Celebrity Blogs revisited

A content analysis applying

social media framework
ABSTRACT

Dr. Dev Vrat Singh*

Manisha Solanki**

Blog is primarily meant to be a space for writing personal experiences in the form of a daily diary
or memoir. But as it happens to every technology, blog is used by different people for their unique
purposes. Studies world-over suggest that most of the common bloggers use it for self- expression,
networking and identity management. This paper argues that celebrities especially film stars,
directors, politicians do not use blogs in the traditional patterns. They utilize it as a subtle, refined
and luring tool of self-projection and publicity of profession-linked events and products. Moreover
the content of celebrity blogs is personal but promotional in nature. This way, to a certain extent
blogs seems to be a part of marketing strategy of celebrities. And this altogether new face of blogs
stands apart from the traditional image of personal memoir.
Introduction
New media has provided umpteen
opportunities to express and share personal
experiences across the world instantly and
efficiently. By creating a new virtual space it has
actually democratized public sphere as well as
changed the basic paradigms of the process of mass
communication by introducing the model of manyto-many replacing the old some-to-many model.
Constantly growing number of blogs have
established the fact that these have been used by
millions for their very unique purposes. Behaviour
of internet consumers has been attracting scholars
for research since its inception and now social
media has actively involved millions of users by
providing a platform to all members of global
community on equal terms.

Celebrity is someone who gets media

attention and in certain circumstances shows an
extroverted personality. The term celeb is more
often used in the context of popular culture. The
status of celebrity is highly culture-specific,
fluctuating and directly related to audience choice
and media exposure. Some professions being highly
paid, having greater media exposure and difficult
to get into produce more celebrities. Since long,
celebrities have also jumped into the foray of social
media. The trend world over have proved blogs to
be powerful tool to express, communicate and share
own world of emotions. Some of the celebrity blogs
have huge fan followings.
This is what makes it a research worthy topic.
Besides this, celebrity blogs make frequent news
in Indian print media and are reacted upon

*Reader, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana (e-mail vrat.dev@gmail.com Contact: +919466774099)
** MC, Research Student Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana (email - manisha.hau@gmail.com Contact: +919991818919)

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immediately by the readers. India's leading

newspapers, The Times of India and Dainik
Bhaskar, publish celebrity tweets on their editorial
page. Moreover former Minister of State for External
Affairs Shashi Tharoor created huge controversy
by tweeting on many political issues and earned
vast following on the net. On the other hand Blog
of India's biggest star Amitabh Bachchan
occasionally made news in media just because
some of his fans crossed the limits in commenting
on his personal life and family. Some celebrities
used their blogs very intelligently to create news
by giving their stand-point on various
contemporary issues.
Theoretical Paradigm
The social media is understood as a media
for social interaction using web-based technologies.
Social media has revolutionised the way we have
been interacting with our friends, family members,
colleagues and other peer group. In the form of
blogs, social networking sites (SNS) and micro
blogging sites like Tweeter and Buzz, social media
is now playing an important role in shaping our
self expression, networking, image perception etc.
A blog (shortened from Weblog) is an online diary,
or more specifically, 'frequently updated websites
where content (text, pictures, audio-video files etc.)
is posted on a regular basis and displayed in a
reverse chronological order.' Social exchange
theory explains human actions in terms of
negotiations of resources i.e. love status,
information, services, goods and money. Social
media are constructing new form of social groups.
New patterns of social communication are also
emerging out of it. According to social identity
theory, every individual is motivated to maintain
or achieve a positive social identity via joining or

leaving some social group. And in this process he

engages in a struggle for power, prestige and status.
Analysing blogs as a social media reveals various
social perspectives, in which wider issues like
formation and maintaining a group, creating social
identity, achieving and maintaining a particular
status, interaction levels, and mode of self
expression are to be discussed. Celebrity blogs have
huge number of fan followers who communicate
very frequently and tell us about the status and
popularity of famous people.
The Blog Story
Since a very silent beginning in 1997 blogs
are constantly gaining popularity among their users.
The launch of Blogger.com in August 1999 also
helped make blogs more popular. In America, blogs
were talked about a lot after the terrorist attack on
World Trade Tower. However the increasing size
of blogosphere has been affected by the advent of
social networking sites and micro blogging sites.
According to technorati.com, there were around 70
million blogs in April 2007. But the popularity of
blogs among teenagers decreased during 2007-10.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life
Project Report only half as many online teens work
on their own blog as did in 2006, whereas adults
age 18 to 33 have also seen a modest decline. This
development has a direct link to the growing
popularity of social network sites, though older
generation is now blogging more and this trend in
the west has ensured an overall increase in the
number of bloggers. According to Blog Pulse data
the number of blogs world over has increased to
152 million and most popular sites providing blog
facilities to the common users are bloggers.com and
wordpress.com.
Recent Nielsen research shows that use of
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July-September 2011

social media is also impacting other internet habits.

According to the findings 'consumption of social
media decreases email use.' Studies have revealed
that blogs, SNS and micro-blogs are not the
substitutes for each other but they have their unique
usability and existence despite temporary fluctuation
in the popularity. The basic idea behind blog was
to provide the common user a website free of cost
which can be updated frequently without any
hassle. Whereas Face book and Orkut is for
networking purpose and micro-blogs like Tweeter
is for instant views, reactions or swift messaging.
We tweet very frequently, but when share it on the
SNS it takes more depth and detailing whereas in
case of blogging we organise and consolidate our
views before posting.
Literature Review
During last one decade lots of studies have
been conducted on blogs. Many scholars studied
blogs as a tool of journalism in the framework of
citizen journalism discourse. Some have done case
studies of blogs just to find out what is the nature
of content. Herring et al. found that more than 70
percent blogs can be classified as a personal journal,
recording the individuals' daily life event, thoughts
and feelings. Researchers found that blogs are an
excellent collection of personal experiences and
bloggers are mentioning even their sexual and
romantic relationships. Some researches tried to find
out about the motivational reasons behind creating
a blog. For example Li noted that men create blogs
for information purpose and women are more
interested in self-expression. Many scholars have
tried to find out about why people blog? The main
motivational factors found were self expression,
networking and identity management. As opposed
to the general belief that people want to interact

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July-September 2011

with others, some studies have revealed that self

expression is the more dominant driving force
among bloggers. As blogging gives mental
satisfaction and helps in understanding self in a
better way. Fullwood et al. did an extensive study
about the blog purpose, language of blog, tone of
blog and emoticons. Whereas no study related to
the celebrity blogs and blogs as a social media was
found as such.
Broad Objectives
To analyze the nature of content of blogs
written by Indian celebrities in terms of purpose,
motivational aspects, language, visuals and its
usages. Besides these, the broad analysis was also
related to the style and format of celebrity blogs
and interaction between the bloggers and its
followers.
Research Questions
l

What is the purpose of blogs maintained by

celebrities?

What is the nature of content of celebrity's

blogs?

What are the features of style of celebrity's

blogs?

What is the quantity of feedback from the

blog readers/followers?

What is the nature of language used by

celebrities in their blogs?

Do celebrities share video and audio with

their followers?

Do celebrities' blogs provide the facilities of

hyperlinks to another websites?

What is the nature and quantity of visuals in

celebrity blogs?

What are basic colour preferences in celebrity

blogs?

Operational Parameters

Method
A priori content analysis was conducted of
total 100 blogs written by Indian celebrities
belonging to various sectors of life i.e. film,
television, sports, politics, academics, society,
culture, etc. The selection of blogs was not on the
basis of popularity according to the rating websites
like alexa.com as most popular blogs may not
necessarily be celebrity blogs. An extensive list of
Indian celebrities was prepared and checked oneby-one for whether a celeb was having blog or not.
In many cases blogs were maintained in the name
of celebrity but owner was a fan of the celebrity.
Some popular persons had their full- fledged
website but those were not included in the sample.
Each blog was studied independently in its
entirety. A code-book was framed to record the data
according to various categories relating to format,
language, style, purpose etc. A sample of total six
months was selected in the year of 2010 on the
alternate basis i.e. January, March, May, July,

Unlike older variables - self expression,

networking and identity management five new
factors called diary, publicity/advertising, sharing
views/information; emotional outlet and mix were
designed after a pilot study of 20 celebrity blogs.
The variable networking was removed because after
the popularity of Face book blogs are no more used
as a main medium for networking. Over all nature
of content was also coded into three categories i.e.
personal (content based on personal and intimate
experiences), professional (content related to
professional activities and issues) and mixed. Style
and format of blogs was analysed on the basis of
three categories; ordinary, stylish and extra
ordinary. Whereas, language was coded in the
categories; Hindi, English, Hinglish and any other.
Hinglish is defined as a mixture of Hindi and
English irrespective of any script. Language was
also analysed on the basis of its nature - formal,
semi-formal and informal. Informal category is

September and November. Celebrities were divided

where the language consists of incomplete

sentences, frequent abbreviations, casual

mainly into ten categories i.e. Politicians , film &

expression, net speak and emoticons.

television stars, film directors, media persons

Basically it is a quantitative study therefore

(editors, journalists, columnists and radio &

most of the data has been collected in the form of

numbers. To code the data about the style and

television anchors), sports personalities, social

activists, business men (Industrialists and CEO),
bureaucrats,

writers

and

academicians,

miscellaneous. Categories of the purpose of blog

were based upon the earlier studies and research
articles relating to the motivational theories. In fact,

format of the blog three primary colours used in

the blog were noted on the code-sheet and later it
was totalled. Manually, month-wise number of posts
of each blog was noted along with the feedback

many researchers in the field of psychology have

from its followers or readers. Number of visuals

was also counted month-wise to reach the

done extensive work to find out the motivational

conclusion about the level of usage of visuals in

factors responsible for blog writing.

blogs.

