THE CHANGING TRENDS IN REPORTING ENVIRONMENT IN MAJOR ENGLISH DAILIES OF INDIA

THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

Doctor of Philosophy IN MASS COMMUNICATION

BY HUMA PARVEEN

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF. N.A.K. DURRANI

DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA)

2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All praise to Almighty Allah, the creator, cherisher and sustainer of the worlds. He created man and “taught him that he knew not” [Al Quran].

I bow in veneration to the Almighty Allah, the most beneficent and merciful, who gave me the strength and fervour to undertake and successfully complete this research work.

First and foremost, I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Prof. N.A.K. Durrani, for his enlightening, scholarly guidance and creative supervision right from the inception to the culmination of this work. This task would never have been fulfilled, were it not for his blessings and direction. I am indebted to him for all the useful discussions and brainstorming sessions, along with his deep, invaluable insights which proved to be a beacon of light throughout this journey.

I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Afrina Rizvi, Chairperson, Department of Mass communication, Dr. M. Shafey Kidwai, Dr. Pitabas Pradhan, Dr. G.K. Sahu and Mr. Mohd. Anas for their necessary encouragement.

I am also thankful to my friends Ms. Afsana Parveen, Ms. Nisa Askari, and Ms. Farheen for their help and support.

My special thanks to Mr. Nayeem Showkat and Mr. Mubashir Gull for their valuable assistance and suggestions.

I would also thank my seniors Dr. Fawad Hussain, Mr. Shahid Khan, Mr. Faraz Ahmed, and Mr. Sachin Agarwal for their moral support. The help and cooperation extended by the non-teaching staff of the department was appreciable.

My utmost gratitude to my father Mr. Sirajuddin Ansari and my mother Ms. Shahnaz Bano for their incessant blessings and good wishes. I also thank my brothers Mr. Shadab, Mr. Afzal and Mr. Faizal, along with my sisters-in-law Ms. Bushra and Ms. Nazia, for they stood by me through thick and thin with their ever-lasting love and affection.

Finally, I am grateful to all those who helped me directly or indirectly in completing this thesis.

(Huma Parveen)

i

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Media plays a significant role in the development of a society. It has shaped the way society views itself and thinks about politics, economy, religion and every other transaction of human living. Media endow with knowledge and news related to basic events necessary for coherent jurisdictions of people. Broadcast, print and new media are the three important forms of mass media through which messages to masses are exhibited. Print media is a powerful tool in bringing positive changes in the society. Furthermore, print media especially that of high circulation, is quite reflective of the social mainstream. The reach to a large diversified audience augments the power of this medium to mould widely shared constructions of reality.

Newspapers help in shaping public opinion and influence decision making. Newspapers are significant platform of mass communication as they have substantial reach and access in those corridors where decision making takes place, having the potential to impact the destinies of a great mass. Newspapers create a longer impact on the minds of readers and are effective in shaping public opinion. They possess a large quantity of power when it comes to public awareness. English language newspapers in India also project promising figures. Besides Hindi language newspapers being the most popular, the second largest number of newspapers & periodicals registered in any language in India is in English with 13,661 registered publications.

Human and Environment

Environment is sum total of water, air and land, interrelationships among themselves and also with the human being, other living organisms and nature. Hence, a change in any of the elements may affect the whole environment. Environment related issues are among the major problems of our times, both in terms of emergency and importance to human well-being. Once considered to be confined to the ambit of NGOs and policy-makers, the issue of environment and its conservation has become a matter of concern for one and all. Each human being has the responsibility to do all that he can to save the environment, which is very much needed for the survival of humankind. Plundering of environment could be reined when the issue is raised and placed in the

1

domain of public sphere. The sensitisation of the world about this degradation of the environment is possible through dissemination of information, and it is here that the role of media assumes great significance.

Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to investigate the pattern of reporting environmental issues in major Indian English dailies, as reflected in total space, different journalistic categories, page-wise display and the different categories of environment stories that appear in these dailies. It includes the quantification and analysis of the space garnered by these categories and compare the data within and between the dailies.

Specific Objectives

1. To study the trend in coverage of environmental issues in major English dailies of India. 2. To identify the newspaper which provides largest coverage to environmental issues among the dailies. 3. To study the trend in reporting environmental issues through photographs in the English dailies. 4. To analyse the trend in total space provided to the identified categories of environment. 5. To analyse the front page trends of environment coverage in the selected dailies. 6. To examine the trend present in reporting of environment according to selected journalistic categories (news, photographs, editorials, articles and letters to the editor). Hypotheses

1. Despite its growing significance, reporting of environment in Indian mainstream English dailies is yet to gain its due space. 2. There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of news stories in English dailies. 3. There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of photographs in English dailies. 4. Articles on environment continue to find more space in major English dailies.

2

5. The mainstream English dailies raise their voice in favour of environment more frequently through editorials. 6. Readers’ response to environment in English dailies is very low. 7. Significant difference in coverage of selected environment categories is non- existent in mainstream English dailies.

Methodology

The study adopts quantitative content analysis method to carry out the investigation and draw valid inferences. It aims to quantify and measure the environment coverage present in the selected newspapers through different parameters. For this purpose, four major Indian English dailies were chosen for collecting primary data, based on certain important factors like circulation of the newspaper, total readership, and total followers on social media. Each story and photograph published in the selected newspapers was chosen as the unit of analysis.

Categorization of Content

Each category has been given an appropriate operational definition for identification and coding. The environment categories are- agriculture, climate change, disaster, energy, forests, heritage sites, miscellaneous, pollution, sanitation/waste management, water resource management, weather, wildlife. The journalistic categories chosen for analysis include news stories, articles, editorials, letters-to-the-editor, photographs and others. Except the above specified journalistic categories, other forms and formats of newspaper coverage have not been taken for analysis in the present study.

Time Period and Sample Size

The total time duration of the study is eleven years, starting from January 2002 to December 2012. The period has been broken giving a five-year gap creating three stages of time (2002, 2007 and 2012). The sample is drawn so as to spread it uniformly across the whole years. Data Analysis

As the research is quantitative content analysis, the data is analysed in terms of space allocated in square-centimetres. Further, to add the frequency dimensions, analysis is also carried out on the basis of number (frequency) of stories and photographs that

3 appeared during the various time periods in all the four newspapers category-wise. The collected data has been analysed through the method of tabulation, graphical representation and description. ANOVA test and post-hoc analysis were also applied on the data. The analysis involves different parameters and considerations to fulfil the objectives and test the hypotheses.

Discussion

The study carries out a micro-analysis of the selected categories (both environment- centric and journalistic-centric) using percentage evaluation and statistical tests.

Space Analysis

When the total cumulative environmental coverage in each newspaper as well as its share in the total environment coverage over the period of study is examined, the data reveals that The Hindu carries the largest quantum of coverage on environment with 36.3%, and Hindustan Times figures last with 14.6%. The Indian Express carries 28.5% and The Times of India 20.6% of the environment stories

With regard to the coverage by each newspaper further classified into space allocated to stories on environment, and the space devoted to environment photographs, it is found that The Hindu provides largest space to environment stories with 37.1%, while The Indian Express follows at 27.3%, further followed by The Times of India at 20.9% and Hindustan Times at 14.7%. In terms of space provided to photographs on environment, The Indian Express takes the lead with 40% share. The Hindu comes next with 28.4%, followed by The Times of India with 17.5% and Hindustan Times with 14.1%.

When the total space and number of photographs on environment were analysed, it was found that The Indian Express has ascribed the largest space to photographs on environment with 40.1% and Hindustan Times has given least space with 14.1%. The Hindu comes at second place with 28.4% and The Times of India ranks third with 17.4%

An analysis of distribution of environment coverage as on front page and the other pages of each newspaper reveals that the reporting of environment throughout the period of study, found 6.59% space on the front page, against the 93.41% space on the other pages of the dailies.

4

Further, the proportion of news stories and photographs on environment published on the front page of each newspaper during the course of study was observed. The results indicate that 90.3% space is devoted to news stories and 9.7% space is covered by photographs. Moreover, with regard to reporting environment on front page, a clear downward trend has been observed.

Further, the space (in cm2) dedicated to different environment categories by all the selected newspapers was analysed. It was found that The Hindu has assigned a space 18.7% to wildlife, highest among all its categories, as compared to The Times of India’s 29.6%. On the other side, The Indian Express’ largest space of environment coverage is also occupied by wildlife with 28.2% as against Hindustan Times’ 23.6% space. With the findings of the study, it could be asserted that wildlife has garnered highest share of environment coverage in all the newspapers studied. Interestingly, heritage sites category has received least coverage in all the newspapers. The category has received 2.6% space in The Hindu, 0.9% in The Times of India, 2.7% in The Indian Express and 1.1% in Hindustan Times. With the above findings, it could be well established that wildlife has received highest while heritage sites has received lowest coverage in total among all the environment categories.

Hypotheses Testing

Various developments strongly indicate the growing salience of the environmental concern in India. However, contrary to this positive shift in favour of environment protection and preservation, the Indian media system in general, and print media in particular, have not been found to pay adequate attention to this issue. Research studies have discovered that environment coverage in print media in India is poor, while politics and crime continue to sweep the largest proportions in the space available for coverage.

The result of the present study reveals that space provided to reporting of environment in the selected dailies is low. The overall space given to environment in the newspapers amounts to 3.09% of the total space available for coverage. The coverage in the selected newspapers taken individually, also paints a similar picture. The space provided to reporting environment by each daily lies within the range of 2 to 4 per cent, the lowest being 2.29% by Hindustan Times, and the highest being 3.52% by The Times of India (see Table 1). The findings are also in consonance with the results

5 of the study undertaken by CMS ENVIS research centre, titled “Trends in Environmental News”, which shows that the space devoted to environment in the selected dailies was very low, as it was limited to 4.35% in the overall scheme of issues covered. In view of the available data and analysis of variables in the present study, Hypothesis No. 1 “Despite its growing significance, reporting of environment in Indian mainstream English dailies is yet to gain its due space” stands accepted.

The space given to news stories registered an increase of 31.5% from 2002 to 2007 (from 72271.75 cm2 to 95040 cm2) and witnessed a decline of 19.38% from 2007 to 2012 (from 95040 cm2 to 76616.25 cm2). Overall, there was an increase of 6.0% in the news stories category from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, it can be concluded that in totality, an increase in the space dedicated to news stories is witnessed (see Table 3, Graph 4). It is pertinent to point out that news category forms the largest chunk of journalistic category reported in the four selected dailies. In view of this observation, Hypothesis No. 2 “There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of news stories in English dailies” stands accepted.

The variation in photographic coverage of environment present in the selected dailies evinces that space allocated to photographs on environment registers a sharp increase from 2002 (6395.2 cm2) to 2007 (17058.50 cm2), and tumbles down in 2012 (7746 cm2) (see Table 3, 3.2 & Graph 5). A close scrutiny will further reveals that in terms of percentage, there was increase of 166.7% from 2002 to 2007, and a decline of 54.6% from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was an increase of 21.1% in the photographic coverage from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, Hypothesis No. 3 “There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of photographs in English dailies”, stands accepted.

The space provided to environment reporting in the form of articles was found to be increasing consistently through the three time periods. Registering almost a double fold increase, the space swelled from 9609 cm2 in 2002 to 18820 cm2 in 2007, which further reached 31462 cm2 in 2012 (see Table 3, 31. & Graph 6). Further detailed analysis reveals that there was an increase of 95.9% in space assigned to the articles from 2002 to 2007, and 67.2% from 2007 to 2012. Overall, there was an increase of 227.4% in the articles category from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, Hypothesis No. 4

6

“Articles on environment continue to find more space in major English dailies” stands accepted.

Starting from 5680 cm2 in 2002, the space assigned to editorials decreased to 3969 cm2 in 2007 which further declined to 2930 cm2 in 2012 (see Table 3, Graph 7). In terms of percentage, there was a decrease of 30.10% in space assigned to the editorials from 2002 to 2007, and a further decrease of 26.20% from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was a total decrease of 48.4% in the editorials category from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, Hypothesis No. 5 “The mainstream English dailies raise their voice in favour of environment more frequently through editorials” stands rejected.

The space acquired by letters to the editor regarding environmental issues continues to decrease through the selected time periods. It was highest in 2002 (708 cm2), dropping to a low in 2007 (525 cm2), and further declining to the lowest in 2012 (317 cm2). Moreover, letters to the editor on environment cover only 0.4% of the total space given to environment coverage (see Table 3, 3.1 & Graph 8). On analysing further, the findings reveal that there was a decrease of 25.80% in space assigned to the letters to the editor from 2002 to 2007, and a further decrease of 39.60% from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was a total decrease of 55.2% in the letters to the editor category from 2002 to 2012. In view of this observation, Hypothesis No. 6 “Readers’ response to environment in English dailies is very low” stands accepted.

On the basis of the analyses of different variables using ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD test, it is concluded that there is significant difference in coverage among the selected dailies on six environment categories, namely, agriculture, climate change, disaster, energy, weather and wildlife. However, there is an insignificant difference in coverage on forests, heritage sites, pollution, sanitation/waste management, water resource management and miscellaneous categories. Therefore, Hypothesis No. 7 “Significant difference in coverage of selected environment categories is non- existent in mainstream English dailies” stands partially accepted.

Conclusion

The findings of the study suggest that environment coverage is not very significant in selected Indian newspapers. Although there was an overall increase in the coverage

7 over different periods of time, the percentage of environment news out of the total news-hole is abysmally low when viewed in entirety, as well as when analysed separately for each newspaper. The space and frequency of environment news was higher in The Hindu as compared to The Indian Express, The Times of India and Hindustan Times. Adding a visual appeal to the textual information, it was also found that there is a growing trend of publishing more number of photographs by all the newspapers studied. Although the space and frequency of environment photographs was higher in The Indian Express than its counterparts, newspapers overall seem to be giving more importance to pictorial representation. The data also reveals that environment stories supported with photographs have increased continuously, while those without photographs have constantly decreased.

The in-depth analysis of specified environment categories reveals that while wildlife remains to be the largest covered category throughout, coverage of climate change and disaster mostly remained event based. The study concluded that news reporting on environment largely being event centered, tends to rise and fall with happenings and events. Heritage sites, pollution, sanitation, forests, energy and agriculture received lesser coverage.

The micro-analysis and comparison among the newspapers and between both environmental and journalistic categories presents an insight into how environment is treated and projected to the awaiting millions of readers. The proportion and percentages reflect a dismal pattern of reality when compared with the coverage of environment in relation to other categories that find space in Indian media realm. In view of the findings of the present study, it can be deduced that reporting of environment in Indian media, particularly newspapers in English language, projects a bleak state of affairs. Not all environment categories have received adequate coverage. It may be concluded that most of the demanding issues have not found adequate space in the newspapers under study. On the basis of the findings of the study, it may be concluded that all the four newspapers selected for the study have treated topic of environment differently, when it comes to allocation of space. The total coverage received by the environment is extremely insufficient in the context of larger amount of concern expressed by the society. There is a dire need of improvement in the media coverage directed towards spreading awareness about conservation and preservation of the environment.

8

CONTENTS Page No’s Acknowledgement i List of Tables ii - viii List of Graphs and Figures ix - x

Chapter I Introduction 1 - 30 1.1 Mass Media 1.1.1 Print Media 1.1.2 Newspaper 1.2 Human and Environment 1.3 History of Environmental Degradation 1.4 Greatest Environmental Disasters 1.4.1 Three Mile Island 1.4.2 Minamata Disease 1.4.3 Seveso Dioxin Cloud 1.4.4 The Aral Sea 1.4.5 Tokaimura Nuclear Plant 1.4.6 The Exxon Valdez 1.4.7 Love Canal 1.4.8 Kuwaiti Oil Fires 1.4.9 Bhopal Gas Tragedy 1.4.10 Chernobyl 1.5 Global Environmental Awakening 1.6 Environmental Communication 1.7 Environmental Journalism 1.8 Theoretical Framework of the Study 1.8.1 Agenda-setting Theory 1.8.2 Quantity of Coverage Theory 1.8.3 Social Cognitive Theory 1.8.4 Media Representations from Social Constructionist Perspective 1.8.5 Media Dependency Theory 1.8.6 Media Persuasion - Indirect Effects Model 1.8.7 Downs’ Attention Cycle 1.8.8 Karl Deutsch’s Communication Theory 1.9 Broad Objective 1.9.1 Aim 1.9.2 Specific Objectives 1.10 Hypotheses 1.11 Purpose and Significance of the Study

Chapter II Literature Review 31 - 57 2.1 Media: The Instrument of Power 2.2 Media Persuasion and Environmental Sensitization 2.3 Media, Public Opinion and Policy 2.4 Low Environmental Coverage 2.5 Content Analysis 2.6 Significance of Newspapers

Chapter III Methodology 58 - 68 3.1 Why Newspapers? 3.2 Measures 3.3 Procedure 3.4 Sample Selection 3.4.1 The Hindu 3.4.2 The Times of India 3.4.3 The Indian Express 3.4.4 Hindustan Times 3.5 Pilot Study 3.6 Unit of Analysis 3.7 Categorization of Content 3.8 Environment Categories 3.9 Journalistic Categories 3.10 Inclusion Criteria 3.11 Time Period and Sample Size 3.12 Training and Inter-coder Reliability 3.13 Data Collection 3.14 Data Analysis

Chapter IV Result & Data Interpretation 69 - 179 4.1 Percentage Analysis 4.2 ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD

Chapter V Discussion & Conclusion 180 - 215 5.1 Space Analysis 5.2 Photograph Space 5.3 Frequency of Stories & Photographs 5.4 No Coverage 5.5 Low Priority 5.6 Placement 5.7 Year-wise Trends 5.8 Trends in Journalistic Categories 5.8.1 News Stories 5.8.2 Photographs 5.8.3 Articles 5.8.4 Editorials 5.8.5 Letters to the Editor 5.9 Newspaper-wise Journalistic Categories 5.10 Trends in Environment Categories 5.10.1 Agriculture 5.10.2 Climate Change 5.10.3 Disaster 5.10.4 Energy 5.10.5 Forests 5.10.6 Heritage Sites 5.10.7 Pollution 5.10.8 Sanitation/Waste Management 5.10.9 Weather 5.10.10 Wildlife 5.10.11 Water Resource Management 5.10.12 Miscellaneous 5.11 Environment Categories through Journalistic Categories 5.12 Results of ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD

Conclusion 5.13 Limitations of the Study 5.14 Scope for Further Research 5.15 Recommendations

References 216 - 235 LIST OF GRAPHS

Graph Title Page No. No. 1 Environment coverage over different time periods 72 2 News and Photographs on Environment on Front Page 74 3 Environment Coverage on Front Page and Other Pages 76 4 Space given to news stories related to environment 77 5 Space given to photographs related to environment 78 6 Space given to articles related to environment 78 7 Space given to editorials related to environment 78 8 Space given to letters to the editor related to environment 79 9 Space given to others category related to environment 79 10 Newspaper-wise space given to different journalistic 80 categories 11 Space given to coverage of agriculture 87 12 Space given to coverage of climate change 89 13 Space given to coverage of disaster 90 14 Space given to coverage of energy 92 15 Space given to coverage of forests 93 16 Space given to coverage of heritage sites 95 17 Space given to coverage of pollution 96 18 Space given to coverage of sanitation/waste management 98 19 Space given to coverage of weather 99 20 Space given to coverage of wildlife 101 21 Space given to coverage of water resource management 102 22 Space given to coverage of miscellaneous 104 23 Space allotted to environment categories by The Hindu 107 24 Space allotted to environment categories by The Times of 108 India 25 Space allotted to environment categories by The Indian 110 Express 26 Space allotted to environment categories by Hindustan 111 Times 27 Mean difference between the newspapers on the variable 146 of total environment coverage (except photographs) 28 Mean difference between the newspapers on the variable 149 of number of stories (except photographs) 29 Mean difference between the newspapers on the variable 152 of photo space

ix

30 Mean difference between newspapers on the variable of 154 number of photographs 31 Mean difference between the newspapers on agriculture 157 32 Mean difference between the newspapers on climate 159 change 33 Mean difference between the newspapers on disaster 162 34 Mean difference between the newspapers on energy 164 35 Mean difference between the newspapers on forests 166 36 Mean difference between the newspapers on heritage sites 167 37 Mean difference between the newspapers on pollution 169 38 Mean difference between the newspapers on sanitation/ 171 waste management 39 Mean difference between the newspapers on weather 174 40 Mean difference between the newspapers on the variable 176 of wildlife 41 Mean difference between the newspapers on water 178 resource management 42 Mean difference between the newspapers on the variable 179 of miscellaneous

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Title Page No. No. 1 Three main components of the agenda setting process: The 21 media agenda, public agenda, and policy agenda 2 Society, media, and audience: Reciprocal relationships 25 3 Communication and Control System 28

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Title Page No. 1 Newspaper-wise comparison of total coverage area (cm2) 69 vis-à-vis coverage of environment and its percentage 1.1 Total environment coverage over the selected period of 70 time and its newspaper-wise percentage 1.2 Newspaper-wise coverage (cm2) of environment stories 70 (news, articles, editorials, letter to the editor, others) and photographs 1.3 Period-wise total coverage vis-à-vis environment coverage 71 and its percentage 2 Comparative data of environment coverage on front page 73 and other pages of the selected dailies 2.1 Proportion of environment coverage of news and 74 photographs on front page 2.2 Proportion of number of environment stories and 75 photographs on front page 2.3 Period-wise environment coverage on front page and other 75 pages of the dailies 3 Coverage of environment in different journalistic 77 categories over different time periods 3.1 Journalistic category-wise space provided by selected 80 dailies 3.2 Newspaper-wise share of space allocated to various 81 journalistic categories 3.3 Number of stories published in different journalistic 82 categories and its percentage 3.4 Period-wise number of environment stories and 83 photographs published and their percentage 3.5 Photographs on environment represented in space (cm2) 83 and number 4 Space given to stories with photograph and stories without 84 any photograph 4.1 Number of newspaper issues with no coverage on 85 environment 5 Period-wise coverage (cm2) of environment categories in 86 the dailies 5.1 Newspaper-wise coverage of agriculture in terms of space 86 (cm2) and number of stories 5.2 Period-wise coverage (cm2) of agriculture 87 5.3 Newspaper-wise coverage of climate change in terms of 88 space (cm2) and number of stories 5.4 Period-wise coverage (cm2) of climate change 88

ii

5.5 Newspaper-wise coverage of disaster in terms of space 89 (cm2) and number of stories 5.6 Period-wise variation in coverage of disaster 90 5.7 Newspaper-wise coverage of energy in terms of space 91 (cm2) and number of stories 5.8 Period-wise variation in coverage of energy 91 5.9 Newspaper-wise coverage of forests in terms of space 92 (cm2) and number of stories 5.10 Period-wise variation in coverage of forests 93 5.11 Newspaper-wise coverage of heritage sites in terms of 94 space (cm2) and number of stories 5.12 Period-wise variation in coverage of heritage sites 94 5.13 Newspaper-wise coverage of pollution in terms of space 95 (cm2) and number of stories 5.14 Period-wise variation in coverage of pollution 96 5.15 Newspaper-wise coverage of sanitation/waste management 97 in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories 5.16 Period-wise variation in coverage of sanitation/waste 97 management 5.17 Newspaper-wise coverage of weather in terms of space 98 (cm2) and number of stories 5.18 Period-wise variation in coverage of weather 99 5.19 Newspaper-wise coverage of wildlife in terms of space 100 (cm2) and number of stories 5.20 Period-wise variation in coverage of wildlife 100 5.21 Newspaper-wise coverage of water resource management 101 in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories 5.22 Period-wise variation in coverage of water resource 102 management 5.23 Newspaper-wise coverage of miscellaneous category in 103 terms of space (cm2) and number of stories 5.24 Period-wise variation in coverage of miscellaneous 103 category 5.25 Percentage of total space acquired by different 104 environment categories 6 Newspaper-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment 105 categories 6.1 Period-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories 106 by The Hindu 6.2 Period-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories 107 by The Times of India 6.3 Period-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories 109 by The Indian Express

iii

6.4 Period-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories 110 by Hindustan Times 7.1 Space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic 112 categories in The Hindu 7.2 Space occupied by climate change in different journalistic 112 categories in The Hindu 7.3 Space occupied by disaster in different journalistic 113 categories in The Hindu 7.4 Space occupied by energy in different journalistic 114 categories in The Hindu 7.5 Space occupied by forests in different journalistic 114 categories in The Hindu 7.6 Space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic 115 categories in The Hindu 7.7 Space occupied by pollution in different journalistic 116 categories in The Hindu 7.8 Space occupied by sanitation/waste management in 116 different journalistic categories in The Hindu 7.9 Space occupied by weather in different journalistic 117 categories in The Hindu 7.10 Space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic 118 categories in The Hindu 7.11 Space occupied by water resource management in different 118 journalistic categories in The Hindu 7.12 Space occupied by miscellaneous in different journalistic 119 categories in The Hindu 8.1 Space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic 120 categories in The Times of India 8.2 Space occupied by climate change in different journalistic 120 categories in The Times of India 8.3 Space occupied by disaster in different journalistic 121 categories in The Times of India 8.4 Space occupied by energy in different journalistic 122 categories in The Times of India 8.5 Space occupied by forests in different journalistic 122 categories in The Times of India 8.6 Space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic 123 categories in The Times of India 8.7 Space occupied by pollution in different journalistic 124 categories in The Times of India 8.8 Space occupied by sanitation/waste management in 124 different journalistic categories in The Times of India 8.9 Space occupied by weather in different journalistic 125 categories in The Times of India

iv

8.10 Space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic 126 categories in The Times of India 8.11 Space occupied by water resource management in different 126 journalistic categories in The Times of India 8.12 Space occupied by miscellaneous in different journalistic 127 categories in The Times of India 9.1 Space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic 128 categories in The Indian Express 9.2 Space occupied by climate change in different journalistic 128 categories in The Indian Express 9.3 Space occupied by disaster in different journalistic 129 categories in The Indian Express 9.4 Space occupied by energy in different journalistic 130 categories in The Indian Express 9.5 Space occupied by forests in different journalistic 130 categories in The Indian Express 9.6 Space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic 131 categories in The Indian Express 9.7 Space occupied by pollution in different journalistic 132 categories in The Indian Express 9.8 Space occupied by sanitation/waste management in 132 different journalistic categories in The Indian Express 9.9 Space occupied by weather in different journalistic 133 categories in The Indian Express 9.10 Space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic 134 categories in The Indian Express 9.11 Space occupied by water resource management in different 134 journalistic categories in The Indian Express 9.12 Space occupied by miscellaneous in different journalistic 135 categories in The Indian Express 10.1 Space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic 136 categories in Hindustan Times 10.2 Space occupied by climate change in different journalistic 136 categories in Hindustan Times 10.3 Space occupied by disaster in different journalistic 137 categories in Hindustan Times 10.4 Space occupied by energy in different journalistic 138 categories in Hindustan Times 10.5 Space occupied by forests in different journalistic 138 categories in Hindustan Times 10.6 Space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic 139 categories in Hindustan Times 10.7 Space occupied by pollution in different journalistic 140 categories in Hindustan Times

v

10.8 Space occupied by sanitation/waste management in 140 different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times 10.9 Space occupied by weather in different journalistic 141 categories in Hindustan Times 10.10 Space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic 142 categories in Hindustan Times 10.11 Space occupied by water resource management in different 142 journalistic categories in Hindustan Times 10.12 Space occupied by miscellaneous in different journalistic 143 categories in Hindustan Times 11.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on the variable of 144 total environment coverage (except photographs) for selected newspapers 11.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 145 groups on total environment coverage (except photographs) 11.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on total 145 environment coverage (except photographs) between the newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 12.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on the variable of 147 number of stories (except photographs) for selected newspapers 12.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 147 groups on number of stories (except photographs) 12.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on number 148 of stories (except photographs) between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 13.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on the variable of 150 total photo space for the selected newspapers 13.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 150 groups on total photo space 13.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on total 151 photo space between selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 14.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on the variable of 152 number of photos for the selected newspapers 14.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 153 groups on number of photos 14.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on number 153 of photos between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 15.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on agriculture for 155 the selected newspapers 15.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 155 groups on agriculture

vi

15.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on 156 agriculture between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 16.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on climate change 157 for the selected newspapers 16.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 158 groups on climate change 16.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on climate 158 change between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 17.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on disaster for the 160 selected newspapers 17.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 160 groups on disaster 17.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on disaster 161 between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 18.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on energy for the 162 selected newspapers 18.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 163 groups on energy 18.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on energy 163 between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 19.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on forests for the 165 selected newspapers 19.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 165 groups on forests 20.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on heritage sites 166 for the selected newspapers 20.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 167 groups on heritage sites 21.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on pollution for 168 the selected newspapers 21.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 168 groups on pollution 22.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on ‘sanitation/ 170 waste management’ for the selected newspapers 22.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 170 groups on ‘sanitation/ waste management’ 23.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on weather for the 172 selected newspapers 23.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 172 groups on weather 23.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on weather 173 between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD

vii

24.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on wildlife for the 174 selected newspapers 24.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 175 groups on wildlife 24.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on wildlife 175 between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD 25.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on water resource 177 management for the selected newspapers 25.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 177 groups on water resource management 26.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on miscellaneous 178 for the selected newspapers 26.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the 179 groups on miscellaneous

viii

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Mass Media

Communication is a tool used to facilitate the participation of people in developmental activities, besides performing other paramount tasks. Human beings have been using verbal and non-verbal means since eons to communicate with each other. The transfer of complex information, ideas and concepts from one individual to another, or to a group, underwent extreme evolution since prehistoric times. With the advent of technology, transferring or transmitting a message to a large anonymous, heterogeneous audience became possible. After the advancement in technology, printing press allowed the medium to enter popular culture with increasing influence (McLuhan, 1962). It is largely a media technology which is diversified by means of objective to reach a targeted audience with a memorandum. Media can be said to have the power to inform public about the truth. The complementary and independent media are the most substantial requirements for the utility of democracy (Bajohr, 2006). Mass media refers to those means of diffusion that are designed to get in touch with a wide audience.

Media plays a significant role in the development of a society. It has shaped the way society views itself and thinks about politics, economy, religion and every other transaction of human living. Media affects the perception of people about their leaders, shaping or formulation of policies of the country and it can even enhance or worsen the situation between two countries (Showkat, 2013). Media endow with knowledge and news related to basic events necessary for coherent jurisdictions of people. At the same time, it also acts as a forum through securing the admittance to various categories of information which people swap over (O’Neill, 1998). Whenever media is exposed to public regulations, it doesn’t remain a spectator anymore. The media is that authority of the society which scrutinizes all the three other powers of the state (executive, legislation & judiciary), and for that reason, it is considered the fourth power (Gormus, 2012). Broadcast, print and new media are the three important forms of mass media through which messages to masses are exhibited. Broadcast media including radio, television, films use the information which is electronically transmitted. On the other side, print media include newspapers, books and pamphlets etc. and the new media include blogs, emails and websites etc.

1

1.1.1 Print Media

Print media is one of the oldest, most popular and effective forms of mass communication. It includes newspapers, magazines, books, pamphlets and other forms of printed journals. It has been playing an important role in transforming and educating the society. With more in-depth reporting and analysis, print media have the benefit of creating a longer influence on the minds of the readers (Patil, 2011). The contribution of print media in providing information and transfer of knowledge is remarkable. Even after the advent of electronic media, the print media has not lost its charm or relevance. Print media is a powerful tool in bringing positive changes in the society. It encompasses mass communication through printed material.

Print media being a very ubiquitous medium, supplemented with a great intensity of usage, public attention and political influence, has the potential to invoke intrinsic interest among the social scientists. Moreover, this medium has a pragmatic edge over other forms of media. The collection of print material is infinitely easier as compared to audio-visual data and is more permanent in nature than the web material. Moreover, there is no hassle of transcription which is time consuming in itself. Furthermore, print media especially that of high circulation, is quite reflective of the social mainstream. The reach to a large diversified audience augments the power of this medium to mould widely shared constructions of reality. This makes the major print publications- like the dailies and weeklies- key data sources used by social scientists for studying dominant discourses (Wodak and Krzyzanowski, 2008).

Printing has been the primary instrument of mass communication for about six centuries, being the most viable option for storage and dissemination of information. The second half of the last century witnessed an explosion of electronic media, captivating the world’s attention. Yet, print media survived the onslaught and continued to hold its lustre and social relevance. In contrast with many western countries, surprisingly, the circulation and number of publications in India have rather seen an upsurge. The findings of National Readership Survey (NRS) in 2006 reveal an increase in the reach of the press medium including dailies and magazines together. There has been recorded an increase in the number of registrations for new publications as well. The daily newspapers have been the frontrunners in this growth, with their rising accessibility to all individuals aged 12 years and above (Ray, 2009).

2

1.1.2 Newspaper

Newspapers help in shaping public opinion and influence decision making. They have been giving a great importance to themes of public concern and values, along with issues of development. Being one of the oldest form of mass communication, newspapers enjoyed the position of the most preferred medium to reach a wide audience until the birth of electronic communication. The first newspapers appeared at the beginning of the 17th century, taking a cue from pamphlets in the 16th century. Newspapers are still one of the most momentous media for the transfer of information and determining public opinion. While most of the newspapers enjoy a high circulation rate and are published daily, there are some papers which appear a few times every day for the sake of a very up-to-date content. Dailies and weeklies are the most popular forms of newspapers (Kipphan, 2001).

