Mass Media and Communications - Solutions
CBSE Class 12 Sociology
NCERT Solutions
Chapter-7
Mass Media and Communications
1. Trace out the changes that have been occurring in the newspaper industry? What is your opinion on these changes?
Ans. • It is often believed that with the growth of the television and the internet the print media would be sidelined. However, in India we have seen the circulation of newspapers grow. A large number of glossy magazines have also made their entry into the market.
• There is a rise in the number of literate people who are migrating to cities. The Hindi daily Hindustan in 2003 printed 64,000 copies of their Delhi edition, which jumped to 425,000 by 2005. The reason was that, of Delhi’s population of one crore and forty-seven lakhs, 52 per cent had come from the Hindi belt of the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Out of this, 47 per cent have come from a rural background and 60 per cent of them are less than 40 years of age.
• The needs of the readers in the small towns and villages are different from that of the cities and the Indian language newspapers cater to those needs. Dominant Indian language newspapers such as Malayala Manorama and the Eenadu launched the concept of local news in a significant manner by introducing district and whenever necessary, block editions.
• The Indian language newspapers have adopted advanced printing technologies and also attempted supplements, pullouts, and literary and niche booklets.
• Marketing strategies have also marked the Dainik Bhaskar group’s growth as they carry out consumer contact programmes, door-to-door surveys, and research.
• While English newspapers, often called ‘national dailies’, circulate across regions, vernacular newspapers have vastly increased their circulation in the states and the rural hinterland.
• In order to compete with the electronic media, newspapers, especially English language newspapers have on the one hand reduced prices and on the other hand brought out editions from multiple centres.
• Many feared that the rise in electronic media would lead to a decline in the circulation of print media. This has not happened. Indeed it has expanded. This process has, however, often involved cuts in prices and increasing dependence on the sponsors of advertisements who in turn have a larger say in the content of newspapers.
2. Is radio as a medium of mass communication dying out? Discuss the potential that FM stations have in post-liberalisation India?
Ans. • The advent of privately owned FM radio stations in 2002 provided a boost to entertainment programmes over radio. In order to attract audiences these privately run radio stations sought to provide entertainment to its listeners.
• As privately run FM channels are not permitted to broadcast any political news bulletins, many of these channel specialise in ‘particular kinds’ of popular music to retain their audiences.
• Most of the FM channels which are popular among young urban professionals and students, often belong to media conglomerates. Like ‘Radio Mirchi’ belongs to the Times of India group, Red FM is owned by Living Media and Radio City by the Star Network.
• But radio stations engaged in public broadcasting like National Public Radio (USA) or BBC (UK) are missing from our broadcasting landscape.
• The potential for using FM channels is enormous. Further privatisation of radio stations and the emergence of community owned radio stations would lead to the growth of radio stations.
• The demand for local news is growing. The number of homes listening to FM in India has also reinforced the world wide trend of networks getting replaced by local radio.
3. Trace the changes that have been happening in the medium of television. Discuss.
Ans. • TV programming was introduced experimentally in India to promote rural development as early as 1959. Later, the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) broadcasted directly to community viewers in the rural areas of 6 states between August 1975 and July 1976.
• In 1991, there was one state controlled TV channel Doordarshan in India. By 1998, there were almost 70 channels. Privately run satellite channels have multiplied rapidly since mid-1990s, while Doordarshan broadcasts over 20 channels there were some 40 private television networks broadcasting in 2000. The staggering growth of private satellite television has been one of the defining developments of contemporary India.
• The Gulf War of 1991 (which popularized CNN), and the launching of star-TV in the same year by the Whampoa Hutchinson Group signalled the arrival of satellite channels in India.
• In 1992, Zee TV, a Hindi based satellite entertainment channel, also began beaming programs to cable TV viewers in India. By 2000, 40 private cable and satellite channels were available including several that focused exclusively on regional-language broadcasting like SUN-TV, Udaya-TV, Raj-TV, and Asianet.
• While Doordarshan was expanding rapidly in the 1980s, the cable television industry was mushrooming in major Indian cities. The VCR greatly multiplied entertainment options for Indian audiences, providing alternatives to Doordarshan's single channel programming. Video viewing at home and in community-based parlours increased rapidly. The video fare consisted mostly of film-based entertainment, both domestic begun wiring apartment buildings to transmit several films a day. The number of cable operators also increased significantly.
• The coming in of transnational television companies like Star TV, MTV, Channel V, Sony and others, worried some people on the likely impact on Indian youth and on the Indian cultural identity. But most transnational television channels have through research realized that the use of the familiar is more effective in procuring the diverse groups that constitute Indian audience.
• Localisation of STAR TV- in October 1996, STAR Plus initially an all English general entertainment channel originating from Hong Kong, began producing a Hindi language belt of programming between 7 and 9 PM. By February 1999, the channel was converted to a solely Hindi channel and all English serials shifted to STAR World, the network's English language international channel. Advertising to promote the Hindi channel included the Hindi slogan: 'Aapki Boli, Aapka Plus Point).
• Both STAR and Sony continued to dub US programming for younger audience as children appeared to be able to adjust to the peculiarities that arise when the language is one and the setting another.