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Analysis and Discussion

Since the concept of celebrity is wide enough
to include all fields of society, study covered all
celebrities related to various strata of life at the
national level. But it was found that only a few
number of politicians, bureaucrats and sports
personalities have blogs. Whereas film personalities,
journalists and writers have a significant presence
in the blogosphere.
Purpose
Originally the purpose of blog was to provide
a space for diary. That is why, it is presumed that
the overall content of blogs would be in the
traditional form of a journal based on personal
experiences and views. In contrast to the established
fact, this study suggests that celebrities more
specifically politicians, film actors, directors, artists
and writers use blogs as a tool of publicity and
advertising. They use the blog to promote their
ideology, film, books, paintings, party etc.
Interestingly, in 66 percent blogs the content was
found round any personal achievement and
creation. While, total 28 percent blogs came directly
in the category of publicity/ advertisement and
providing information. However, it is important to
mention that celebrity bloggers write in the format
of dialogue with the audience but end-up with some
information related to their product, event or idea.
However, journalists, writers and social
activists use blogging for expressing personal views
on contemporary issues. Famous Hindi writer Uday
Prakash has a very interesting blog which provides
a number of useful posts related to literature. One
can find poems, reviews, criticism, news, letters,
stills etc. Television journalist of NDTV, Ravish
Kumar owns blog named kasba, where one can find

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July-September 2011

critical features and articles on various issues. While

star radio anchor of Vividh Bharti, Yunus Khan is
very active blogger and runs a blog named
Radiovani. It showcases the happenings of the world
of radio and music mixed with personal
experiences. Arindam Choudhary and Chetan
Bhagat post the article already published in some
newspaper or magazines. This way they use blog
as aggregator of their writings. The content of only
30 percent blogs was found to be of personal nature
and major portion in this category was of
professional nature.
Style and Formt
Websites dedicated to the celebrity have not
been included in the sample. In some cases fans
have also maintained certain blogs in various
celebrity names. After a careful observation of the
blog content and owner name one may easily find
out whether the blog is written by the original
celebrity or not. In terms of style and format,
majority of the blogs-61 percent were found
ordinary, 28 percent stylish and only 11 percent
can be said to be extra ordinary. Bloggers use readymade template for designing the blog available in
blog providing sites. Some blogs were
exceptionally attractive in their colour combination,
text composition, font style and most of these extraordinary blogs seemed to be designed by
professionals. For example the blog of Amitabh
Bachchan has a unique royal look in black and
white colour combination with still and hand written
text.
In the process of data coding three primary
colours used in each blog were noted down on the
basis of quantity of their use. For example, if black
was the most prominent colour used it was noted

in the number one column and second and third

most prominent colour was in respective columns.
Later on all values of number one, two and three
were totalled separately for final data. Study
revealed that black, blue, grey, white colours were
the most frequently used by bloggers and on the
second number came pink, yellow and green. The
reason behind using black and blue may have been
to give a royal look. According to aesthetic
explanation of colour usage, white, black and dark
blue background of the text increases the ease of
readers if the text colour is in contrast.
Language
In the matter of language used in blogs by
celebrities, study revealed that in total 72 percent
blogs english was used for content writing. Hindi
is not a bloggers language except in the blogs of
Hindi writers, journalists and some politicians as
only in 8 blogs it was used. On the other hand,
hinglish is more fashionably used by celebrities
especially by film celebs and bloggers targeted at
contemporary youth. For example, Chetan Bhagat
and Arindam Choudhary use language full of
abbreviations, slangs, SMS words just to connect
to the generation next. While in 6 percent blogs
posts were found in hindi as well as english
intermittently. Study also suggests that the nature
of language used in celebrity blogs is more or less
formal as the data shows language was formal in
40 percent, semiformal in 42 percent and informal
in 18 percent blogs.
Visual Input
Only text-based blogs tend to be boring, so
celebrities use visual input extensively. Total 80
blogs were using visuals of self, events, book,
painting, movie poster, logo of company, sketch or

cartoons of self etc. Some bloggers post more than

one still in one post. Data explain that 2110 visuals
were present in 3510 posts (60 averages per post).
In 46 percent blogs, video links were given by the
celebrities. Some have uploaded their own videos
of some programme or show on video sharing site
YouTube and a link was provided to the blog
readers, whereas audio links ware provided only
in 14 percent blogs. Nowadays social networking
sites and audio-video sharing websites play a very
important role in aggregating the content into wider
audience. Celebrities have used this facility by
giving links to Face book (66), Twitter (58),
YouTube (32), Orkut (8) and others (40).
Feedback
As discussed earlier, celebrities do not write
blogs for maintaining an online diary or memoir;
they have a very specific target to achieve from
blogging. Audience's feedback is all the more
important for any celebrity blogger. Popularity of a
blog can be judged on the basis of clicks its gets
and followers it has but during the coding process
total number of monthly feedback comments were
counted to find out what is the level of active
feedback from its audience. Study revealed that the
total 3510 posts got 129966 comments (average
37 per post). There is a correlation between number
of blogs post and number of feedback received.
The regular the post the more the comments.
In the matter of feedback, Amitabh
Bachchan's blog came on the top, as it got a total
76618 comments for total 203 blog posts during
six month samples (377 averages per post). He
posts almost daily, sometimes twice or thrice also.
On an average he got 12769 comments monthly.
Comments come then across the world. Some fans

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July-September 2011

comment 5to 6 times a day. Content of the blog

shows some worship him like a deity or god.
Following is one example of a follower who wrote
six different and long letters.
Devang joshi 4 LIFE IS AMITABH
BACHCHAN says:
February 20, 2011 at 1:01 am

DEVANG JOSHI
Some readers just comment on the content
of post while others love to say good morning and
good night only. Others celebrities, getting good
feedback, are Ram Gopal Varma, Shekhar Kapoor,
Chetan Bhagat, Shobha De, Arindam Chaudhuri and
Narendra Modi.
Key Findings

DEAR PAPA, BHAGWAN, PAA.

TODAY MENE AAPKI OFFICE ME CALL
KIYA OR AAP KI OFFICE ME MERA APMAN
KIYA GAYA.
Prabhu me kitne dino se aap ko milne k liye
koshis kar raha tha us ke liye me aap ki office
me call karta hu to aap ki office k helper muje
kehte he ki 5 din bad, 4 din bad call karo to
me unki baat maan kar 4 din ya 5 din k baad
call karta hu par aaj mene call kiya to aap k
office k helper ko me jese hi apna name batata
hu to vo mera phone utha kar reciver niche
rakh ke phone chalu rakhte he par me jab
hello hello karta hu to koi jawab nahi deta
he or is tarah mera apman karte he.
Prabhu me aap ko apne baap saman manta
hu or mere sath hi kyun esa karte he, prabhu
me aap ko baap or bhagwan manta hu to
mera apman kyun hota he, pls aap unhe kuch
mat kahiyega. Par dukh hota he ki me aap
ko milna chahta hu or mera apman kiya jata
he koi baat nahi me aap k liye apna apman
sahan kar sakta hu par me aap se mil k
rahunga or 5-6 din baad phone karunga fir
mera apman hoga to vo bhi sah lunga

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Media Mimansa

July-September 2011

Celebrities use blogs as tool of publicity and

advertising

Content is informative but promotional in

place of personal memoir

Visuals and videos are used to substantiate

promotional content extensively

Very few bureaucrats, businessmen and sports

personalities own blogs

Film personalities, journalists, writers have

sizable presence in the blogosphere

Bollywood stars and media persons are active

bloggers

Hindi is not a blog language except in blogs

by Hindi writers and journalists

Popular bloggers use Hinglish language, a

mix of net speak and abbreviations

Amitabh Bachchan is most regular celebrity

blogger with extensive feedback

Feedback is more in the blogs with regular

blogs

Feedback is negative as well as positive

Black, grey, blue and white are the most

preferred colours in celebrity blogs

More than half the blogs are ordinary in style

and format

References :
1.

2.

Lister Martin, Dovey Jon, Giddings Seth,

Grant Iain and Kelly Kieran (2009) : New
Media: A Critical Introduction' (second
edition) Routledge Publication, New York
Wallace P. (2001) : The psychology of the
Internet, Cambridge University Press

3.

Bruns, Axel, and Joanne Jacobs, eds. Uses

of Blogs, Peter Lang, New York, 2006.

4.