Newspapers are significant platform of mass communication as they have substantial reach and access in those corridors where decision making takes place, having the potential to impact the destinies of a great mass. They cover a variety of issues of public interest at large. Newspapers create a longer impact on the minds of readers and are effective in shaping public opinion. They possess a large quantity of power when it comes to public awareness. Therefore, while studying the role of mass media, their importance cannot be undermined.

The facts presented by World Press Trends 2012 indicate the popularity of newspapers:

• 2.5 billion people read a newspaper in print regularly. That’s more people than the 2.2 billion who use the internet, or who have the capability to get content on mobile telephones.

• More than 500 million read newspapers, both the print and digital form, and 100 million more read the digital version only.

• Newspaper circulation grew by 1.1 per cent globally in 2011, to 512 million copies, and 4.2 per cent between 2007 and 2011.

(Sabade & Tambat)

3

The data recorded by Indian Readership Survey 2014 reveals that India has 2672 lakh households with 9624 lakh individuals who are in the age group of 12 years or above. This population constitutes the readership for the print medium.

The RNI report titled ‘Press in India Highlights for the Year 2014-15’ states that the total number of registered publications in India, as on 31st March, 2015 is 1,05,443, which includes:

• Newspapers category 14,984 • Periodicals category 90,459

Moreover, the report reveals that total registered publications have registered a growth of 5.80% over the previous year. This stands print media in India in good stead, which is witnessing a consistent progress.

The total circulation of publications during the year 2014-15 amounts to 51,05,21,445, which comprises:

• Hindi publications: 25,77,61,985 • English publications: 6,26,62,670 • Urdu publications: 4,12,73,949

Uttar Pradesh boasts to be the Indian state with largest number of registered publications (16,130).

English language newspapers in India also project promising figures. Besides Hindi language newspapers being the most popular, the second largest number of newspapers & periodicals registered in any language in India is in English with 13,661 registered publications.

The Hindu is the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India, with average qualifying sales of 1.51 million copies as per the average qualifying sales of Jul-Dec 2015 compiled by Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Hindustan Times is one of the largest circulated dailies, according to the RNI Press Highlights of the Year 2014-15, with a circulation of 1.16 million copies.

The Times of India is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation according to Audit Bureau of Circulations with a circulation of 3.05 million. It is the largest circulated multi-edition daily in English with 33 editions. The Indian Express was

4

listed among the 50 fastest growing dailies in India in 2012, with publication of 10 editions, according to the Review of Press in India, 2008-2012 (Sabade & Tambat).

1.2 Human and Environment

Environment literally means surrounding, and everything that affects an organism during its lifetime is collectively known as its environment. Environment belongs to all the living beings and thus, is important for all. Environment is sum total of water, air and land, interrelationships among themselves and also with the human being, other living organisms and nature. Hence, a change in any of the elements may affect the whole environment. Human beings, the dominant organisms on earth, have stood apart from the interaction of living things; yet, as they are discovering, they are inextricably tied to their environment. The air they breathe, the water they drink, the food they consume, and the products they use and throw away bind them to the functions of local and global ecosystems (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1975).

The world that we are living in is a balance of different phenomena and components. A peaceful life has been possible due to the harmonious co-existence between human beings and environment. Humans have been conscious of the fact that any disruption in this balance is a matter of great concern as it poses a threat to his existence on earth.

Threat to this dynamic relationship is well crystallized by Rachel Carson (1962) in her seminal work ‘Silent Spring’, which says:

The history of life on earth has been a history of interaction between living things and their surroundings. To a large extent, the physical form and the habits of the earth vegetation and animal life have been moulded by the environment. Considering the whole span of earthly time, the opposite effect, in which life actually modifies its surroundings, has been moderately slight. Only within the present century has one species- ‘man’, acquired significant power to alter the nature of this world. Along with the possibility of nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man’s total environment with substances of incredible potential for harm.

Due to material boon and euphoria generated by the unprecedented technological and economic progress in the 19th and 20th centuries, the environmental and ecological awareness tended to recede into the background. For a long time, environment

5 remained an area of neglect by the world, which seemed to be virtually unconcerned about these issues. But, with the consequences and effects of the damaged environment becoming more and more visible, the world was forced to divert its attention towards this hitherto ignored subject. Environmental issues have been growing in salience over the past few decades and have acquired the status of a global news agenda (Anderson, 1997).

Environment related issues are among the major problems of our times, both in terms of emergency and importance to human well-being. Once considered to be confined to the ambit of NGOs and policy-makers, the issue of environment and its conservation has become a matter of concern for one and all. Each human being has the responsibility to do all that he can to save the environment, which is very much needed for the survival of humankind. The resources of the earth are limited and ought to be used in such a way so as to conserve them for future generations as well.

With the passage of time, people have become more sensitive to the effects of a degraded environment on their lives. The main tool for this sensitization is information. As the world marches ahead, environmental concern is increasing and a serious debate is going on with respect to the use and abuse of the world's natural resources. Concerns are also being expressed in the same vein about the effects of chemicals on the ecological system (Atinmo & Jimba, 1998).

Plundering of environment could be reined when the issue is raised and placed in the domain of public sphere. The sensitisation of the world about this degradation of the environment is possible through dissemination of information, and it is here that the role of media assumes great significance.

1.3 History of Environmental Degradation

Maintaining the ecological balance of the world is indispensable for the existence of humankind. The environment creates a defensive shield and provides the resources essential for the survival of all species including human race. This life-supporting system is very delicate and the resources need to be used judiciously so as to ensure a healthy living and maintain sustainability.

From the middle of 18th century onwards, there was a spurt in scientific and technological advances, leading to industrialization, urbanization and modernization.

6

However, the world did not realize the negative impacts of these processes at that time. The vastness and clarity of the sky seemed to be so indestructible that nothing could bring a change in its colour, the rivers were supposed to be huge with inexhaustible waters, which could never be emptied by any amount of human activity. The trees and natural forests were presumed to be so abundant that no quantity of consumption would ever cause the reserves to deplete. After all, they grow again (Chitepo, 1986). In variance to this view, many scholars now strongly hold that the nature has enough resources to meet the needs of the living beings, but it cannot sustain the unsatiating greed of human civilisation.

People have a direct contact with their environment. Apart from undermining the current developmental progress, environmental degradation also poses a threat to future development.

The world’s resources are limited, while the number of people sustaining on them have been increasing unabated. Since the beginning of 20th century, the world’s population has grown manifold and global industrial production has increased exponentially. Some 80 per cent of the increase in industrial production has occurred since 1950 (MacNeill, 1989).

The world has abruptly changed socially, economically and environmentally. With an increase in world population, the global economy has also expanded. The world is becoming more and more sensitive to the effects of a degraded environment on the life of its inhabitants.

The industrial revolution marked a phenomenal change in the population metres. It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to reach 1 billion, while the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in less than 30 years (1959), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), and the fifth billion in only 13 years (1987). During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion. In 1970, there were roughly half as many people in the world as there are now (Worldometers Population, n.d.)

In 2011, the global population reached the 7 billion mark, currently standing at about 7.3 billion. The UN population projection variant suggests that the world population will rise to approximately 10 billion by the middle of this century, and will stabilize around the 11 billion mark by the end of it (World Population Trends, 2015).

7

Recognising that environment, economic and social issues are interlinked, World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) recommended that the three be integrated into development decision making. Indicators like population growth, economic activities and consumption patterns, have been placing ample pressure on the environment.

The unprecedented growth in world population also led to an unmatched exploitation of the natural resources. In 1991 the annual product of the global economy was valued at $ 29,000 million which meant it produced in a mere 17 days the equivalent of the entire annual global product in 1900 (Brown, Flavin and Postel, 1991).

Throughout a great period of the century, there has been accelerating increase in the consumption of both- renewable and non-renewable resources. Agricultural production has risen dramatically, so also desertification, soil erosion and the salinization of productive lands (Reid, 1995).

With such exponential rise in the rate of consumption, the resources needed to be conserved and used in such a way so as to avert severe ecological damage.

Environmental degradation has been posing a great threat to all the aspects of human well-being. It has demonstrated possible links with human health problems like vector-borne diseases, emerging animal to human disease transfer, nutritional deficits and respiratory illnesses and some types of cancers.

Besides owing to the process of industrialization based on vast investments of capital, high level application of science and technology, excessive convenient and opulent lifestyle of affluent people and population explosion, some deleterious effects took place on environment and society, such as, social and economic inequalities, health hazards, soil erosion, desertification, acid rains and pollution of atmosphere. Today, the human race faces enormous challenges to its very existence owing to the over exploitation of natural resources, carbon emissions of fossil fuels and the consequent warming up of the earth’s climate and damage to the ozone layer (Balaswamy, 2000).

It has been estimated that almost half the jobs worldwide depend on agriculture, fisheries or forests. Not only risking individual livelihoods, but non-sustainable use of natural resources like land, water and forests have been posing a great threat to the national and international economies. The damage to the environment can lead to

8

increased human vulnerability, causing human migration and insecurity, such as in the case of storms, droughts or other environmental disasters.

The future of humankind depends on the environment. The environment provides essential goods-and-services on which people rely for their livelihoods and well- being. Diminishing quality and quantity affects access to material resources, health, security, and social relations, and ultimately impacts on the ability of people to live the lives they value, in both developing and developed countries. Production and consumption trends and the resulting patterns of poverty and affluence affect environmental degradation, vulnerability, livelihoods, and development potential and are thus critical considerations. While poverty cuts into available environmental capital in the pursuit of survival, the reckless pursuit of affluence overuses and misuses these resources. Environment challenges are multifaceted (with diverse constituents and drivers) and are linked to each other in complex, multidimensional, and non-linear ways. Deforestation, for example, is a result of uneven production patterns (energy, food production, mining, etc.), weak tenure arrangements leading to the dominance of the elite, and the global market structure, along with other factors. This, in turn, is closely linked to the issues of climate change and biodiversity loss (WCED, 1987).

There is growing agreement that environmental degradation, scarcity, and abundance can trigger, amplify, or cause conflict along with clearer understanding of its interdependence and interaction with poverty, inequity, and resource competition. Conflict potential related to unequal access to scarce water, forest and land resources, may be exacerbated by climate change and land degradation. The resulting social effects- migration, intensified unsustainable behavioral and social sub-grouping- strain the state’s ability to meet its citizens’ demands, and can contribute to violent outcomes. In dry lands, where migration is a traditional coping strategy, sometimes, there is an intensification of conflict by migrants creating new competition for resources or disturbing tenuous cultural, economic or political balances in the receiving area.

Energy generation, industrial processes, transport, high-input agriculture and domestic consumption continue to make bigger and bigger demands of the capacities of the

earth and the atmosphere to absorb CO2, Sulphur, Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and

9

methane emissions, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and a range of toxic chemicals (Reid, 1995). The unrelenting consumption and burgeoning demands of an ever multiplying world population, have led to a critical juncture, with the environment suffering irreversible harm at the hands of those living off its resources.

1.4 Greatest Environmental Disasters

Certain environmental disasters also alerted the people of various countries. Following are some of the greatest environmental tragedies (Top 10 Environmental Disasters, 2016):

1.4.1 Three Mile Island:

The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear generating plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania occurred in March 1979, as a result of a series of mechanical and human errors. It had an intense effect on the utility industry. Caused by many a technical glitches and poor decisions, the reactor core partially melted down and radioactive gases were released into the atmosphere. Ironically, while it came to be known as one of America's worst nuclear accidents, no casualties happened and there were no serious health effects. Nonetheless, the accident aroused fear among the public and many nuclear plants were shut down immediately. It led to the slowdown of nuclear industry in America, and by the mid-80s, the construction of nuclear power plants almost came to a halt (Walker, 2004).

1.4.2 Minamata Disease:

The initial cases of Minamata disease were discovered in Minamata city in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. For many years, residents of Minamata, a town located on Japan's most southwesterly island Kyushu, had observed unusual behaviour among animals, specifically household cats. The behaviour that also came to be referred as ‘Dancing Cat Fever’ would find the cats suddenly convulse and sometimes leap into the sea to their deaths. The first human patient of this disease was identified in 1956. The patients exhibited symptoms like convulsions, slurred speech, loss of motor functions and uncontrollable limb movements. An investigation after three years identified that it was a result of release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory into Minamata Bay. The local diet mostly comprised the fish and shellfish, which were thriving in the highly polluted

10

waters. This led to the consumption of large amounts of lead and other heavy metals by the people as well as animals. While cat, dog, pig and human deaths continued for 36 years, the government and company did little to prevent the pollution (Hernan, 2010).

As of March 2001, around 2,265 victims had been officially recognised as having Minamata disease (1,784 of whom had died) and over 10,000 had received financial compensation from Chisso. By 2004, Chisso Corporation had paid $86 million in compensation, and in the same year was ordered to clean up its contamination.

1.4.3 Seveso Dioxin Cloud

The Seveso disaster took place on July 10, 1976, when an explosion at a northern Italian chemical plant released a toxic, white cloud of dioxin that quickly settled on the town of Seveso, north of Milan. The cloud, which was then believed to be made of one of the most toxic chemicals made by man, contaminated a densely populated area about six kilometers long and one kilometer wide, lying downwind from the site.

Animals were the first to die. About a month after the incident, Time magazine reported that one farmer saw his cat keel over, and when he went to pick up the body, the tail fell off. Two days later, the authorities came to dig up the cat for examination and found that nothing but the skull was left. It took around four days for the people to start feeling the effects that included nausea, blurred vision and the disfiguring sores of a skin disease known as chloracne. This led to the town being evacuated after a few weeks. At present, the town is inhabited as usual and the site has been converted into a large park, beneath which lie two huge tanks containing the remains of hundreds of slaughtered animals, the destroyed factory and the soil that contained largest doses of dioxin (Jasanoff, 1994).

1.4.4 The Aral Sea

Lying between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Aral was once considered to be the fourth largest lake on earth. As big as Ireland in size, the Aral Sea was fed by two rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, which brought snowmelt from mountains to the southeast, and local rainfall. But in the 1960s, the Soviet Union diverted water from the two rivers into canals to supply agriculture in the region. As a result of these irrigation projects, the Aral Sea shrunk about 90% of its size. The loss of water caused

11 the lake to recede and heightened its salinity levels. The lake bed became contaminated by fertilizers and chemicals (Micklin, Aladin, & Plotnikov, 2014).

The plummeting water levels did not leave the local climate unaffected. The absence of lake water to moderate temperatures, made winters become colder and summers hotter, according to the Earth Observatory. Apart from causing serious public health problems, the Aral Sea destruction also had economic repercussions. The region's once-prosperous fishing industry stands virtually destroyed, triggering unemployment and financial adversity.

1.4.5 Tokaimura Nuclear Plant

On September 30, 1999, one of the worst nuclear accidents happened at a small Uranium-processing plant in the village of Tokaimura, 130 km northeast of Tokyo. The accident occurred due to improper mixing of Uranium solution, which led to a limited uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction, continuing intermittently for 20 hours. The accident that was said to be caused by human error and serious breaches of safety principles, resulted in death of two workers and exposed hundreds of others to various levels of radiation (Perritano, 2010). As reported by Time magazine, "One (worker) was knocked unconscious. Within minutes, the others were nauseated, and their hands and faces were burned bright crimson."

1.4.6 The Exxon Valdez

The Exxon Valdez oil spill is virtually considered to be the largest man-made environmental disaster in the history of United States. It was shortly after midnight on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, in a bid to avoid icebergs. Its hull was gashed, beginning to spill oil into the pristine waters of the Pacific Ocean. The fatality caused 11 million gallons of oil to leak out into the ocean, to spread across a cross-section of about 500 miles from the crash site, and polluting 1,300 miles of shoreline. The Bligh Reef's inaccessible location made matters worse. A lack of oil skimming equipment and ineffective chemical dispersants obstructed a swift response. Though a massive cleanup drive went underway, involving more than 11,000 people and 1,000 boats, yet the magnitude of damage to aquatic wildlife was huge. Innumerable fish, over 250,000 seabirds and thousands of otters and seals perished owing to the contamination (Leacock, 2005).

12

1.4.7 Love Canal

Love Canal is situated only a few blocks from the Niagara River in the residential southeastern section of the highly industrialized but tourist-oriented city of Niagara Falls in New York. Listed among the most appalling environmental tragedies, the Love Canal problem began to surface somewhere in the late 1970s, as chemical odors in the basements of the homes bordering the site became more noticeable. This followed prolonged heavy rains and one of the worst blizzards ever to hit this section of the country.

Thus, began a series of events and momentous decisions involving city, county, state and federal governments to cope with what can only be described as a major human and environmental tragedy without precedent and unparalleled in New York State's history. Described as an environmental time bomb gone off, Love Canal stands as testimony to the ignorance, lack of vision and proper laws of decades past, which allowed the indiscriminate disposal of such toxic materials.

The consequences of these transgressions are mirrored by the planned exodus of 235 families and the public monies and herculean efforts which now must be expended to contain the disaster and restore a degree of normalcy to the lives of those affected. For those responsible for containing the problem and for government leaders in New York State and throughout the nation, Love Canal represents what may very well be the first of a new and sinister breed of environmental disasters (Gibbs, 2011).

1.4.8 Kuwaiti Oil Fires

With the Persian Gulf War drawing to a close in 1991, Iraq went on to destroy Kuwait's oil industry, setting ablaze 789 individual Kuwaiti oil wells. The huge fires kept burning for about seven months. The consequences were not only economically disastrous, but also caused severe ecological damage. Kuwait's economy suffered a precipitous drop in export revenues immediately after the Gulf War, due to the inability to make up for the production differences from the damaged oil wells. The ecological landscape of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf was irrevocably damaged due to the destruction unleashed by the burning oil wells, and it may be generations before this environment is restored to its pre-war balance (Hirschmann, 2005).

13

1.4.9 Bhopal Gas Tragedy

One of the worst environmental tragedies around the world, the accident at Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India on December 2, 1984 resulted in thousands of deaths within hours. The leakage of poisonous gas methyl isocyanate from the facility led to about half a million people being affected in some way. The victims suffered blindness, organ failure and various other bodily deformities. Higher rates of cancer and other diseases related to the central nervous system, liver, and kidneys among the populace were seen. The toxicological and environmental problems have continued to affect people even after decades. Birth defects have been very common in the children being born in the area even today. Though Union Carbide paid a huge amount to the victims, yet those who suffered, complain of it falling short to deal with the decades- long consequences.

To add to the woes, the waste from the disaster has still not been cleaned up. Also, water quality in the area continues to be poor due to sustained contamination from benzene hexa-chloride and mercury (Mukherjee, 2002).

1.4.10 Chernobyl

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant catastrophe took place on April 26, 1986. The explosion of one of the reactors at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine caused a nuclear meltdown sending enormous amount of toxic radiation into the atmosphere. The magnitude of the radiation is reportedly said to be more than the fallout from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The fires that were caused continued for ten days and led to an exceptional release of radioactive materials into the environment. The toxicity spread towards the west causing great contamination with areas that are now part of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, being the ones to suffer greatest contamination. The area closest to the power plant was most heavily contaminated and has been declared off-limits under the name ‘Exclusion Zone’. Till date, thousands of kids have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and animals living in contaminated areas also suffered from a variety of side effects caused by radiation (Lusted, 2011).

1.5 Global Environmental Awakening

There was a continually increasing concern shown by the United Nations towards the environment since 1946 (Chakrabarty, 1994). The global concern about the

14

environment had made its inception through the initiatives of various non-profit organizations in several countries and regions in the 1960s. With the growing realization of the looming threat, a need for more concerted efforts worldwide was strongly felt. On 30 July 1968, the Economic and Social Council resolution 1346 (XLV) of the United Nations recommended the General Assembly to consider convening a UN conference on problems of the human environment. The conference was convened by General Assembly resolution 2398 (XXIII) on 3 December 1968 (UN Documentation: Environment, 2016).

This led to the holding of United Nations Conference on Human Environment at Stockholm in 1972. It was the first instance when the international community came together on a platform to consider global environment and development needs, to outline the principles for preservation and enhancement of the natural environment, and to understand the need for extending support to people to further this cause (Bird, Lutz and Warwick, 2008). At the conference, the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, emphasized that “the objectives of achieving development and that of protecting the environment were not contradictory, but complementary” (Ganguly, 1996).

There was growing realization that development and conservation need to go hand in hand as both are equally necessary for the existence of mankind. Human beings ought to discharge their responsibilities as trustees of natural resources to conserve them for future generations (World Conservation Strategy, 1980). The idea of a development that is sustainable was a part of the world conservation strategy of 1980 that recognized the challenge of integrating development and environment. Therefore, as remarked by Shiva (1991), it was development that gave way to sustainable development and it was growth that led to the notion of green growth.

In 1984, the UN General Assembly appointed the World Commission on Environment and Development, with Gro Harlem Brundtland as its Chairman. The Commission first met in October 1984, and published its report titled ‘Our Common Future’, 900 days later in April 1987. As per the report- also known as ‘Brundtland Report’- over those few days, the world witnessed:

• Severe drought, and consequent environment-development crisis in Africa peaked, putting 36 million people at risk, and killing around a million.

15

• An accidental leak in a pesticides factory in Bhopal, India, ended lives of more than 2,000 people and severely injured more than 200,000.

• Explosion in liquid gas tanks in Mexico City, killed a thousand people and rendered thousands homeless.

• The Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion sent nuclear fallout across Europe, increasing the risks of future human cancers.

• A warehouse fire in Switzerland Agricultural chemicals, caused solvents and mercury to flow into the Rhine River resulting in large scale loss of aquatic life and poisoning drinking water in the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands.

• An estimated 60 million people, mostly children, died owing to water borne diseases and malnutrition.

The term ‘sustainable development’ was coined and defined in this report, and it was considered as the basis for an integrated approach to economic policy in the years to come.

In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development held at Rio de Janeiro was a huge conference participated by 172 governments, around 2,400 representatives of NGOs along with 17,000 people at the parallel NGO "Global Forum". Three important documents were adopted at the conference - a comprehensive plan of action entitled Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of Principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests (Bird, Lutz and Warwick, 2008).

The Earth Summit held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, adopted the Agenda 21, which aimed at the protection of the planet and its sustainable development.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was also formed in 1988, which went on to become the distinguished global source for scientific information relating to climate change. In 1992, an environmental treaty negotiated at the Earth Summit, called the ‘United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’ was constituted. The convention adopted the Kyoto Protocol in

16

1997, in a bid to ensure reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 37 industrialized countries and the European community.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It specifically intended to address the goals, promises and commitments of Agenda 21 into concrete, tangible actions.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, or the Earth Summit 2012, was the third and final meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the ten day conference was attended by 172 governments, with 116 heads of state or government, around 2,400 representatives of non- governmental organizations (NGOs) along with 17,000 people at the parallel NGO "Global Forum" (also called Forum Global), who had Consultative Status. The conference primarily resulted in the drafting of the document titled “The Future We Want.” The document was broadly a reaffirmation of the action plans taken up previously, like Agenda 21 (Earth Negotiations Bulletin, 2012).

1.6 Environmental Communication

Environmental Communication stands for the intentional and strategic use of communication processes to help execute effective policy-making and project implementation aimed at achieving environmental sustainability. It acts as a bridge between the subject matter of environmental issues and the related socio-political dimensions of policy making and public participation. Intricately linked to education and training activities, environmental communication endeavours to link the ‘hard’ technical know-how with ‘soft’ action-oriented behavioural change. In a policy or project life cycle, communication is crucial at all levels. There is a necessity of communication of environmental concepts, technologies and skills to the policy makers, opinion leaders, strategic groups or the public at large. The complex phenomena and information, therefore, require to be simplified for the general public to understand. Putting this information on the public agenda is a pre-condition for building consensus and change in any civil society (GTZ, 2006).

Environmental communication is an interactive social process that facilitates the understanding of key environmental factors and their interdependencies and enables

17

the people to solve issues at hand in a more sustainable and responsible manner. Its primary objective does not confine itself to information dissemination, rather promulgating a shared vision of a sustainable future and focusing on capacity building in social groups to handle environmental problems more efficiently. Environmental communication draws largely on learning processes incorporating knowledge, values, socio-economic and technical skills endeavoured to facilitate the growth of sustainable norms and practices that encourage problem solving action (OECD, 1999).

The concept of environmental communication can be traced to traditional stories where, in the southern part of the globe including indigenous groups like the native Americans, the Africans, the Indians, and the Chinese, the communities interacted with each other about the nature. There are examples galore in the folk culture and traditions which indicate the penchant for nurturing environmental values in the young minds, shaping their perceptions of the ‘mother nature’ and the need to conserve its resources.

Mishra (2013) describes environmental communication as “the pragmatic and constitutive vehicle for our understanding of the environment as well as our relationship to the natural world; it is the symbolic medium that we use in constructing environmental problems and negotiating society’s different responses to them”. She considers that the role of environmental communication is to educate and persuade about the environment and its preservation, and that this communication is also ‘constitutive’, leading to the formation of “representations (and perceptions) of nature”.

Jurin, Roush and Danter (2010) define environmental communication as “the systematic generation and exchange of humans’ messages in, from, for, and about the world around us and our interactions in it”.

1.7 Environmental Journalism

The National Wildlife Federation, USA, defines environmental journalism as the reporting of events, trends and issues related to the environment. It encompasses the natural systems of the earth including plants, animals, habitats, ecosystems,

18

atmosphere, water, climate, etc., along with the interdependence and interaction of humans and environment.

Environmental journalism deals with gathering, substantiating, generating, distributing and manifesting the information concerning the way non-human world interacts with humans. It incorporates the different happenings, the ongoing trends, the related issues and people concerned with the environment. Environmental journalism evolved with writing about nature, forming a part of environmental communication. The ways of identifying environmental journalism as distinct from its allied genres and fields remain controversial.

The environmental movement played a key role in the evolution of environmental journalism as a discipline. The publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962 was a milestone achievement that paved way for the mainstreaming of environmental journalism. The foundation was further strengthened in 1964 with the passage of the Wilderness Act in the United States. The decades of 1970s and 80s saw the proliferation of grassroots environmental organizations, strongly making their presence felt on the political front. This led the public to be more sensitized about a looming environmental crisis and also influenced the policy makers towards making more environmentally conscious policy decisions. The mass media have ever since been crucial agents of spreading environmental awareness.

The media shoulders the responsibility of informing and educating the public, by telling them not only the happenings of the present, but also the reasons behind them as well as their consequences in the future. This renders the task of the environmental journalists to be a challenging one, as they can not only impact the society, but also help in moulding the future. The information and language they work with has a vast range of possibilities. The environmental journalists have a difficult task of presenting facts to the public, without twisting or blowing things out of proportion (Gore, 1990).

From land use policy to laboratory discoveries, energy technologies to natural history, waste management to wilderness travel; an environment journalist has a wide array of issues to report on.

As Hopey (2013) puts it:

Environmental journalism, despite the travails of the industry, remains populated by some of the most talented, dedicated and courageous reporters and editors ever to

19

wear an ink stain, stand before a camera or point a microphone. For many of us, journalism is a calling (Like the priesthood, but with less formal clothing). Some call it a noble profession. I prefer to think of it as a craft, like barrel-making or barbering (Because, well, everyone needs a good haircut). And things can sometimes get a little shaggy if we’re not out there filling our role as contrary watchdogs.

Environment story is one of the most intricate and pressing of contemporary stories. It has connotations with abstract and probabilistic science, complicated laws, showboating politicians, speculative economics, and involves a complex interplay between individuals and societies. There is little disagreement that it pertains to the very future of life on the planet earth. This makes the environment story more important vis-à-vis many other stories, calling for a more careful, longer-than-bite- sized reporting and enquiry as the need of the hour (Stocking and Leonard, 1990).

The environmental journalist stands at a significant juncture. The ‘environment beat’ reporting entails the ability to understand and cover complex and intertwined subjects spread over a broad spectrum.

Salayakanond (1994) maintains that environmental journalism is not an easy beat to cover, yet its prominence cannot be undervalued.

Environmental journalism can also adapt the task of risk communication. On these grounds, getting the facts right assumes far more importance for an environment journalist than any other scribe. This also holds true because out of all the environment stories, those conveying risk information affect the public the most. There are environmental stories everywhere, and the general masses are affected in some way or the other by environmental hazards (Willis and Okunade, 1997).

1.8 Theoretical Framework of the Study

The widely diversified content that the media places on the public’s platter has been found to have influence on their attitudes and behaviour. “The entire study of mass communication,” McQuail (1994) wrote, “is based on the premise that the media have significant effects”.

Some of the mainstream theories of the media have been enlisted under so as to theorize the environment, media and society linkage.

20

1.8.1 Agenda-setting Theory

The Agenda-setting theory is the most firmly established influence of news media in shaping public opinion. The issues which are given more salience in news broadcasts and publications by media, receive more attention by the people and the policymakers alike. The theory of agenda-setting states that the salience of an issue in the media has an influence on the importance attached to that issue by the public. It says that maybe the media cannot tell people what to think, but can tell people what to think about (McCombs and Shaw, 1972).

Trumbo (1995) found that both newspapers and television news are key contributors in setting the agenda for environmental debate. Keeping in view the media’s ability to set the public’s agenda, and influence the public who can influence city, country, state and federal government, one places power in the media. The agenda-setting process entails the media agenda, the public agenda, the policy agenda, and the interrelationships among these three elements (Dearing & Rogers, 1996). Following figure shows the main components of agenda setting process and the interrelation among them:

Figure 1. Three main components of the agenda setting process: The media agenda, public agenda, and policy agenda. Reprinted from Agenda-Setting (p. 5), by James W. Dearing and Everett M. Rogers, 1996, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. Copyright 1996 by Sage Publications.

21

According to Nelkin (1995), visibility through the media is imperative to garner financial and policy support. Therefore, the news media can lay the foundation for establishing research directions and credibility of requests for funding by scientists, environmental groups, and other organisations. Public understanding of the social implications, technical justifications, and political and economic foundations of science is in the interest of an informed and involved citizenry.

1.8.2 Quantity of Coverage Theory

An extension of agenda-setting, quantity of coverage theory is also called second level agenda setting. It suggests that the content of news stories is comparatively less important as compared to the frequency and salience of exposure (Mazur and Lee 1993; Mazur 1998).

Quantity of coverage theory can also be applied to environmental issues based on the premise that higher the number of stories on environment published or broadcast, higher the level of environmental awareness among the public. Rising coverage, even if predominately favourable, leads to increased public concern and, if the alleged risk is a technological innovation, it invites opposition from the people. Categorically, the content of news stories becomes less important as few people read extended or technical news stories anyway. Rather, it is the frequent repetition of a simple image that creates a sense of hazard or paints a picture of uncertainty in the public’s mind.

As per the quantity of coverage theory (Mazur, 2006):

1. People are not very much interested in the detailed content of news stories. In context of environmental issues, they rather form and understand simple images of hazards, like a “hole” in the ozone. 2. Repetition of simple images has a stronger influence on the minds of public as compared to the detailed content. 3. More coverage of an environmental hazard by the news media results in higher public awareness and prompt government action. 4. External factors such as the prominence of related issues, and relationships among journalists and their sources determine the quantity of coverage of a hazard more than by authoritative evaluations of its validity or severity.

22

5. Most of the stories related to environmental hazards, whether national or international, initially find their way to widespread attention by a small, dominant group of large news organizations comprising major newspapers, wire services and television networks, along with prominent sources including government and environmental spokespeople. These organizations are a source of stories for numerous small and local news organs every day.

The quantity of coverage formula precisely explains the fact that Europeans mostly oppose genetically modified food while Americans are mostly unconcerned. Since 1991, news coverage in Europe has been much higher as compared to that in America (Gaskell, Bauer, Durant, & Allum, 1999). This even accounts for the fact that real hazards which rarely find a place in the news receive lesser attention and resources from the public and policymakers. On the contrary, insignificant risks that are highlighted by the media procure inordinate resources that would be spent better elsewhere (Mazur, 2004).

1.8.3 Social Cognitive Theory

Social Cognitive Theory is based on the premise that human beings need to raise their voice together and make a collective effort to tackle many challenges of life. Human agency is extended to the concept of collective endeavour (Bandura, 2000).

Since media are perceived to play a central role in people’s lives, mediated messages help to raise people’s beliefs that they can participate in bringing about changes in their lives.

Social learning theory, renamed and expanded as social cognitive theory, provides an agentic conceptual framework to understand the determinants and psychosocial mechanisms, through which symbolic communication endorses personal and social changes (Bandura, 1986, 2001). This lays ground for studying mass communication as a source for bringing about personal and social change. Therefore, mass communication can be effective in shaping people’s perceptions about the environment and triggering a pro-environmental behaviour.

Dual Path of Influence:

In promoting changes on a large scale, communication systems operate through two pathways:

23

1. In direct pathway, communication media inform, enable, motivate and guide audience individuals and prompt a change in them.

2. In socially mediated pathway, the power of media is used to connect participants to social networks and community settings. These places provide continued personalised guidance as well as natural incentives and social support for desired changes.

At a more informal level, the strong influence of media can lead the audience to discuss and negotiate environmentally significant matters with each other.

In the informal mode of social mediation, the media activate transactional experiences capable of further shaping the course of change. Socially mediated influences can cause stronger impacts than direct media influence.

