by James Augustus Hickey in 1780, “is regarded as the first regular publication from the Indian soil.” It was a two-sheet newspaper notorious for writing about the private lives of Company officials and for mounting bold attacks on Governor-General Warren Hastings and the Chief Justice — attacks that landed Hickey in prison twice (first a 4-month term with a Rs.500 fine, then a one-year term with a Rs.5,000 fine). Hickey's willingness to challenge colonial authority despite persecution makes him a pioneer of subcontinental journalism. Note: William Bolts had attempted to start a newspaper in 1776 but was stopped by the East India Company's Court of Directors before he could publish.