Kline, David; Burstein, Dan. Blogs : How the

Newest Media Revolution is Changing
Politics, Business, and Culture, Squibnocket
Partners, L.L.C., 2005.0

Media Mimansa

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July-September 2011

Environmental news reporting and

corporatized media in India
Dr. Sony Jalarajan Raj*
Rohini Sreekumar**

ABSTRACT
Corporate mainstream Indian news media has deliberately sidelined environmental issues within
their news essence. As a third world priority for development journalism, Indian news media is
supposed to take initiative in developing environment as a strong beat in their day to day news
reporting. But corporate media organizations in India handle the beat with much delicacy and
flippancy. In fact, corporate environmental reporting, i.e., publicly available, stand-alone reports
issued voluntarily by companies on their environmental activities, captures major portion of
environmental reporting in Indian national newspapers and television channels. Going green,
hence, has become a viable route for financial and social stability and popularity. However, a
sharp contradiction can be witnessed in the regional media of India, precisely newspapers of
Kerala (the southernmost state of India), which have set their own agenda of making socially
responsible environmental journalism practices. Media in Kerala owns the status of a trend setter
in localized environmental reporting, making way for public participation and dialogue, ultimately
opening the way to a 'green public sphere'. This article aims at analyzing the status of Indian
environmental journalism when compared to its global counterparts as well as regional players.
It also examines the nuances between corporate and public service broadcasting in making
environment as a crucial point of discussion among public. The article relies on qualitative
methodology based on content and text analysis to reach the conclusion.
Introduction
Environment can be defined as 'involving the
total interactions of living things, physical systems
and the institutions of society', where, 'everything
is connected to everything else' (Schoenfeld; 1979).
When Silent Spring (Carson, 2002) conquered the
American literary market, it was actually setting the
stage for a new movement for environmental

protection, aimed at the hazardous impact of

chemical like DDT on environment. In the past few
decades the environment has gained prominence
in global news agendas (Everett, 1995; Anderson,
1997) helping to disseminate the information that
can assist in mobilizing the public. However, there
has been little increase in the number of journalists
assigned for this beat and minimal increase in the

*Lecturer in Journalism, School of Arts of Social Sciences, Monash University (e-mail : sonyjraj@gmail.com)
**Pursuing Ph.D. School of Arts & Social Sciences, Monash University (e-mail :luk4rohini@gmail.com)

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Media Mimansa

July-September 2011

amount of time and space devoted to it (Lamay,

Craig & Dennis, Everette; 1991). Journalists often
take for granted their own perception that society
is united (Hartley 1982) and share the same
perception when viewing certain issues. Hence
when examining the global commercialized media
and its relationship with environment, one can note
a number of negative or non-progressive changes
regarding the coverage of environmental issues
throughout the last three decades. Similarly, within
Indian Journalism there has been little tangible
acknowledgement or evidence of this global issue
occupying any significant presence within the
national news agency.
Corporate media organizations in India
handle the beat with much delicacy that limits
environmental journalism to the coverage of
individuals and their respective proclamations like
Medha Patkar and her 'Narmada Bachavo
Aandolan' (Save Narmada River Campaign/ NBA).
In fact, corporate environmental reporting, i.e.,
publicly available, the reports issued voluntarily by
companies on their environmental activities,
captures major portion of environmental reporting
in Indian national newspapers and television
channels. However, a sharp contradiction can be
witnessed in the regional media of India, precisely
newspapers of Kerala, which have set their own
agenda of producing a socially responsible
environmental journalism. Thus media in Kerala can
be classified as pioneers in the field of local Indian
environmental reporting, promotions, public
participation and dialogue, ultimately opening the
way to a 'green public sphere'. This article analyses
contemporary Indian environmental journalism and
compares it with its counterparts as regional players.
It also examines the concern within the news

agenda, difference between corporate and public

service broadcasting in discussing environment.
Indian Environmental Journalism - Facetious
Activism
In 1998, a tribal woman, Sumani Jogdi of
Orissa's Koraput district, came into public
recognition and appreciation in India through a
campaign against 'Bauxite mining' in her village.
In her words:
'If you want to do development works for
people like me, get me access to more forests.
I will collect more mohua flowers and earn
more. A steel industry will just displace me,
take away my forests and will give back few
days of daily wage jobs. That is not
development for me,'
(As quoted in
Mahapatra; 2008).
Sumani's economic model for rural
development based on local ecology was in sharp
contrast to contemporary political discourse that
promotes investment as a method for raising the
living standard of the poor (Mahapatra; 2008).
Conflicts over natural resources have been catalyst
in emergence of environmental movement in India
and are linked with emotional reverence of
Mahathma Gandhi, who is acknowledged as the
'patron saint of environmental movements in India'
(Kalland & Persoon,; 1998). Rooted in Gandhian
ideologies, Chipko movement, based on India's
century old tradition of peasant resistance in defense
of forest rights, merged in the post-independence
era during 1974, when the peasants of Reni village
in Uttarkand prevented cutting trees by forming
human chains around tress and hugging them . It
displayed not only their zeal to protect their
livelihood (Heaslip; 2005), but their keen

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July-September 2011

dedication to conserve the perishing green

environment. The public's perception of what
constitutes the environment plays a crucial role in
how they recognize and respond to environmental
problems (Coyle et al. 2003). According to Guha
(1995), the relationship between colonialism and
ecological decline is neglected by most historians
of modern India who have focused more on the
social and political consequences of colonial rule.
As Karl Marx put it, the conversion of land that
was normally utilized by the poor to collect wood
or harvest food- a 'customary right of the poor'was transformed into a 'monopoly of the rich'(As
quoted in 'Collected Works' of Marx & Engels;
1975); movements like Chipko, Narmada Bachavo
Aandolan (N.B.A.), the fisherfolks' struggle in
Kerala, the forest movement in Jharkhand and
Madhya Pradesh, the Koel Karo and the Tehri
projects elucidate and well establish this fact. One
important factor is that the rural Indian is highly
dependent upon natural resources for their survival.
The most controversial and universally
recognized among them, Narmada Bachao
Andolan, was a social movement consisting of
people from different social and cultural strata like
tribals, farmers, environmentalists and human right
activists who have stood against the Sardar Sarovar
Dam being built across the Narmada River, Gujarat,
India. These kinds of developments directly hamper
a subsistence economy that is so prominent across
rural India. Thus the environmental movements in
different parts of the country have emerged from
conflict over the ecological resources needed for
the livelihood of the rural poor (Sharma, 2007).
Hence, 1970s can be considered as the genesis of
a serious environmental movement as well as a
radical culture of eco-reporting when journalists

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July-September 2011

successfully challenged the conventional policies

of the advocates of large scale development in India
(Shah, & Shah, 2008).
Later on, in 1985, the country witnessed a
drastic environmental and human disaster in the
form of Bhopal gas tragedy. The world's worst
industrial catastrophe occurred on December, 1984
at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide
plant in Bhopal, India due to a leak of methyl
isocyanate gas and other chemicals from the plant,
which resulted in death toll of 20,000 and more
than six hundred thousand still suffering its burden.
This incident can be viewed as the first
instance when Indian journalism seriously and
responsibly covered an environmental cause, giving
developments of rescue information. However, as
days passed, the coverage only comes during
anniversaries each year on the people who lost their
lives and those who are wailing on the demise of
their dear ones. 25 years after the incident, the
dramatic verdict was announced, eight people were
convicted for the world's worst industrial disaster
and sentenced to two years in prison. One of them
died during the course of trial and the other seven
accused were granted bail. Media, with tooth and
nail, celebrated the arrival of a sensational news
item.
'Twenty-five years have passed since that
night of terror and death in Bhopal, which
saw a cloud of deadly gases explode out of a
faulty tank in a pesticide factory and silently
spread into the homes of sleeping people"
(Times of India, 2009)
"Bhopal gas tragedy: 26 years after, skeletons
of the past haunts the survivors' (Business
Standard, 2010)

'Those who advocate environmental causes

were branded as the people who want to keep
India backward, significant initiatives in wild
life protection, social forestry, soil
management,
resource
management,
alternative energy, etc., undertaken by
voluntary organisations throughout the
country during this time were poorly
reported.' (Shah & Shah, 2008).

oil spills. Second, environmental news is visuallyoriented, so the more dramatic the images, the more
likely its publicity. Since environmental problems
take a long time to develop, they do not fit into 24
hour news cycles. Therefore, it is crucial that there
is a consistent coverage of environmental issues to
keep the public informed about problems that pose
a long term threat. This is the third factor that
Anderson proposed.

India has the largest number of poor in the

world and poverty in India is primarily
environment-driven.
Thus
environmental
journalism, in India is dominated by issues
surrounding poverty (Mahapatra, 2010). While, for
developed western countries environment is a
luxury at the time of economic stability, for Asian
countries issues surrounding development take
precedence. Hence eco-reporting go hand in hand
with journalism. Pillmann (2000) posits that
environmental communication can be seen as a link
process between the source and the recipients, but
the nature of communication depending on the
social and cultural situation of a particular country.
India enjoys a mass culture, where the major source
of information is from newspapers.

On 27th August 2008, 'The Times of India'

published a news story- 'NCA okays building piers
on Narmada Dam'- claiming the source as 'Narmada
Control Authority', who was supposed to render this
'news' earlier that month. In the next line, it was
added that 'but this would happen only after
clearance from NCA's two sub groups: for
environment and for resettlement and rehabilitation'.
Contradictively, the next day, a news story appeared
in 'The Hindu', with a headline, 'Narmada authority
no to raising dam height (The Hindu, 28 August
2008). The news reported that 'the NCA in its
meeting chaired by Water Resources Secretary, U
N Panjiyar decided that no permission would be
given until Rehabilitation and Resettlement sub
group and the Environmental sub groups were
consulted'.

They
(newspapers)
grew
because
entrepreneurs detected a growing hunger for
information among ever-widening sections of
India's people, who were potential consumers
as well as newspaper readers. (Jeffrey; 2000)
But how far newspapers have been
successful in being a responsible arbitrator is
debatable.
Anderson (1997) opines that
environmental news today is characterized by three
factors; first, it is event-centered, i.e. it is associated
with the coverage of dramatic events like any
natural disasters like earthquake, or accidents like

Another pseudo green concern can be

witnessed if we evaluate the contents of newspapers
on June 5 2011 which is supposed to be the World
Environmental Day, the day media compete to get
more advertisements and thereby more revenue.
Hindustan Times in Mumbai turned all their
headlines into green, a novel way of demonstrating
their green concern (Sharma; 2011).
Journalism plays a crucial role in the progress
of a nation without the risk of any ecological or
environmental degradation, by regularly reporting
Media Mimansa

39

July-September 2011

on these issues (Vincent & Mahesh; 2007).