The capability of media to reach a vast heterogeneous population simultaneously in widely dispersed locales is another major advantage. The world is being diffused with new ideas, values and styles of conduct to promote a globally distributed consciousness (Bandura, 2002). The media can therefore, be successfully utilised to promote environmental consciousness among the people.

Media representation of environmental risks is also consequential because people’s constructions of social reality is based heavily on what they see, hear and read, rather than on what they experience directly.

1.8.4 Media Representations from Social Constructionist Perspective

The interplay of mass media and other social agents help construct social reality and the media provide these constructs to their audiences. The mass media are the technological devices that “disseminate symbolic content to large, heterogeneous and widely dispersed audiences” (Janowitz, 1968), making mass communication possible. Sociologist Gaye Tuchman (1978) contends the crucial role of news in reconstructing the social world. He argues that news are a window to the world and determine what the public wants to know, what they have to know and what they should know. Most of the modern environmental problems, for instance - global warming, ozone layer depletion, toxic contamination, acid rains or nuclear radiation are not visible to human beings directly. In this purview, studying construction of environmental problems in

24

the mass media is particularly significant in terms of global concerns relating to the environment.

The mass media perform the social tasks of informing, interpreting, continuing the dominant culture, entertainment and mobilisation. According to a constructivist media effects model, audiences rely on “a version of reality built from personal experience, interaction with peers, and interpreted selections from the mass media” (Neuman, Just and Crigler, 1992). There exists documented evidence that people who are better informed about different aspects of environmental issues, more frequently exhibit attitudes pertaining to environment than those who are undecided.

1.8.5 Media Dependency Theory

The media dependency theory proposed by Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur (1976), is one of the first theories to consider audience as an active part in the process of communication. This theory is an extension of the uses and gratification theory. This theory proclaims that there exists an internal link between media, audience and large social system. The audience learns less from real life experience and more from the information flowing through the media. Therefore, they utilise mass media to fulfil their information needs.

Figure 2. Society, media, and audience: Reciprocal relationships. Reprinted from Theories of Mass Communication (p. 243), by Melvin L. DeFleur & Sandra Ball-Rokeach, 1982, New York & London: Longman. Copyright 1982 by Longman Inc.

25

This theory can be applied to environmental sensitisation of the people through mass media. The dependency theory states that media help people in the construction of meaning, and it is very much dependent on how readily meaning-relevant-experiences are available in their day-to-day life. People may not have any first-hand experience of global warming, they may only get to learn of its threat from the media. Furthermore, even if people witness the circumstances of extreme heat, floods or drought, yet they will often depend on the information from news to connect those events to global climate change (Corbett and Durfee, 2005). Thus, the media help to generalize personal experiences and translate science into popular discourse.

1.8.6 Media Persuasion - Indirect Effects Model

The persuasive power of media stands uncontested. Research suggests that in the political domain, media discharges the function of making certain political and social issues stand out more than others (Iyengar and Kinder, 1987). For example, in a study of magazine stories spanning over the decades from 60s to the 90s, it was found that the stories on drug abuse and nutrition increased dramatically, stories about communism and desegregation dropped, while those on pollution remained about the same (Paisley, 1989).

When an issue is highlighted by the news media through extensive coverage, it becomes more readily accessible in the minds of the audience, thereby increasing their likelihood to think about that specific issue when they judge the “bottom line” on an attitude object (Sherman, Mackie and Driscoll, 1990). The media, therefore, by setting the agenda of what is important to evaluate, can lead to significant effects on attitude change. Media coverage and levels of importance of an issue mostly correlate owing to the fact that media covers issues which are already considered to be important by the public. Yet, there also exists research evidence that the media coverage can go before public perceptions (MacKuen, 1981), and if certain issues have greater accessibility, it can lead the public attaching more weight to them (Sherman et al., 1990).

1.8.7 Downs’ Attention Cycle

Anthony Downs (1972) conceptualised the cyclical nature of attention given by the public to domestic issues. The cycle consisted of five stages:

26

1. The pre-problem state; 2. Alarmed discovery and euphoric enthusiasm; 3. Realizing the costs of significant progress; 4. Gradual decline of public interest; 5. The post-problem state

This theory is based on the fact that public attention hardly remains sharply focused upon any one domestic issue for a long time, despite the continuous nature of the problem and its importance to the society. Public attitudes and behaviour related to key domestic issues rather seem to be strongly influenced by a systematic ‘issue- attention cycle’. These problems suddenly leap into prominence, keep the public attention engaged for a short time, and consequently- though largely remaining unresolved- fade from the focus of public attention.

The issue-attention cycle encompasses several practical uses within the understanding of public opinion and environmentalism. The public interest has the potential to wax and wane from time to time, from one occasion to another, with the media playing a dominant role in exactly where and when this occurs.

1.8.8 Karl Deutsch’s Communication Theory

The communication model developed by Karl Deutsch (1966) focused on communication processes as the central aspect of polities. It applied cybernetics to political system and theorised that the growth, change, functioning and other dynamic aspects of political system are largely governed by a system of communication network. People’s behaviour, activities of the political system and many others are controlled by the communication of information and news which pass through the channels.

Receptors ‘capture’ political information in the form of messages. The data in those messages are processed so that the decision-centre, drawing on its memories (e.g. files or other records of its own past decisions) and its values (preferences for certain outcomes rather than others), can take a decision which is then communicated to effectors, which in turn translate the communicated decisions into actions (Olayiwola, 2014).

27

This model can be applied to the communication of environmental messages through the media, which influence the decision-making and thus, the actions of the receivers.

Receiver Memories Effectors

Message Decision centre

Values

Figure 3. Communication and Control System. Reprinted from The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and Control, by Karl W. Deutsch, 1966, New York: Free Press of Glencoe.

1.9 Broad Objective

The broad objective of this study is to investigate the coverage and statistical significance given to environmental issues in major Indian English dailies, as reflected in total space, journalistic category, page-wise display and the different categories of environment stories that figure in the selected dailies.

1.9.1 Aim

The study aims at identifying major reported categories within the broad environmental spectrum present in the major Indian dailies and determine total coverage area garnered by environmental issues in each newspaper and compare the environmental categories within and between the selected newspapers.

Keeping in consideration the related literature available, following specific objectives have been drafted for the current study.

1.9.2 Specific Objectives:

1. To study the trend in the coverage of environmental issues in major English dailies of India.

2. To identify the newspaper which provides largest coverage to environmental issues among the major Indian English dailies.

28

3. To study the trend in reporting environmental issues through photographs in the major English dailies.

4. To analyze the trend in total space provided to the identified categories of environment.

5. To analyze the front page trends of environment coverage in the selected dailies.

6. To examine the trends present in reporting of environment according to selected journalistic categories (news, photographs, editorials, articles and letters to the editor).

1.10 Hypotheses

1. Despite its growing significance, reporting of environment in Indian mainstream English dailies is yet to gain its due space.

2. There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of news stories in English dailies.

3. There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of photographs in English dailies.

4. Articles on environment continue to find more space in major English dailies.

5. The mainstream English dailies raise their voice in favour of environment more frequently through editorials.

6. Readers’ response to environment in English dailies is very low.

7. Significant difference in coverage of selected environment categories is non- existent in mainstream English dailies.

1.11 Purpose and Significance of the Study

The media are considered to be the science teachers of the masses (Goodfield, 1981), as people understand science mainly through media coverage and less through experience or education (Nelkin, 1987). This makes the kind of coverage given to environment in newspapers an important area of study and investigation.

29

Environmental reporting is an area commanding attention, and it can go a long way in moulding peoples’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviour in a pro-environmental manner. Knowing and understanding the existing state of affairs in the mainstream print media, i.e. newspapers, would have far reaching implications to help editors frame their policy for covering the environment.

In the present scenario, visibility equates to value. Therefore, an improvement in environmental coverage is expected to lead to a better understanding of the wide- ranging critical environmental challenges faced by humankind, which in turn will help in prompting better solutions.

The researcher has embarked upon this study so as to make some significant contribution in context of the reportage of environmental issues in newspapers. The quantification and analysis of the space provided to reporting environmental issues in newspapers will help document the state of affairs.

The study aims to investigate the quantity of coverage provided to environmental issues in Indian newspapers. It intends to analyze the importance given by this medium of mass communication to such paramount issues. The study would enable to trace out the total space dedicated to reporting environmental issues during the time period selected for study. The different categories of environment which have been given due consideration by the selected English dailies of India will be classified. The study will also help to examine the difference among these newspapers in covering the environmental themes. The research may further help to conclude whether print media is discharging its duties well by allocating sufficient space to reporting of environment or there exists a need of improvement in the media endeavours.

30

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Media: The Instrument of Power

Media has emerged as the most potent tool of modern civilization as communication has transcended all boundaries and barriers. Communication is central to the progress and development of any society, its progress and well-being.

Gordon (1975) expounds that the technological advances and unprecedented increase in audience size has led to great expansion of the impact of media. Mass Media are diversified media forms intended to reach the large audience/masses.

According to Folkerts and Lacy (2004) press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man and improving him as a rational, moral and social being. Media plays a crucial role in our society as its purpose is not only to inform the public about current and past events, but it also determines what we think and worry about.

Former President of USA, Thomas Jefferson, has emphasized upon the central role of the press as a powerful instrument for knowledge dissemination and illumination of the readers’ minds. Press is not merely confined to the task of distribution of information. Apart from this vital function of disseminating information about what the noted journalist Walter Lippmann called the “world outside”, the press has much more to its credit.

Althaus and Tewksbury (2002) put forth that the news media sift through a huge amount of news material and decide upon what issues, events and people deserve more attention by the public. Their selection of the news stories that will finally reach the audiences, makes way for those issues becoming more prominent than others, which go unreported. The growing impact of mass media has compelled governments to formulate means to harness its potential for promoting their policies and actions.

Vilanilam (1985) states that the influence and clout of media can be efficiently used for amplification of the message intended towards the public. It has been established through empirical research that communication by itself cannot bring about development, although it can act as a catalyst in the development process.

31

Media coverage shapes opinion of the public. This opinion, positive or negative, directs behaviour. The influence of media on behaviour of persons and groups, is irrefutable.

Lippman (1922) discussed the immense potential wielded by media to help citizens make more informed decisions, and to contribute to common interests emerging from the ‘complex unseen environment’.

Vilanilam (1985) points out that all education is communication and vice versa. He adds in the light of MacBride Commission report that communication is not only a system of public information, but also an integral part of education and development. The practical application of education and communication policies coincides more often than not. Education and communication more or less represent two faces of the same coin. There exists a large research evidence to conclude that most of the public is dependent on mass media to learn about scientific issues.

Ungar (2000) lays that science is ‘an encoded form of knowledge that requires translation in order to be understood’ and the mass media are considered to play a significant role in this translation.

According to Nelkin (1987) people understand science mainly through media coverage and less through experience or education. This is especially the case for issues that do not have any tangible consequences for people. For example, global warming is one phenomenon, which is not visible or tangible to people in their everyday lives. Therefore, media coverage connects the public with such issues to sensitize them about the imminent hazard. Vincent & Mahesh (2007) state that journalism plays a crucial role in the progress of a nation by regularly reporting on issues central to its development.

According to Schramm (1965):

Wherever dangers or opportunities need to be reported, decisions need to be made, new knowledge needs to be distributed, or change is imminent- there information flows. These needs are urgent and widespread in developing countries, where the tasks assigned to the communication media are vastly greater than before the time of development. If the flow of information and the channels of communication are not adequate to these tasks, they must be built up to the level of need.

32

Another study by Mancha (2012) examines that electronic media is playing an important role, especially radio and television in creating awareness to tribal farmers.

Kakade, Hiremath and Raut (2013) concluded that a large percentage of their respondents get complete information regarding climate change through media. They further concluded that in Bijapur, television is the most popular media among people to know about climate change, followed by newspaper, radio and internet respectively.

A group of journalists writing on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) from South Asia established a regional body called WASH Media – South Asia in 2011. The group consists of both print and broadcasting media personnel from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The regional network helped to share their stories and coordinate their actions as the members were already actively writing on WASH issues.

2.2 Media Persuasion and Environmental Sensitization

Day and Monroe (2000) have laid stress on the strength of mass media as the channels of communication. Their power has been recognized when leading contenders were seen to weaken after televised political debates swayed public opinion. Through persuasive advertising, media wield the power to sell everything ranging from cars, toothpaste, and peanut butter. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that the unbeatable authority of mass media is sought by environmental communicators to spread information to the audience.

Maceviciute (2000) found that press is instrumental in forming people’s environmental consciousness. The media was found to contribute to people’s concern for the environment more effectively as compared to other institutions. A correlation was found between all mass media and students’ environmental awareness.

Hoerisch (2002) studied the environmental awareness and environmentally beneficial behavior in India. Findings of the study concluded that the role of media in creating environmental awareness is definitively a dominant one. Out of the total, more than half of the interviewees (52%) were of the opinion that information provided by media has been most important in making them aware of environmental problems,

33

38% respondents believed that it was their own confrontation with pollution in everyday life, and 7% thought that education at school or other institutions was the main source of information regarding environment.

Pharr (1996) states that recent developments of media studies have stressed media’s increasing power over society and in politics.

Hobo and Yamashita (1989) discussed that leaders of environmental groups also point out that the involvement of media with their movement is important to some degree.

It has been observed and established that the effectual dissemination of information results in knowledge which brings about a change in the attitudes and behavior of people, making them more environmentally responsible. Such improved levels of awareness of environmental problems may lead to better political participation of the public towards maintaining environmental sustainability. Increased environmental awareness among the people creates environmental concern that induces pro- environmental behavior and dynamic partaking in decision making process.

Stamm, Clark and Eblacas (2000) conducted a survey of metropolitan area residents and found that although people are aware of this problem in a general sense, understanding of particular causes, possible consequences, and solutions is more limited. Both mass media and interpersonal communication appear to make a positive contribution to understanding, as well as to perpetuating some popular misconceptions.

Nelkin (1995) states that often missing in science stories are the contexts (social, economic, political, and historical), as well as information about how science and the scientific process are conducted.

Mikami, Takeshita and Kawabata (1999) delved into the role that news media play in spreading awareness among the public about global environmental risks and issues and in inspiring people to behave in a more pro-environmental manner. They analysed survey data and newspaper articles in Japan. It was found that after 1992, there was an increase in public awareness about global environmental problems. There was a positive correlation between the coverage given by news media and the public’s level of concern over environmental issues. The results pointed out that the strong agenda

34

setting effects of media may not be very manifest in the short run, but over longer periods of time, there was cumulative and long-term cognitive impact.

A study by Boykoff (2007) explained how journalistic norms have shaped mass media coverage of human contributions to climate change. It examined barriers in climate science communication via the media by analyzing the quantity and quality of anthropogenic climate change coverage in the US mass media – daily print and television – from 1988 to 2004. This study found that news media play a key role in shaping the climate change information.

Ostman (2013) in his study ‘The Influence of Media Use on Environmental Engagement’ adopted a political socialisation approach to explore citizens' involvement in everyday-life pro-environmental behaviour. The analysis of a survey data from Swedish adolescents indicated there were direct as well as indirect associations between amount of news media use, discussion about environmental issues with parents and peer groups, and degree of pro-environmental behaviour. The results reinforce the idea that exposure to news media motivates environmentally conscious behavior, by making citizens aware about the environmental issues. The inferences drawn were also discussed in a citizen-communication framework highlighting the role of interpersonal communication in translating environmental information garnered from news sources to the everyday-life reality of adolescents, thus fostering in them a positive environmental temper.

Singhal and Rogers (1989) conclude that in order to meet the aims of conservation, environmental education is one of the important tools. Media could play a crucial role by contributing technical information about pertinent environmental issues and possibilities, and suitable innovations.

Mukherji (2004) suggests that environmental education increases public knowledge of environmental issues and challenges. Through environmental education, people get benefited by acquiring an understanding regarding the effects of the individuals’ actions on environment. With the help of this education, they can further acquire skills to assess various sides of the problem, and can make decisions in a better way. It also inspires people to take personal responsibility for the conservation and restoration of environment by giving a deeper understanding of it.

35

Kapoor (2011) conducted a survey in Shringverpur village of Soraon tehsil of Allahabad district to assess the role of mass media in promotion of environmental awareness along with skill development among the rural people. The study was attempted to explore how different information channels contributed to spreading environmental awareness and skill development among the village dwellers. It was found that nearly 40% of the respondents were more interested in television programmes while 26% of them expressed their interest in radio programmes. It was concluded that media information channels have an important role in bridging the gap between science and society.

Dorji (2007) carried out an empirical investigation to determine the public’s attitude towards mass media and its role in promoting environmental consciousness in Bhutan. Largely aimed to determine the influence of public communication like radio and television on individuals’ environmental awareness, it took into account the varying degrees of exposure to the different forms of media. It also probed the important functions served by these media and their effects on the decision making of individuals. The results exhibited that media is highly significant in influencing individual decision making and the two were directly proportional to each other. Moderate exposure to television was likely to improve environmentally conscious behaviour of the people. The media could play a considerable role in promoting environmental education by giving a more extensive coverage to environmental themes. Overall, the study suggested that the media wielded enormous potential to advocate an affinity for environmentalism.

Watt (2010) analysed the print and online coverage of ‘climate change’ in newspapers from a geographically diverse region. Primarily, the research sought to examine whether the newspapers are revamping their reporting practices in covering climate change issues in the wake of shrinking news holes. The results demonstrated that there was a decrease in the volume of coverage on climate change. Nonetheless, it was found that the newspapers that gave the environmental beat a higher priority, based on the volume of local coverage, are exploring the online medium as a way to continue that coverage.

Singh (2012) discussed that there are positive and negative facets to every development in the world, depending on different situations. In case these

36

developments are neutral in nature, it is the human beings who are responsible to decide the aspect in which they are used. Nuclear power is one such example where development can be put to either constructive or destructive use. In exactly the same way, mass media in itself is also neutral with all its potential power, and it is up to us how to utilise its power to reach the unreached or to create awareness about anything, even among those who have ready access to it.

It is worth noting that mass media are termed as the “magic multipliers” and considered to be most persuasive form of communication. If something is repeated again and again for numerous times, it definitely leaves a very deep impact on readers/listeners.

On the other side, according to Schramm (1965) mass communication was and continues to be a key player in effecting great ‘social transformations’, if not revolutions, that took place or are underway in developing countries.

2.3 Media, Public Opinion and Policy

Bendix and Liebler (1999) state that a wide range of authors with different outlooks have established that news media coverage is significant in influencing knowledge levels, opinion, and policy on environmental issues.

Boykoff (2009) in his study marks that with time, mass media coverage has validated to be a pivotal contributor- among a number of factors- that has stitched spaces of environmental science, governance, and daily life together. Mass media have given voice to the environment itself by articulating environmental change in particular ways, via claims makers or authorized definers.

The mass media therefore, effect a range of processes including formal environmental policy and informal notions of public understanding. Emanating from these processes, public perceptions, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, in turn, often link back through mass media into ongoing formulations of environmental governance.

That media representation of the environment over time has been influenced by science and politics, is well known. However, media coverage has also moulded ongoing scientific and political considerations, decisions, and activities. Mass media are powerful, in that they decide who has a say and how. Along with many spatial factors also shaping how mass media grapple with various environmental issues, the

37

temporal dimension regarding these unfolding processes of representation and, therefore, knowledge production and destruction are important. The way institutions and individuals deal with the environmental challenges, and the way they are represented, has drawn concern for long.

Gurevitch and Levy (1985) state that the mass media have been attributed a major role as a forum for public debate in general, where ‘various social groups, institutions, and ideologies struggle over the definition and construction of social reality’.

Mazur (1998) states that mass media are often held up as the cause for the higher awareness of environmental issues.

Hannigan (1995) concludes that to convert many discrete problems into a major public issue, mass media have played a crucial role.

Wilkins (1993) examined newspaper stories and focused on the ‘greenhouse effect’. Acknowledging a newspaper’s role in reporting news that may not yet be of wide public interest, but which should be presented as a public service because of its importance to society, the study identified the values reflected by the stories pursued and published.

Ader (1995) implies that the public relies heavily on the media for information about the environment, and a strong correlation has been found between the media and public agendas.

According to Shanahan, Morgan and Stenbjerre (1997) much of what people hear about the environment threats like ozone depletion, water and air pollution, greenhouse effect, global climate change, likely come from the media. Indeed, there is research evidence that specific media efforts can influence environmental knowledge and attitudes in some ways, and the salience of ‘the environment’ in media's agenda is reflected in public's views as well.

Sampei and Aoyagi-Usui (2009) analysed the Japanese newspaper coverage of global warming over a period of a decade to see its influence on public opinion. Researchers found that there is an increase in the public concern for the issue due to the considerable rise in newspaper coverage. The researchers concluded that articles related to global warming on front-page and the total number of articles on the same topic have a significant influence on public concern for this issue. Findings also

38

revealed that policies aimed at perpetuating mass-media coverage of global warming were needed for more effective communication of climate change.

Douglas and Wildavsky (1982), Fischhoff (1995) and Slovic (2000) concluded that in the social construction of risks, media plays an important role in general.

Media has been playing a very important role by helping to generalise personal experiences. Fischhoff, Lichtenstein, and Slovic (1980) and Ungar (1992) asserted that the theories of risk-perception have determined that people’s fear of a phenomenon increases with the number of people they believe are exposed to the problem.

Palfreman (2006) states that in addition, risk-analysis has shown that the public is most fearful of risks that are unknown, unobservable, and have a high catastrophic potential.

Mazur and Conant (1978) found that people who hear about a proposed nuclear waste site are more opposed to it than people who have not heard about it.

Mazur (1981a, 1981b) concludes that media coverage of a scientific controversy increases public opposition to the technology, even when such coverage is not negative. Placing an issue high on a public's issue agenda can carry positive benefits.

Bowman and Hanaford (1977) believe that events such as Earth Day can spur coverage of environmental issues, even as the coverage emphasizes some environmental problems at the expense of others.

Weingart and Engels (2000) state that by mainly affecting translations between science and policy, mass media representational practices have formed perceptions of different issues of environment, technology and risk.

Wilson (1995) asserts that researches have discovered that public assimilates a huge amount about science via consuming mass media news.

Hannigan and John (1995) states that most of us depend on the media to help make sense of the deluge of information presented to us, especially information about environmental risks, technologies and initiatives.

Nelkin (1995) posits in her book ‘Selling Science’ that since media is known to create reality, the way they frame science news is crucial in the formation of public opinion

39 around it. Science writers, therefore, play a key role in developing awareness among the public about science-related events. The choice of news that finds its way to the public through the media is instrumental in setting the agenda for public policy, as well as in drawing the public towards scrutinizing the social, political, and economic system. The media also caters for providing information to the government authorities, specialists, and others involved in the process of decision-making. As a result, it can influence policy decisions including laws and regulations along with other innovations.

According to Gregory (1991) the news media help trigger a two-way communication which is important for development of public sensitivity about health or environmental risks. The media provides the general public an interface to get in touch with the technical experts, scientists, government officials or industry decision makers.

Ostman and Parker (1987) in their study found that the use of newspapers for environmental information was related positively to attention to environmental content in mass media and level of environmental concerns. Newspaper use for environmental information was found to be more useful in predicting attention, awareness, concerns and subsequent behaviours, as compared to television. In general, newspaper reading seemed to encourage relevant environmentally positive behaviour, whereas, television viewing tended to discourage it. Even if the audience members were passive, as a number of people in the population are, the media seemed to have considerable effects. Print media tended to have more stimulating, pro- environment correlations than did broadcast media.

Lester and Hutchins (2009) mention that the newsmakers of the west took notice of environment as a public and political issue by the late 1960s and 1980s. Recent years have seen the media become an important player in environmental politics. Specifically after 2002, the environment has acquired significance in the news media, falling in line with politics and economics.

Communication about the environment has a direct bearing on the formulation of public policies. Indeed, it is a social process that deals with the way people live, the way they rule and are ruled. Ackland (1995) remarks that fundamentally, the democratic societies rely on the media for making information available to them, and

40

that responsible journalism eventually leads to good public policy. He avers that by enhancing the quality of media coverage, the objective is to increase the public’s understanding of environmental issues.

If we consider relations between societies and nature, there has been a growing realization over the last 30 years or so, of the extent to which industrial processes and the drive for continued economic growth has caused long-term and perhaps irreversible damage to the global eco- system. A major transformation in the meanings of human-environment relationships is currently taking shape which finds expression in the 'greening' of personal activities, public opinion and political action (Lowe and Rudig, 1986; Irvine and Ponton, 1989). Sections of the media, through the combined activities of investigative journalists, committed film-makers and campaigning pressure groups, have been instrumental in bringing environmental issues to the forefront of popular and political consciousness.

As per Sachsman (2000), since the 1960s the mass media have continued to shape people’s perceptions and spread sensitization about issues concerning the environment. The newsmakers- along with the environment enthusiasts, government authorities, scientists and industrialists- have been prompting the agenda of environmental conservation and related policy making for more than three decades.

The duty to inform is included in all international conventions- climate change, bio- diversity, and desertification- that charge national governments with the responsibility to promote education, public awareness, and information on the matters related to the environment. In this context, mass media are called upon as the most important instrument through which public should be made aware of environmental concerns and put in the conditions to evaluate public policies in the area (Ricoveri, n.d.).

The mass media are indispensable for identifying and understanding the environmental issues. (Schoenfeld, Meier and GriYn, 1979; Spector and Kitsuse, 1977).

Dasgupta, Laplante and Meisner (2000) consider the feedback from the public to be vital as it can help bringing to the fore particular policy issues. In developing countries, where environmental matters have assumed considerable significance, media has gained further ground in this context, in the wake of ‘official’ information accessibility being limited.

41

Hetherington (1985), a past editor of The Guardian newspaper, suggests that campaigning journalists were instrumental in creating 'a gradual acceptance in the 1960s of environmental conservation as a front page topic', implying that environmental issues are now firmly entrenched as newsworthy events. He also suggests that the lead was given by the 'quality' press.

The role of mass media in reporting a range of environmental issues has been widely studied over the last two decades. Anderson (1997) examined the relationships between news media and social movements, taking into account the issue of nuclear power.

Dey (2002) highlights that there exists a strong linkage between the livelihood of people and environment. The need for awareness and participation by public is essential to ensure sustainable development and environmental management.

Brossard, Shanahan, and McComas (2004) say that the kind of coverage media gives to the issues of environment and sustainability has also attracted the attention of media researchers. Most of such studies have focused on countries which are industrially advanced and developed. Interestingly, the reportage of environment has been found to vary from one western country to another. A study making cross- cultural comparison of global warming coverage in France and the United States indicated that France’s coverage was more event-based and included international relations, providing a limited spectrum of viewpoints as against that of the United States, which mostly focused on the scientist-politician conflict.

While it is difficult to demonstrate a causal relationship between environmental news, increased public awareness of the issues and environmentally sustainable development policy, some believe the media in India have served as a powerful force towards a social change.

Gupta (1989) writes that print news of ecological problems has often led to mobilization of affected communities, despite the country's literacy rate of less than 50 percent. Also, the press indirectly plays a role in influencing governmental policy on the environment by informing India's educated class of readers about environmental issues.

42

Subramaniam (1989) explicated on the advocacy role of media in context of the threat to the Taj Mahal, the Silent Valley hydro-electric project, Pooyamkutty project etc. She specified that the media has participated actively in exposing and highlighting issues like disincentives and legal restraints on private individuals keen to raise and maintain natural resources, political pressures for legalizing encroachment and allotment of land for projects such as dams, reservoirs, mines and industries.

Parlour (1980) presented a theoretical analysis of the research on mass media and environmental issues. The paper reviews the contributions of information theory, cybernetics, sociology and political science to micro and macro theories of mass communication. Hall's “dominant ideology” thesis of the mass media and the elitist‐ conflict model of society is used as a basis to evaluate the information from empirical analyses of the mass media's portrayal of social issues, including the environment. The investigation concluded that dominant classes in society influence the way media represents environmental issues. The media purposefully uses its clout to support and reinforce the status quo so as to benefit these dominant groups.

Hsiao and Tseng (1999) examined the way intellectuals and the media have aided in shaping Taiwan's contemporary environmental consciousness as a result of their expansive communication with the public mind over the last thirty years. The intellectuals were included keeping in view their significant status in leading new social thinking and reform, therefore, also in spreading environmental consciousness. As a crucial force in bringing in sources of new information, the media, especially newspapers, have worked to inform the public of the emerging environmental problems facing Taiwan. Public opinion surveys indicate a shift in the public's environmental consciousness over the course of the 1980s and 1990s. Each of these elements—intellectuals, media, and public opinion—is a constituent of a new social consciousness.

For seven years in the 1990s, Mikami, Takeshita and Kawabata (1999) performed annual public opinion surveys in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. In the twenty weeks before their 1992 opinion survey, they also scrutinized the variations in newspaper coverage of climate change in Japan. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between exposure to mass media and the level of concern about the environment.

43

The media is considered to be a social agent that intervenes in the elaboration of social representations of environmental issues. Castrechinia, Pola and Guàrdia- Olmosb (2014) analysed media representations of environmental issues and the way they have been constructed and transformed from the Rio Summit in 1992 to 2006. A constructionist approach based on the theory of social representations (Moscovici, 1976) was implemented to describe how mass media generated information. A sample of 1039 news articles from two Spanish newspapers (La Vanguardia and El País) over a period ranging from the Rio Earth Summit to several years after the Johannesburg Summit (1992–2006) was chosen, and both the content and form of the environmental news were examined. The longitudinal study depicted an increase in environmental news during the period of analysis, alongside an increased variety of themes addressed and represented. The results pointed towards a shift from scientific to political discourse and a change towards greater reflection and social recognition of the significance of environmental issues.

Rong (2009) conducted a study on the coverage of environmental issues by three major newspapers in China. The study concluded that all three newspapers’ coverage of environmental problems and issues increased from July 2001 to June 2007. However, though there was a difference in coverage among the newspapers studied, all the three newspapers’ coverage of environmental problems and issues increased substantially.

Tilt and Xiao (2010) conducted a study on ‘Media coverage of environmental pollution in the People’s Republic of China: responsibility, cover-up and state control’. The findings of the study reveal that the media channels selected for the course of research differed quite markedly in the intensity of coverage on the themes studied. The findings highlight that among the three media sources- New York Times (NYT), CCTV and Xinhua News Agency, surprisingly, CCTV and the New York Times were statistically similar in their reporting intensities on these themes.

The interest of media in environmental issues has also been found to wax and wane as per the changing dramatic value. Downs (1972) proposes there is a cycle through which various social issues usually pass, from intense interest to growing monotony. Discussing the fluctuating media coverage and public concern for ecological issues, he lays that any environmental concern moves through five sequential stages,

44

beginning with the ‘pre-problem stage’, the ‘alarmed discovery and euphoric enthusiasm’ stage, the ‘gradual-realization-of the-cost’ stage, the ‘gradual-decline-of- intense-public interest’ stage, and the ‘post-problem stage’. By the time it reaches last stage, the formerly ‘hot’ issue takes a backseat and is pushed into a ‘twilight realm of lesser attention or spasmodic reoccurrences of interest’.

He suggests that the media interest may fade away from a particular issue, given that its ‘dramatic or entertainment’ value subsides, or it ceases to affect everyone, or those with clout in the society are no longer interested in it and setting it right may involve a lot of disorder and expenses. However, he believes that entering this ‘post-problem’ stage is improbable for environmental issues, thanks to their inherent qualities.

According to Trumbo (1996) and McComas and Shanahan (1999), though the Downs attention cycle applies to a range of social issues and topics of media interest, of which environment is a part; it has been used by several scholars to understand the rise and fall in media coverage of climate change.

2.4 Low Environmental Coverage

Bowman (1995) examined changing environmental values in the American press. He compared the attitudes of newspaper editors circa 1977 with those in 1992, a time span that saw the passing of the Age of Abundance and the coming of the Age of Scarcity. Attitudinal change over time, the role of the media, the nature of its coverage, and perceived causes and solutions to the environmental predicament were explored. The results over the period of 15 years revealed that editors continue to see the ecological crisis as real, but that perception does not substantially change the low priority given to environmental stories, affect editorial positions and advertising policies, or deal with various problems in reporting environmental news.

Nirmala and Arul (2016) found a low online Indian newspaper coverage of environmental issue as compared to crime and politics. They also concluded that front page news on environment issue was limited. The study further highlights that there were more stories on climate related decisions and policy making in The Times of India. The Hindu covered more informative stories on climate change and its impact on coastal ecosystem, biodiversity etc. The result found that English newspapers allocate more space to environment as compared to the Tamil newspapers.

45

Ohkura (2000) studied Japanese newspaper coverage of environmental issues, focusing on the case of the controversy over the Ishaya Bay land reclamation project. It was found that the attention paid to the project by media did much to inform the public about the effects of large-scale public works projects on environment. Yet, an analysis of the newspaper coverage showed that the media played mostly a ‘‘spectator’’ role in the controversy, merely reacting to events. A more active, ‘‘watch-dog’’ role was deemed to be necessary for the media to uncover threats to the environment in time, for the public to be educated about such issues and have a chance to influence crucial official decisions.

Baptista and Morgado (2008) delved into a practical analysis of the role of mass media in broadcast of environmental information in Portugal. Its main ideas were environmental awareness, importance of environmental education, education for citizenship and sustainable development, and the mass media and their role in environmental education. The study compared urban and rural backgrounds. The results showed limitations in environmental information through the media, as well as the weak participative involvement by citizens in these matters. However, the majority of respondents felt that mass media was providing them sufficient environmental information. Print media was found to be the second preferred channel of receiving information, after television. The study suggested that mass media needs to play a more active role in providing environmental information, eventually in association with public institutions.

