Nasa’s robotic spacecraft
Curiosity successfully landed on Mars. Anna Hazare disbanded his team. India
won Olympic medals in London. But, what about rural areas? Equitable way the
media has been working in rural areas? Do media cover rural news sufficiently?
Is it enough to cover the rural news from the media?
When a rural development journalist send news of rural area then he earns two thousand to six thousand only per month, but when a business or economic journalist make news, he earns fifteen to eighty and more thousand per month. Why? Either only for gives profit to businessmen or to make profit for his own media company. I am not understand, why do national or state media try to avoid the rural coverage?
If we analysis the print and electronic media, we can
easily find that rural media’s market is big than urban market. Instead of media’s
urban and metropolitan market is more powerful and rich from rural market.
Why we forget that when newspaper brands or news channels want to increase their circulation or T.R.P., they go to villages. Why we forget that whenever a photo journalist has awarded for his/her photograph, it belonged to rural sector. Why we forget that rural journalist awarded Magsaysay prize for rural developmental news as palagummi sainath. Why we forget that when entertainment channels want a high T.R.P., they start a religious story i.e. Mahabharat, Sri Krishana, Jai Hanuman and other. We have recently example of "Life Ok", this channel started Mahadev, a hindu religious story at prime time, only for its fame and obviously for T.R.P also.
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| Courtesy- internet |
I think there are some reasons that why print and electronic media do not gives priority to rural areas. We know that in our country there is a little figure of literacy. Only in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar there is average 66.86 percentage literacy including men and women. And there is only 55.16 percentage literacy in women in these states. As per census (2001) 54.16 percentage women were literate in all India.
Because illiteracy outspread in villages, thus print media avoid themselves to make market in rural areas. Because business planner and marketers know that this is a risky task. On the other hand electronic media also neglect to rural areas for same reason.
I am surprised, that private radio FM media also target only to urban and metropolitan audience. In spite of radio FM is an audio medium and the Illiterate can also take advantage, but “they” are neither interested to entertain nor provide knowledge to villagers.
Specially, here I thanks to official radio media, because it is affected to rural audience, and also participating in rural development and entertaining to villagers. Which official radio doing for rural India, other media cannot do.
If we notice some facts we come to know that any media (either print or electronic) can earn fame with some important steps. Let’s check how. When a child falls down in hollow, media just cover that story only to show that how much they are fast than other media and are worried for him/her. Many news channels cover that type of stories 24hrs not for to save that child, but also to get a high T.R.P. because of Indian emotion they can do so easily. Actually on these types of issues especially electronic media play with Indian’s emotions.
So, this is the point that there are many issues in rural area where journalists can busy themselves to cover them i.e. electricity, water supply, agriculture, education, religion, casteism, child and women health, diseases, migrating, Panchayati orders, politics, business, rationing, banking loans, suicides, poverty, hunger, over flood and other natural disasters, and many more. But only for business and for earning money media go to rural coverage, otherwise they never go there even for wander.
Govt. and press commission should make policy for (press and electronic) media for coverage of rural areas. There is need of reservation in media for news of rural areas. I think at least twenty percent space should given by both. Print media to give space in newspaper and electronic media to give space in news bulletin. And when that type of step will be taken by the govt. or press commission, only then media will knock the door of “Ram Bharose”