Unfortunately, in recent years, at an international
level, there have been a significant reduction in
journalistic eco services; for instance, CNN slashed
their entire science, technology, and environment
reporting unit in 2009 (Boykoff; 2010). As far as
India is concerned, the state-owned electronic media
corporation 'Prasar Bharati', which governsDoordarshan (TV) and All India Radio prefers
largely to ignore controversial environmental
issues. But they do promote 3-minutes
advertisement campaigns against pollution or the
odd programme on wildlife and the - general state
of the environment. Doordarshan does on occasion
hold discussions on crucial issues like dam
construction, developmental or forest policies, but
the debates are rather dreary, and usually telecast
outside of prime time. Ecology therefore is being
perceived as a responsibility of the Government,
not so much of people and civic society. Anil
Agarwal, a noted environmentalist and founder of
the environment magazine 'Down To Earth',
remarked that:
"Economic liberalization has become a
perfect excuse for government to cover up
environmental problems'. Because the
powerful middle class is the chief beneficiary
of the boom and has been trying hard to push
aside environmental concerns as stumbling
blocks" (As quoted in Mahapatra, R; 2010).
Success stories that centre on the role of
communities in achieving desirable change in
environmental concerns are either not covered or
given little priority (CMS Research Study, 2003).
A study conducted by the Centre for Media Studies
(CMS) in 2003 concluded that the environment
receives minimal coverage compared to politics and

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Media Mimansa

July-September 2011

entertainment, with The Times of India (the highest

circulated English newspaper) attaining the first
place in the list with a meager rate of 6.82%. The
graph clearly shows that, as time passed, Indian
newspapers
become
conscious
of
the
indispensability in allotting more space for
environmental news coverage. In 2007 the total
news stories printed by the four English dailies
(Times of India, The Hindu, Hindustan Times,
Indian Express) in India were only less than 100,
whereas in 2009 it became more than 650 news
stories in an year. Even the most trendy and
corporatized The Times of India too was compelled
to publish more than 100 news stories on
environment in a year, exclusively. Often
environmental issues receive media coverage only
in the context of politics, natural disasters, extreme
weather abnormalities or eye-catching activist
action (Shah, 2008). The news media's sensational
approach to environmental issues demonstrates a
persistent pattern throughout the last twenty years.
Reports on environmentalism thrive on dramatic
events, where the 'good' and the 'bad' parties are
pitched against each other in a frenzy of attention
grabbing (Anderson, 1997). For instance, THE
GREENATHON a first of its kind 24-hour nonstop
programming urging Indian citizens to take a
pledge towards a greener tomorrow initiated by
NDTV, became popular through its star
extravaganza. The CMS study revealed that
environmental issues comprise only 0.35 percent
of news in popular Indian news channels (see
Appendix- Figure -1). Despite all its constraints,
the press in India is completely free to criticize statesponsored policies, plans and projects: it can, and
regularly does, criticise any government project that
it believes goes against the interests of the
environment.
Social protest groups have

recognized the importance of gaining access to

media to help raise awareness for their causes and
mobilize supporters (Corbett, 1998)
At this juncture, it becomes important to
discuss the achievements of two ground breaking
environmental media and their respective reporters.
i.

Down To Earth - A Path towards

Responsible Journalism

'Down to Earth' a science and environment

magazine is the only mainstream media that is
exclusively on environmental issues and became
the icon of a responsible environmental journalism
in India. Perhaps, the success of the magazine can
be attributed to Anil Agarwal, its first editor who
recognized the futility of trading off the needs of
people and the environment against each other.
Before stepping into editorship, he served as
science correspondent in Hindustan Times. He
founded the Centre for Science and Environment
in 1980 to further his quest for research in
environmental issues and dilemmas. Hoots' editorial
(2002) describes him:'He had the ability to make linkages between
society and environment, governance and
environment, science and issues of people's
health and people's livelihood. He chose to
create a research institution and a magazine
to provide ballast to his journalistic crusade,
found the funding for these institutions, and
made the two a joint launch pad for researchbased campaigns that neither policy makers,
nor industry, nor thinking citizens could
ignore.'(The Hoot; 2002)
Two years before, Centre for Science and
Environment, undertook a scientific testing of
endosulphan residues in the environment and

human blood in Padre Village in Kasargode district

of Kerala, the result of which revealed consciously
high levels of the chemical. The issue was covered
by major national newspapers and television
channels. After the publication of the study, the state
government of Kerala banned the further aerial
spraying of endosulphan (Centre for Science and
Environment official Website). The magazine
covered issues from pollution and climate change
to price crisis of agro products and wild life
depletion. Their news report on the status of Indian
tigers, which are facing depletion at a higher rate,
led to the formation of the Tiger Task Force.
Consequently, the news paved the way for the
inquiry and evaluation of all the national parks and
wild life sanctuaries in India. Hence Down To Earth
is supposed to be like a campaign, but a more liberal
way of passing credible information to the society,
which in turn can make people realize and activate
them in conserving environment in what all ways
they can.
"Inspired reporting, grounded in solid
research,
making
scientific
data
comprehensible to the general public is an
essential tool in our efforts to care for the
earth and our health. As our world grows
both more interconnected, and more
fragmented at the same time, we must
constantly struggle to understand the larger
picture, and good journalism can provide the
lens through which we acquire that critical
understanding,"(As quoted in The Hoot,
2002)
Agarwal also brought his own style of
influencing politics, through a combination of
scholarly work, acerbic journalism and careful
political campaigning. His reports on The State of
Media Mimansa

41

July-September 2011

India's Environment, written with colleagues at the

CSE in 1982, challenged the elitist basis of
environmentalism, and sought to portray the
environment as a political problem partly reflecting
international and class-based divisions of power and
wealth (Baviskar, 2002)
ii.

The Hindu and Sainath- A perfect 'eco-duo'

The Hindu has already set the stage for a

responsible journalism, in the past through its
coverage of the Bhopal tragedy. Its environmental
coverage is never limited to mere press releases or
official declarations, and, like Down to Earth, The
Hindu too has proved its genuineness towards
environmental concerns through its in depth reports.
"A HEARTENING development in the West is
the increased clout of the ``Green'' parties
who are part of decision-makers. The fact
that there is a move to go slow or even phase
out nuclear power stations is a welcome
development. The ``Greenpeace'' movement
is gathering strength, though everyone may
not approve of its methods to prove a point.
It is a cat and mouse game being enacted in
several countries where the environmental
activists are keeping a close watch on the
moves of the business houses which seem to
spring surprises." (The Hindu, 01 May 2001)
"The universal drive for higher incomes in
the face of mounting environmental
destruction has heightened the expressed
tension between fast growth and
environmental protection. The perception of
a trade-off between the two goals rests on
the view often held - wrongly - that
environmental protection, not environmental
degradation, is the obstacle to rapid growth.

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Media Mimansa

July-September 2011

The reality, however, is that it will not be

possible to sustain high growth in the coming
years without environmental care." (The
Hindu, 10 Feb, 2011)
It was through Sainath, the rural affairs editor
of The Hindu, that farmer suicide in Indian villages
received national prominence. Sainath condemned
that the media's attention is shifting from news to
glossy entertainment stuff, and consumerism and
commercialisation is gaining prominence in the
newspaper, thus excluding the real poor. Cockburn
(2005) quoted him saying,
"I felt that if the Indian press was covering
the top 5 per cent, I should cover the bottom
5 per cent."
The soul of a journalist is identified and
portrayed by Sainath through his quest to bring forth
the issue of farmer suicide to the public domain.
He proved that a newspaper is the best platform to
bring revolutions in society; and it did bring some
positive steps from government officials regarding
drought, famer suicide and poverty. When the
Indian administration was unaware of the suicide
toll of farmers in the country, Sainath kept its record
with evidence.
'When businessmen from Aurangabad in the
backward Marathwada region bought 150
Mercedes Benz luxury cars worth Rs. 65 crore
at one go in October, it grabbed media
attention The value of the Mercedes deal
equals the annual income of tens of
thousands of rural Marathwada households.
And countless farmers in Maharashtra
struggle to get any loans from formal sources
of credit. It took roughly a decade and tens
of thousands of suicides before Indian

farmers got loans at 7 per cent interest many, in theory only.' (Sainath, 2010)
The State (Maharashtra) saw 4,453 farmers'
suicides that year, over a quarter of the allIndia total of 17,060The suicides in
Maharashtra mark an increase of 527 over
the 2005 figure. This was four and a half times
bigger than that in Andhra Pradesh, the next
worst-hit State, which saw a rise of 117 farm
suicides over 2005' (Sainath, 2008)
Boykoff (2010) claims that Indian English
language national newspaper coverage of climate
change has risen sharply in the past 18 months.
This may be the result of the so called 'tap-dancing'
between media and environment (Castells, 2004).
The two groups caught in an ongoing dance that
changes tempo quickly and involve improvisation
from both partners (Hutchins & Lester, 2006). It is
the media that serves as the primary and hotly
contested communicative interface - the structuring
intermediary- between environmentalists and
developers as they compete for public awareness
and approval. The media is more than a site for
environmental action; it plays a significant role in
shaping debate and influencing outcomes. It is here
that representations are determined; images softened
or distorted, and power granted or denied (Hutchins,
& Lester, 2006).
Grounded on Earth: The Kerala Model of
Environmental Journalism
Development experts have debated for years
about the "Kerala Model" of development, for
applying this model in other Indian states or even
other countries (STWR website, 2008). According
to the United Nations Development Program's
Human Development Index, since 1998 India is