Babe (2005) in his analysis of environmental news coverage by leading Canadian newspapers, found that environmental matters were only being given ‘lip-service’ and their gravity was mostly being ignored. He expounded that the inclusion of such stories was a strategy to keep the public’s attention diverted from the overall approach of reporting, which was lopsided and far from being environmental.

A study by CMS ENVIS (2010) analysed the environmental coverage by nine leading dailies in India and found there existed large disparities between the environmental coverage as compared to other news. Environmental coverage formed only 4.35 percent of the news hole. Environment success stories, best practices, initiatives of communities, local movements, campaigns etc. rarely found their way into the sheets of newspapers. The coverage in the name of environment was mostly restricted to

46

issues like wildlife, bio-diversity, water management, climate change, water conservation awareness, rain water harvesting, air pollution, watershed management, government initiatives, etc. Seldom did stories on environment stories made it to the front page of newspapers.

Soma (2012) conducted an analysis of national and regional dailies of India. The study showed that development news coverage in the newspapers was not satisfactory. The proportion of development news was found to be extremely low in all the three newspapers. Yet, the national and regional English newspapers- The Hindu and The Assam Tribune- provided more space to development issues than the local language newspaper- Dainik Jugasankha.

Akhileshwari (1989) presented an account of the media coverage of environment in general and Patancheru and adjacent areas in particular. She observed that articles, documentaries, films and their like hardly sway the public opinion. Their influence on die-hard bureaucrats and politicians is even less unless they carry the by-line of Arun Shourie.

Simooya (2011) aimed to investigate the role of the Zambian media in public environmental awareness and education. The study which employed qualitative and quantitative research designs along with a survey, evaluated the environmental contents of three major daily newspapers in Zambia. She concluded that those who were assigned the task of collection and publication of environmental information were not adequately trained, thus failing to successfully communicate environmental information in an attention-grabbing and educative style. The dailies published more of political and sports news as compared to environmental information, as it was deemed unsellable and bad for business. Most of the space dedicated to environment was dominated by news on pollution and most of the environmental proceedings covered were seasonal. They were mostly based only in urban areas and very likely saw the light of day only when accompanied by a prominent person in society or the government of the day. The lack of sensitization among the public on matters concerning environment were found to be the hindrances in promoting a pro- environment and responsible behaviour, either individually or at community level.

Kosteralla, Theodosiadou and Tsantopoulos (2013) conducted a study on ‘coverage of environmental issues by the Greek media from the editors’ perspective.’ According to

47 the findings, environmental journalists admit that there is low visibility of environmental news in the Greek media. The findings further conclude that 90% of environmental journalists agree or totally agree that political or business interests are the most serious obstacles to the selection, dissemination and promotion of environmental news. The study found that there was reduced reliability in the Greek media as far as the quality of environmental information is concerned.

Jia (2008) notes that few Chinese research institutions and journals produce press releases, and concludes that little information about climate change from the local scientific community reaches the media.

Miller and Pollak (2013) maintain that news coverage of environmental issues had a substantial influence not only on public opinion and policy making, but also on the society becoming more sensitized and aware towards conservation of the environment. A poll survey in America found that nearly eighty percent people wanted an improved news coverage of the environment. The same report also carried an analysis of thirty nationally prominent news organizations for a period of seventeen months, from January 2011 to May 2012. It was found that despite its importance with the public, the environmental coverage merely constituted 1.2 percent of the news headlines.

Atinmo and Jimba (1998) conducted a longitudinal study to analyze the environmental reporting in Nigerian newspapers over a period of ten years. It was found that though there was an improvement in coverage over the period, yet there was a need to improve the coverage further. There is a need to create further awareness about the issues of concern, such as agricultural chemicals and noise pollution. Despite the fact that environmental problems continue to assail it every day, yet the public remains inadequately informed about these matters.

Ojo and Kadri (2001), in a bid to explicate the role of mass media in environmental conservation, undertook a study of six media houses selected randomly in the Ibadan metropolis, the capital city of Oyo state. They administered a structured questionnaire to measure the impact of the selected media houses on environmental conservation. The results revealed that the media houses published articles on environmental issues, as well as carried these messages through slogans and jingles. However, the major hurdle these media houses came across in their efforts to spread environmental

48

awareness was illiteracy and ignorance on the part of the people. The study suggested the media houses to improve upon their information unit to discharge their duties towards the environment in a better fashion. Moreover, there was a need for the government to implement policies and punish those who transgress. Non-profit organizations were also expected to play a more effective role.

Speers (2005) in the study ‘A Picnic in March: Media Coverage of Climate Change and Public Opinion in the United Kingdom’ found that environmental change was paid more attention by the broadsheets as compared to the tabloids. Existing research has established that “mass media portrayals of environmental information are known to be effective mostly at the upper-rungs of the socio-economic ladder, for instance with under-privileged classes receiving relatively little information”. A significant proportion of readers would, therefore, appear to be following their newspaper’s lead in their levels of concern or else have selected a newspaper in line with their own preoccupations.

Pompper (2004) surveyed 15 years of environmental risks stories in three national newspapers. The study found that the mainstream newspapers used frames that relied heavily on government and industrial sources which stressed on preservation of natural resources, protection of worker safety, and ensured that enough research had been performed. The voices of the common people who live with environmental risk everyday are suppressed.

Boykoff (2007) analyzed the practice of journalistic norms in United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) newspapers’ coverage of climate science between 2003 and 2006. The result shows a significant divergence from scientific consensus in the US in 2003-04, followed by a decline in 2005-06. No major divergence in UK reporting was found.

Dutt, Garg and Bhatta (2013) examined the environmental coverage in 31 prominent English-language Indian newspapers based on their quantification and thematic representation. The result indicated that though a number of issues formed a part of environmental coverage, yet climate change and global warming were given the maximum priority. They were found to occupy around two-thirds of the total space in the entire gamut of coverage of environmental issues. The coverage was dominated

49

by ‘adverse impacts’ of global warming and climate change, followed by those on mitigation.

A study by CMS ENVIS (2011) on the coverage of climate summit in Durban by different newspapers and television news channels discovered that the newspapers provided a far better coverage of the event in comparison to the news channels. Particularly, the English dailies published the largest share of stories on the Durban Conference, amounting to 68% of the total stories. Furthermore, it was drawn from the analyses that the newspapers provided a fair and unbiased coverage of the conference.

Vilanilam (1975) studied four Indian dailies- two in English language, one in Hindi and one in Malayalam. The research revealed that The Times of India and The Hindu devoted 9.2 per cent and 18.8 per cent space respectively to news related to development, while the newspapers in native language (Aaj and Malayala Manorama) allocated 19.5 per cent and 10.3 per cent respectively. The study further concluded that development news received lesser representation in all the four newspapers as compared to government and political news.

Haque (1986) carried out an investigation of development news versus human interest stories in seven Indian newspapers. The result indicated that the average of development news in seven dailies was 10.5 per cent of the total space available for news coverage, and it lied within the range of 4.9 per cent to 18.3 per cent for all the dailies. The study also pointed out that The Hindu devoted largest space (18.3%) to development news. About one-fourth of the total space in all the dailies was covered by political and government news.

Singh and Chandra (2004) examined the pattern of agricultural news coverage in six Indian dailies published in Hindi. The result exhibits that while news related to agriculture had utility for the farmers and they benefited from its coverage, yet such news was rarely published in any of the selected newspapers.

A study by Zia and Khan (2012) concluded that in Pakistan, out of 82 TV channels, there is only one ‘dedicated’ television channel for agriculture sector (Sohni Dharti).

Narayana and Kumar (2009) through the findings of their study concluded that agriculture news during the selected period was comparatively low. They found that

50

the highest percentage of agriculture news was merely 4.61% and that of political news was 27.3%. On the other side, the lowest percentage of coverage of agricultural news was 1.53% and that of political news was 23.76%.

2.5 Content Analysis

The efficacy of content analysis method has been established by numerous communication scholars to study the changing trends in theoretical content. It has been widely used to determine trends in the content of communication in daily newspapers, weeklies, cartoons, and coverage of development, political and crime news. Murthy (2001) adopted the content analysis technique to carry out a comparison in the coverage of development news by studying news items, letters to the editor, and editorials in four selected dailies of India in the calendar year 1995. He found that such news constituted only 5.8 per cent of the total number of stories published. On analyzing the editorials, the results showed that those related to developmental themes were very few. In terms of the letters to the editor, 13.5 per cent were based on development issues. The Hindu published highest number of letters to the editor, followed by The Indian Express, Andhra Jyoti and Eanadu respectively.

Sekar (1981) investigated the effectiveness of newspapers in spreading public awareness about the environment. The content analysis of three mainstream dailies discovered that the newspapers published stories related to the environmental issues of local, national and international significance. They paid adequate attention to these issues and brought them to the fore depending upon the scope and time. A survey was employed to obtain opinions of individuals about the extent of role of Indian newspapers in arousing popular interest by way of disseminating information about the environmental problems. The response strongly suggested a limited role of the Indian press in creating mass concern with environmental issues.

Various studies conducted in different settings in India have discovered that environmental news coverage is very low. Vilanilam (1993) analysed ten dailies including eight in Malayalam and two in English, during the period June 1987 and May 1998. It was found that science and technology, which also included environmental news, occupied less than five per cent of the news hole. Srivastava

51

(1996) conducted a content analysis of news published in four dailies in 1995 which concluded that environmental news constituted only 0.7 percent of the total print area.

Karackatt (2015) did a content analysis of four newspapers in Kerala – the Malayala Manorama, the Mathrubhoomi, The Hindu and The New Indian Express. He found that The Hindu newspaper had sufficient space allotment for environment stories compared to other newspapers in Kerala. He also found that the crime stories dominate in all the sampled newspapers and agriculture stories are covered least.

Mazur and Lee (1993) posit that the detailed content of media coverage is largely unconnected to the public response to that coverage. An average consumer of news reports, be it print or broadcast, is least likely to give them undivided attention, particularly on technical matters, and would seldom absorb them in their entirety. They add, “Viewers often watch television news with half an eye over the dinner table, while hardly anyone reads a whole newspaper carefully, instead skimming the pages for articles of special interest and barely glancing at many others”. The study asserts that the readers of newspapers usually form impressions of a news report by scanning its headline, an accompanying picture and its caption, and maybe from the lead paragraphs of the text.

Vilanilam (2009) scrutinized the content of seven Indian dailies published in English and Malayalam. It was found that the Malayalam newspapers had a similar approach as the English newspapers with regard to the coverage of development news. Also, while political news got more coverage in The Hindu and The New Indian Express, both newspapers devoted fairly less amount of space to national development news.

Das, Bacon and Zaman (2009) explored the coverage of environmental issues in the daily newspapers of Bangladesh, through a content analysis of environmental coverage in three national daily newspapers, two in Bangla and one in English language during June 2007. The result showed that Bangladesh’s media considered environmental journalism as a strong beat. The authors went on to conclude that environmental journalists in Bangladesh adopt approaches to sourcing and causation in association with non-government organizations, thus being able to accomplish the task of actively engaging themselves and intervening in the government policy making, both in international and local domains.

52

Wakefield and Elliott (2003) assessed the role of local newspapers in environmental risk communication. Based on the premise that newspapers are the primary source of communicating information regarding environmental issues to the public, the study was designed to explore the function of local information systems in risk communication. The article used newspaper content analysis along with detailed interviews with journalists and community residents to develop a case study of the realization of environmental impact assessment for a non-hazardous industrial-waste landfill. Results pointed out that though newspapers were a major source of risk information, their impact was diminished by resident distrust and access to other information sources, chiefly their own personal information networks. The outcomes have implications for environmental policy decisions, as those involved in the decision making process use print media as a risk communication tool, either actively or passively.

Ries (1999) in his study titled ‘Coverage of the Earth Summit by Brazilian Newspapers’, used content analysis technique to determine the types of sources and kinds of issues covered by the newspapers. With wide range of issues reflecting the perceived public agenda, the analysis revealed that environmental media are still extremely reliant on ‘official’ voices. The study also concluded that instead of environmentalists and scientists, government officials were most frequently cited sources.

Popoola (2014) investigated the reportage of environmental issues in Nigeria by four nationally circulated newspapers over a period of two years. The study adopted content analysis method of mass communication research and dialectical hermeneutics method of critical-cultural research to analyse the sample under study. The results revealed that the selected newspapers substantially reported environmental issues in Nigeria, with erosion and flood related matters receiving the highest coverage. Furthermore, the most popular format for reporting environmental issues was feature stories. The newspapers aptly covered environmental issues and were able to put them in perspectives that were suitable to understanding of the issues by the readers. As per the measure of length and paragraphs of the stories also, the newspapers devoted ample space to the environmental issues. However, in terms of front page and back page placements and big headline point sizes, the reportage was

53 not found to be up to the mark. The selected newspapers were ultimately found to be socially responsible in their reportage of the environmental issues.

Abbas and Ogadimma (2015) carried out a content analytical study of Omani newspaper coverage of environmental issues by looking at such parameters like quantum of coverage, news genres, prominence, language, tone, story placement, etc. It was discovered that environmental reporting still needed to find a strong footing in Omani press given that the reportage mainly consisted straight news without any form of interviews or in-depth analysis that would place environmental issues in the right perspective. The Omani newspapers were found to largely depend on wire services (agencies) for news, which promoted global news agenda rather than local news that are beneficial to the immediate readers of the newspapers. The study suggests that an improved environmental coverage calls for adequate training and education for journalists in regard to environment and science reporting.

Ovwigho and Orogun (2013) carried out a content analysis to investigate the extent of agricultural news coverage by The Pointer newspaper in Nigeria in 2009. The study found that agriculture news coverage took a backseat in comparison to sports, politics, religious, foreign, business, entertainment, and other news. The study suggested that there was a need for the newspaper to devote larger attention to agricultural news by providing it more space in the newspaper.

Majumdar and Saikia (2010) content analysed science stories published in a major English daily ‘The Assam Tribune’ and a major Hindi language newspaper ‘Dainik Purbodoy’ published from Assam in 2009. The study found that while science coverage continued to be lacking front page coverage, it also received scanty space in the newspaper overall. It was concluded that science coverage still needs to be considered as important by the editors as well as journalists and writers in order to spread awareness among the masses.

Akoijam (2012) conducted a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the news coverage in five popular English language daily newspapers in India - The Times of India, The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, and The Economic Times - during 2012 for a period of two months. The study found that sports, politics, crime, legal news and naxalism remained to be the most covered issues in the newspapers. Agriculture could acquire only 3 per cent of the total coverage, and environmental and

54

wildlife issues garnered 2 per cent in overall comparison. It further discovered that The Hindu and The Indian Express reported more frequently on agriculture or development issues as compared to other dailies.

Rashmi (2011) attempted to study the content of a leading English daily - The Times of India - in context of water related issues, keeping the World Water Day as its focus. The results indicated that the coverage of water issues was more event-based, and it tended to decline when there was no related event taking place.

Lucas (2013) studied the content of two Indian dailies – The Hindu and The Times of India - to measure each newspaper’s attitude towards coverage of environment. It was discovered that The Hindu paid more attention to environmental issues as compared to The Times of India. Moreover, there were certain environmental issues which received lesser coverage than others. The study suggested that extensive coverage by print media can contribute significantly in fostering a positive attitude towards preservation of the environment.

Domfeh (1999) employed content analysis of four newspapers in Ghana in 1997 for a period of six months. In a scrutiny of 48 editions, 152 news items related to the environment were found to have been published. Moreover, the state newspapers carried a larger number of news items on environment than the privately owned papers.

Barghouti (1974) analysed the content of media in Jordan, only to find that political news was given more representation than news related to agriculture.

Ifenkwe (2008) investigated the level of coverage and reportage of environmental and rural development issues in five major national newspapers in Ghana. The study revealed that most of the coverage regarding rural development appeared as features, followed by editorials, advertorials and pictorials.

Banjade (n.d.) performed an investigation of the content of a community development newspaper. The findings exhibited that two-thirds of the coverage was about development issues. Around one-fourth of development news items accompanied a photo or a graphic.

55

2.6 Significance of Newspapers

Lester (2010) argued that she specifically focused on news media because news is a fundamental site for information, analysis and debate on public issues. Although the existence of other fora (within the news media and outside) in the form of websites, blogs, television forums, radio talkback, public meetings, community forums, art exhibitions, theatrical performances, etc. cannot be denied, yet news enjoys a distinct form and style of information content and distribution. News media, therefore, remains significant in contemporary society.

In a situation that nearly mimics exactly Lazarsfeld’s (1940) study of newspaper and radio reliance, the field essentially concluded that Lazarsfeld was correct in his assertion that people who reported relying on electronic media were less interested in the news in general than were those who reported relying on newspapers.

Moreover, newspapers are the prime vehicles that not only carry environment news, but also trigger action. Being a hot medium, its effect on imagination and its manifested outward action is comparatively greater than other media of communication. Ostman and Parker (1987) found that people use newspapers to learn about environmental issues and that there was a difference between print and electronic media use for environmental information- newspaper reading encouraged environmental attention, awareness, concern, and subsequent behaviours, while television did not.

Often that superiority of newspapers has been explained by their large space for simultaneous information. That space should allow print newspapers to cover relatively more topics of public concern than television (news) programmes (Furnham, Gunter and Green, 1990; Schoenbach, 1983). Remarkably, the result of many studies even indicate that the print format is still more successful as compared to the web-based content, when it comes to learning about societal issues. (Althaus and Tewksbury, 2002; Eveland and Dunwoody, 2001).

Covello, Hammond and McCallum (1991) found that news media, particularly television and newspaper, were the greatest source of information about environmental information for people in a range of socio-economic levels living in different communities across the nation.

56

A study by Brothers, Fortner and Mayer (1991) found that respondents who cited newspapers as their primary information source scored significantly higher on environmental knowledge items than those who cited television.

In a household survey conducted by CMS ENVIS (2002), 57% of the interviewed persons stated to read the newspaper for 30 to 60 minutes per day. With an average of about 50 minutes the daily amount of time spent on reading the newspaper, “the backbone of news” in India, is considerably high.

Newspapers are particularly more important in the Indian context, keeping in view that print circulation is increasing in Asia, but declining in mature markets in the West. Christoph Riess, CEO of WAN-IFRA, presenting the annual survey at the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum in Vienna, Austria said, “Circulation is like the sun. It continues to rise in the East and decline in the West”. The survey by World Newspaper Congress found that media consumption patterns vary widely across the globe. It also found that for advertisers, newspapers are more time efficient and effective than other media. Newspapers reach more people than the internet. On a typical day newspapers reach 20 percent more people world-wide than the internet reaches, ever (Kilman, 2011).

57

METHODOLOGY

This chapter spells out the research methods employed in the study. The study adopts the quantitative content analysis method to collect primary data and to draw inferences. It further highlights the criteria used in data collection and analysis. For the purpose of this study, major Indian English dailies were chosen as the universe for collecting primary data. Based on the objectives of the research, a sample was drawn and the data was gathered from the selected leading Indian English newspapers. The data was collected from the hardcopies of the newspaper editions available at the Maulana Azad Library of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. The study analyses the collected data to determine the trends on various dimensions highlighted in the objectives and to test the hypotheses as well as to determine the statistical significance of selected variables.

3.1 Why Newspapers?

Newspapers are taken up as indicators of larger media trends because they have particularly a strong agenda-setting influence on policy action and public engagement (Briggs and Burke, 2005; Starr, 2004). Also, newspapers are frequent sources for stories that cascade through other media such as television, internet, and radio outlets (Pérez-Peña, 2010). The selected four newspapers are viewed as indicators and trend- setters, as they carry a large weight in influencing Indian polity, thus effecting both the policy-making and public perception, and action thereof. They are widely quoted in other media including television, radio and social media, and as a result, the reach of their content gets further extended manifold.

3.2 Measures

According to Doris Graber’s (1988) study, the stories that caught the attention of readers were determined by article location (the closer to the front of the paper, the more likely to be selected), the size of headlines and visuals (the larger of either, the more likely to be selected), and story length and repetition. The study also indicated that readers missed certain articles based on the relatively low prominence given to them in the newspaper. Therefore, in the present study, analysis was carried out on environment stories appearing on front page and inside pages in the selected newspapers. Photographs were also selected as a separate variable for the study in

58

view of their visual weight. Also, as a significant departure, instead of size of the headlines and length and repetition, three other important factors, i.e. editorials, articles, and letters to the editor, besides news stories and photographs, were selected for understanding discernible trends.

These broad main journalistic categories were selected for quantitative analysis because news is a reflection of routine event-centered information. It is a watchman function of the media that scans the environment and reports to the society. The articles and features provide an in-depth insight on the reported issues of environment. They add meaning and perspective to the issue in question while rendering the correlation function of the media. They are written by the most discerning minds, who add authority and substance to the narrative elevating it to a distinct journalistic class, intended to inspire the intellect. Editorials being the voice of the newspaper, raised in the service of people, ethics, morality and propriety, are a powerful mode that profess multi-dimensional prognostics and action, having a bearing on policy-making, motivation and resolution of the issue in question. Photographs have illustrating and illuminating salience. They carry enormous power to capture and retain attention and add luminescent aura to the environment reporting. Letters to the editor is an important space that mirrors both the dominant and the segmented opinion of the readers of a newspaper. They provide an open channel on environmental issues covered in the dailies. They are the prime index of public feeling on the environment reporting that appears in the newspapers.

Based on these observations, the current study was specifically designed to explore how much space the selected main English dailies of India have provided to reporting environmental issues. The investigation was made to trace out different categories related to environment published by these dailies. Briefly, the method involves studying the contents of a specified number of newspapers during a given period of time to determine the types and extent of reportage on the subject.

The study aimed to examine the variation in total coverage among all the four newspapers analysed. Apart from percentage analysis, the statistical test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied on the data. ANOVA is a statistical method used to determine whether there are any significant differences among the means of three or more independent groups. Further, statistically significant ANOVA was followed by

59

Tukey’s HSD. Tukey's HSD is a post-hoc test used for the further analysis of data. This test is applied after ANOVA, to find means that are significantly different from each other.

3.3 Procedure

The total number of registered daily newspapers in India is 14,984. After Hindi, English is the language that dominates newspaper publication. The English newspapers form the second largest chunk of newspapers and periodicals registered in any language in India (Press in India, RNI, 2015). Newspapers in India are published in over 93 languages and dialects, with Hindi and English language newspapers taking the lead (CMS ENVIS, 2002).

3.4 Sample Selection

The English-language press reflects more national perspective in its coverage. They have a wide circulation across various regions of the country. Based on certain important factors like circulation of the newspaper, total readership, language of the newspaper, impact factor and total followers on social media, four main English dailies were selected for the study. The newspapers included in the study were The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times. Taking a form similar to that of British broadsheet papers, all four of these newspapers are widely acknowledged as the reading material of those in agenda-setting positions (Sonwalkar, 2002).

A brief introduction of the dailies selected for the study is presented below.

3.4.1 The Hindu

The Hindu, a ‘truly’ national newspaper, was founded in Madras on September 20, 1878 as a weekly by four law students. The Hindu has always maintained moderation in its policy towards issues and people. The Hindu, an English language newspaper, was one of the many newspapers of the period established to protest against the discriminatory policies of the British government in India. As per the data retrieved form https://www.facebook.com/thehindu/?fref=ts (official Facebook page of The Hindu) on January 23, 2016, the newspaper has more than some 4.4 million followers on Facebook, and data retrieved from https://twitter.com/the_hindu (official Twitter page of the The Hindu), on the aforementioned date reveals that The Hindu has 2.27

60 million followers on Twitter. Audit Bureau of Circulations’ (ABC) data reveals that The Hindu has a circulation of 1.51 million copies. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2012, with a readership of 2.2 million people, The Hindu is the third most widely read English newspaper in India. The Hindu is considered as one Indian newspaper that has international standards to its credit.

3.4.2 The Times of India

Owned and published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., The Times of India is one of the most important Indian English-language daily newspaper. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (India), The Times of India is the largest selling English- language daily in the world. The Times of India is also the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2012, the Times of India has a readership of 7.64 million. As per the data retrieved from https://twitter.com/timesofindia (official Twitter account of The Times of India), on January 23, 2016, the newspaper has some 6.29 million followers on Twitter, and data retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/TimesofIndia/?fref=ts (official Facebook page of The Times of India) on the same date reveals that The Times of India is being followed by more than some 8 million users on Facebook. Now published from New Delhi, the first edition of the newspaper was published on 3 November 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. Studies reveal that the newspaper has been playing an important role in highlighting paramount issues.

3.4.3 The Indian Express

The Indian Express is one of the most important national newspapers of India with a wide range of readers. Published in different major and small cities across India, the main edition of the newspaper is published form New Delhi. The data retrieved on January 23, 2016, from https://twitter.com/IndianExpress (official Twitter page of The India Express) reveals that the newspaper has some 1.46 million followers on Twitter, and data retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/indianexpress/?fref=ts (official Facebook page of The Indian Express) reveals that the newspaper is being followed by more than some 3.5 million people on Facebook. Founded by Ramnath Goenka in 1932, the newspaper enjoys mileage of being one of the most important newspaper of India. The Indian Express was listed among the 50 fastest growing dailies in India in

61

2012, with publication of 10 editions, according to the Review of Press in India, 2008-2012 (Sabade & Tambat).

3.4.4 Hindustan Times

Owned by Rajya Sabha M.P., Shobhana Bhartia, Hindustan Times (HT) is one of the most important newspapers of India. Founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement, Hindustan Times is a daily Indian English-language newspaper. Even though the newspaper is published from different major and small cities of India, the main edition of newspaper is published form New Delhi. The data retrieved on January 23, 2016, from https://www.facebook.com/hindustantimes/?fref=ts (official Facebook account of Hindustan Times) reveals that the newspaper has some 4.1 million followers on Facebook, and data retrieved from https://twitter.com/htTweets (official Twitter page of Hindustan Times) on the same date reveals that the newspaper has more than some 2.95 million followers on Twitter. The Audit Bureau of Circulations’ (ABC) data reveals that Hindustan Times had a circulation of 1.32 million copies as of December 2013. According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2012, Hindustan Times has approximately 3.767 million readers, making it the second most widely read English newspaper in India after The Times of India.

3.5 Pilot Study

A pilot study was conducted by the researcher. Sifting of all the newspapers selected for the study was done. Environmental stories were identified and further categorised. The main topic (environment) was categorised into twelve groups. These include agriculture, wildlife, disaster, energy, forests, climate change, sanitation/waste management, heritage sites, weather, pollution, water resource management and miscellaneous (includes all other uncategorised stories).

Then, the process of collection of primary data started. The newspapers were collected from the archives of Maulana Azad Library of Aligarh Muslim University. Through multi-stage systematic sampling technique, a sample of newspapers was drawn from the whole population of newspapers for the study.

62

3.6 Unit of Analysis

Each story and photograph published in the selected newspapers was chosen as the unit of analysis. The criteria were fixed so that they cover the required information for this study and also deal with facts with minimum degree of distortion.

3.7 Categorization of Content

Developing the category system to classify the body of text is the heart of content analysis. Berelson (1952) rightly points out: “Content analysis stands or falls by its categories. Particular studies have been productive to the extent that the categories were clearly formulated and well adapted to the problem and the content”. Defining these categories as clearly and thoroughly as possible is of utmost importance. According to Chadwick, Bahar and Albrecht (1984), categories must be mutually exclusive so that a word, a paragraph or a theme belongs in one and only one category. Also, the categories must be exhaustive so that all units examined fit in an appropriate category. Sometimes, a ‘miscellaneous or residual category’ is added for units that occur rarely or are un-codable for other reasons.

3.8 Environment Categories

In the light of above mentioned criteria, a total of twelve environmental categories and six journalistic categories were developed and delineated based on the results of the pilot study. Each newspaper article that qualified for inclusion into the database had to fit into at least one of these categories.

Any written piece on environment, given that it carries the key words in the headline or lead or both, in respect of the following environment categories is included for the codification purpose in the study. In context of photographs, they were identified on the basis of the key words present in caption or supporting text.

1. Climate Change/Global Warming: Includes coverage related to climate change and global warming. 2. Wildlife: Includes coverage related to wildlife, endangered species, animals/birds/fishes (fauna) etc. 3. Agriculture: Coverage related to agriculture (production/consumption) and food security, as these are intricately linked to the environment.

63

4. Pollution: Includes coverage related to pollution (air/land/noise or other) as a whole or specifically. 5. Energy: Includes coverage related to the production and use of any form of energy, with an environmental angle. 6. Water Resource Management: Includes coverage related to the management and preservation of water systems and groundwater resources such as rivers, lakes, freshwater systems; also includes provisions for management of safe drinking water etc. 7. Forests: Includes coverage related to deforestation/afforestation, depletion of forest resources; also includes national parks, protected areas, sanctuaries and environmentally sensitive zones. 8. Heritage Sites: Includes coverage related to the rational use of space in development of human settlements, urbanization, and preservation of man- made heritage. 9. Sanitation/Waste Management: Includes coverage related to the issue of waste disposal, sanitation, toxic and hazardous waste etc. 10. Disaster: Includes coverage related to all natural disasters (such as droughts, torrential rainfall, floods, cyclones, forest fires, earthquakes etc.) and man- made disasters (such as chemical explosion, radioactive fallout etc.). 11. Weather: Includes coverage related to weather. 12. Miscellaneous: Includes coverage related to conservation of the environment in general, including sustainable development. This category includes the items that cut across various categories.

3.9 Journalistic Categories

The journalistic categories chosen for analysis include news stories, articles, editorials, letters to the editor, photographs and others. Except the above specified journalistic categories, other forms and formats of newspaper coverage have not been taken for analysis in the present study.

1. News Story: Any environment related issue or event that is packaged in standard news format published in the selected newspapers under the study was classified as news story.

64

2. Editorial: The timely piece written on environment-centred issues, usually written by the senior editor (reflecting the opinion of the newspaper) in the editorial format, appearing in the editorial columns published by the selected newspapers was identified as editorial.

3. Articles: The in-depth piece of information written by experts and columnists carrying perceptive analysis on environment topics published in the selected newspapers is identified as article. Features on environment, which are creative and interesting non-fiction soft material, published in the selected newspapers were also placed under this category.

4. Letters to the Editor: Readers’ views on reported environment issues published in the letters to the editor column by the selected newspapers, in support or in opposition to what was published, or simply reflecting the public’s opinion on various environment issues, were bracketed as letters to the editor. It helps to indicate the extent of information obtained by the readers and the interest taken by them in issues related to the environment.

5. Photographs: Pictures relating to environmental issues published in the selected newspapers have been considered for this category.

6. Others: Other formats of reporting like book reviews and interviews focusing on environmental issues are placed under this category. It also includes the formats which could not be homogenously categorised.

Before beginning to work on each newspaper, it was checked to ensure that the complete editions of all the newspapers were available. Each newspaper was examined systematically and all environment stories were identified and categorized from both environmental and journalistic denominators. Each of these content types were defined and categorized according to a fixed criterion. Each newspaper write-up that qualified for inclusion into the database had to fit into at least one of these categories.

3.10 Inclusion Criteria

The environment stories published in the newspapers were classified and included into a specific category on the basis of presence of key word in the headline or the

65

lead or both, in respect of environment reportage. In respect of journalistic categories, the inclusion criteria were as per the specified journalistic formats and styles.

3.11 Time Period and Sample Size

The total time duration of the study is eleven years, starting from January 2002 to December 2012. The period has been broken giving a five-year gap creating three stages of time (2002, 2007 and 2012). The objective is to ascertain if there was any visible trend in reporting environmental information during each of the span. All the issues of the four selected newspapers published in the aforementioned years, as per the sample selection procedure were gathered.

In the backdrop of the scaling up of the environment concerns and apprehensions in the new millennium, the three different time periods were taken. The first period slot was from January 2002 to December 2002, the second slot from January 2007 to December 2007 and the third slot from January 2012 to December 2012. A five year gap was deliberately maintained to monitor any possible reporting trends.

To spread the sample selection uniformly across the whole years, the sample was drawn so as to include consecutive, odd-numbered and even-numbered days. In January, seven consecutive issues of newspapers published from 1st to 7th were selected. In February, an odd-numbered week was constructed starting from 1st Feb to 13th Feb (i.e. 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th). In March, again, the consecutive issues beginning from 8th to 14th March were selected. In April, an even-numbered week starting from 2nd April to 14th April (i.e. 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th) was taken. In May, the consecutive week beginning from 15th to 21st; in June, odd-numbered week from 15th to 27th; in July consecutive week from 22nd to 28th; in August, even- numbered week from 16th to 28th was chosen. Similarly, seven issues were drawn from each month for all the four selected newspapers.

In total, 1008 issues of all the newspapers figured in the sample, out of which 13 issues were not available accounting for holidays on national festivals and others. Therefore, a total of 995 issues of newspapers were studied and analysed.

All the issues of the four selected newspapers published in the aforementioned years, as per the sample selection technique explained earlier, were gathered, and with the

66

help of trained coders, categories were determined and classified as per the pre- evolved definition and procedure.