constantly placed between 124 and 128 among 175

countries (ibid.; 2008). But Kerala stands unique
among the Indian states with a consistently higher
level (precisely twice that of the national rate) of
human development comparable with that of many
advanced countries but with a much lower per
capita income (Parayil, 1996).
The environment has long been a priority in
Kerala which holds a primeval outlook, regarding
ecology; even the construction models - Vasthu,
folk culture and philosophy is deeply responsive
to nature. This state has a long list of eco-movement
like Silent Valley Movement, Save Pooyamkutty
agitation, Pampa Action Plan, Rain water harvesting
campaign, Plachimada agitation against Coco Cola,
Movement against ground water exploitation in
Perumatti at Palakkad by Pepsi Co., Save Kuttanadu
Campaign, Mathrubhumi SEED Campaign (student
empowerment for environmental development) etc,
and many of this movement got catalyzed by
various media institutions of the state. However it
was only in 2006 that an independent administrative
department for environmental issues was created
and a 'Working Group on Environment' (WGE) was
established.
Because of its typical geographical features,
consisting of lush hills, forest, farm land etc, it
gradually became a highly desired tourist
destination, and consequently, tourism is a major
source of income in Kerala (Department of Tourism,
2000). Even though this shift in the status of the
state brought huge income, it had its own ecological
drawbacks. Great swathes of its land being taken
up by marshy backwaters, tea plantations, rice
paddies and lofty mountains, the diversity of plant
and animal life found in Kerala is seriously under
threat from the rapid growth of tourism.
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July-September 2011

Uncontrolled and indiscriminate mining of river

beds for 'sand' which is one of the unavoidable
elements in the construction sector has lead to the
death of the rivers which are in fact the life line of
the state. Its uniqueness includes a highly conscious
population with an imbibed intense media
consumerism. Keralites are often quoted as 'news
hungry' (Ajayan, 2010); the prime factor of which
is the highest literacy rate it enjoys (91%). When
the climate change and pollution, the global
environmental problems, and the dam controversies
best exemplified by the Narmada Valley Project,
form the majority of environmental news in national
newspapers and media (Gokhale, 2001), localized
environmental problems like land reforms, water
conservation, and public oriented environmental
campaigns reign in Malayalam media. The
vernacular media imbibes this spirit and the mass
psyche even after renaissance is responsive to
movements.
The Silent Valley is an 'ecological island' with
a relatively undisturbed evolutionary history of at
least 50 million years manifested in a high degree
of floral and faunal endemism and rare, endangered
and new biological species (Surendran, 2004). In
1973 the valley became the focal point of a protest
when the Kerala State Electricity Board decided to
implement the Silent Valley Hydro-Electric Project
(SVHEP) centered on a dam across the
Kunthipuzha River that could flood 8.3 km of
virgin rainforest. In 1983, the then Prime Minister
of India, Indira Gandhi, decided to abandon the
project and on November 15 the Silent Valley
forests were declared as a National Park. In Kerala,
it was the first instance when newspapers addressed
environmental concern as a serious issue. It can be
said as a silent literary environmental protest since

44

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July-September 2011

Kerala Saasthra Sahitya Parishat and poets like

Sugathakumari, whose poem 'Marathinu Stuthi'
(Ode to a Tree) became a symbol for the protest
from the intellectual community, made the protest
more lively and helped to arouse public opinion
(Mohan, 2004).
Unlike in USA, UK and rest of India,
newspaper circulation is soaring in Kerala despite
the severe competition put forward by the television
channel clutter (Rajendran, 2010). While, India
reached the level of 40 newspapers for thousand
populations in the year 2000, Kerala had achieved
it in 1960 (Jeffrey, 2000). Kerala's high health,
education and material well being have contributed
to the high level of awareness amongst its
population in regards to environmental issues. Mass
media coverage of environmental issues in Kerala
has activated a highly energised and participatory
culture amongst Keralities in regards to
environmental issues. Former Kerala Minister for
Forests Mr. Binoy Viswam, for one, has appreciated
the contribution of the media in creating popular
awareness of the need to protect and improve the
environment. In an interview published in the online
edition of The Hindu on the occasion of the 25th
anniversary of the Silent Valley Movement in
December 2009, Mr. Viswam rightly called attention
to the fact that one of the most important positive
changes in social attitudes during the half century
following the formation of Kerala was the growth
in environmental consciousness. Communication,
both mass and interpersonal, holds the key to
improvement in public understanding of
environmental problems (Stamm, et al, 2000).
Mediated communication is one method for
enhancing public knowledge and understanding.
Such an assertion is justified considering signs of

people's dependence on the media for information

about the environment and sustainability as
proposed by the media dependency theory (BallRokeach and DeFleur, 1976).
Mathrubhumi, a regional daily of India,
demonstrated their green responsibility through the
'Plachimada issue' (an investigative report against
Coca Cola). After availing license from local
council, Perumatty Grama Panchayat, Coco-cola
began its business in Plachimada, Kerala, where
people were already struggling for water.
Mathrubhumi refused to run any advertisements for
Coca-Cola and the company's other brand names
like Mirinda, 7 Up, Sprite, Fanta, Kinley Soda,
Thums Up (Cockburn, 2005). They did this, despite
the obvious financial losses of such action incurred.
As Ryan, (1991) argues, 'all environmental
reporting, balanced or not, is advocacy, because it
raises awareness of these issues' (p. 95). Such an
advocacy journalism can be witnessed in Malayala
Manorama (the highest circulating newspaper in
Kerala) through their ambitious innovative
communication campaign in 2004 - 'Palathulli
Peruvellam' - aimed at raising awareness among
the people of Kerala on the importance of water
conservation and rainwater harvesting. It was a
creative campaign comprising road shows, videophoto exhibitions, seminars and media publicity. It
conveyed effectively to 1.4 million people that
water conservation and rain water harvesting are
the solutions to drought and water scarcity in Kerala.
It was no wonder that it was awarded the 2005
IPDC-UNESCO Prize for Rural Communication. In
fact, Mortensen (2000: 26) observes that although
the public had the most trust in scientists when it
concerns environmental issues, 'they very often get
their information from the media, rather than

accepted scientific sources.' On the other hand,

people are likely to be exposed to sustainability and
environmental issues through the daily course of
listening to or reading the news and consequently
become reliant on the media for such information.
The activism of these newspapers go in hand
with Amit Sankar, the managing director of
Discovery channels who suggested that newspapers
need to concentrate on educating the lay persons
in creating an interest in environment.
'I feel that the age group of 14-20, consisting
of students, young professionals is the most
receptive. They are open to new ideas yet are
very idealistic and when they become
decision makers, their decisions will surely
be more environment friendly The only
means of creating greater awareness among
people is by involving them, convincing them
about the importance of issues and finally
educating them so that they can take care of
their immediate environs.' (In Karnik, 2001)
Apart from newspapers, television channels
(among more than 15 mainstream channels, 4 are
exclusive news channels) too express their green
concern in a participatory and innovative way. The
Kerala affiliate of Doordarshan Kendra is playing
a crucial role in eco-reporting. 'Green Kerala
Express' - the first and unique social reality show
in Indian television under the initiative of the
Ministry of Local Self Government and Suchitwa
Mission, aims to find the greenest village.
"Green Kerala Express is unique in that it redesigns a very popular television genre for
developmental and social communication"
(Sajan, 2010).
The program followed a unique method of
Media Mimansa

45

July-September 2011

rendering, where, like a travelogue, the anchors of

the show travel in a bicycle (a sustainable, nonpollutant, and a tool for sustainable growth and
development) within a village or panchayat,
covering all Local Self Governments (LSGs). The
CDIT production team interview prominent persons
and laymen of all LSGs, familiarize with the
historical, social and economic condition of it, and
make two short films- one its cultural and historical
background and the other its developmental modelwhich is then short listed to the final round. The
final selected LSGs are evaluated by a five member
panel based on screening of films, clarifying and
interviewing the representatives of respective LSGs,
as part of the reality show. The success of the
program greatly lies in its sustainable model of
localized developmental and environmental models,
which dwell deep into the issues of public
participation and dedication, ultimately taking this
localized issue into the global concern of pollution
and climate change.
Noting positive media effects, many have
associated the enhanced level of public knowledge
and awareness about environmental issues with
media coverage (Bowman and Hanaford 1977;
Howson and Cleasby 1996; Huckle 1995;
O'Riordan 1995; Sharma 2000; UNESCO-UNEP
1990).
'Since the emergence and rise of the modern
environmental movement in the 1960s, the
mass media have been a central public arena
for publicizing environmental issues and for
contesting claims, arguments and opinions
about our use and abuse of the environment.'
(Hansen, 2011)
The campaigns undertaken by newspapers
in Kerala are a great step towards linking society