The newspapers were analysed on the basis of two parameters: the media profession angle seen through the six identified journalistic categories; and environment angle which includes the 12 selected environment theme based categories. The analysis was undertaken as per the standard norms of quantitative content analysis.

3.12 Training and Inter-coder Reliability

For the purpose of coding and data collection, along with the researcher, two other coders were involved. A two day training session was followed with a test of inter- coder reliability. The data was then collected from all the four newspapers and was further analysed.

3.13 Data Collection

Both primary and secondary sources served as the main sources for the study. Secondary data was derived from journals, books, reports and internet. Primary sources were the selected English dailies, which were used as the original document for gathering the required data first-hand. To answer the questions posed in the study, the data was collected from newspapers.

The space available in the newspaper for journalistic coverage, termed as news hole (Sterling, 2009), is measured in square-centimetres, excluding the space given to advertisements. The sports pages, business pages and any special pages have been excluded from measurement.

3.14 Data Analysis

As the research is quantitative content analysis, the data was analysed in terms of space allocated in square-centimetres. Further, to add the frequency dimensions, analysis is also carried out on the basis of number of stories and photographs that appeared during the various time periods in all the four newspapers category-wise.

The data thus collected was then analysed by calculating the mean value and percentage on different measures under the study. The calculation of mean values shows the difference in covering various factors of the topic under study by the selected newspapers. Data analysis is aimed at determining the difference in the

67 number of stories published by all the four selected major English dailies. In order to ensure that the analysis be “guided by theory” (Priest, 2010), the findings are further corroborated and interpreted in the light of standard theories.

68

RESULT AND DATA INTERPRETATION

The chapter analyses the coverage area (in square-centimeters) and number of stories published on environment in the selected newspapers, as per pre-determined categories. The data was collected from the four selected newspapers in the form of news stories, photographs, articles, editorials, and letters to the editor, using standard procedure explained in the previous chapter. Through the method of tabulation, graphical representation and description, this chapter analyses and discusses the values recorded from the gathered data.

4.1 Percentage Analysis

Table 1

Newspaper-wise comparison of total coverage area (cm2) vis-à-vis coverage of environment and its percentage:

Newspaper Total Environment Environmental coverage coverage (cm2) coverage (%) (cm2) The Hindu 3781459 128632.15 3.40 The Times of India 2064618 72748.00 3.52 The Indian Express 3333324 100799.10 3.02 Hindustan Times 2261800 51686.50 2.29 Total 11441201 353865.75 3.09

Table 1 shows the comparison of total coverage area (in cm2) vis-à-vis coverage of environment in the selected newspapers. The quantum of environmental coverage is highest in The Hindu with 128632.15 cm2, followed by The Indian Express with 100799.10 cm2. The Times of India devoted 72748.00 cm2, while Hindustan Times allotted a space of 51686.50 cm2 to environment coverage. In terms of percentage of environmental coverage in each newspaper as compared to the total published material minus the left out categories (as mentioned in the methodology), it was found that The Times of India devoted 3.52% of its space to environment, as against 3.40% by The Hindu, 3.02% by The Indian Express and 2.29% by Hindustan Times.

The total share of environmental reporting in the selected newspapers comes to 3.09%, ranging from the least 2.29% to the highest 3.52%, which is dismal when

69 viewed from the fact of its significant ramification on the question of human survival and well-being, as well as enormous consequences on the global plane.

Table 1.1

Total environment coverage over the selected period of time and its newspaper- wise percentage:

Newspaper Environment Coverage (cm2) Percentage The Hindu 128632.15 36.3 The Times of India 72748.00 20.6 The Indian Express 100799.10 28.5 Hindustan Times 51686.50 14.6 Total 353865.75 100.0

Table 1.1 exhibits the total environmental coverage together in all the four selected newspapers, as well as the share of each daily during the period of study. The data shows that The Hindu carries the largest quantum of coverage on environment with 36.3%, and Hindustan Times figures last with 14.6%. The Indian Express carried 28.5% and The Times of India 20.6% of the environment stories.

Table 1.2

Newspaper-wise coverage (cm2) of environment stories (news, articles, editorials, letter to the editor, others) and photographs:

Environment Coverage (cm2) Newspaper Stories Photographs Total The Hindu 119762.65 37.1 % 8869.50 28.4 % 128632.15 The Times of India 67311.00 20.9 % 5437.00 17.5 % 72748.00 The Indian Express 88310.10 27.3 % 12489.00 40.0 % 100799.10 Hindustan Times 47282.25 14.7 % 4404.25 14.1 % 51686.50 Grand Total 322666 100.0 31199.75 100.0 353865.75

Table 1.2 shows the space allocated to stories on environment (cm2) as well as the space devoted to environment photographs. The Hindu provides highest space to environment stories with 37.1%, while The Indian Express follows at 27.3%, further followed by The Times of India at 20.9%and Hindustan Times at 14.7%.

70

Table 1.3

Period-wise total coverage vis-à-vis environment coverage and its percentage:

2002 2007 2012 Newspaper Total coverage given to Percentage Total coverage given Percentage Total coverage given Percentage coverage environment coverage to environment coverage to environment (cm2) (cm2) (cm2) (cm2) (cm2) (cm2)

The Hindu 1301981 41712.15 3.20 1246560 45834 3.68 1232918 41086 3.33

The Times 725872 24136 3.33 708764 28626 4.04 629982 19986 3.17 of India

The Indian 898974 19938.10 2.22 1204218 40437 3.36 1230132 40424 3.29 Express

Hindustan 790383 9765.75 1.24 774468 23218.50 3.00 696949 18702.25 2.68 Times

Grand 3717210 95552 2.57 3934010 138115.5 3.51 3789981 120198.25 3.17 Total

71

Table 1.3 manifests the space of news hole in each newspaper as against the environment coverage present in it, spread over three time periods. In the year 2002, the proportion of environment coverage as against the total coverage was highest in The Times of India (3.33%), and the least in Hindustan Times (1.24%). The quantity of environment coverage in 2002 in The Hindu was 3.20%, and 2.22% in The Indian Express. In the calendar year 2007, again The Times of India published the largest proportion of environment reportage at 4.04%, followed by The Hindu at 3.68%, The Indian Express at 3.36% and Hindustan Times at 3.00% respectively. During 2012, the proportion of coverage on environment is largest in The Hindu with 3.33%, closely followed by The Indian Express at 3.29%. The Times of India comes third with 3.17% and Hindustan Times figures at the fourth position with 2.68%.

The table also accounts the variation in the proportion environment coverage over different time periods. In 2002, reporting of environment occupied 2.57% of the total editorial space available in the newspapers. In 2007, the figure grew to 3.51%, and in 2012, it fell to 3.17%. Overall, the space given to coverage of environment in the newspapers has encountered an increase.

Graph showing percentage of total environment coverage over different time periods:

Graph 1

Environment coverage over different time periods 4 3.5 3.51 3.17 3 2.5 2.57 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 2002 2007 2012

72

Table 2

Comparative data of environment coverage on front page and other pages of the selected dailies:

Name of the Space (cm2) Space given to Space given to Total % Newspaper assigned to environmental issues on environmental issues on (Front environment front page other pages Page and Other Pages) (cm2) Percentage (cm2) Percentage

The Hindu 128632.15 6997.40 1.98 121634.75 34.38 36.36

The Times 72748.00 6162.75 1.74 66585.25 18.82 20.56 of India

The Indian 100799.10 6197.00 1.75 94602.10 26.73 28.48 Express

Hindustan 51686.50 3960.75 1.12 47725.75 13.48 14.60 Times

Grand 353865.75 23317.90 6.59 330547.85 93.41 100.00 Total

Table 2 presents the distribution of environment coverage as on front page and other pages of each newspaper. It is evident that the reporting of environment throughout the period of study, found 6.59% space on front page, against 93.41% space on other pages of the dailies.

Out of the entire coverage on environment, 1.98% was found on the front page of The Hindu, 1.75% on front page of The Indian Express, 1.74% and 1.12% on that of The Times of India and Hindustan Times respectively. In context of the environment coverage on other pages of the dailies, The Hindu allotted maximum space with 34.38%, The Indian Express 26.73%, The Times of India 18.82% and Hindustan Times 13.48%.

73

Table 2.1

Proportion of environment coverage of news and photographs on front page:

Front Page News Photographs Total Newspaper (cm2) (cm2) % (cm2) % %

The Hindu 6997.40 6682.40 28.7 315 1.4 30.1

The Times of India 6162.75 5622.75 24.1 540 2.3 26.4

The Indian Express 6197 5643 24.2 554 2.4 26.6

Hindustan Times 3960.75 3112.75 13.3 848 3.6 16.9

Grand Total 23317.90 21060.90 90.3 2257 9.7 100.0

Table 2.1 shows the proportion of news stories and photographs on environment published on the front page of each newspaper during the course of study. The total space dedicated to environment on the front page during the study includes 90.3% news stories and 9.7% photographs.

Graph showing news and photographs on environment published on front page:

Graph 2

News and Photographs on Environment on Front Page 35.0

30.0 28.7 24.1 24.2 25.0

20.0

15.0 13.3

10.0

5.0 3.6 1.4 2.3 2.4 0.0 News Photographs

The Hindu The Times of India The Indian Express Hindustan Times

Of the entire space given to environmental stories on front page, 28.7% stories appeared in The Hindu, 24.2% and 24.1% in The Indian Express and The Times of India, while 13.3% appeared in Hindustan Times. Of the photographic content related

74 to the environment on front page, 3.6% was published in Hindustan Times, 2.4% in The Indian Express, 2.3% in The Times of India and 1.4% in The Hindu.

Table 2.2

Proportion of number of environment stories and photographs on front page:

Newspaper Number of Stories and Photographs on Front Page News Photographs Total The Hindu 37 26.4 % 2 18.2 % 39 25.8 % The Times of India 43 30.7 % 3 27.3 % 46 30.5 % The Indian Express 37 26.4 % 2 18.2 % 39 25.8 % Hindustan Times 23 16.5 % 4 36.3 % 27 17.9 % Grand Total 140 100 % 11 100 % 151 100 %

Table 2.2 depicts the proportion of ‘number’ of environment stories and photographs published on front page of the selected newspapers. The number of environment stories and photographs on front page was highest in The Times of India at 30.5% and the least in Hindustan Times at 17.9%. The Hindu and The Indian Express both published equal number of stories and photographs related to environment on front page with 25.8% each.

Table 2.3

Period-wise environment coverage (cm2) on front page and other pages of the selected dailies:

Year Front Page Other Pages Total Space

(cm2) % (cm2) % (cm2) %

2002 9648.65 2.7 85903.35 24.3 95552 27.00 2007 8763 2.5 129352.50 36.5 138115.50 39.03 2012 4906.25 1.4 115292 32.6 120198.25 33.97

Grand 23317.90 6.6 330547.85 93.4 353865.75 100.00 Total

75

Table 2.3 shows period-wise comparative data of environment coverage on front page and other pages of the sample of newspapers under investigation. The space given to environment by all the dailies together was highest in 2007 with 39.03% (138115.5 cm2) followed by 33.97% (120198.25 cm2) in 2012 and lowest at 27% (95552 cm2) in 2002.

Out of this total environment coverage, 2.7% featured on front page of the dailies, and 24.3% on the other pages during the year 2002. In 2007, 2.5% made it to the front page and 36.5% on the other pages, while in 2012, 1.4% appeared on front page and 32.6% on the other pages of the newspapers. The reporting on environment on front page in major English dailies is seen to continuously deteriorate through the span of investigation, while on the other pages, it records an increase altogether, reaching its peak at the mid-point, as is depicted in the following graph.

Graph showing period-wise environment coverage on front page and other pages:

Graph 3

Environment Coverage on Front Page and Other Pages

Front Page Other Page

[X VALUE], 36.5 2012, 32.6

2002, 24.3

2002, 2.7 2007, 2.5 2012, 1.4

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

76

Table 3

Coverage of environment in different journalistic categories over different time periods:

Environment coverage in different time periods (cm2) Category 2002 2007 2012 Space Percentage (cm2) News Stories 72271.75 95040 76616.25 243928 68.9 Photo 6395.25 17058.50 7746 31199.75 8.9 Article 9609 18820 31462 59891 16.9 Editorial 5680 3969 2930 12579 3.6 Letter to the editor 708 525 317 1550 0.4 Others 888 2703 1127 4718 1.3 Grand Total 95552 138115.50 120198.25 353865.75 100.0

Table 3 represents the coverage of environment in different journalistic categories over different periods of time chosen for the study. The space allocated to the coverage of environment includes 68.9% news stories, 16.9% articles and features, 8.9% stand-alone photographs, 3.6% editorials 0.4% letters to the editor and 1.3% other items.

Following are the graphs representing different journalistic categories over the three selected years of study:

Graph 4

Space given to news stories related to environment

95040

76616.25 72271.75 cm) - Space (sq

2002 2007 2012

77

Graph 5

Space given to photographs related to environment

17058.5 cm) -

7746 6395.2 Space (sq

2002 2007 2012

Graph 6

Space given to articles related to environment 35000 30000 31462

25000 cm) - 20000 18820 15000 10000

Space (sq 9609 5000 0 2002 2007 2012

Graph 7

Space given to editorials related to environment 6000 5680 5000

4000 3969 cm) - 3000 2930

2000 Space (sq

1000

0 2002 2007 2012

78

Graph 8

Space given to Letters to the Editor related to environment 800 700 708

600 525 cm) 500 - 400 300 317 Space (sq 200 100 0 2002 2007 2012

Graph 9

Space given to others category related to environment 3000 2703 2500

2000 cm) - 1500 1127 1000 Space (sq 888 500

0 2002 2007 2012

The graphs above show the variation in space provided to reporting environment stories through various journalistic categories over the different time periods.

79

Table 3.1 Journalistic category-wise space provided by selected dailies:

The Hindu The Times of The Indian Hindustan Times Category India Express (cm2) % (cm2) % (cm2) % (cm2) % News 90358.15 70.2 55436.75 76.2 57574.6 57.1 40558.5 78.5 Photo 8869.5 6.9 5437 7.5 12489 12.4 4404.25 8.5 Article 23483.5 18.3 7642.25 10.5 24855 24.7 3910.25 7.6 Editorial 4894 3.8 2507 3.4 2623.5 2.6 2554.5 4.9 Letter to the 803 0.6 272 0.4 216 0.2 259 0.5 Editor Others 224 0.2 1453 2.0 3041 3.0 0 0.0 Grand Total 128632.15 100 72748 100 100799.1 100 51686.5 100

Table 3.1 shows the space (cm2) provided to different journalistic categories by the four newspapers. Graph 10

Newspaper-wise space given to different journalistic categories 100 News 80 Photo 60 Article 40 Editorial 20 Letter to the Editor

0 Others The Hindu The Times of India The Indian Express Hindustan Times

The above graph corresponding to Table 3.1 exhibits that the total environment reportage done by The Hindu comprised of 70.2% news stories, 18.3% articles, 6.9% photographs, 3.8% editorials, 0.6% letters to the editor and 0.2% others. The environment coverage by The Times of India included 76.2% news stories, 10.5% articles, 7.5% photographs, 3.4% editorials, 0.4% letters to the editor and 2% others. In The Indian Express, 57.1% were news stories, 24.7% articles, 12.4% photographs, 2.6% editorials, 0.2% letters to the editor and 3% others. Hindustan Times in its coverage on environment published 78.5% news stories, 7.6% articles, 8.5% photographs, 4.9% editorials and 0.5% letters to the editor.

80

Table 3.2

Newspaper-wise share of space allocated to various journalistic categories:

Newspaper News Photo Article Editorial Letter to the Editor Others

(cm2) % (cm2) % (cm2) % (cm2) % (cm2) % (cm2) %

The Hindu 90358.15 37.0 8869.5 28.5 23483.5 39.2 4894 38.9 803 51.8 224 4.7

The Times of India 55436.75 22.7 5437 17.4 7642.25 12.8 2507 19.9 272 17.6 1453 30.8

The Indian Express 57574.6 23.7 12489 40.0 24855 41.5 2623.5 20.9 216 13.9 3041 64.5

Hindustan Times 40558.5 16.6 4404.25 14.1 3910.25 6.5 2554.5 20.3 259 16.7 0 0.0

Grand Total 243928 100.0 31199.75 100.0 59891 100 12579 100 1550 100 4718 100

81

Table 3.2 makes a comparison among the newspapers on space provided to different journalistic categories and marks the share of each newspaper in covering that category. It can be inferred from the data that out of the total space given to ‘news stories’ related to environment, through the span of study, the largest space is devoted by The Hindu at 37%. The Indian Express falls next with 23.7%. The Times of India draws a share of 22.7% while Hindustan Times covers 16.6% in the specified category. In terms of articles, The Indian Express provides maximum space with 41.5%, followed by The Hindu with 39.2%, The Times of India with 12.8% and Hindustan Times with 6.5%.

Table 3.3

Number of stories published in different journalistic categories and its percentage:

The The Times The Indian Hindustan Total Percentage Category Hindu of India Express Times

News 495 376 278 263 1412 76.9

Photo 48 38 67 26 179 9.7

Article 54 21 57 12 144 7.9

Editorial 21 14 14 13 62 3.4

Letter to the 11 6 5 8 30 1.6 Editor

Others 1 5 4 0 10 0.5

Total 630 460 425 322 1837 100.0

Percentage 34.30 25.04 23.13 17.53 100.0

Table 3.3 shows the ‘number’ of environment stories published by the selected dailies in different journalistic categories. Overall, the coverage consisted 76.9% news stories, 9.7% photographs, 7.9% articles, 3.4% editorials, 1.6% letters to the editor and 0.5% other items.

82

Table 3.4

Period-wise number of environment stories and photographs published and their percentage:

News Photo Article Editorial Letter to the Editor Others

Year No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %

2002 510 36.1 44 24.6 29 20.2 26 41.9 12 40.0 3 30

2007 511 36.2 89 49.7 46 31.9 22 35.5 11 36.7 4 40

2012 391 27.7 46 25.7 69 47.9 14 22.6 7 23.3 3 30

Total 1412 100.0 179 100.0 144 100.0 62 100.0 30 100.0 10 100

Table 3.4 shows the total number of environment stories and photographs published in the investigated sample of newspapers over the different periods of time. It can be inferred that number of news stories remained almost stagnant from 36.1% in 2002 to 36.2% in 2007, while witnessing a decline in 2012 to 27.7%. Number of photographs increased substantially from 24.6% in 2002 to 49.7% in 2007, dropping again to 25.7% in 2012. Number of articles register a continuous increase from 20.2% to 31.9%, further swelling up to 47.9% through the different points of time. Editorials have been found to decrease in number descending from 41.9% in 2002 to 35.5% in 2007, and continuing to deteriorate to 22.6% in 2012.

Table 3.5

Photographs on environment represented in space (cm2) and number:

Newspaper Area of Photos (cm2) Percentage Number of Photos Percentage

The Hindu 8869.5 28.4 48 26.8

The Times of India 5437 17.4 38 21.2

The Indian Express 12489 40.1 67 37.4

Hindustan Times 4404.25 14.1 26 14.6

Grand Total 31199.75 100 179 100

Table 3.5 depicts photographs on environment published in the sample of selected newspapers, expressed in terms of space and number. The Indian Express has ascribed the largest space to photographs on environment with 40.1% and Hindustan Times has given least space with 14.1%.

83

Table 4

Space given to stories with photograph and stories without any photograph:

2002 2007 2012

Stories with Photo Stories without Photo Stories with Photo Stories without Photo Stories with Photo Stories without Photo

2 2 2 2 2 2 Newspaper Space (cm ) % Space (cm ) % Space (cm ) % Space (cm ) % Space (cm ) % Space (cm ) %

The Hindu 9375 40.5 29366.65 44.5 16409 27.2 25531 41.9 29295 36.4 9786 30.6

The Times of India 2267 9.8 19842.5 30.0 13787.5 22.9 12612 20.7 12815 15.9 5987 18.7

The Indian Express 8074.5 34.8 10991.6 16.7 20130 33.5 12718 20.9 26995 33.5 9401 29.4

Hindustan Times 3452.75 14.9 5786.75 8.8 9838 16.4 10031.5 16.5 11359 14.2 6814.25 21.3

Grand Total 23169.25 100 65987.5 100 60164.5 100 60892.5 100 80464 100 31988.25 100

Table 4 represents the space distribution to stories with photograph and stories without any photograph, over different periods of time. In 2002, The Hindu published 40.5% stories with photographs, The Indian Express published 34.8%, while Hindustan Times and The Times of India published 14.9% and 9.8% respectively. In 2007, the proportion of stories with photographs was highest in The Indian Express with 33.5%, followed by The Hindu with 27.2%, The Times of India with 22.9% and Hindustan Times with 16.4%. At the third point of time in 2012, stories containing photographs were highest in The Hindu with 36.4%, while in The Indian Express they were 33.5%, and 15.9% and 14.2% in The Times of India and Hindustan Times respectively. The data also reveals that over different periods the space provided to stories with and without photo has undergone remarkable changes. Stories with photographs have increased continuously, while those without photographs have constantly decreased.

84

Table 4.1

Number of newspaper issues with no coverage on environment:

2002 2007 2012 Total Total Issues

Newspaper Issues with no Total Issues with no Total Issues with no Total Issues with no Published coverage Issues coverage Issues coverage Issues coverage

The Hindu 81 5 (6.2%) 82 6 (7.3%) 83 9 (10.8%) 246 20 (8.1%) The Times of India 84 12 (14.3%) 83 16 (19.3%) 83 19 (22.9%) 250 47 (18.8%) The Indian 84 34 (40.5%) 83 12 (14.5%) 83 19 (22.9%) 250 65 (26%) Express Hindustan Times 84 44 (52.4%) 83 12 (14.5%) 82 27 (32.9%) 249 83 (33.3%)

Grand Total 333 95 (28.5%) 331 46 (13.9%) 331 74 (22.4%) 995 215 (21.6%)

Table 4.1 shows the number of newspaper issues with no coverage on environment, as against the number of issues published during that period. The data reveals that the number of issues with no environment coverage has decreased over the years. It was highest in 2002 with 28.5%, sinking to a low of 13.9% in 2007, while scaling up again in 2012 with 22.4%. In entirety, there has been a decline in the number of issues that do not carry any coverage on environmental issues.

The number of issues with no environment coverage is least in The Hindu with 8.1% and highest in Hindustan Times with 33.3%. The Indian Express at 26% and The Times of India at 18.8% lie at second and third position each.

85

Table 5

Period-wise coverage (cm2) of environment categories in the dailies:

Category 2002 2007 2012 Total Agriculture 9244.50 4697.00 8549.00 22490.50 Climate Change 2234.00 31842.50 7444.00 41520.50 Disaster 13402.65 18534.50 9781.25 41718.40 Energy 3683.50 6319.00 5440.00 15442.50 Forests 3989.25 4367.00 6880.00 15236.25 Heritage Sites 1903.25 1638.00 3707.00 7248.25 Pollution 8311.50 4461.00 2969.00 15741.50 Sanitation/Waste Management 2722.25 6394.00 4201.00 13317.25 Weather 11530.10 12491.00 12255.00 36276.10 Wildlife 15814.50 31011.50 39390.00 86216.00 Water Resource Management 10730.00 9398.00 10311.00 30439.00 Miscellaneous 11986.50 6962.00 9271.00 28219.50 Total 95552.00 138115.50 120198.25 353865.75

Table 5 depicts the varied coverage of different environment categories in the English dailies through different time periods selected for the study. It also indicates the combined coverage of each category in the entire time span.

Table 5.1

Newspaper-wise coverage of agriculture in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

Agriculture 2002 2007 2012 Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories The Hindu 5299.25 23 2479 10 3080 10 The Times of 1011 6 659 4 1011 5 India The Indian 2466 9 1159 5 2897 7 Express Hindustan 468.25 2 400 3 1561 8 Times Grand Total 9244.5 40 4697 22 8549 30

86

Table 5.1 shows the newspaper-wise coverage of agriculture in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories, spread over the different periods of time. The space and number of stories provided to agriculture in 2002 is highest in The Hindu, followed by The Indian Express, The Times of India and Hindustan Times. In 2007, again The Hindu takes the lead, with The Indian Express, The Times of India and Hindustan Times following respectively. In 2012, however, the Hindustan Times surpasses The Times of India in space as well as number of stories.

The table also shows that the number of stories on agriculture was highest (40) in 2002 and lowest (22) in the subsequent period in 2007. In 2012, however, there was an increase again with 30 stories published.

Table 5.2

Period-wise coverage (cm2) of agriculture:

Year Agriculture (cm2) 2002 9244.5 2007 4697 2012 8549

Table 5.2 shows the variation in coverage of agriculture over the different points of time under investigation. The space allotted to agriculture is 9244.5 cm2 in 2002, 4697 cm2 in 2007 and 8549 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing variation in coverage of agriculture over different time periods:

Graph 11

Space given to coverage of agriculture 10000 9244.5 8549 8000

6000 4697 4000

2000

0 2002 2007 2012

87

The graph shows that the coverage of agriculture witnesses a decline in 2007 as compared to 2002, and rises again in 2012.

Table 5.3

Newspaper-wise coverage of climate change in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

Climate Change 2002 2007 2012

Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories

The Hindu 638 3 12036.5 36 2041 8 The Times of India 802 5 5596 27 1703 9 The Indian Express 651 4 11482 33 2904 7 Hindustan Times 143 1 2728 12 796 6

Grand Total 2234 13 31842.5 108 7444 30

Table 5.3 shows the newspaper-wise coverage of climate change in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories, spread over the different periods of time. The space and number of stories provided to climate change in 2002 is highest in The Times of India, followed by The Indian Express, The Hindu and Hindustan Times. In 2007, however, The Hindu takes the lead, with The Indian Express coming next. The Times of India and Hindustan Times ranked third and fourth respectively. In 2012, The Indian Express gave maximum space to climate change issue, with The Hindu falling next, followed by The Times of India and Hindustan Times.

The number of stories on climate change is lowest in 2002 with only 13 stories, while it shoots to 108 stories in 2007, tumbling again to 30 stories in 2012.

Table 5.4

Period-wise coverage (cm2) of climate change:

Year Climate change (cm2) 2002 2234 2007 31842.5 2012 7444

88

Table 5.4 shows the variation in coverage of climate change over the different periods of time. The space allotted to climate change is 2234 cm2 in 2002, 31842.5 cm2 in 2007 and 7444 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation in coverage of climate change:

Graph 12

Space given to coverage of climate change 35000 31842.5 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 7444 5000 2234 0 2002 2007 2012

The graph depicts the variation in climate change coverage that appeared in the different newspapers under study. The coverage is seen to rise sharply from 2002 to 2007, and decline again in 2012.

Table 5.5

Newspaper-wise coverage of disaster in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012

Disaster Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories

The Hindu 4530.9 34 6994 32 3528 17

The Times of India 2114 27 2710 22 1131 8

The Indian Express 5090.5 28 6530 39 2986 18

Hindustan Times 1667.25 7 2300.5 16 2136.25 21

Grand Total 13402.65 96 18534.5 109 9781.25 64

Table 5.5 shows the newspaper-wise coverage of disaster in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories, spread over the different periods of time. The space and number of

89 stories provided to disaster in 2002 is highest in The Indian Express followed by The Hindu. The Times of India ranks third and Hindustan Times ranks fourth. In 2007, The Hindu gave maximum space to disaster, followed by The Indian Express, The Times of India and Hindustan Times. In 2012 again, The Hindu allotted maximum space to disaster, with The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and The Times of India trailing behind.

In terms of the number of stories on disaster, 96 stories were published in 2002. The number increased to 109 in 2007 and plummeted to 64 in 2012.

Table 5.6

Period-wise variation in coverage of disaster:

Year Disaster (cm2)

2002 13402.65 2007 18534.5 2012 9781.25

Table 5.6 shows the variation in coverage of disaster over the different periods of time. The space allotted to disaster is 13402.65 cm2 in 2002, 18534.5 cm2 in 2007 and 9781.25 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation of coverage of disaster:

Graph 13

Space given to coverage of disaster 20000 18000 18534.5 16000 14000 13402.65 12000

10000 9781.25 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 2002 2007 2012

90

The graph depicts the variation in coverage of disaster in the different newspapers under study. The coverage is found to get a high from 2002 to 2007, and decline again in 2012.

Table 5.7

Newspaper-wise coverage of energy in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012 Energy Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories The Hindu 2550.75 16 2321 15 2395 7 The Times of India 432.25 4 728 6 1163 7 The Indian Express 437 1 1855 7 704 4 Hindustan Times 263.5 2 1415 6 1178 7 Grand Total 3683.5 23 6319 34 5440 25

Table 5.7 shows the newspaper-wise coverage of energy in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories, spread over the different periods of time. In 2002, The Hindu provides highest coverage to energy, with the rest of the three dailies giving far lesser coverage. In 2007, The Hindu gave maximum space to energy, followed by The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and The Times of India. The Hindu continues to allot maximum space to the coverage of energy during 2012, with the Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Indian Express following behind.

The number of stories published on energy were found to be the least in 2002 with 23 stories. The number increased to 34 in 2007, while again dwindling to 25 in 2012.

Table 5.8

Period-wise variation in coverage of energy:

Year Energy (cm2)

2002 3683.5

2007 6319

2012 5440

91

Table 5.8 shows the variation in coverage of energy considering different periods of time under study. The space allotted to energy is 3683.5 cm2 in 2002, 6319 cm2 in 2007 and 5440 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation in coverage of energy:

Graph 14

Space given to coverage of energy 7000 6319 6000 5440 5000

4000 3683.5 3000

2000

1000

0 2002 2007 2012

The graph depicts the variation in coverage of energy in the different newspapers under study. The coverage can be seen to get a high from 2002 to 2007, and witness a low in 2012.

Table 5.9

Newspaper-wise coverage of forests in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012 Forests Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories

The Hindu 1272.5 9 1068 6 2290 7 The Times of India 1428.25 10 1696 8 1200 9 The Indian Express 1032.5 6 532 4 2910 8 Hindustan Times 256 2 1071 7 480 3

Grand Total 3989.25 27 4367 25 6880 27

Table 5.9 represents the newspaper-wise coverage of forests in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study. The Times of India devoted

92 maximum space to the coverage of forests in 2002, followed by The Hindu, further followed by The Indian Express and Hindustan Times. In 2007, The Times of India takes the lead, followed by Hindustan Times, The Hindu and The Indian Express. In 2012, The Indian Express allotted highest space to the coverage of forests, with The Hindu, The Times of India and Hindustan Times coming next.

The number of stories published on forests remained quite consistent throughout the span of study. The number was the same in 2002 and 2012 with 27 stories, while in 2007, there were 25 stories.

Table 5.10

Period-wise variation in coverage of forests:

Year Forests (cm2)

2002 3989.25

2007 4367

2012 6880

Table 5.10 shows the variation in coverage of forests during different years under study. The space allotted to forests is 3989.25 cm2 in 2002, 4367 cm2 in 2007 and 6880 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation in coverage of forests:

Graph 15

Space given to coverage of forests 8000

7000 6880 6000

5000 4367 4000 3989.25

3000

2000

1000

0 2002 2007 2012

93

The graph exhibits the variation in coverage of forests over the years. The reportage on forests witnesses a slight increase from 2002 to 2007, and a sharp increase in 2012.

Table 5.11

Newspaper-wise coverage of heritage sites in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012 Heritage sites Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories

The Hindu 1338.75 8 360 2 1639 3 The Times of India 290 2 376 2 0 0 The Indian Express 274.5 2 596 3 1824 4 Hindustan Times 0 0 306 2 244 2

Grand Total 1903.25 12 1638 9 3707 9

Table 5.11 represents the newspaper-wise coverage of heritage sites in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study. The Hindu devoted maximum space to the coverage of heritage sites in 2002, followed by The Times of India. In 2007, The Indian Express takes the lead, followed by The Times of India. In 2012, The Indian Express allotted highest space to the coverage of heritage sites. The Hindu and Hindustan Times find the second and third place in the list respectively.

The appearance of stories on heritage sites from the environmental approach remained dismal. Only 12 stories were published in 2002, which further decreased to 9 in 2007 and remained the same in 2012.

Table 5.12

Period-wise variation in coverage of heritage sites:

Year Heritage Sites (cm2)

2002 1903.25

2007 1638

2012 3707

94

Table 5.12 shows the variation in coverage of heritage sites during different years under study. The space allotted to heritage sites is 1903.25 cm2 in 2002, 1638 cm2 in 2007 and 3707 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation in coverage of heritage sites:

Graph 16

Space given to coverage of heritage sites 4000 3707 3500

3000

2500

2000 1903.25 1500 1638

1000

500

0 2002 2007 2012

The graph shows variation in coverage of heritage sites over different years. While there is little difference between coverage in 2002 and 2007, there is a considerable increase in 2012.

Table 5.13

Newspaper-wise coverage of pollution in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012

Pollution Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories

The Hindu 3601 17 1439 9 0 0

The Times of India 1911.25 14 1487 8 352 2

The Indian Express 1143 5 1021 6 1258 4

Hindustan Times 1656.25 7 514 4 1359 8

Grand Total 8311.5 43 4461 27 2969 14

95

Table 5.13 represents the newspaper-wise coverage of pollution in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study. The largest space to stories on pollution was dedicated by The Hindu in 2002, with The Times of India falling at second position, Hindustan Times at third and The Indian Express at fourth position respectively. In 2007, The Times of India takes the lead with The Hindu following closely, further followed by The Indian Express and Hindustan Times. In 2012, the trend is reversed with Hindustan Times devoting maximum space to coverage on pollution, The Indian Express coming next, followed by The Times of India.