46

Media Mimansa

July-September 2011

with environmental issues. This is particularly

important as the causes and long-term effects of
environmental problems lie beyond personal
experience, as in the case of water conservation or
forestation. To connect a single observation with a
general problem is the outcome of an interpretation
process, in which media come into play (Arlt, et al,
2011). Kerala media has been particularly successful
in making environmental problems 'apparent' and
defined as problems through communication within
a social frame of reference (Luhmann, 1989).
Atwater (1988) noted that audiences rely on the
media for information about environmental issues,
because they rarely have direct access to related
information, and they have little or no direct
experiences with related issues. Gooch (1995)
opined:
'Many environmental problems cannot be
personally experienced - they are either too
distant, or cannot be directly seen, tasted or
smelt.'
Therefore, the mass media, as a
communicator of information to the public plays a
significant role in the distribution of knowledge
(Lance et al., 2003; Nerb and Spada, 2001).
Pillmann (2000) posits that environment
communication
encompasses
environment
education, environment politics and social
participation, and only then the foundation for a
sustainable association between people and
environment can be maintained. But sensationalism
is a threat to environmental reporting in any country.
Galtung and Ruge (1965, p. 62), have argued that
enduring values such as the "conventions of
newsworthiness" by which media organizations
evaluate the saleability of information or make a
selection of information that will be transformed

into news are based on the ability of a newspaper

to return a profit. Judging from the spate of
environmental issues now appearing in the Indian
press, environment is news whose time has come.
In effect, environment is entirely political - simply
because almost every issue concerns certain socioeconomic interests and their manipulation (Balaram,
1992).
Conclusion
The control of natural resources, the false
developmental policies of the government, the
marginalization of the tribal and other
underprivileged groups and environmental
degradation are the root causes of emergence of
the environmental movements in India. But how
far Indian media has been successful in portraying
these issues is a major matter of concern. The
release of the Oscar winning documentary An
Inconvenient Truth and the active participation of
Indians on a global level to highlight climate change
as well as the role of Dr. R.K. Pachauri in winning
the Nobel prize for the IPCC has initiated a new
era in Indian environmental journalism (Shah &
Shah; 2008).
This article has given a brief overview of
Indian environmental journalism, particularly
within the relatively small state of Kerala. It has
examined the contemporary Indian media's
coverage of environmental issues. Exploring the
history of developmental journalism and third world
priorities, the article had highlighted the failures of
the Indian media in promoting the environment as
a major issue of concern. The global media's
advancing commercialization led to the
environmental agenda being effectively marketed,
adhering to the capitalist values of the ruling
conglomerates. This naturally moved to national

media, both newspaper and television. For a country

like India, which has a fast growing population and
economy, there is a strong need to endorse
humanitarian value and environment awareness in
news production. When national media followed
global hegemony in issues to the environment,
regional media set forth a new model of
environmental journalism that located the issues and
initiated environmental friendly activities. News
media must open up further vistas to explore the
new globalised practice of environmental journalism
and the failure of such a socially responsible practice
in gaining global recognition and mention. Since
the world's most dominant business follows the
creed of capitalism instead of conforming to its huge
responsibility to the global community, it is unlikely
that the global media will transform the differing
interests of nations, businesses, ideologies into an
environmentally conscious unity. At this juncture,
regional media need to take up the responsibility
of a green societal transformation. Apprehension
of the adverse impact of global warming and climate
change on agriculture and water availability has
brought in a new dimension. This is where the
Indian news media, which has done credible job
so far covering climate change issues, needs to raise
both the qualitative and quantitative levels of their
efforts - with help from scientists and other experts
(Viswanathan, 2010).
WWF (2009) put forward certain
recommendations for Indian journalists, i.e., their
need to understand that environmentalism and
conservation go beyond animals and plants. These
issues involve aspects related to international
relations, politics, economics, trade, sociology,
social development, and education. The prominent
environmental stories need and will only be the
result of a closer cooperation between Indian
Media Mimansa

47

July-September 2011

journalists with government and non-governmental

organizations, communities, lobbying groups, as
well as concerned citizens. A greater awareness
among audiences will emerge only after journalists
give wildlife/forestry issues the weight and
importance they deserve. Revamping should be
done in the entire curriculum of journalism courses
to give as much weightage to environmental
reporting as other specialized reporting, by
correlating science with communication.

7.

Carson, R Silent Spring, 2002, Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt.

8.

Castells, M. The Power of Identity, 2nd ed.

2004, Oxford: Blackwell.

9.

Centre for Media Studies (CMS) Research

Study (2003). Trends of Environmental news
in National Dailies. Retrieved from http://
cmsenvis.cmsindia.org on 7 October 2010

10.

Centre for Science and Environment (2003).

SC bans Endosulfan; Order to be effective
till ICMR submits report. Retrieved from
http://www.cseindia.org/content/sc-bansendosulfan-order-be-effective-till-icmrsubmits-report on 06 October 2010.

11.

Craig, G. (2007). 'Aotearoa New Zealand

Environmental Groups and news media
Relations'.
Australian Journal of
Communication. Vol.34, Issue no. (1), pp 5570

12.

Endosulfan pesticide victims: Different

figures, Similar lies? (2011). Voice of
Keralam, 7 January 2011. Retrieved from
http://voiceofkeralam.blogspot.com/2011/01/
on 04 April 2011

13.

Gokhale, V (1991). The Indian Media's

Response to Global Media. News Media in a
Shrinking World, Encounter 90'. Retrieved
from http://www.veenago.com/nonfiction/
Indian_Media_Envrio_Issues.pdf

14.

Guha, R., The unquiet woods: Ecological

change and peasant resistance in the
Himalayas, 1990, Berkeley, University of
California Press.

15.

Hansen, A. (2011). 'Communication, media

and environment: Towards reconnecting

References :
1.

Acharya, K and Noronha, F (eds.). The Green

Pen: Environmental Journalism in India and
South Asia. 2010, New Delhi, Thousand
Oaks, London: Sage Publications

2.

Agarwal, A. and Narain, S. Global warming

in an unequal world: a case of environmental
colonialism. 1991, Centre for Science and
Environment, New Delhi

3.

Ajayan (2010). 'News Hungry Kerala to Get

a Dozen More Television
Channels'.
LiveMint.com 13 September 2010. Retrieved
from http://www.livemint.com/2010/09/
13232038 on 22 August 2010

4.

Atwater, T. 'Reader Interest in Environmental

News'. Newspaper Research Journal, 1988,
Vol. 10, pp 31-38.

5.

Bowman, J.S. and Hanaford, K. (1977) 'Mass

media and the environment since Earth day'.
Journalism Quarterly Vol. 57 Issue no. (1),
pp. 160-165.

6.

48

Boykoff, M. (2010). 'Indian media

representations of climate change in a
threatened journalistic ecosystem'. Climate
Change, Vol.99, pp 17-25

Media Mimansa

July-September 2011

research on the production, content and

social implications of environmental
Communication'.
The
International
Communication Gazette. Vol.72, Issue no. (12), pp 7-25
16.

Mahapatra, R (2010). 'Environmental

Journalism at the Time of Economic
Liberalisation' In Acharya, K and Noronha,
F (eds). The Green Pen: Environmental
Journalism in India and South Asia. New
Delhi, Thousand Oaks, London: Sage
Publications.

17.

Marx, K and Frederick, E (1975-2001).

Collected Works, volume 1-49, Lawrence and
Wishart, London.

18.

Parayil, G (2008). Narmada authority no to

raising dam height. The Hindu, 28 August
2008

19.

Sainath, P (2008). 17060 farm suicides in one

year. The Hindu, 31 Jan 2008

20.

Sainath, P (2010). Of Luxury Cars and Lowly

Tractors. The Hindu 27 December 2010

21.

Shah, I.K and Shah, H (2008). 'Environmental

Journalism: Concept and Scope in India'.
Indian Journal of Science Communication.
Vol.7, Issue no. 2, pp. 25-30

22.

Shah, R (2008). NCA Okays Building Piers

on Narmada Dam. Times of India 27 August
2008

23.

Varma, S (2009). Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

Endless Nightmare. Times of India, 03
December 2009 Retrieved from http://
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BhopalGas-Tragedy-Endless-nightmare/articleshow/
5294330.cms on 12 December 2010

24.

Vincent, S and Mahesh, A (2007).

'Journalism: The Practise and the Potential'.
In Rajan, Nalini, 21st Century Journalism in
India. New Delhi: Sage

25.

Viswanathan, S (2010). Growing Awareness

about Environment. The Hindu 28 June 2010

26.

Workshop on NREGA and Media Advocacy:

December 2009. Retrieved from http://
thetransformingword.wordpress.com/
category/media-and-environmental-action/
on 12 December 2010

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Appendix I
Figure 1 : Media coverage of environmental issues in Major Indian news channels
Source:- CMS ENVIS Research Study http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/resources/mediaanalysis.pdf

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Research Methodology of
Mapping Perceptions
Neemo Dhar*

ABSTRACT

Media has a great influence on perceptions whereas reverse is also true. Media reporting is
guided by general opinion or the view point and the general acceptance of news content by
audiences which in turn is based on audience's convictions and beliefs. This is a symbiotic
relationship as media influences perceptions and image of an organization thereby influencing
the stakeholder's behavior and acceptance. Similarly perceptions get influenced and formed by
media reports. This relationship, if not managed with timely communication, interventions and
corrective measures in consonance with the needs and aspirations of stakeholders, can create a
vicious cycle of sentiments, convictions and beliefs and an image of the organization far away
from reality and to an extent where perceptions will be believed and will determine stakeholder's
response and behavior. The present paper deals with the case study of Delhi Development Authority
i.e. DDA which has a huge public interface but despite having done tremendous work in Delhi,
the response of stakeholders and Media is totally different and is led by the common perceptions
of the organization and not by reality.
Introduction

2.

Inadequate work done leading to public cry.

Perception in literal sense is the response to

stimuli and combining of sensations into
recognition or impression. It is thus the first
impression of an object, process, personality or an
organization. Perception though it appears to be a
common term, is difficult to comprehend or
understand and thus is elusive. Organisational
perception is the first impression about an
organization which may be true or not but if allowed
to continue it becomes an opinion leading to an
image and determines the behavior of stakeholders
and media. It also shapes the opinion of opinion
makers which in turn adds to the perception and
trends in media reporting. Perception of an
organization depends on:

3.

Proper delivery of services.

4.

Proper Public Interface and Consumer

Satisfaction.

1.

Actual work done and timely communicated

through various modes of communication.

All the four components need to be managed

in a proper and balanced fashion and if there is
deficient or mismanagement of any one of the
components the perceptions go haywire leading to
reporting and media hype quite contrary to the
reality.
In this paper, study has been done of crisis
situation in DDA and the trends of media reporting
based on popular perceptions. The Delhi
Development Authority was founded in 1957 and
has completed about 53 years of its existence. It is
the sole development agency entrusted with the
planning and development of the city of Delhi. It

*Commissioner [Public Relations] Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi (e-mail ID: neemodhar@gmail.com)

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has so far, developed/provided shelter to more than

a million people and also provided facilities like
residential, recreational infrastructural and greens
to the people of Delhi.
Development Authority comes in contact
with almost every citizen of Delhi directly or
indirectly. Though DDA has done tremendous
work, it is always viewed as a very lethargic
Government Organisation and its working is
associated only with the development of houses.

The announcement was reported in all the

newspapers and all the newspapers projected the
difference in cost in the market rate and DDA rate.
All the banks in the city announced schemes
towards financing of registration money, which was
Rs. 1.50 lakh per application. Due to the low cost
of the flats, it was a gamble for any one as one had
to pay Rs.5000/- to get loan of Rs.1.50 lakhs
towards the registration money and later could sell
the house at a premium. As per DDA record, about
six lakhs applications were received for 5238 flats.

Methodology
After doing the review of literature, wherein
the components of media and perception have been
researched, the crisis situation faced by DDA during
Housing Scheme, 2008 was studied by studying
the news paper reports.
A total of 300 clippings
published from 16th August, 2008 to 30th of
October, 2009 that is during the floating of the
scheme and its final clearance given by various
investigating agencies were analysed. Trends in
reporting by linking them to the information
disseminated by DDA through press releases,
conferences and one to one interaction were
followed and analysed. The newspapers which
were followed up were (1) The Times of India (2)
Hindustan Times (3) Dainik Jagran (4) Nav Bharat
Times (5) Hindustan Hindi (6) Punjab Kesari (7)
The Hindu (8) The Pioneer.
Details of the Scheme
Delhi Development Authority announced a
housing scheme on 16th of August, 2008. The
scheme had an USP as "affordable housing" as the
houses offered under the scheme were about 40
percent less in cost as compared to the market rate
of the flats in the city. For launching the scheme
DDA held a press briefing on 14th August, 2008.

52

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July-September 2011

In the conditions of allotment contained in

brochure given to applicants DDA had mentioned
that the scrutiny of documents and the authenticity
of the documents submitted with the application,
will be done only for successful applicants as it was
not possible for it to scrutinize all the applications
before the draw. After the announcement of the
scheme, reports of middlemen manipulating and
applying on behalf of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes i.e. reserve category, which had
a priority reservation of 17%, appeared in various
newspapers. This as per reports was to corner the
flats which could be allotted to the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes as their probability of getting
the flats, due to reservation, was high. As a reaction
to the reports, DDA communicated through
advertisements that no one should go to a
middleman as draw will be totally transparent. The
draw was held on 16th of December, 2008 and
results were displayed on the website and also
communicated through advertisements in National
Dailies. Within 15 days of the draw, there were
allegations of rigging of the draw in the media.
Allegations of double allotments, allegations of
rigging of the draw and allotting flats to SC & ST
applicants, who were non-existent or not aware of

such an application preferred in their name, kept

on being reported in all the newspaper from 22nd
December, 2008 to 3rd January 2009. All papers
alleged a very big scam. Calculations of the scam,
calculations of the money involved, news of
property deals, allegations on duplicate numbers
etc kept on being reported continuously in almost
all newspapers. DDA did not communicate anything
till 3rd of January.
DDA through a press conference on 4th
January, 2009 rebutted the issue. All the allegations
leveled through newspapers were explained point
by point. A brief of the process of the draw, point
by point explanation of various allegations was
given and reported live on many channels but with
a slant. The reporting in the newspapers was also
slated and not positive and it appeared that no
newspaper believed what DDA communicated and
kept on reporting various spiced stories about the
alleged scam along with DDA clarifications.
As per records in DDA, an enquiry was
ordered by the Government and the software of the
draw was sent for testing. The enquiry was held by
Economic Offences Wing and the software was
checked by NIC and CDAC. Public Interest
Litigation was also filed. DDA remained in the
news during the pendency of enquiry and stories
repeating earlier allegations and reporting
involvement of different officers and people kept
on being published. Though DDA during this
period, kept on communicating with its
stakeholders with clarifications etc., but it did not
have the desired effect.
The report from the agency entrusted with
the checking of the software and the Economic
Offences Wing, was received in October, 2009;
High Court also cleared the draw setting aside the

entire allegation and DDA was given a clean chit.

The news about no irregularity was hardly given
coverage.
Analysis
The perceptions about the draw which had
started in a small way at the beginning of the draw
and which were as per the existing perceptions of
DDA were not checked in time and thus became a
very strong belief /thought with all stakeholders.
Therefore, any clarification at a later date i.e. after
a lapse of 15 days on 3rd January, 2010 did not
have the desired results and were reported with
disbelief. The prevailing perceptions were
reinforced when the key-personnel in the
Government, despite denials from DDA, ordered
conducting an enquiry etc. The opposition also
started demanding resignation of Minister etc and
the draw remained in the news and even in
Parliament for quite some time generating interest
and perceptions. So strong was the opinion formed
that reality communicated had no effect firstly
because of the prevailing perception and secondly
due to delayed communication by DDA. DDA did
not communicate till 3rd January thereby allowing
allegations to settle and reinforcing the already
prevailing perceptions.
Conclusion
The conclusion which can be drawn after
analyzing reports is that media led by perceptions,
reinforced by competitiveness amongst the media
to sell more news based on popular public opinion
perceived a scam, sold its news, further reinforcing
the perceptions. The basic reason for it has been
that the perception of DDA right from beginning
of draw has not been very positive so the
stakeholders listened to the media and newspapers

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53

July-September 2011

and paid no heed to DDA clarifications. The situation

was aggravated and perceptions turned into
conviction and belief when enquiry was ordered
and software seized for testing. Secondly the
communication from DDA was not timely thereby
de-establishing the communication component of
perception formation. It created an imbalance as
media was feeding the stakeholders but DDA
remained mum till 3rd January, 2009.

4.

Joseph T. Klapper. The Effect of Mass

Communication eds. 1. Desola Pool and other
(Chicago: Rand McNally 1973) PP 141-152

5.

S.H. Venkatramani, All the Different ImagesCorporate Communications, Starling

Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

6.

S. Ganesh, Lectures on Mass Communication

India Publishers & Distributors.

Therefore, perceptions if not linked to reality

need to be checked in time through effective
communication strategies and confidence building
measures otherwise the perceptions become
sentiments and convictions which are like hard
boiled eggs difficult to change. As the behavior of
stakeholders and acceptance of the policies and
programmes of any organization depends on
perceptions they need to be managed through
effective and timely communication.

7.

Peter B. Warr. Christopher, The perception

of People and Events (John Wiley & Sons).

8.

Journal of Psychological Research,

Department of Psychology, University of
Bielefield, Germany.

9.

Dharmendra Singh Adhyayan, Mass

Communication and Social Development,
Publishers and Distributors Delhi - 110094

10.

The Effect of Brand Image & Public Relations,

Perceptions and Customer Loyalty.
International Journal of Management 25.2
(2008) 237-241.

11.

Stewart L. Tubbs & Sylvia Mors, Person

Perception - Human Communication:
Principles and Contents, Publisher McGraw
Hill.

12.

Michael D. Scott. Steven R. Beydon,

Dimensions of Communication, An
introduction.

References
1.

K.J. Macbarry (Ed) Mass Communications

(London: Cline Bringley 1972) P.18 Headly
Read, Communication L Methods for All
Media (Chicago: University Illinois Pres
1972)

2.

Sunanda Arya, Mass Media & Public

Opinion in India Printwell Publishers.

3.