The number of stories on pollution was highest in 2002 with 43 stories, sinking to a low of 27 stories in 2007, and registering a further decrease to 14 in 2012.

Table 5.14

Period-wise variation in coverage of pollution:

Year Pollution (cm2) 2002 8311.5 2007 4461 2012 2969

Table 5.14 shows the variation in coverage of pollution during the period of investigation. The space allotted to pollution is 8311.5 cm2 in 2002, 4461 cm2 in 2007 and 2969 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation in coverage of pollution:

Graph 17

Space given to coverage of pollution 9000 8000 8311.5 7000 6000 5000 4461 4000 3000 2969 2000 1000 0 2002 2007 2012

96

The graph represents the coverage of pollution in the selected newspapers. It is evident that the coverage witnessed a continuous decline through the different years.

Table 5.15

Newspaper-wise coverage of sanitation/waste management in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012 Sanitation/ Waste Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of Management (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories The Hindu 1386.25 9 2284 11 1094 3 The Times of India 968.5 5 1427 6 666 5 The Indian Express 180 1 1464 7 1221 2 Hindustan Times 187.5 1 1219 6 1220 7 Grand Total 2722.25 16 6394 30 4201 17

Table 5.15 represents the newspaper-wise coverage of sanitation/waste management in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study. The Hindu allotted maximum space to the coverage of sanitation/waste management in 2002, followed by The Times of India, further followed by Hindustan Times and The Indian Express. In 2007, again The Hindu takes the lead, followed by The Indian Express and The Times of India giving almost equal coverage, and Hindustan Times giving the least. In 2012, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times allotted highest and equal space to the coverage of sanitation/waste management, with The Hindu and The Times of India falling next.

In context of stories on sanitation and waste management, the number was lowest in 2002 with 16 stories, growing to 30 stories in 2007 and falling again to 17 stories in 2012.

Table 5.16

Period-wise variation in coverage of sanitation/waste management:

Year Sanitation/Waste Management (cm2) 2002 2722.25 2007 6394 2012 4201

97

Table 5.16 shows the variation in coverage of sanitation/waste management by the selected newspapers. The space allotted to sanitation/waste is 2722.25 cm2 in 2002, 6394 cm2 in 2007 and 4201 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing variation in coverage of sanitation/waste management over different time periods:

Graph 18

Space given to coverage of sanitation/waste management 7000 6394 6000

5000

4000 4201

3000 2722.25 2000

1000

0 2002 2007 2012

The graph depicts the variability in coverage of sanitation/waste management during the course of study. Beginning with lesser coverage in 2002, the year 2007 saw a sharp increase, with 2012 registering a decline.

Table 5.17

Newspaper-wise coverage of weather in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012

Weather Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories

The Hindu 6933.75 53 4575 21 5715 23

The Times of India 1962.25 14 870 6 1606 13

The Indian Express 918.1 8 4035 25 2852 16

Hindustan Times 1716 11 3011 17 2082 12

Grand Total 11530.1 86 12491 69 12255 64

98

Table 5.17 represents the newspaper-wise coverage of weather in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study. The Hindu allocated maximum space to the coverage of weather in 2002. The second place was occupied by The Times of India, third by Hindustan Times and fourth by The Indian Express. In 2007, The Hindu continued to dedicate largest space to coverage on weather, followed by The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and The Times of India. In 2012 again, The Hindu allotted highest space to weather coverage, followed by The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and The Times of India respectively.

Weather stories published in the dailies were highest in 2002 with 86 stories, depreciating to 69 stories in 2007 and further slipping to 64 in 2012.

Table 5.18

Period-wise variation in coverage of weather:

Year Weather (cm2) 2002 11530.1 2007 12491 2012 12255

Table 5.18 shows the variation in coverage of weather by the sample of newspapers under study. The space allotted to weather is 11530.1 cm2 in 2002, 12491 cm2 in 2007 and 12255 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing variation in coverage of weather over different time periods:

Graph 19

Space given to coverage of weather 12600 12491 12400 12200 12255 12000 11800 11600 11530.1 11400 11200 11000 2002 2007 2012

99

The graph exhibits the fluctuation in coverage of weather through the different periods of time. The graph witnesses a rise from 2002 to 2007, slightly falling down in 2012.

Table 5.19

Newspaper-wise coverage of wildlife in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012

Wildlife Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories

The Hindu 5888.25 42 6383 37 11738 41

The Times of India 4381.5 43 10829.5 57 6350 38

The Indian Express 4168.5 24 7850 36 16450 55

Hindustan Times 1376.25 13 5949 42 4852 35

Grand Total 15814.5 122 31011.5 172 39390 169

Table 5.19 represents the newspaper-wise coverage of wildlife in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study. Wildlife received maximum space allocation by The Hindu in 2002, followed by The Times of India, further followed by The Indian Express and Hindustan Times. In 2007, The Times of India takes the lead, followed by The Indian Express, The Hindu and Hindustan Times. In 2012, The Indian Express allotted highest space to the coverage of wildlife, with The Hindu, The Times of India and Hindustan Times trailing behind.

The number of stories on wildlife have witnessed a substantial increase from 122 in 2002 to 172 in 2007. In 2012, 169 stories were published.

Table 5.20

Period-wise variation in coverage of wildlife:

Year Wildlife (cm2) 2002 15814.5 2007 31011.5 2012 39390

100

Table 5.20 shows the space (cm2) allotted to coverage of wildlife by the newspapers through the given years. The space allotted to wildlife is 15814.5 cm2 in 2002, 31011.5 cm2 in 2007 and 39390 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation in coverage of wildlife:

Graph 20

Space given to coverage of wildlife 45000

40000 39390 35000 30000 31011.5 25000 20000 15000 15814.5 10000 5000 0 2002 2007 2012

The graph displays the variation in coverage of wildlife through the different periods of time. The graph is seen to continually rise through 2002, 2007 and 2012.

Table 5.21

Newspaper-wise coverage of water resource management in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012

Water Resource Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of Management (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories

The Hindu 4181.25 28 4326.5 23 3383 13

The Times of India 4475.5 25 925.5 5 2414 12

The Indian Express 1482.5 7 1100 5 3638 11

Hindustan Times 590.75 7 3046 10 876 5

Grand Total 10730 67 9398 43 10311 41

101

Table 5.21 represents the newspaper-wise coverage of water resource management in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories over different years selected for the study. To the variable of water resource management, The Times of India devoted largest space in 2002, followed by The Hindu, further followed by The Indian Express and Hindustan Times. In 2007, The Hindu tops the list, followed by Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and The Times of India. In 2012, The Indian Express allotted highest space to the coverage of water resource management, with The Hindu, The Times of India and Hindustan Times following behind.

The number of water resource management stories have continued to decline through the span of study. The number decreased from 67 in 2002 to 43 in 2007, further sinking to 41 in 2012.

Table 5.22

Period-wise variation in coverage of water resource management:

Year Water Resource Management (cm2) 2002 10730 2007 9398 2012 10311

Table 5.22 shows the space (cm2) allotted to coverage of water resource management by the selected newspapers. The space allotted to water resource management is 10730 cm2 in 2002, 9398 cm2 in 2007 and 10311 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation in coverage of water resource management:

Graph 21

Space given to coverage of water resource

management 11000 10730 10500 10311 10000

9500 9398 9000 8500 2002 2007 2012

102

The graph displays the variation in coverage of water resource management through the different periods of time. The coverage registers a decline from 2002 to 2007, and then rises again in 2012.

Table 5.23

Newspaper-wise coverage of miscellaneous category in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories:

2002 2007 2012 Miscellaneous Space No. of Space No. of Space No. of (cm2) stories (cm2) stories (cm2) stories The Hindu 4091.5 26 1568 11 4183 14 The Times of 4359.5 30 1322 8 2390 9 India The Indian 2094.5 11 2813 8 780 5 Express Hindustan Times 1441 10 1259 8 1918 12 Grand Total 11986.5 77 6962 35 9271 40

Table 5.23 represents the newspaper-wise coverage of miscellaneous category in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories over different years selected for the study. The Times of India devoted largest space in 2002, followed by The Hindu, further followed by The Indian Express and Hindustan Times. In 2007, The Indian Express gave maximum space, followed by The Hindu, The Times of India and Hindustan Times. In 2012, The Hindu allotted highest space to the coverage of miscellaneous, followed by The Times of India, Hindustan Times and The Indian Express.

The miscellaneous stories were highest in number in 2002 with 77 stories, which fell down significantly to 35 in 2007. However, a slight increase was seen in 2012 with 40 stories.

Table 5.24

Period-wise variation in coverage of miscellaneous category:

Year Miscellaneous (cm2) 2002 11986.5 2007 6962 2012 9271

103

Table 5.24 shows the space (cm2) allotted to coverage of miscellaneous category by the selected newspapers. The space allotted to such stories is 11986.5 cm2 in 2002, 6962 cm2 in 2007 and 9271 cm2 in 2012.

Graph showing period-wise variation in coverage of miscellaneous category:

Graph 22

Space given to coverage of miscellaneous 14000 12000 11986.5 10000 9271 8000 6962 6000 4000 2000 0 2002 2007 2012

The graph displays the variation in coverage of miscellaneous category through different periods of time. The coverage registers a decline from 2002 to 2007, and a slight increase in 2012.

Table 5.25

Percentage of total space acquired by different environment categories:

Category Percentage Agriculture 6.36 Climate Change 11.73 Disaster 11.80 Energy 4.36 Forests 4.31 Heritage Sites 2.05 Pollution 4.45 Sanitation/Waste Management 3.76 Weather 10.25 Wildlife 24.36 Water Resource Management 8.60 Miscellaneous 7.97 Total 100

104

Table 5.25 depicts the percentage of space acquired by the identified environment categories during the entire span of study. The figures reveal that while wildlife category (24.36%) received highest space in the total spectrum of environment coverage, heritage sites category (2.05%) received the least.

Table 6

Newspaper-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories:

Category The Hindu The Times The Indian Hindustan of India Express Times

Agriculture 10858.25 6522 2429.25 Climate Change 14715.5 8101 15037 3667 Disaster 15052.9 5955 14606.5 6104 Energy 7266.75 2323.25 2996 2856.5 Forests 4630.5 4324.25 4474.5 1807 Heritage Sites 3337.75 666 2694.5 550 Pollution 5040 3750.25 3422 3529.25 Sanitation/Waste 4764.25 3061.5 2865 2626.5 Management Weather 17223.75 4438.25 7805.1 6809 Wildlife 24009.25 21561 28468.5 12177.3 Water Resource 11890.75 7815 6220.5 4512.75 Management Miscellaneous 9842.5 8071.5 5687.5 4618

Total 128632.15 72748 100799.1 51686.5

Table 6 shows the environment category-wise coverage present in the sample of dailies selected for study. The space provided to environment coverage in each daily is juxtaposed against each other.

105

Table 6.1

Period-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories by The Hindu:

The Hindu

Environment Category 2002 2007 2012 Total %

Agriculture 5299.25 2479 3080 10858.25 8.4

Climate Change 638 12036.5 2041 14715.5 11.4

Disaster 4530.9 6994 3528 15052.9 11.7

Energy 2550.75 2321 2395 7266.75 5.6

Forests 1272.5 1068 2290 4630.5 3.6

Heritage Sites 1338.75 360 1639 3337.75 2.6

Pollution 3601 1439 0 5040 3.9

Sanitation/Waste Management 1386.25 2284 1094 4764.25 3.7

Weather 6933.75 4575 5715 17223.75 13.4

Wildlife 5888.25 6383 11738 24009.25 18.7

Water Resource Management 4181.25 4326.5 3383 11890.75 9.2

Miscellaneous 4091.5 1568 4183 9842.5 7.8

Total 41712.15 45834 41086 128632.15 100

Table 6.1 depicts the space (cm2) dedicated to different environment categories by The Hindu. Wildlife has received the largest space with 18.7%, followed by weather with 13.4%, disaster with 11.7% and climate change 11.4%. Heritage sites have received least coverage with 2.6%, followed by forests at 3.6% and sanitation/waste management at 3.7%.

106

Graph showing percentage of total space allotted to environment categories by The Hindu:

Graph 23

Space allotted to environment categories by The Hindu

20.0 18.7 18.0 16.0 13.4 14.0 11.4 11.7 12.0 9.2 10.0 8.4 7.8 8.0 5.6 6.0 3.6 3.9 3.7 4.0 2.6 2.0 0.0

Table 6.2

Period-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories by The Times of India:

The Times of India Environment Category 2002 2007 2012 Total % Agriculture 1011 659 1011 2681 3.7 Climate Change 802 5596 1703 8101 11.1 Disaster 2114 2710 1131 5955 8.2 Energy 432.25 728 1163 2323.25 3.2 Forests 1428.25 1696 1200 4324.25 5.9 Heritage Sites 290 376 0 666 0.9 Pollution 1911.25 1487 352 3750.25 5.2 Sanitation/Waste Management 968.5 1427 666 3061.5 4.2 Weather 1962.25 870 1606 4438.25 6.1 Wildlife 4381.5 10829.5 6350 21561 29.6 Water Resource Management 4475.5 925.5 2414 7815 10.7 Miscellaneous 4359.5 1322 2390 8071.5 11.2 Total 24136 28626 19986 72748 100

107

Table 6.2 depicts the space (cm2) dedicated to different environment categories by The Times of India. The environment coverage in The Times of India is dominated by wildlife occupying 29.6% space, followed by miscellaneous and climate change categories. Heritage sites occupy least space with 0.9%, energy comes second last with 3.2%, and agriculture coverage occupies 3.7% of the environment reportage.

Graph showing percentage of space (cm2) allotted to environment categories by The Times of India:

Graph 24

Space allotted to environment categories by The Times of India 35.0 29.6 30.0

25.0

20.0

15.0 11.1 10.7 11.2 10.0 8.2 5.9 6.1 5.2 4.2 5.0 3.7 3.2 0.9 0.0

108

Table 6.3

Period-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories by The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Environment Category 2002 2007 2012 Total %

Agriculture 2466 1159 2897 6522 6.5

Climate Change 651 11482 2904 15037 14.9

Disaster 5090.5 6530 2986 14606.5 14.5

Energy 437 1855 704 2996 3.0

Forests 1032.5 532 2910 4474.5 4.4

Heritage Sites 274.5 596 1824 2694.5 2.7

Pollution 1143 1021 1258 3422 3.4

Sanitation/Waste Management 180 1464 1221 2865 2.8

Weather 918.1 4035 2852 7805.1 7.7

Wildlife 4168.5 7850 16450 28468.5 28.2

Water Resource Management 1482.5 1100 3638 6220.5 6.3

Miscellaneous 2094.5 2813 780 5687.5 5.6

Total 19938.1 40437 40424 100799.1 100.0

Table 6.3 depicts the space (cm2) dedicated to different environment categories by The Indian Express. The largest space of environment coverage in The Indian Express is occupied by wildlife with 28.2%, climate change with 14.9% and disaster with 14.5%. Heritage sites come last with 2.7%, followed by sanitation/waste management at 2.8%, and energy at 3.0%.

109

Graph showing percentage of space (cm2) allotted to environment categories by The Indian Express:

Graph 25

Space allotted to environment categories by The Indian Express 30.0 28.2 25.0 20.0 14.9 14.5 15.0 10.0 6.5 7.7 6.3 4.4 5.6 5.0 3.0 2.7 3.4 2.8 0.0

Table 6.4

Period-wise space (cm2) allotted to environment categories by Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Environment Category 2002 2007 2012 Total % Agriculture 468.25 400 1561 2429.25 4.7 Climate Change 143 2728 796 3667 7.1 Disaster 1667.25 2300.5 2136.25 6104 11.8 Energy 263.5 1415 1178 2856.5 5.5 Forests 256 1071 480 1807 3.5 Heritage Sites 0 306 244 550 1.1 Pollution 1656.25 514 1359 3529.25 6.8 Sanitation/Waste 187.5 1219 1220 2626.5 5.1 Management Weather 1716 3011 2082 6809 13.2 Wildlife 1376.25 5949 4852 12177.3 23.6 Water Resource Management 590.75 3046 876 4512.75 8.7 Miscellaneous 1441 1259 1918 4618 8.9 Total 9765.75 23218.5 18702.3 51686.5 100

110

Table 6.4 displays the space (cm2) dedicated to different environment categories by Hindustan Times. Wildlife has garnered highest share of environment coverage by the newspaper occupying 23.6% space, followed by weather at 13.2% and disaster at 11.8%. Miscellaneous and Water resource management stand at 8.9% and 8.7% respectively, with heritage sites coming last at 1.1%, followed by forests at 3.5%.

Graph showing percentage of space (cm2) allotted to environment categories by Hindustan Times:

Graph 26

Space allotted to environment categories by Hindustan Times 25.0 23.6

20.0

15.0 13.2 11.8

10.0 8.7 8.9 7.1 6.8 5.5 4.7 5.1 5.0 3.5 1.1 0.0

The various environment categories were further analysed on the basis of different journalistic categories.

111

Table 7.1

Space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Agriculture Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 3193.25 2071 2120 7384.25 68.0 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 1266 408 960 2634 24.3 Editorial 840 0 0 840 7.7 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 5299.25 2479 3080 10858.25 100

Table 7.1 shows that the agriculture coverage in The Hindu comprised mostly of news stories (68%), followed by articles (24.3%) and editorials (7.7%). No photographic coverage or letters to the editor on agriculture was found in the sample under study.

The space acquired by agriculture coverage in The Hindu was highest in 2002, tumbling down to its lowest in 2007, slightly increasing again in 2012. The total space given to agriculture in The Hindu amounted to 10858.25 cm2.

Table 7.2

Space occupied by climate change in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Climate Change Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 270 4968.5 1057 6295.5 42.8 Photo 0 891 0 891 6.0 Article 368 5825 984 7177 48.8 Editorial 0 352 0 352 2.4 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 638 12036.5 2041 14715.5 100

112

Table 7.2 represents the climate change coverage given by The Hindu distributed according to the different journalistic categories. The table reveals that most of the reportage was in the form of articles occupying 48.8% of total space allotted to climate change, followed by 42.8% news stories and 6% photographs and 2.4% editorials. There were no letters to the editor on climate change.

Climate change coverage in The Hindu was lowest in 2002 with 638 cm2, escalating to the highest point with 12036.5 cm2 in 2007, and plummeting back to a low of 2041 cm2 in 2012. Total climate change coverage over the time of study in The Hindu was 14715.5 cm2.

Table 7.3

Space occupied by disaster in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu

Disaster Space (cm2)

2002 2007 2012 Total %

News 4065.9 5893 2384 12342.9 82.0 Photo 465 1101 960 2526 16.8 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 0 184 184 1.2 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0

Total 4530.9 6994 3528 15052.9 100

Table 7.3 represents the distribution of disaster coverage given by The Hindu according to different journalistic categories. The space given to the reportage of this category consisted of 82% news stories, followed by 16.8% photographs and 1.2% editorials. Disaster was not covered in the form of articles, nor did it appear in the form of letters to the editor.

Space accorded to disaster coverage in The Hindu saw an increase from 4530.9 cm2 in 2002 to 6994 cm2 in 2007. However, it dropped to 3528 cm2 in 2012. The combined coverage through the three time periods in The Hindu amounted to 15052.9 cm2.

113

Table 7.4

Space occupied by energy in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Energy Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 2064.75 2321 1738 6123.75 84.3 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 441 0 657 1098 15.1 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 45 0 0 45 0.6 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 2550.75 2321 2395 7266.75 100

Table 7.4 represents the space dedicated by The Hindu to the energy category through different journalistic categories. News stories constituted the largest share occupying 84.3% space, followed by 15.1% articles. Letters to the editor shared 0.6% space. Photographs or editorials on this variable were not found in the sample of study.

The space given to coverage of energy was highest in 2002 at 2550.75 cm2, which declined to 2321 cm2 in 2007 and 2395 cm2 in 2012. Throughout the time period of the study, the total coverage of energy in The Hindu was 7266.75 cm2.

Table 7.5

Space occupied by forests in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Forests Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1272.5 578 1396 3246.5 70.1 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 0 330 894 1224 26.4 Editorial 0 160 0 160 3.5 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1272.5 1068 2290 4630.5 100

114

Table 7.5 displays the reportage of forests by The Hindu according to the specified journalistic categories. Most of the coverage was in the form of news stories occupying 70.1% of the total area, followed by articles at 26.4% and editorials at 3.5%. There was no photographic coverage or letters to the editor on forests in the sample newspapers.

The space given to coverage of forests decreased from 1272.5 cm2 in 2002, to 1068 cm2 in 2007 and shot up to 2290 cm2 in 2012. Throughout the time period of the study, the total coverage of forests in The Hindu was 4630.5 cm2.

Table 7.6

Space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Heritage Sites Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 893.75 360 1303 2556.75 76.6 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 0 0 336 336 10.1 Editorial 285 0 0 285 8.5 Letter to the Editor 160 0 0 160 4.8 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1338.75 360 1639 3337.75 100

Table 7.6 depicts the space dedicated to heritage sites in different journalistic categories in The Hindu. Though no photographs were found, the coverage was dominated by news stories covering 76.6%space, followed by articles at 10.1% and editorials at 8.5%. Letters to the editor occupied 4.8% space showing that the readers took considerable interest in this issue.

The space given to coverage of heritage sites decreased from 1338.75 cm2 in 2002, to 360 cm2 in 2007, registering a rise to 1639 cm2 in 2012. Throughout the time period of the study, the total coverage given to heritage sites in The Hindu was 3337.75 cm2.

115

Table 7.7

Space occupied by pollution in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Pollution Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 2877 1439 0 4316 85.6 Photo 454 0 0 454 9.0 Article 270 0 0 270 5.4 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 3601 1439 0 5040 100

Table 7.7 shows space occupied by pollution in The Hindu in different journalistic categories. News stories formed the largest chunk of space given to pollution with 85.6% space, followed by photographs at 9% and articles at 5.4%. Editorials or letters to the editor on pollution were not found in the sample newspapers. The space given to coverage of pollution in the sample of study decreased from 3601 cm2 in 2002, to 1439 cm2 in 2007, falling down to no coverage in 2012. The total space accorded to coverage of pollution in The Hindu was 5040 cm2. Table 7.8

Space occupied by sanitation/waste management in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Sanitation/Waste Management Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1296.25 1518 630 3444.25 72.3 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 0 460 464 924 19.4 Editorial 0 176 0 176 3.7 Letter to the Editor 90 130 0 220 4.6 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1386.25 2284 1094 4764.25 100

116

Table 7.8 reveals space occupied by sanitation/waste management in different journalistic categories in The Hindu. It can be inferred that the largest space given to this category was in the form of news stories taking 72.3% space, followed by articles taking 19.4% and editorials 3.7%. Letters to the editor covering 4.6% area were also found to occupy considerable space. However, photographs on this variable were not found.

The space given to coverage of sanitation/waste management increased from 1386.25 cm2 in 2002 to 2284 cm2 in 2007, witnessing a decline to 1094 cm2 in 2012. Throughout the time period of the study, the total coverage on sanitation/waste management in The Hindu amounted to 4764.25 cm2.

Table 7.9

Space occupied by weather in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Weather Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 5308 4070 4989 14367 83.4 Photo 1215.75 505 0 1720.75 10.0 Article 0 0 726 726 4.2 Editorial 410 0 0 410 2.4 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 6933.75 4575 5715 17223.75 100

Table 7.9 portrays space occupied by weather in different journalistic categories in The Hindu. Weather coverage in the newspaper is dominated by news stories garnering 83.4% space, followed by photographs at 10%, articles 4.2% and editorials 2.4%. There was no coverage in the form of letters to the editor.

The space given to coverage of weather in the sample of study decreased from 6933.75 cm2 in 2002, to 4575 cm2 in 2007, scaling up to 5715 cm2 in 2012. The total space given to coverage of weather in The Hindu was 17223.75 cm2.

117

Table 7.10

Space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Space (cm2) Wildlife 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 4230.75 4420 6612 15262.75 63.6 Photo 667 890 1045 2602 10.8 Article 955.5 617 3832 5404.5 22.5 Editorial 0 408 184 592 2.5 Letter to the Editor 35 48 65 148 0.6 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 5888.25 6383 11738 24009.25 100

Table 7.10 reveals space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic categories in The Hindu. Wildlife coverage in the newspaper is dominated by news stories spread over 63.6% area, followed by articles 22.5%, photographs 10.8% and editorials 2.5%. Letters to the editor occupy least space with 0.6%. It can be observed that wildlife has received reportage in almost all specified journalistic formats.

The space given to coverage of wildlife in The Hindu was 5888.25 cm2 in 2002, rising to 6383 cm2 in 2007, further ascending to the highest of 11738 cm2 in 2012. The total space assigned to coverage of wildlife in The Hindu was 24009.25 cm2.

Table 7.11

Space occupied by water resource management in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

Water Resource Management The Hindu Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 3637.5 3194.5 1607 8439 71.0 Photo 168.75 327 0 495.75 4.2 Article 0 621 1527 2148 18.1 Editorial 375 184 184 743 6.2 Letter to the Editor 0 0 65 65 0.5 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 4181.25 4326.5 3383 11890.75 100

118

Table 7.11 displays the space provided to water resource management in different journalistic categories in The Hindu. News stories covering 71% area draw the largest share, with articles occupying 18.1% coming next. Editorials rank third at 6.2%, followed by photographs at 4.2% and letters to the editor at 0.5%. This category has also received due representation through different journalistic categories.

The space given to coverage of water resource management in The Hindu was 4181.25 cm2 in 2002, rising to 4326.5 cm2 in 2007, which slipped to the lowest of 3383 cm2 in 2012. The total space assigned to coverage of water resource management in The Hindu was 11890.75 cm2.

Table 7.12

Space occupied by miscellaneous in different journalistic categories in The Hindu:

The Hindu Miscellaneous Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 3102.5 1388 2089 6579.5 66.8 Photo 0 180 0 180 1.8 Article 0 0 1542 1542 15.7 Editorial 600 0 552 1152 11.7 Letter to the Editor 165 0 0 165 1.7 Others 224 0 0 224 2.3 Total 4091.5 1568 4183 9842.5 100

Table 7.12 displays the distribution of space provided to miscellaneous under different journalistic categories in The Hindu. The largest proportion of space i.e. 66.8% is covered by news stories, followed by articles covering 15.7% and editorials covering 11.7%. Others rank fourth at 2.3%, with photographs at 1.8% and letters to the editor with 1.7% coming last. Miscellaneous category has received space in all the formats through the course of study.

The space given to the coverage of miscellaneous category in The Hindu was 4091.5 cm2 in 2002, falling down to 1568 cm2 in 2007, subsequently ascending to the highest of 4183 cm2 in 2012. The total space assigned to coverage of miscellaneous in The Hindu was 9842.5 cm2.

119

Table 8.1

Space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Agriculture Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 650.5 298 498 1446.5 54.0 Photo 0 0 156 156 5.8 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 312.5 361 0 673.5 25.1 Letter to the Editor 48 0 0 48 1.8 Others 0 0 357 357 13.3 Total 1011 659 1011 2681 100

Table 8.1 displays the space occupied by agriculture through different journalistic categories in The Times of India. The largest proportion i.e. 54% space is covered by news stories, followed by editorials at 25.1%. While articles could not be found, 13.3% space was provided to others, 5.8% to photographs and 1.8% to letters to the editor.

The space dedicated to the coverage of agriculture in The Times of India was 1011 cm2 in 2002. There was a decrease in 2007 to 659 cm2, which again saw a scaling-up to 1011 cm2 in 2012. The overall coverage of agriculture during the time span of study in The Times of India amounted to 2681 cm2.

Table 8.2 Space occupied by climate change in different journalistic categories in The Times of India: The Times of India Climate Change Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 248 4347 1227 5822 71.9 Photo 25 0 0 25 0.3 Article 0 985 234 1219 15.0 Editorial 165 264 242 671 8.3 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 364 0 0 364 4.5 Total 802 5596 1703 8101 100

120

Table 8.2 displays the space occupied by climate change through different journalistic categories in The Times of India. The largest share covering 71.9% space was dedicated to news stories, followed by 15% articles, 8.3% editorials and 4.5% others. The least space was occupied by photographs at 0.3%. No letters to the editor on climate change were published.

The space dedicated to the coverage of climate change in The Times of India was lowest at 802 cm2 in 2002, registering a substantial increase in 2007 to 5596 cm2, and further witnessing a decline to 1703 cm2 in 2012. The combined coverage of climate change in The Times of India amounted to 8101 cm2.

Table 8.3

Space occupied by disaster in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Disaster Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1628 2146.5 1041 4815.5 80.9 Photo 486 563.5 90 1139.5 19.1 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 2114 2710 1131 5955 100

Table 8.3 displays the space distributed to disaster through different journalistic categories in The Times of India. The largest share is garnered by news stories occupying 80.9%, followed by photographs covering 19.1% of the space provided to the coverage of disaster. No other formats of journalistic coverage were found in this category.

The space dedicated to the coverage of disaster in The Times of India was 2114 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 2710 cm2 in 2007, plummeting to the lowest of 1131 cm2 in 2012. The overall coverage of disaster during the time span of the study in The Times of India amounted to 5955 cm2.

121

Table 8.4 Space occupied by energy in different journalistic categories in The Times of India: The Times of India Energy Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 432.25 575 921 1928.25 83.0 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 153 0 153 6.6 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 242 242 10.4 Total 432.25 728 1163 2323.25 100

Table 8.4 showcases the space occupied by energy in different journalistic categories in The Times of India. The coverage in the newspaper on energy is dominated by news stories spread over 83% area, followed by others at 10.4% and editorials at 6.6%. No photographs, articles or letters to the editor on energy were found to be published during the span of study.

The space dedicated to the coverage of energy in The Times of India was lowest at 432.25 cm2 in 2002. The space increased in 2007 to 728 cm2, rising to the highest of 1163 cm2 in 2012. The total coverage of energy in The Times of India amounted to 2323.25 cm2.

Table 8.5

Space occupied by forests in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Forests Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1284.25 1696 1200 4180.25 96.7 Photo 144 0 0 144 3.3 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1428.25 1696 1200 4324.25 100

122

Table 8.5 manifests the space provided to forests through different journalistic categories in The Times of India. It is evident that the reportage consists mainly of news stories covering 96.7% space, followed by photographs at 3.3%. No other formats of coverage were found in the sample under study.

The space dedicated to the coverage of forests in The Times of India increased from 1428.25 cm2 in 2002 to 1696 cm2 in 2007, sinking to the lowest of 1200 cm2 in 2012. The overall coverage of forests during the time span of study in The Times of India amounted to 4324.25 cm2.

Table 8.6

Space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Space (cm2) Heritage Sites 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 162 376 0 538 80.8 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 128 0 0 128 19.2 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 290 376 0 666 100

Table 8.6 manifests the space provided to heritage sites through different journalistic categories in The Times of India. The inference is drawn that the reportage only comprised of news stories occupying 80.8% and editorials covering 19.2% of the total space. Heritage sites category was not represented in the form of photographs, articles or letters to the editor in the sample under study.

The space dedicated to the coverage of heritage sites in The Times of India remained minimal at 290 cm2 in 2002, 376 cm2 in 2007, to no coverage in 2012. The total space accorded to heritage sites in The Times of India amounted to 666 cm2.

123

Table 8.7

Space occupied by pollution in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Pollution Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1371.25 1295 352 3018.25 80.5 Photo 0 192 0 192 5.1 Article 540 0 0 540 14.4 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1911.25 1487 352 3750.25 100

Table 8.7 represents the space occupied by pollution in different journalistic categories in The Times of India. The largest share of the space i.e. 80.5% is taken by news stories, followed by articles taking 14.4% and photographs 5.1%. Pollution did not find coverage through editorials and letters to the editor.

The space dedicated to the coverage of pollution in The Times of India tumbled from 1911.25 cm2 in 2002 to 1487 cm2 in 2007, dipping to the lowest of 352 cm2 in 2012. The overall coverage of pollution during the time span of the study in The Times of India amounted to 3750.25 cm2.

Table 8.8

Space occupied by sanitation/waste management in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Sanitation/Waste Management Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 968.5 981.5 588 2538 82.9 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 0 445.5 0 445.5 14.6 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 78 78 2.5 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 968.5 1427 666 3061.5 100

124

Table 8.8 displays the space occupied by sanitation/waste management in different journalistic categories in The Times of India. News stories cover the largest fraction of space with 82.9%, followed by articles at 14.6% and letters to the editor at 2.5%. Photographs and editorials on sanitation/waste management were not found in the sample under investigation.

The space dedicated to the coverage of sanitation/waste management in The Times of India increased from 968.5 cm2 in 2002 to 1427 cm2 in 2007, but fell down to 666 cm2 in 2012. The overall coverage of sanitation/waste management in The Times of India sums up to 3061.5 cm2.

Table 8.9

Space occupied by weather in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Weather Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1962.25 870 936 3768.25 84.9 Photo 0 0 670 670 15.1 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1962.25 870 1606 4438.25 100

Table 8.9 shows the space provided by The Times of India to weather according to different journalistic categories. The largest fraction of this coverage is shared by news stories at 84.9%, followed by photographs at 15.1%. No articles, editorials, letter to the editor or other formats were found in the sample.