Joshua Meyrowits, "Images of Media:

Hidden Ferment and Harmony - in the field"
Journal of Communication 43 (1993) 55-67

54

Media Mimansa

July-September 2011

Book Review

When MBAs rule the newsroom-How the

Marketers and Managers are Reshaping
Today's Media
written by - Doug Underwood
Columbia University Press, New York
Pages 259; Price $ 29.95
M. R. Dua*
STEPPING rather meteorically as today's
world is into the electronic era, have you any time
envisioned what will it be like to be a print media
journalist in the brave new world of the new age of
information? And, will our daily newspaper
continue to be an organic part of the 'minimalistic
journalism' brought into the reader-friendly
newspapering? Or, will the newspaper re-invent
itself into some other form of market-place
journalism, now being manufactured as just
'another commodity' in the market place?
While we debate the possible shape of the
newspaper of the future, it's 'the information anxiety
that is causing much dejection in the newsroom isn't
likely to abate.' However, what can be forecast with
some amount of certainty for reassuring the
broadsheet 'newspaper traditionalists' is that a vast
majority of newspaper companies will stubbornly
continue 'clinging' to the traditional concept of the
newspaper in print. But, again, one other most
likely imminent phenomenon to occur for sure is:
the content of today's newspaper will undergo
complete overhaul and a total revamp. The new
"product will quite probably be the result of the
'formula journalism'," formatted by 'marketoriented journalism', produced by 'customer-

obsessed editors', literally employing 'marketing

gimmicks,' of the twenty-first century.
The author of this book, Dough Underwood,
a former print media practitioner, and currently a
Washington University journalism academic, warns
that 'the reader-friendly journalism is in danger of
losing true spirit of journalistic mission,' and
'journalistic values.'
For, he rationalizes further; the current crop
of MBAs will 'rule the newsrooms to dominate the
brave new world of market-place newspapering,
to establish a market-place driven, profit-fuelled
model of media corporate engineering.' He also
apprehends that such a product will be 'in danger
of losing its professional bearing and its journalistic
soul.' Because, he cautions, such MBA-ruled
establishments will have 'the potential to alter the
nature of the news and fundamental traditions of
the newspaper profession.'
So, as this book amply documents and firmly
confirms, gone definitely are the days when
journalism was considered to be a sacred mission
and a cherished profession. No more! Now, we
need to be ground-to-earth, hard pragmatists, and
confront the realities of the market place where the

*Professor M. R. Dua, is former Professor and Head of journalism department, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi

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July-September 2011

newspaper is just a product, a commodity, to be

marketed by MBA professionals in a highly
competitive market. This book in fact is an in-depth
study of marketing strategies now intensively at
work, with a view to converting and equipping the
modern newsroom with a 'customer-driven
approach to news.' While it is said to 'threaten the
values that have guided generations of journalists'
all over the world, the author unveils the 'readerfriendly journalism-and the marketing programmes,
and management systems that support it- which are
handcuffing journalists and turning the news into
just another product in the great sellathon.'
Meanwhile, it would be pertinent to mention
here that of late global newspapers' circulation
figures have consistently been showing a sharp
downward trend. The sale of many outstanding and
prestigious dailies are said to be declining rapidly
as readers are increasingly 'shifting from the printed
medium to the free websites and mobile service
the electronic alternatives have become even more
tempting as newspapers charge more for their print
editions. For example in India, newspapers' Sunday
editions sell between Rs.5 and 8, daily issues are
available between Rs.1.50 (Mumbai Mirror) and
Rs.3 per copy, as in Delhi and elsewhere. The
newspaper price rises have been an international
phenomenon for the last four-five years. For
instance, The New York Times daily issue, which
sold for 75 cents over a year ago, now costs $2 and
Sunday edition $6 a copy; same is the case of
London Times and financial dailies such as the Wall
Street Journal, The Financial Times, which costs
one pound daily, and 2.5 pounds its Weekend issue.
And similar is also the case of India's Business
Standard, HT Mint or The Hindu Business line,
Financial Express and others.

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July-September 2011

One of the chief reasons for falling sale and

mounting prices is newspaper managements' attempt
to employ 'completely innovative, smart, and outof-box marketing advertising and sales promotion
techniques.' All this believed to have been devised
by IIM-trained MBA management graduates'
mounting tireless hot campaigns to kick up sales.
Therefore, of late, 'on virtually every front, the
newspaper industry's approach has been to get its
members to adopt a corporate marketing and
management solutions.' A principal cause of this is
said to be 'management's credo--finance over
journalism.' Thus, the newspaper 'marketing
philosophy has become ingrained into the
newspaper structure with marketing managers,
design and graphic editors, survey researchers and
financial consultants' forming an integral part of
the management teams in the newsroom.' The reality
is that 'now it's target marketing and target
marketing and more marketing.'
Focusing on how the 'plan-design-packagethe- news philosophy' is to be framed, implemented
and propagated by the newspaper managements,
Dough Underwood's this book (split into three parts
and 14 chapters), soundly and impressively
highlights the role of marketers and managers in
managing the newsrooms to produce marketoriented corporate newspapers, also imitating
television commercials' customer-enticing
techniques, and with enhanced emphasis on
customer-oriented journalism. Besides, the author
also digs deep into some areas of maximum concern
about the content, writing styles, i.e., packaging,
branding, presenting, displaying the news and
features on newspaper pages, their diverse
supplements, varied pull-outs and innumerable
editions.

In addition, the emphasis will be on 'glitz

graphics and three-inch stories;' perhaps a sign of
an attempt to 'transition to telephone newspapers'
and by cutting coverage; softening news content;
loss of depth; reduction in news staff. Therefore, it
seems rather remarkable, as we notice prodigiously
hidden and disguised suspicions that are enunciated
by the newspaper owners which are used in
reporting 'pseudo news,' 'pseudo events', that will
ultimately appear before the reader as the 'pseudo
news product,' throwing to the winds the most
cherished traditional journalistic values of editorial
autonomy and community service-so very dearly
prized by newspaper workers in the yore years.
However, the author's main worry seems to
be that in this rather intricate marketing-riddled and
profit-grabbing process, 'journalism as higher
calling may be abandoned in the rush to embrace
marketing principles.' He distinctly underlines that
this modern times 'push toward market-thinking in
newsroom is also creating serious stress within
newspaper staff, especially in newsroom of chain
news-papers where staffers are under particularly
strong pressures to adopt to the market-oriented
environment.' Most of these new developments in
newsrooms have led the modern times editors to
define their jobs in terms of market place. Besides
'managing' editing, 'editor's job now is managing
people, managing systems, and managing
resources.'
Consequently, it has been widely perceived,
quite markedly by many well known newspaper
houses during the last two decades that it would be
quite gainful to inculcate training to be newsroom
managers, and learn modern business management
skills. Thus, there is a need for newspapers 'to
develop unique solutions with the context of their

own particular markets.' The editors are being

systematically encouraged to earn MBA degrees to
ensure effective and efficient handling of newsroom
operations.
Therefore, the author is also at pains to point
out that print media, especially the daily newspaper,
'needs to be re-invented in a time of slipping
advertising revenues, financially troubled retailers,
sagging circula- tions, and a continuing decline in
readership rates.' These factors are truly creating
vital survival dilemmas. For, in the times to come,
'newspapers aren't going to be profitable as they
were way back in 1970s and 1980s. Fewer adults
read newspapers or magazines than ever before.'
Moreover, 'we are dealing in a world of marketing,
and it isn't something that's going to go awayThe
reality is that if you don't give the readers what they
want, they'll find it somewhere else.'
Obviously, the choice for today's daily
newspaper is: "Change or be changeddevelop the
product, market the product, and write about the
product in the news pages--as the entertainment,
promote-ion, and news business blend into one."
And, if you want to stay as a crusading newspaper
person, you have no future. As the author
underlines: "Crusading is a rich man's gameyou
lose advertis- ing, you lose circulation, and you even
lose prestige. No one gives you a damn! The
friends appreciate the service you have done for a
few minutes, and then forget it immediately and
completely. But the enemies you've made never
forget."
The author has indeed intimately looked into
various aspects of the profession and occupation
of journalism as of today. While he concedes that
the essential areas of newspapering are
salesmanship, marketing and economic aspects, he
Media Mimansa

57

July-September 2011

feels, 'compromise' is the name of the game.

Community service, and purity of the profession
truly may be the heart and soul of the profession
but financial perspectives of the newspaper business
cannot be easily overlooked. For, earning money
is also of utmost significance in business, perhaps
one of the most crucial factors that will make the
newspaper organization survive.
But, the test of acceptable and true journalism
therefore lies in striking 'a happy balance in profits
and public service,' as the author very discerningly
counsels: 'If the newspaper owners can adjust to
profit levels that don't necessarily put them at the
top of the list of the industry, they can put out a
product that will continue to merit the protections
that our forefathers believed were indispensable to
proper functioning of the republic.' The best thing
about what he has said is that a fairly large majority
of newspaper establishments (in India) as elsewhere
are just following these cannons, and quite discretely
and successfully too.
However, the fact remains that the future of
the print journalism is hanging in balance. And, all
those who diligently and smartly strike this balance,
quickly and happily are bound to have the last
laugh. But, honestly and frankly, it's easier said
than done. For, everyone wants and aims at making
money, and more money. How can then the
newspaper managements be left behind? Well, only
the time will tell as to how these challenges are met
by the parties involved in the business of

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July-September 2011

newspapering. Whatever may happen to the

newspaper industry in the years to come, one thing
is but certain: the printed word will stay afloat and
flourish as long as the hunger and curiosity for news
lives, and the human race survives.
Of course, it's hard to foretell what is in store
in the womb of time for the print journalism. But it
would be safe to foretell, as the author opines, that
'newspaper journalists should take heart in the fact
that none of those who gaze into newspapering's
future are predicting the near-term demise of the
newspaper in print. Technology so far has been
unable to match the efficient way the eye can scan
the newspaper page or the way newspaper can be
read over coffee on Sunday morning." And, as a
well-known American newspaper group KnightRidder Editor Gerry Baker has predicted: 'There are
things about a newspaper that are attuned to the
human spirit, and it'll be there forever.'
Finally, it would be appropriate to point out
that this book has been written in the backdrop of
the American newspaper scene, quite a few of the
author's conclusions don't exactly presently apply
on the current Indian print journalism scenario.
Nonetheless, the fact remains that many of his
analyses do have a lot of relevance to India, or other
developing countries where print journalism's all
areas are on the threshold of a plethora of
programmes of reorganization, expansion,
diversification and realignments.