The space dedicated to the coverage of weather in The Times of India plunged down from 1962.25 cm2 in 2002 to 870 cm2 in 2007, scaling up again to 1606 cm2 in 2012. The total coverage of weather in The Times of India was 4438.25 cm2.

125

Table 8.10

Space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Wildlife Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 2686 7472 5379 15537 72.1 Photo 1251.5 1471 268 2990.5 13.8 Article 0 1696.5 703 2399.5 11.1 Editorial 144 0 0 144 0.7 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 300 190 0 490 2.3 Total 4381.5 10829.5 6350 21561 100

Table 8.10 exhibits the space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic categories in The Times of India. Wildlife stories were found to be present in various formats, with news stories taking the lead by covering 72.1% space, followed by photographs garnering 13.8% and articles 11.1%. Editorials occupied the least amount of space with 0.7%, followed by others at 2.3%. There were no letters to the editor published on this variable. The space acquired by the coverage of wildlife in The Times of India swelled up from 4381.5 cm2 in 2002 to 10829.5 cm2 in 2007, scaling down to 6350 cm2 in 2012. The total coverage of wildlife in The Times of India was 21561 cm2. Table 8.11 Space occupied by water resource management in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

Water Resource Management The Times of India Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 3569.5 880.5 2084 6534 83.6 Photo 120 0 0 120 1.5 Article 576 0 330 906 11.6 Editorial 144 0 0 144 1.9 Letter to the Editor 66 45 0 111 1.4 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 4475.5 925.5 2414 7815 100

126

Table 8.11 displays the space occupied by water resource management in different journalistic categories in The Times of India. News stories occupying 83.6% were found to cover the largest space, with articles following at 11.6%. Editorials covered third largest space with 1.9%, closely followed by photographs with 1.5% and letters to the editor at 1.4%. This category was represented through all the specified journalistic formats, barring the ‘others’ category.

The space dedicated to the coverage of water resource management in The Times of India dropped from 4474.5 cm2 in 2002 to 925.5 cm2 in 2007, ascending to 2414 cm2 in 2012. The total coverage of water resource management in The Times of India was 7815 cm2.

Table 8.12

Space occupied by miscellaneous in different journalistic categories in The Times of India:

The Times of India Miscellaneous Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 2817.75 1322 1171 5310.75 65.8 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 913.25 0 1219 2132.25 26.4 Editorial 593.5 0 0 593.5 7.4 Letter to the Editor 35 0 0 35 0.4 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 4359.5 1322 2390 8071.5 100

Table 8.12 shows the space occupied by miscellaneous category in different journalistic categories in The Times of India. The largest space i.e. 65.8% is garnered by news stories, followed by articles at 26.4% and editorials at 7.4%. Letters to the editor occupying 0.4% were found to cover the smallest area. However, there was no photographic coverage of this variable.

The space acquired by the coverage of miscellaneous in The Times of India plummeted from 4359.5 cm2 in 2002 to 1322 cm2 in 2007, rising to 2390 cm2 in 2012. The total coverage of miscellaneous in The Times of India summed up to 8071.5 cm2.

127

Table 9.1

Space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Agriculture Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1186 1159 2267 4612 70.7 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 1130 0 630 1760 27.0 Editorial 150 0 0 150 2.3 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 2466 1159 2897 6522 100

Table 9.1 manifests the space occupied by agriculture under different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. News stories covering 70.7% are found to be spread over the largest area, followed by articles at 27% and editorials at 2.3%. No photographs or letters to the editor could be found.

The space allotted to the coverage of agriculture in The Indian Express was 2466 cm2 in 2002, slipping to 1159 cm2 in 2007, and growing to 2897 cm2 in 2012. The space given to agriculture in the entire time span equaled to 6522 cm2.

Table 9.2

Space occupied by climate change in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Climate Change Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 442 3820 719 4981 33.1 Photo 0 1529 0 1529 10.2 Article 0 3776 1657 5433 36.1 Editorial 209 300 0 509 3.4 Letter to the Editor 0 44 0 44 0.3 Others 0 2013 528 2541 16.9 Total 651 11482 2904 15037 100

128

Table 9.2 displays the space occupied by climate change in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. The largest proportion of coverage was garnered by articles at 36.1%, followed by news stories at 33.1%, others at 16.9% and photographs at 10.2%. The lowest amount of space was covered by letters to the editor at 0.3%, followed by editorials at 3.4%. It is noteworthy that climate change coverage in The Indian Express received due representation through all the identified journalistic categories during the period of study.

The space allocated to the coverage of climate change in The Indian Express was merely 651 cm2 in 2002, witnessing an upsurge to 11482 cm2 in 2007, and tumbling down to 2904 cm2 in 2012. The space acquired by climate change in the entire time span was 15037 cm2.

Table 9.3

Space occupied by disaster in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Disaster Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 4407.5 4031 1327 9765.5 66.8 Photo 304 2499 877 3680 25.2 Article 209 0 782 991 6.8 Editorial 170 0 0 170 1.2 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 5090.5 6530 2986 14606.5 100

Table 9.3 showing space occupied by disaster in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. In the coverage of disaster, news stories covering 66.8% form the largest portion, with photographs at 25.2% taking the second lead. The third and fourth position is occupied by articles at 6.8% and editorials 1.2%. No letters to the editor were published.

The space allocated to the coverage of disaster in The Indian Express was 5090.5 cm2 in 2002, which saw an increase to 6530 cm2 in 2007, and sank to 2986 cm2 in 2012. The space acquired by disaster coverage in the entire time span was 14606.5 cm2.

129

Table 9.4

Space occupied by energy in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Energy Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 0 571 704 1275 42.6 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 437 1134 0 1571 52.4 Editorial 0 150 0 150 5.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 437 1855 704 2996 100

Table 9.4 represents space provided to energy as per the different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. Articles spread over 52.4% area share the largest amount of space, followed by news stories at 42.6% and editorials 5%. No photographic coverage or letters to the editor were published.

The space acquired by the coverage of energy in The Indian Express was 437 cm2 in 2002, witnessing a rise to 1855 cm2 in 2007, again falling to 704 cm2 in 2012. The total space garnered by energy during the time span of study was 2996 cm2.

Table 9.5

Space occupied by forests in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Forests Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1032.5 180 1737 2949.5 65.9 Photo 0 312 1173 1485 33.2 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 40 0 40 0.9 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1032.5 532 2910 4474.5 100

130

Table 9.5 represents space occupied by forests in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. The reportage is dominated by news stories sharing 65.9% space and photographs 33.2%. Letters to the editor with 0.9% have drawn the lowest proportion. No articles or editorials were found in the sample under investigation.

The space accorded to the coverage of forests in The Indian Express was 1032.5 cm2 in 2002, which fell down to 532 cm2 in 2007, scaling up again to the highest of 2910 cm2 in 2012. The total space acquired by forests during the time span of study was 4474.5 cm2.

Table 9.6

Space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Heritage Sites Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 274.5 596 825 1695.5 62.9 Photo 0 0 240 240 8.9 Article 0 0 759 759 28.2 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 274.5 596 1824 2694.5 100

Table 9.6 exhibits space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. The largest share of space i.e. 62.9% is in the form of news stories, followed by articles covering 28.2% and photographs 8.9%. Heritage sites did not receive coverage in the form of editorials or letters to the editor.

The space acquired by the coverage of heritage sites in The Indian Express was 274.5 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 596 cm2 in 2007, further ascending to 1824 cm2 in 2012. The total space devoted to heritage sites by The Indian Express during the time span of study was 2694.5 cm2.

131

Table 9.7

Space occupied by pollution in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Pollution Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 934 1021 1258 3213 93.9 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 209 0 0 209 6.1 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1143 1021 1258 3422 100

Table 9.7 displays the space given to pollution by The Indian Express according to various journalistic categories. The space devoted to pollution is covered by 93.9% news stories, followed by 6.1% articles. There were no photographs, editorials or letters to the editor on this variable.

The space given to the coverage of pollution in The Indian Express was 1143 cm2 in 2002, decreasing to 1021 cm2 in 2007, scaling up again to 1258 cm2 in 2012. The total space acquired by pollution during the time span of study was 3422 cm2.

Table 9.8

Space occupied by sanitation/waste management in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Sanitation/Waste Management Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 180 1464 0 1644 57.4 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 0 0 1221 1221 42.6 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 180 1464 1221 2865 100

132

Table 9.8 shows space occupied by sanitation/waste management in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. The largest space is shared by news stories covering 57.4%, followed by articles at 42.6%. No photographs, editorials or letters to the editor were found in the sample under investigation.

The space given to the coverage of sanitation/waste management in The Indian Express was merely 180 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 1464 cm2 in 2007, and slightly decreasing to 1221 cm2 in 2012. The total space acquired by sanitation/waste management in The Indian Express was 2865 cm2.

Table 9.9

Space occupied by weather in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Weather Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 918.1 2560 1118 4596.1 58.9 Photo 0 1475 1253 2728 34.9 Article 0 0 445 445 5.7 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 36 36 0.5 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 918.1 4035 2852 7805.1 100

Table 9.9 shows space occupied by weather in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. Space given to weather coverage in the newspaper is shared by 58.9% news stories, with photographs at 34.9% falling next. The smallest portion is occupied by letters to the editor at 0.5%, followed by articles at 5.7%. No editorials on weather were found.

The space dedicated to the coverage of weather in The Indian Express was 918.1 cm2 in 2002, witnessing a considerable increase to 4035 cm2 in 2007, subsequently slipping to 2852 cm2 in 2012. The total space given to the coverage of weather throughout the time period of study was 7805.1 cm2.

133

Table 9.10

Space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Wildlife Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 3042.5 5565 7923 16530.5 58.1 Photo 274 1359 1658 3291 11.5 Article 624 276 6381 7281 25.6 Editorial 228 150 440 818 2.9 Letter to the Editor 0 0 48 48 0.2 Others 0 500 0 500 1.7 Total 4168.5 7850 16450 28468.5 100

Table 9.10 shows space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. The major share of the coverage is in the form of news stories spread over 58.1% area, followed by articles at 25.6%, photographs 11.5% and editorials 2.9%. The smallest area is garnered by letters to the editor at 0.2%, followed by others at 1.7%. Wildlife was found to receive coverage through all the identified journalistic categories. The space allocated to the coverage of wildlife in The Indian Express was 4168.5 cm2 in 2002, growing up to 7850 cm2 in 2007, and further swelling up to the highest of 16450 cm2 in 2012. The total space dedicated to wildlife during the time span of study was 28468.5 cm2. Table 9.11 Space occupied by water resource management in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

Water Resource Management The Indian Express Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 532.5 876 1868 3276.5 52.7 Photo 0 224 0 224 3.6 Article 560 0 1770 2330 37.4 Editorial 342 0 0 342 5.5 Letter to the Editor 48 0 0 48 0.8 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1482.5 1100 3638 6220.5 100

134

Table 9.11 represents space occupied by water resource management in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. News stories covering 52.7% space form the majority of coverage, with articles at 37.4% and editorials at 5.5% following behind. The letters to the editor come last with 0.8%, followed by photographs at 3.6%. On this variable, there was coverage through all the specified journalistic categories, apart from others.

The space provided to the coverage of water resource management in The Indian Express was 1482.5 cm2 in 2002, decreasing to 1100 cm2 in 2007, which further scaled up to 3638 cm2 in 2012. The total space garnered by water resource management during the time span of study was 6220.5 cm2.

Table 9.12

Space occupied by miscellaneous in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express:

The Indian Express Miscellaneous Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1411 845 780 3036 53.4 Photo 294 191 0 485 8.5 Article 228 1454 0 1682 29.6 Editorial 161.5 323 0 484.5 8.5 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 2094.5 2813 780 5687.5 100

Table 9.12 represents space occupied by miscellaneous category in different journalistic categories in The Indian Express. News stories with 53.4% take the largest portion of coverage, with articles at 29.6% coming next. Photographs and editorials occupy almost the same amount of space. There were no letters to the editor on this variable.

The space allocated to the coverage of miscellaneous in The Indian Express was 2094.5 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 2813 cm2 in 2007, further registering a decline to 780 cm2 in 2012. The total space dedicated to miscellaneous during the time span of study was 5687.5 cm2.

135

Table 10.1

Space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Agriculture Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 294 244 1352 1890 77.8 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 174.25 0 209 383.25 15.8 Editorial 0 156 0 156 6.4 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 468.25 400 1561 2429.25 100

Table 10.1 depicts space occupied by agriculture in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times. In this newspaper, the agriculture coverage is dominated by news stories covering 77.8% area, followed by articles at 15.8% and editorials at 6.4%. Agriculture was not represented through photographs or letters to the editor.

The space accorded to the coverage of agriculture in Hindustan Times was 468.25 cm2 in 2002, slightly decreasing to 400 cm2 in 2007, and witnessing a sharp rise to 1561 cm2 in 2012. The coverage acquired by agriculture in entirety throughout the time span of study was 2429.25 cm2.

Table 10.2

Space occupied by climate change in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Climate Change Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 0 2124 380 2504 68.3 Photo 0 418 0 418 11.4 Article 0 0 391 391 10.7 Editorial 143 156 0 299 8.1 Letter to the Editor 0 30 25 55 1.5 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 143 2728 796 3667 100

136

Table 10.2 demonstrates the space allocated to climate change by Hindustan Times under different journalistic categories. Most of the coverage is in the form of news stories occupying 68.3% of the total space, followed by photographs at 11.4% and articles at 10.7%. The least space is covered by letters to the editor at 1.5% followed by editorials at 8.1%. Climate change has received coverage in all identified journalistic categories.

The space accorded to the coverage of climate change in Hindustan Times was 143 cm2 in 2002, increasing phenomenally to 2728 cm2 in 2007, and sinking back to 796 cm2 in 2012. The total coverage acquired by climate change during the time span of study was 3667 cm2.

Table 10.3

Space occupied by disaster in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Disaster Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1461 1688.5 2048.25 5197.75 85.2 Photo 206.25 612 88 906.25 14.8 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1667.25 2300.5 2136.25 6104 100

Table 10.3 demonstrates the space allocated to disaster under different journalistic categories. News stories covering 85.2% space constitute the largest part of coverage, followed by photographs covering 14.8% space. The reportage was present only in these two formats, while no articles, editorials or letters to the editor were found.

The space accorded to the coverage of disaster in Hindustan Times was 1667.25 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 2300.5 cm2 in 2007, and 2136.25 cm2 in 2012. The total coverage provided to disaster by Hindustan Times amounted to 6104 cm2.

137

Table 10.4

Space occupied by energy in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Energy Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 263.5 435 672 1370.5 48.0 Photo 0 275 0 275 9.6 Article 0 480 198 678 23.7 Editorial 0 169 308 477 16.7 Letter to the Editor 0 56 0 56 2.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 263.5 1415 1178 2856.5 100

Table 10.4 shows space occupied by energy in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times. The space given to reportage of energy comprises 48% news stories, followed by 23.7% articles, 16.7% editorials and 9.6% photographs. Letters to the editor at 2% have been found to cover least space.

The space accorded to the coverage of energy in Hindustan Times was 263.5 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 1415 cm2 in 2007, and decreasing to 1178 cm2 in 2012. The total coverage provided to energy category by Hindustan Times amounted to 2856.5 cm2.

Table 10.5

Space occupied by forests in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Forests Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 256 1071 480 1807 100 Photo 0 0 0 0 0 Article 0 0 0 0 0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0 Others 0 0 0 0 0 Total 256 1071 480 1807 100

138

Table 10.5 represents space occupied by forests in various journalistic categories in Hindustan Times. In case of this category, only news stories were found in the sample of study. Coverage was not present in any other format.

The space accorded to the coverage of forests in Hindustan Times was 256 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 1071 cm2 in 2007, falling back to 480 cm2 in 2012. The total space garnered by forests in Hindustan Times was 1807 cm2.

Table 10.6

Space occupied by heritage sites in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Heritage Sites Space (cm2)

2002 2007 2012 Total %

News 0 306 136 442 80.4 Photo 0 0 108 108 19.6 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0

Total 0 306 244 550 100.0

Table 10.6 depicts the space covered by heritage sites in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times. The reportage consists mostly of news stories covering 80.4% area, followed by photographs covering 19.6%. There were no articles, editorials or letters to the editor on this variable.

There was no coverage of heritage sites in Hindustan Times in 2002. The space given to this category amounted to 306 cm2 in 2007 and 244 cm2 in 2012. The total space garnered by heritage sites in Hindustan Times was 550 cm2.

139

Table 10.7

Space occupied by pollution in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Pollution Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1656.25 514 1359 3529.25 100 Photo 0 0 0 0 0 Article 0 0 0 0 0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0 Others 0 0 0 0 0 Total 1656.25 514 1359 3529.25 100

Table 10.7 presents the space occupied by pollution in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times. The newspaper sample under investigation was found to have given coverage to this category only in the form of news stories.

The space accorded to the coverage of pollution in Hindustan Times was 1656.25 cm2 in 2002, sharply falling down to 514 cm2 in 2007, and climbing to 1359 cm2 in 2012. The total space garnered by pollution in Hindustan Times amounted to 3529.25 cm2.

Table 10.8

Space occupied by sanitation/waste management in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Sanitation/Waste Management Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 187.5 1027 1220 2434.5 92.7 Photo 0 192 0 192 7.3 Article 0 0 0 0 0.0 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 187.5 1219 1220 2626.5 100

140

Table 10.8 displays the space occupied by sanitation/waste management in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times. The largest space occupied by this category is in the form of news stories at 92.7%, followed by photographs 7.3%. In this newspaper, no other formats of coverage were found.

The space devoted to the coverage of sanitation/waste management in Hindustan Times was 187.5 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 1219 cm2 in 2007, staying close at 1220 cm2 in 2012. The total space acquired by sanitation/waste management in Hindustan Times was 2626.5 cm2.

Table 10.9

Space occupied by weather in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Weather Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1396 2172 1954 5522 81.1 Photo 320 811 128 1259 18.5 Article 0 28 0 28 0.4 Editorial 0 0 0 0 0.0 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1716 3011 2082 6809 100

Table 10.9 exhibits space occupied by weather in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times. News stories spread over 81.1% area were found to dominate the coverage, followed by photographs at 18.5% and articles at 0.4%. No editorials or letters to the editor were found.

The space accorded to the coverage of weather in Hindustan Times was 1716 cm2 in 2002, increasing to 3011 cm2 in 2007, and decreasing again to 2082 cm2 in 2012. The total space garnered by weather in Hindustan Times amounted to 6809 cm2.

141

Table 10.10

Space occupied by wildlife in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Wildlife Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 1239.75 4409 4086 9734.75 79.9 Photo 136.5 786 205 1127.5 9.3 Article 0 312 264 576 4.7 Editorial 0 338 297 635 5.2 Letter to the Editor 0 104 0 104 0.9 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1376.25 5949 4852 12177.25 100

Table 10.10 shows the distribution of space to wildlife reportage in different journalistic categories by Hindustan Times. The largest fraction of space is occupied by 79.9% news stories, followed by 9.3% photographs, 5.2% editorials and 4.7% articles. The smallest area i.e. 0.9% is covered by letters to the editor.

The space accorded to the coverage of wildlife in Hindustan Times was 1376.25 cm2 in 2002, registering an upsurge to 5949 cm2 in 2007, and decreasing to 4852 cm2 in 2012. The total space provided to wildlife by Hindustan Times amounted to 12177.25 cm2.

Table 10.11

Space occupied by water resource management in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Water Resource Management Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 590.75 2622 612 3824.75 84.7 Photo 0 255 0 255 5.7 Article 0 0 264 264 5.9 Editorial 0 169 0 169 3.7 Letter to the Editor 0 0 0 0 0.0 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 590.75 3046 876 4512.75 100

142

Table 10.11 evinces the space allocated to water resource management through various journalistic categories by Hindustan Times. News stories with 84.7% area dominate the coverage followed by articles at 5.9% and photographs at 5.7%. The lowest fraction of space is covered by editorials at 3.7%, while no letters to the editor are published.

The space dedicated to the coverage of water resource management in Hindustan Times was 590.75 cm2 in 2002, increasing markedly to 3046 cm2 in 2007, and plummeting to 876 cm2 in 2012. The total space acquired by water resource management in Hindustan Times amounted to 4512.75 cm2.

Table 10.12

Space occupied by miscellaneous in different journalistic categories in Hindustan Times:

Hindustan Times Miscellaneous Space (cm2) 2002 2007 2012 Total % News 574 1259 700 2533 54.9 Photo 0 0 0 0 0.0 Article 708 0 910 1618 35.0 Editorial 143 0 308 451 9.8 Letter to the Editor 16 0 0 16 0.3 Others 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 1441 1259 1918 4618 100

Table 10.12 depicts the space allotted to miscellaneous category under different journalistic categories by Hindustan Times. The largest portion of space i.e. 54.9% is covered by news stories, followed by 35% articles, 9.8% editorials and 0.3% letters to the editor. No photographic coverage was found on miscellaneous category.

The space dedicated to the coverage of miscellaneous category in Hindustan Times was 1441 cm2 in 2002, dropping to 1259 cm2 in 2007, and witnessing its highest of 1918 cm2 in 2012. The total space provided to miscellaneous in Hindustan Times amounted to 4618 cm2.

143

4.1 ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD

In order to test the hypothesis, ANOVA (analysis of variance) and Tukey’s HSD tests were applied. The aim for using ANOVA was to examine whether there is any significant difference between the selected newspapers on various variables. For further analysis of data, Tukey’s HSD was also used. Tukey’s HSD, a post-hoc test, was used to determine which newspaper groups in the sample have significant differences.

Table 11.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on the variable of total environment coverage (except photographs) for selected newspapers:

Descriptive Environment N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval coverage Deviation Error for Mean Name of Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 1425.70 730.10 79.66 1267.30 1584.18 The Times of 84 801.32 506.56 55.27 691.39 911.25 India The Indian 84 1051.3 730.66 79.72 892.74 1209.87 Express Hindustan Times 84 562.88 449.72 49.06 465.28 660.48 Total 336 960.32 693.08 37.81 885.93 1034.69

Table 11.1 shows the differences on mean score of total space given to environment coverage, excluding stand-alone photographs, among different newspapers. The result shows that mean score of The Hindu (1425.7) is higher as compared to its counterparts.

144

Table 11.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on total environment coverage (except photographs):

ANOVA

Environment coverage Sum of Squares df. Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 34283465.40 3 11427821.80 29.95 .000**

Within Groups 126640773.17 332 381448.11

Total 160924238.58 335 **P < .01

Table 11.2 shows a significant difference among newspapers on total space given to environment (except photographs). The F-value is 29.95 which is significant at .01 level of significance. Table 11.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on total environment coverage (except photographs) between the newspapers using Tukey’s HSD: Multiple Comparisons (I) Newspaper (J) Newspaper Mean Difference Sig. (I-J) The Hindu The Times of India 624.42* .000 The Indian Express 374.44* .001 Hindustan Times 862.86* .000 The Times of India The Hindu -624.42* .000 The Indian Express -249.99* .045 Hindustan Times 238.44 .061 The Indian Express The Hindu -374.44* .001 The Times of India 249.99* .045 Hindustan Times 488.43* .000 Hindustan Times The Hindu -862.86* .000 The Times of India -238.44 .061 The Indian Express -488.43* .000 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

145

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 29.95), p<.01). A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on total environment coverage (except photographs). The result shows that there is a significant difference between The Hindu and The Times of India (p<.01), The Hindu and The Indian Express (p<.01), and The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p<.01). The result further shows a significant difference between The Times of India and The Indian Express (p<.05), and The Indian Express and Hindustan Times (p<.01). However, on the other hand, an insignificant difference between The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05) on this variable was found.

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on the variable of total environment coverage (except photographs):

Graph 27

The graphical representation above depicts the mean difference between The Hindu (1425.7), The Times of India (801.32), The Indian Express (1051.3) and Hindustan Times (562.88) on the variable of total space given to environment coverage (except photographs) assigned to the environmental issues by these newspapers.

146

Table 12.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on the variable of number of stories (except photographs) for selected newspapers:

Descriptive Number of N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Stories Deviation Error for Mean Name of Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 6.94 2.94 .32 6.30 7.58 Times of India 84 5.04 2.35 .26 4.53 5.55 Indian Express 84 4.26 2.78 .30 3.66 4.87 Hindustan Times 84 4.00 2.49 .27 3.46 4.54 Total 336 5.06 2.88 .16 4.75 5.37

Table 12.1 shows the descriptive statistics of selected newspapers on total number of stories (except photographs) published in the sample selected for the research. Result shows that mean score of The Hindu (6.94) is higher among all the newspapers on this variable.

Table 12.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on number of stories (except photographs):

ANOVA Number of Sum of df Mean F Sig. Stories Squares Square Between Groups 444.98 3 148.33 21.08 .000** Within Groups 2335.83 332 7.04 Total 2780.81 335

** P < .01

Table 12.2 shows that there is a significant difference among the newspapers on total number of stories (except photographs). The F-value is 21.08 which is significant at .01 level of significance.

147

Table 12.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on number of stories (except photographs) between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD:

Multiple Comparisons (I) Newspaper (J) Newspaper Mean Difference (I- Sig. J) The Hindu The Times of India 1.91* .000 The Indian Express 2.68* .000 Hindustan Times 2.94* .000 The Times of India The Hindu -1.91* .000 The Indian Express .77 .234 Hindustan Times 1.04 .057 The Indian Express The Hindu -2.68* .000 The Times of India -.77 .234 Hindustan Times .26 .919 Hindustan Times The Hindu -2.94* .000 The Times of India -1.04 .057 The Indian Express -.26 .919 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 21.08) (p<.01). A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on total number of stories. The Tukey’s test reveals that there is a statistically significant difference between The Hindu and The Times of India on total number of stories (p<.01). In the same way, there is also a significant difference between The Hindu and The Indian Express (p<.01), and The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p<.01). On the other side, there is an insignificant difference between The Times of India and The Indian Express (p>.05), and The Indian Express and Hindustan Times (p>.05). There is also an insignificant difference between The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05) on this variable.

148

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on the variable of number of stories (except photographs):

Graph 28

Above is the graphical representation depicting difference on mean scores between The Hindu (6.94), The Times of India (5.04), The Indian Express (4.26) and Hindustan Times (4.00) on the variable of number of stories (except photographs) related to environment published by these newspapers.

149

Table 13.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on the variable of total photo space for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive Photo Space N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Deviation Error for Mean Name of Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 301.71 231.63 25.28 251.44 351.97 The Times of India 84 210.11 418.19 45.63 119.35 300.86 The Indian Express 84 323.25 305.74 33.36 256.90 389.60 Hindustan Times 84 132.60 161.05 17.57 97.65 167.55 Total 336 241.92 303.34 16.55 209.37 274.47

Table 13.1 shows the differences on mean score of total photo space (space allotted by the newspapers to photographs related to environment). Among all, The Indian Express scores highest mean (323.25).

Table 13.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on total photo space:

Anova

Photo Space Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 1944781.78 3 648260.59 7.45 .000** Within Groups 28879636.90 332 86986.85

Total 30824418.68 335 **P < .01

Table 13.2 shows that there is a significant difference among the newspapers on total photo space. The F-value is 7.45 which is significant at .01 level of significance.

150

Table 13.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on total photo space between selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD:

Multiple Comparisons (I) Newspaper (J) Newspaper Mean Difference (I-J) Sig. The Hindu The Times of India 91.60 .19 The Indian Express -21.54 .97 Hindustan Times 169.11* .00 The Times of India The Hindu -91.60 .19 The Indian Express -113.14 .06 Hindustan Times 77.51 .32 The Indian Express The Hindu 21.54 .97 The Times of India 113.14 .06 Hindustan Times 190.65* .00 Hindustan Times The Hindu -169.11* .00 The Times of India -77.51 .32 The Indian Express -190.65* .00 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 7.45) (p <.01). A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on total photo space. The Tukey’s test reveals that there is a significant difference between The Hindu and The Hindustan times on total photo area (p<.01), The Indian express and Hindustan Times (p<.01). On the other side, there is an insignificant difference between The Hindu & Times of India (p>.05), The Hindu &The Indian Express, (p>.05), The Indian Express and The Times of India (p>.05), The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05) on this variable.

151

Graph showing the mean difference between the newspapers on the variable of photo space: Graph 29

The above graph represents the mean difference between The Hindu (301.71), The Times of India (210.11), The Indian Express (323.25) and Hindustan Times (132.60) on the variable of total photo space assigned to the environmental issues by these newspapers. Table 14.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on the variable of number of photos for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive Number of N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Photos Deviation Error for Mean Name of the Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 2.40 1.59 .17 2.06 2.75 The Times of 84 1.80 1.53 .17 1.46 2.13 India The Indian 84 2.57 1.78 .20 2.18 2.96 Express Hindustan Times 84 1.46 1.42 .16 1.15 1.77 Total 336 2.06 1.64 .09 1.88 2.24

152

Table 14.1 shows the descriptive statistics of selected newspapers on total number of photographs. The Indian Express scores highest mean (2.57) as compared to its counterparts. Table 14.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on number of photos: ANOVA Number of Photos Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 67.55 3 22.51 8.90 .000** Within Groups 839.26 332 2.52

Total 906.81 335 **P < .01

Table 14.2 shows a significant difference among the newspapers on total number of photos. The F-value is 8.90 which is statistically significant at .01 level of significance.

Table 14.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on number of photos between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD: Multiple Comparisons (I) Newspaper (J) Newspaper Mean Difference (I- Sig. J)

The Hindu The Times of India .61 .07 The Indian Express -.17 .91 Hindustan Times .94* .00 The Times of India The Hindu -.61 .07 The Indian Express -.77* .01 Hindustan Times .33 .53 The Indian Express The Hindu .17 .91 The Times of India .77* .01 Hindustan Times 1.11* .00 Hindustan Times The Hindu -.94* .00 The Times of India -.33 .53 The Indian Express -1.11* .00 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

153

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 8.90) (p<.01). A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on total number of photographs. The results reveals that there is a significant difference between The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p<.01), The Times of India and The Indian Express (p<.01), and Hindustan Times and The Indian Express (p<.01).

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on the variable of number of photographs:

Graph 30

The graphical representation above depicts mean difference between The Hindu (2.40), The Times of India (1.80), The Indian Express (2.57) and Hindustan Times (1.46) on the variable of total number of photographs published by these newspapers.

154

Table 15.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on agriculture for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Agriculture N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Deviation Error for Mean Newspaper Lower Upper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 129.26 257.86 28.13 73.30 185.23 The Times of 84 30.06 127.39 13.90 2.41 57.71 India The Indian 84 77.64 277.76 30.30 17.36 137.92 Express Hindustan 84 28.92 107.25 11.70 5.64 52.20 Times Total 336 66.47 210.16 11.46 43.92 89.02

Table 15.1 shows difference in mean score among the selected newspapers on agriculture. The Hindu records the highest mean (129.26) as compared to other three newspapers selected for the study.

Table 15.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on agriculture:

ANOVA

Agriculture Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 571517.67 3 190505.89 4.44 .004**

Within Groups 14224794.67 332 42845.76

Total 14796312.35 335 **P < .01

Table 15.2 shows a significant difference among the newspapers on agriculture. The F-value is 4.44 which is significant at .01 level of significance.

155

Table 15.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on agriculture between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD:

Multiple Comparisons

(I) Newspapers (J) Newspapers Mean Difference Sig. (I-J) The Hindu The Times of India 99.21* .01

The Indian Express 51.62 .37

Hindustan Times 100.35* .01

The Times of India The Hindu -99.21* .01

The Indian Express -47.58 .45

Hindustan Times 1.14 1.00

The Indian Express The Hindu -51.62 .37

The Times of India 47.58 .45

Hindustan Times 48.72 .42

Hindustan Times The Hindu -100.35* .01

The Times of India -1.14 1.00

The Indian Express -48.72 .42

*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 4.44) (p<.01).A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on agriculture. Tukey’s test reveals a significant difference between The Hindu and The Times of India on agriculture (p<.05). There is also a significant difference between The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p<.05). On the other side, there is an insignificant difference between The Hindu and The Indian Express (p>.05), The Times of India and The Indian Express (p>.05), and The Indian Express and Hindustan Times (p>.05). There is also an insignificant difference between The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05) on this variable.

156

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on agriculture:

Graph 31

The graphical representation above depicts the difference between The Hindu (129.26), The Times of India (30.06), The Indian Express (77.64) and Hindustan Times (28.92) on agriculture.

Table 16.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on climate change for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive Climate Change N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Deviation Error Interval for Mean Name of the Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound

The Hindu 84 164.58 243.92 26.61 111.64 217.51 The Times of India 84 96.14 183.40 20.01 56.34 135.94 The Indian Express 84 160.81 333.52 36.39 88.43 233.19 Hindustan Times 84 38.68 134.35 14.66 9.52 67.83 Total 336 115.05 240.41 13.12 89.25 140.85

157

Table 16.1 shows the difference in the mean score of the selected newspaper on climate change. The result shows that mean score of The Hindu (164.58) is higher as compared to its counterparts. Table 16.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on climate change:

ANOVA

Climate Change Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 901905.53 3 300635.18 5.40 .001**

Within Groups 18460793.93 332 55604.80

Total 19362699.46 335 **P < .01 Table 16.2 shows a significant difference among the newspapers on climate change. The F-value is 5.40 which is significant at .01 level of significance.

Table 16.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on climate change between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD: Multiple Comparisons

(I) Newspapers (J) Newspapers Mean Difference Sig. (I-J)

The Hindu The Times of India 68.435 .238 The Indian Express 3.768 1.000 Hindustan Times 125.899* .003 The Times of India The Hindu -68.435 .238 The Indian Express -64.667 .286 Hindustan Times 57.464 .392 The Indian Express The Hindu -3.768 1.000 The Times of India 64.667 .286 Hindustan Times 122.131* .005 Hindustan Times The Hindu -125.899* .003 The Times of India -57.464 .392 The Indian Express -122.131* .005 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

158

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 5.40) (p<.001). A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on climate change category. There is a significant difference between The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p<.01) and The Indian Express and Hindustan Times (p<.01). On the other side, there is an insignificant difference between The Hindu and The Times of India (p>.05), and The Hindu and The Indian Express (p>.05).There is also an insignificant difference between The Times of India and The Indian Express (p>.05), The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05).

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on climate change:

Graph 32

The graph represents the difference of means between The Hindu (164.58), The Times of India (96.14), The Indian Express (160.81) and Hindustan Times (38.68) on climate change.

159

Table 17.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on disaster for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Disaster N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval for Deviation Error Mean

Name of Newspaper Lower Bound Upper Bound

The Hindu 84 149.13 233.46 25.47 98.47 199.79

The Times of India 84 57.33 123.96 13.53 30.43 84.23

The Indian Express 84 130.08 239.22 26.10 78.16 181.99

Hindustan Times 84 61.88 162.20 17.70 26.68 97.08

Total 336 99.60 199.15 10.87 78.23 120.97

Table 17.1 shows difference in mean score among different newspapers on disaster category. As per findings of the study, the mean score of The Hindu (149.13) is higher as compared to its counterparts. Table 17.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on disaster:

ANOVA

Disaster Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 553727.44 3 184575.82 4.81 .003**

Within Groups 12732815.45 332 38351.85

Total 13286542.89 335

**P < .01 Table 17.2 shows a significant difference among the newspapers on disaster category. The F-value is 4.81 which is significant at .01 level of significance.

160

Table 17.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on disaster between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD:

Multiple Comparisons

(I) Newspapers (J) Newspapers Mean Difference Sig. (I-J) The Hindu The Times of India 91.80* .01 The Indian Express 19.05 .92 Hindustan Times 87.25* .02 The Times of India The Hindu -91.80* .01 The Indian Express -72.75 .08 Hindustan Times -4.55 .99 The Indian Express The Hindu -19.05 .92 The Times of India 72.75 .08 Hindustan Times 68.20 .11 Hindustan Times The Hindu -87.25* .02 The Times of India 4.55 .99 The Indian Express -68.20 .11 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 4.81) (p<.01). A Tukey’s post-hoc test was used in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on this variable. Tukey’s test reveals a significant difference between The Hindu and The Times of India (p<.05), and The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p<.05). Further the result shows an insignificant difference between The Hindu and The Indian Express (p>.05), The Times of India and The Indian Express (p>.05), The Indian Express and Hindustan Times (p>.05) and The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05) respectively.

161

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on disaster:

Graph 33

The graphical representation above shows the difference of means between The Hindu (149.13), The Times of India (57.33), The Indian Express (130.08) and Hindustan Times (61.88) on disaster category.

Table 18.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on energy for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive Energy N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Deviation Error for Mean Name of Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 86.51 203.63 22.22 42.32 130.70 The Times of 84 27.66 103.48 11.29 5.20 50.12 India The Indian 84 35.67 136.28 14.87 6.09 65.24 Express Hindustan Times 84 30.73 111.49 12.17 6.54 54.93 Total 336 45.14 145.56 7.94 29.52 60.76

162

Table 18.1 shows the differences in mean score among selected newspapers on energy category. The result shows that mean score of The Hindu (86.51) is higher as compared to other newspapers analysed during the study. Table 18.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on energy:

ANOVA

Energy Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 194405.24 3 64801.74 3.11 .026*

Within Groups 6903691.29 332 20794.25

Total 7098096.54 335

*P < .05 Table 18.2 shows a significant difference among the newspapers on energy category. The F-value is 3.11 which is significant at .05 level of significance.

Table 18.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on energy between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD:

Multiple Comparisons (I) Newspapers (J) Newspapers Mean Difference Sig. (I-J)

The Hindu The Times of India 58.85* .04 The Indian Express 50.84 .10 Hindustan Times 55.78 .06 The Times of India The Hindu -58.85* .04 The Indian Express -8.01 .98 Hindustan Times -3.07 .99 The Indian Express The Hindu -50.84 .10 The Times of India 8.01 .98 Hindustan Times 4.94 .99 Hindustan Times The Hindu -55.78 .06 The Times of India 3.07 .99 The Indian Express -4.94 .99 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

163

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F =3.11) (p<.05). A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on energy category. Tukey’s test reveals a significant difference between The Hindu and The Times of India on this variable (p<.05). Unlike earlier, there is an insignificant difference between all other groups - The Hindu and The Indian Express (p>.05), The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p>.05), The Times of India and The Indian Express (p>.05), The Indian Express and Hindustan Times (p>.05) and The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05).

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on energy:

Graph 34

The above graphical representation highlights the difference between means of The Hindu (86.51), The Times of India (27.66), The Indian Express (35.67) and Hindustan Times (30.73) on energy category.

164

Table 19.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on forests for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Forests N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval for Deviation Error Mean Name of Lower Bound Upper Bound Newspaper The Hindu 84 55.12 188.46 20.56 14.23 96.02

The Times of 84 49.76 152.28 16.62 16.72 82.81 India The Indian 84 49.55 170.99 18.66 12.44 86.66 Express Hindustan Times 84 21.51 80.74 8.81 3.99 39.03

Total 336 43.99 153.56 8.38 27.51 60.47

Table 19.1 shows the difference in mean score among all the selected newspapers on forests category. As per the findings of the study, the mean score of The Hindu (55.12) is higher as compared to other three newspapers. Table 19.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on forests:

ANOVA

Forests Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 58258.67 3 19419.56 .82 .48

Within Groups 7840849.35 332 23617.02

Total 7899108.02 335

P >.05

Table 19.2 shows an insignificant difference among the newspapers on forests category. The F-value is .82 which is insignificant at .05 level of significance.

165

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on forests:

Graph 35

Above is the graphical representation depicting the difference of means between The Hindu (55.12), The Times of India (49.76), The Indian Express (49.55) and Hindustan Times (21.51) on forests category. Table 20.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on heritage sites for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Heritage Sites N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Deviation Error for Mean

Name of Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 39.74 165.52 18.06 3.82 75.65 The Times of 84 7.93 51.55 5.62 -3.26 19.12 India The Indian 84 10.36 59.03 6.44 -2.45 23.17 Express Hindustan Times 84 5.26 39.53 4.31 -3.32 13.84 Total 336 15.82 94.29 5.14 5.70 25.94

166

Table 20.1 shows the difference in mean score among The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times on heritage sites category. The mean score of The Hindu (39.74) is higher as compared to others.

Table 20.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on heritage sites:

ANOVA

Heritage Sites Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 65138.53 3 21712.84 2.47 .061

Within Groups 2913241.90 332 8774.83

Total 2978380.44 335

P > .05

As per Table 20.2, there is an insignificant difference among the newspapers on heritage sites category. The F-value (2.47) is insignificant at .05 level of significance. Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on heritage sites:

Graph 36

167

Above is the graphical representation depicting difference between The Hindu (39.74), The Times of India (7.93), The Indian Express (10.36) and Hindustan Times (5.26) on heritage sites category.

Table 21.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on pollution for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive Pollution N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Deviation Error for Mean Name of Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 54.59 125.72 13.71 27.31 81.87 The Times of 84 42.36 120.80 13.18 16.14 68.57 India The Indian 84 40.73 163.30 17.81 5.29 76.17 Express Hindustan Times 84 42.01 157.08 17.13 7.92 76.10 Total 336 44.92 142.42 7.76 29.64 60.21 Table 21.1 shows the difference in mean score among selected newspapers on pollution category. The mean score of The Hindu (54.59) is higher as compared to its counterparts.

Table 21.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on pollution:

ANOVA

Pollution Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 10591.65 3 3530.55 .173 .91

Within Groups 6784706.18 332 20435.86

Total 6795297.83 335

P > .05

168

Table 21.2 shows an insignificant difference among the newspapers on pollution category. The F-value (.30) is insignificant at .05 level of significance. Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on pollution:

Graph 37

The graphical representation above depicts the difference of means between The Hindu (54.59), The Times of India (42.36), The Indian Express (40.73) and Hindustan Times (42.01) on pollution category.

169

Table 22.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on ‘sanitation/ waste management’ for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Sanitation/ N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval for Mean Waste Deviation Error Management

Name of Lower Bound Upper Bound Newspaper

The Hindu 84 56.72 167.56 18.28 20.35 93.08

The Times of 84 36.45 138.95 15.16 6.29 66.60 India

The Indian 84 34.11 144.59 15.78 2.73 65.49 Express

Hindustan 84 28.98 110.45 12.05 5.01 52.95 Times

Total 336 39.06 141.61 7.73 23.87 54.26

Table 22.1 shows difference in mean score among different newspapers on sanitation/waste management category. The mean score of The Hindu (56.72) is higher as compared to its counterparts.

Table 22.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on ‘sanitation/ waste management’:

ANOVA

Sanitation/Waste Management Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 37355.10 3 12451.70 .619 .603

Within Groups 6680655.61 332 20122.45

Total 6718010.71 335

P > .05

170

Table 22.2 shows an insignificant difference among the newspapers on sanitation/waste management category. The F-value (.619) is insignificant at .05 level of significance.

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on ‘sanitation/ waste management’:

Graph 38

The graph above represents the difference of means between The Hindu (56.72), The Times of India (36.45), The Indian Express (34.11) and Hindustan Times (28.98) on sanitation/waste management.

171

Table 23.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on weather for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Weather N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Deviation Error Interval for Mean

Name of Newspaper Lower Upper Bound Bound

The Hindu 84 184.56 268.31 29.28 126.33 242.79

The Times of India 84 44.86 130.12 14.20 16.62 73.10

The Indian Express 84 60.44 183.03 19.97 20.72 100.16

Hindustan Times 84 66.07 177.45 19.36 27.56 104.58

Total 336 88.98 203.09 11.08 67.19 110.78

Table 23.1 shows difference in mean value among selected newspapers on weather category. As per the findings, the mean score of The Hindu (184.56) is higher as compared to its counterparts.

Table 23.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on weather:

ANOVA

Weather Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 1043384.86 3 347794.95 9.03 .000**

Within Groups 12774498.21 332 38477.40

Total 13817883.07 335

**P < .01

172

Table 23.2 shows a significant difference among the newspapers on weather category. The F-value (9.03) is significant at .01 level of significance.

Table 23.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on weather between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD:

Multiple Comparisons

(I) Newspapers (J) Newspapers Mean Difference(I- Sig. J) The Hindu The Times of India 139.70* .00 The Indian Express 124.12* .00 Hindustan Times 118.49* .00 The Times of India The Hindu -139.70* .00 The Indian Express -15.58 .96 Hindustan Times -21.21 .90 The Indian Express The Hindu -124.12* .00 The Times of India 15.58 .96 Hindustan Times -5.63 .99 Hindustan Times The Hindu -118.49* .00 The Times of India 21.21 .90 The Indian Express 5.63 .99 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 9.03) (p<.01). A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on weather category. The Tukey’s test reveals that there is a significant difference between The Hindu and The Times of India (p<.01), The Hindu and The Indian Express (p<.01), and The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p<.01). Findings further reveal that there is an insignificant difference between The Times of India and The Indian Express (p>.05), The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05), and The Indian Express and Hindustan Times (p>.05).

173

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on weather:

Graph 39

The graph represents the difference of means between The Hindu (184.56), The Times of India (44.86), The Indian Express (60.44) and Hindustan Times (66.07) on weather category. Table 24.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on wildlife for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Wildlife N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Deviation Error Interval for Mean Name of Lower Upper Newspaper Bound Bound The Hindu 84 254.85 339.24 37.01 181.23 328.47 The Times of India 84 221.08 273.84 29.88 161.65 280.50 The Indian Express 84 299.73 382.31 41.71 216.77 382.70 The Hindustan 84 133.17 184.81 20.17 93.06 173.28 Times Total 336 227.21 309.04 16.86 194.04 260.37

174

Table 24.1 shows difference in mean score among the four selected newspapers on wildlife category. The Indian Express (299.73) scores highest mean among all.

Table 24.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on wildlife:

ANOVA

Wildlife Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 1251980.51 3 417326.84 4.507 .004**

Within Groups 30741581.99 332 92595.13

Total 31993562.49 335

**P < .01

Table 24.2 shows a significant difference among the newspapers on wildlife category. The F-value (4.507) is significant at .01 level of significance.

Table 24.3 Multiple comparisons and level of significance on wildlife between the selected newspapers using Tukey’s HSD: Multiple Comparisons

(I) Newspapers (J) Newspapers Mean Difference (I-J) Sig. The Hindu The Times of India 33.77 .89 The Indian Express -44.88 .78 Hindustan Times 121.68* .05 The Times of India The Hindu -33.77 .89 The Indian Express -78.66 .34 Hindustan Times 87.91 .24 The Indian Express The Hindu 44.88 .78 The Times of India 78.66 .34 Hindustan Times 166.56* .00 Hindustan Times The Hindu -121.68* .050 The Times of India -87.91 .24 The Indian Express -166.56* .00 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

175

There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one- way ANOVA (F = 4.507) (p<.01). A statistically significant ANOVA was followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test in order to see the significance of difference within newspapers on wildlife category. Tukey’s test reveals that there is a significant difference between The Hindu and Hindustan Times (p<.05), and The Indian Express and Hindustan Times (p<.01). On the other hand, the findings revealed an insignificant difference between The Hindu and The Times of India (p>.05), and The Hindu and The Indian Express (p>.05). There is also an insignificant difference between The Times of India and The Indian Express (p>.05), and The Times of India and Hindustan Times (p>.05).

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on the variable of wildlife:

Graph 40

The graph shows the difference between the means of The Hindu (254.85), The Times of India (221.08), The Indian Express (299.73) and Hindustan Times (133.17) on wildlife category.

176

Table 25.1

Mean, standard deviation, standard error on water resource management for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Water Resource N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval for Management Deviation Error Mean Name of Lower Bound Upper Bound Newspaper The Hindu 84 135.65 240.79 26.27 83.40 187.91 The Times of India 84 91.61 190.10 20.74 50.35 132.86 The Indian express 84 71.39 213.14 23.26 25.13 117.64 Hindustan Times 84 50.69 183.93 20.07 10.77 90.60 Total 336 87.33 209.63 11.44 64.84 109.83 Table 25.1 shows difference in mean value among the selected newspapers on water resources management category. Among all, The Hindu (135.65) records highest mean value.

Table 25.2

Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on water resource management:

ANOVA

Water Resource Sum of df Mean Square F Sig. Management Squares

Between Groups 331836.25 3 110612.09 2.55 .056

Within Groups 14390082.68 332 43343.62

Total 14721918.93 335

p > .05

Table 25.2 shows an insignificant difference among the newspapers on water resource management category. The F-value (2.55) is insignificant at .05 level of significance.

177

Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on water resource management: Graph 41

The graphical representation depicts the difference of means between The Hindu (135.65), The Times of India (91.61), The Indian Express (71.39) and Hindustan Times (50.69) on water resource management category.

Table 26.1 Mean, standard deviation, standard error on miscellaneous for the selected newspapers:

Descriptive

Miscellaneous N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval for Deviation Error Mean Name of Newspaper Lower Bound Upper Bound The Hindu 84 115.03 214.82 23.44 68.41 161.65 The Times of India 84 79.48 204.72 22.34 35.05 123.91 The Indian Express 84 61.93 214.04 23.35 15.49 108.38 Hindustan Times 84 54.98 168.40 18.37 18.43 91.52 Total 336 77.85 201.83 11.01 56.20 99.51

Table 26.1 shows difference in mean value among selected newspapers on miscellaneous category. The Hindu (115.03) scores highest mean among all.

178

Table 26.2 Level of significance between the groups and within the groups on miscellaneous: ANOVA

Miscellaneous Sum of df Mean Square F Sig. Squares

Between Groups 181566.20 3 60522.07 1.49 .216

Within Groups 13465046.16 332 40557.37

Total 13646612.36 335

P > .05

Table 26.2 shows an insignificant difference among the selected newspapers on miscellaneous category. The F-value (1.49) is insignificant at .05 level of significance. Graph showing mean difference between the newspapers on the variable of miscellaneous:

Graph 42

The graph above represents the difference of means between The Hindu (115.03), The Times of India (79.48), The Indian Express (61.93) and Hindustan Times (54.98), on miscellaneous category.

179

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The current research has been designed to study the trends in reporting environment in major English dailies of India. It documents the state of affairs of environment reporting, as evident from its quantitative analysis on two main category streams, namely, environment category and journalistic category, conducted on four selected major English newspapers. Along with percentage evaluation, the ANOVA test was used to analyse the data. The data was coded and interpreted to draw valid inferences using the relevant statistical tools.

5.1 Space Analysis

Data analysis reveals that the quantum of environmental coverage is highest in The Hindu (128632.15 cm2) followed by The Indian Express (100799.10 cm2). The Times of India devoted 72748.00 cm2, while Hindustan Times has allotted a space of 51686.50 cm2 to environment coverage (see Table 1). The space allotted to reporting of environment in each newspaper was measured against the total space available for coverage in that very newspaper. It was found that The Times of India devoted 3.52% of its space to environment, as against 3.40% by The Hindu, 3.02% by The Indian Express and 2.29% by Hindustan Times. Overall, the total environmental coverage of all newspapers together amounted to 3.09% of the entire news hole (see Table 1). A similar study by Srivastava (1996) concluded that environmental news constituted only 0.7% of the total print area.

When the yardstick and measures were shifted to cumulative total environment coverage, i.e. measuring the entire environmental spectrum present in each newspaper, and it was compared against the total environment coverage that existed in all the four selected newspapers put together, over the three different time periods of the study, the findings reflected yet another dimension. The Hindu was found to have given largest quantum of coverage to environment by contributing a share of 36.3% followed by The Indian Express (28.5%) and The Times of India (20.6%). The data analysis further reveals that with 14.6% share, Hindustan Times has remained least concerned among all the English dailies about the environment as whole. (see Table 1.1). Supporting the findings of the current research, Akoijam (2012) concluded that The Hindu provided highest coverage to environmental issues, covering a wide

180 range of stories related to the environment, while Hindustan Times was found to have given the least coverage.

It is noteworthy that the space dedicated to environmental coverage when measured in cm2 for the investigated sample, it was found that The Hindu leads with a substantial margin as compared to the rest of the selected newspapers (see Table 1.1). However, on the contrary, on measuring the proportion of coverage given by each newspaper to environmental issues, with respect to its complete news hole (the total space available for coverage in that newspaper), two out of the four selected newspapers, i.e. The Hindu and The Times of India are found to have given almost equal coverage to environment stories (see Table 1). This can be attributed to the fact that The Hindu published more number of pages as compared to the other three dailies. Moreover, the size of the page also being a determinant, The Hindu printed pages comparatively bigger in size than the rest of the three newspapers during the time span of study. There was a substantial difference between the quantum of information present in any given edition of The Hindu as against the rest of the selected newspapers. This explains for the observation that when the quantum of space dedicated to environmental issues is viewed in isolation, The Hindu takes the lead, followed by The Indian Express, The Times of India and Hindustan Times. When the environmental coverage is gauged vis-à-vis the total news space in a given newspaper, the projections are different. The Times of India takes the lead (3.52%), followed by The Hindu (3.40%). The Hindu further followed by the Indian Express (3.02%) and Hindustan Times (2.29%) respectively. A similar study by CMS ENVIS (2010) also found that The Times of India provided maximum space (7.49%) to the reporting of environment issues.

5.2 Photograph Space

When the total space and number of photographs on environment were analysed, it was found that The Indian Express has ascribed the largest space to photographs on environment with 40.1% and Hindustan Times has given least space with 14.1%. The Hindu comes at second place with 28.4% and The Times of India ranks third with 17.4% (see Table 3.5).

On the other side, Table 4 represents the space distribution to stories with photographs and stories without any photographs, over different periods of time. In 2002, out of

181

the total space occupied by stories with photographs, The Hindu’s share was 40.5%, The Indian Express’ share was 34.8%, while the share of Hindustan Times and The Times of India was 14.9% and 9.8% respectively. In 2007, the proportion of stories with photographs was highest in The Indian Express with 33.5%, followed by The Hindu with 27.2%, The Times of India with 22.9% and Hindustan Times with 16.4%. At the third point of time in 2012, stories containing photographs were highest in The Hindu with 36.4%, while in The Indian Express they were 33.5%, and 15.9% and 14.2% in The Times of India and Hindustan Times respectively. The data also reveals that over different period of time the space provided to stories with and without photograph has undergone remarkable changes. Stories with photographs have increased continuously, while those without photographs have constantly decreased. The trend to extend visual support to stories could also be seen in other emerging areas of study. A study by Banjade (2006) revealed that almost one-fourth (24.0 per cent) of development news items were supported with a photo or graphics.

5.3 Frequency of Stories & Photographs

It is worth mentioning that the analysis may differ on the variables of space and number (frequency). A story or photograph may be covering more space and still be counted as one, while there may be many small stories occupying smaller space and yet the number counted may be higher. The present study has taken into account both the measures for the purpose of analysis.

The total number of environment related stories and photographs published in the newspapers was also counted (see Table 3.3). As per the findings of the study, The Hindu has published more number of stories as compared to the other three newspapers. Out of a total of 1837 news items, (including news stories, articles, photos, editorials, letters to the editor and others), The Hindu has published 630 news items followed by 460 by the The Times of India. The Indian Express with 425 is followed by Hindustan Times with 322 items. It was found that 34.30% news items were published by The Hindu followed by The Times of India with 25.04%. The Indian Express has published 23.13% items followed by Hindustan Times with 17.53%. In terms of the number of stories including photographs published by all the newspapers, an increase of 9.25% was registered from 2002 to 2007, and a decline of 22.40% was recorded from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was a decline of 15.10% in

182

the number stories including photographs from 2002 to 2012.

Result further reveals that 1837 items include 1412 news stories, 179 photos, 144 articles, 62 editorials, 30 letters to the editors and 10 others. Further analysis reveals that out of a total of 179 photographs, The Indian Express took lead in publishing the maximum number of photos on environment among all the newspapers. After publishing 67 photographs in total, The Indian Express contributes 37.4% of the total number of photographs published on environment. The Indian Express was followed by The Hindu (26.8%) by publishing 48 and The Times of India (21.2%) with 38 photos. By publishing 26 photographs related to environment, Hindustan Times was found to have published least number (14.6%) of photographs among all (see Table 3.3). Data analysis further shows that only 44 photographs on environment were published by all the selected newspapers in year 2002. The number of photographs increased to 89 in 2007 and further declined to 46 in 2012. In terms of the number of photographs published by all the newspapers, an increase of 102.30% was registered from 2002 to 2007, and a decline of 48.30% was recorded from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was an increase of 4.50% in the number of stories including photographs from 2002 to 2012 (see Table 3.4).

In terms of the ‘number’ of environment stories published by the selected dailies in different journalistic categories, it was found that overall, the coverage consisted 76.9% news stories, 9.7% photographs, 7.9% articles, 3.4% editorials, 1.6% letters to the editor and 0.5% other items (see Table 3.3).

The data was analysed as per the total number of environment stories and photographs published in the investigated sample of newspapers over the different periods of time. It can be inferred that number of news stories remained almost stagnant from 36.1% in 2002 to 36.2% in 2007, while witnessing a decline in 2012 to 27.7%. Number of photographs increased substantially from 24.6% in 2002 to 49.7% in 2007, dropping again to 25.7% in 2012. Number of articles register a continuous increase from 20.2% to 31.9%, further swelling up to 47.9% through the different points of time. Editorials have been found to decrease in number descending from 41.9% in 2002 to 35.5% in 2007, and continuing to deteriorate to 22.6% in 2012. Letters to the editor also slide down in number from 40% in 2002 to 36.7% in 2007, sinking to a further low of

183

23.3% in 2012. Number of ‘others’ have somewhat remained constant, keeping to 30% in 2002, rising to 40% in 2007, and falling back at 30% in 2012 (see Table 3.4).

5.4 No Coverage

On examining the number of days with no environment coverage, it was found that it was least in The Hindu and highest in Hindustan Times, with The Indian Express and The Times of India lying in between (see Table 4.1).

Hypothesis No. 1

5.5 Low Priority

All the available data and the subsequent analysis made it eloquently clear that the issue of environment appears to be high on agenda in the policy making schemes of the government. But, when it comes to mass media, the scale of significance is yet to witness a meaningful rising trend.

Environment has always been on the policy makers’ agenda in India. The setting up of a separate ministry, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in 1985 stands testimony to this fact. The Supreme Court of India has also been engaged in interpreting and introducing new changes in the environmental jurisprudence directly. The directive principles of state policy also hold it the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment. Moreover, a concern about conservation of the environment has received a renewed attention from the government in the recent decades.

India has also been showing a keen interest to address the issue of climate change, a global environmental problem. Recently, it has been quite articulate about and actively engaged in reduction of carbon footprint. The country has formally joined the climate change agreement that was agreed upon at the climate conference held in Paris in 2015 and handed over its official ratification documents to the United Nations in 2016. These developments strongly indicate the growing salience of the environmental concern in India.

But, contrary to this positive shift in favour of environment protection and preservation, the Indian media system in general, and print media in particular, have been found to pay little attention to this issue. As per the data available, it may be

184

asserted that environment coverage in print media in India is poor, while politics and crime continue to sweep the largest proportions in the space available for coverage.

The result of the present study reveals that space provided to reporting of environment in the selected dailies is very low. The overall space given to environment in the newspapers amounts to 3.09% of the total space available for coverage. The coverage in the selected newspapers taken individually, also paints a similar picture. The space provided to environment lies within the range of 2 to 4 per cent, the lowest being 2.29% by Hindustan Times, and the highest being 3.52% by The Times of India (see Table 1).

In consonance with the result of the current study, Karackatt (2015) and CMS ENVIS (2010) discovered that the space devoted to environment in the selected dailies was limited in the overall scheme of issues. Findings of the latter conclude that politics, business and crime covered 83% of the total space in all the newspapers examined. Business news received the largest proportion of space with 34.7%, followed by 25.99% news on politics. Crime related news items covered 11.58% space. The findings of the current study when compared to the coverage given to environment by newspapers published in Western nations, it was found that there is a large disparity in the figures. In a similar case, Ifenkwe (2008) in a study analyzing the national dailies in Ghana, has pointed out that The Sun newspaper assigned 23.65 per cent space to environmental reporting and rural development news, followed by The Punch (22.5 per cent) and The Champion (21.3 per cent).

In view of the available data and analysis of variables in the present study, Hypothesis No.1, “Despite its growing significance, reporting of environment in Indian mainstream English dailies is yet to gain its due space” stands accepted.

5.6 Placement

Placement is the location of the story. It also contributes to the significance of an issue when it comes to the coverage in newspapers. Anything that appears on front page automatically gains weightage. The aforementioned criteria can also be one of the alternative measures that reflect the significance of an issue. On this parameter again the analysis reveals that the mainstream and influential Indian newspapers have not accorded the pre-eminence position to the issue of environment. The following

185 paragraphs also show that the hypothesis no. 1 is being reiterated by the fact of its low presence on the locationally advantageous front page.

An analysis of distribution of environment coverage as on front page and the other pages of each newspaper reveals that out of the entire coverage on environment, 1.98% was found on the front page of The Hindu, 1.75% on front page of The Indian Express, 1.74% and 1.12% on that of The Times of India and Hindustan Times respectively (see Table 2). The Hindu was found to have allotted maximum ‘space’ to environment on front page of the newspaper. Findings reveal that of the entire coverage only a minuscule portion (6.59%) appeared on the front pages of all the newspaper in total and rest 93.41% appeared on the other pages (inside pages) of the dailies. With the findings of the study, it could be well established that all the newspapers under study have assigned very low space to the reporting of environment on front pages. The findings have been supported by Dutt, Garg and Bhatta (2013) revealing that of the total environment coverage, only 8% appeared on the first four pages of the various Indian newspapers, remaining 92% appeared on inside pages. A similar study by Nirmala and Arul (2016) also concluded that environment news on front page was limited during the course of their research.

Further separating the textual matter from pictorial elements, it was found that out of the total coverage published on the front page of all the newspapers, 90.3% constituted news stories and 9.7% were photographs (see Table 2.1, Graph 1). This reveals that the textual information has been preferred over the pictures by the newspapers.

As per the above findings, though The Hindu has provided maximum space to environment on front page, the data analysis further reveals that The Times of India finds first place in the list of selected newspapers when it comes to the ‘number’ (frequency) of environment stories and photographs published on front page (Table 2.2). Length of the stories and size of the photographs may be the reason in different scheme of things. The result indicates that The Times of India has given more prominence to this topic by publishing more number of stories and photographs on its front page as compared to the other newspapers. Lucas (2013) also found that The Times of India published a higher number of stories related to environmental issues on front page.

186

5.7 Year-wise Trends

On examining the space of the news hole in each newspaper as against the environment coverage present in it, and splitting it across the three time periods (see Table 1.3), it is found that The Times of India has assigned maximum space to environment among all in both 2002 and 2007. Reversing the trend in 2012, The Hindu surpassed The Times of India. Analysis highlight that all the four newspapers in total have assigned maximum space to environment in year 2007. With an area of 138115.5 cm2, year 2007 was followed by 120198.2 cm2 in 2012 (Table 3). In the basic year, 2002, an area of 95552 cm2 was dedicated to environment in total. The analysis further reveals that out of the total space in all the newspapers, only 2.57% space has been allocated to environment in 2002. In 2007, the space allotted to environment was 3.51%. In the same way, the space assigned to the environment in 2012 was 3.17% (see Table1.3). The trend shows that there was an increase of 44.50% from 2002 to 2007, and a decline of 13.00% from 2007 to 2012. Overall, the environment coverage registers an increase of 25.80% from 2002 to 2012. Nagarathinam and Bhatta (2015) verify that specifically, in 2007 and 2009 the coverage on climate change saw a notable upsurge not only in India, but all over the world.

When the prominence given to the environment coverage was further gauged year- wise, it was found that in year 2002, out of the entire environment coverage, 2.7% featured on the front pages of the dailies, and 24.3% on the other pages. In the same way, in 2007, 2.5% made it to the front page and 36.6% on the other pages. Registering an overall declining trend in case of front page coverage, in 2012, only 1.4% appeared on front page and 32.6% on the other pages of the newspapers (see Table 2.3, Graph 2).

5.8 Trends in Journalistic Categories

The data was analysed to measure the coverage of environment in different journalistic categories over different periods of time chosen for the study. The space allocated to the coverage of environment throughout the period of study includes 68.9% news stories, 16.9% articles and features, 8.9% stand-alone photographs, 3.6% editorials, 0.4% letters to the editor and 1.3% other items (see Table 3).

187

Hypothesis No. 2

5.8.1 News Stories

As per the findings of the study, all the four selected mainstream English dailies have published more news stories as compared to articles, editorials and other journalistic categories. The space (cm2) provided to different journalistic categories by the four newspapers shows that the total environment reportage done by The Hindu comprised of 70.2% news stories as compared to The India Express’ 57.1%. In the same way, 76.2% of total space assigned to the environment by The Times of India contains news stories as compared to Hindustan Times’ 78.5% space to news stories. With the above findings, it may be well asserted that all the four newspapers have abundantly covered ‘news stories’ category among all the journalistic categories. Surpassing rest three newspapers, The Hindu has given maximum space (90358.15 cm2) to this category. With a space of 57574.6 cm2, The Indian Express follows The Hindu. Devoting a space of 55436.75 cm2 to news stories category, The Times of India finds third position in the slot. Hindustan Times has provided least space (40558.5 cm2) among all (see Table 3.1, Graph 10).

On the other hand, the space given to news stories registered an increase of 31.5% from 2002 to 2007 (from 72271.75 cm2 to 95040 cm2) and witnessed a decline of 19.38% from 2007 to 2012 (from 95040 cm2 to 76616.25 cm2). Overall, there was an increase of 6.0% in the news stories category from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, it can be concluded that in totality, an increase in the space dedicated to news stories is witnessed (see Table 3, Graph 4). It is pertinent to point out that news stories category is the largest chunk of journalistic category reported in the four selected dailies. A similar study by Soma (2012) found that hard news is the most common format as compared to editorials, letters to the editor, features and soft news, adopted by selected newspapers in covering development news. In view of the data analysis and observation, Hypothesis No. 2 “There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of news stories in English dailies” stands accepted.

188

Hypothesis No. 3

5.8.2 Photographs

In conformity with the trend of growing glitter in the society, the mainstream English dailies have also followed suit with increasing the share of illuminating ingredients. The following data bears testimony to the fact.

With the findings of the study, it could be well established that photographs category is the most covered journalistic category after news stories and articles. All the newspapers have assigned considerable space to photographs related to environment. Contributing a share of 40%, the investigation further reveals that, The Indian Express takes the lead in assigning maximum space (12489 cm2) to the photographs related to environment (see Table 1.2). The Indian Express has also published the maximum number of photos among all the four newspapers. Result indicates that The Indian Express has given utmost importance to the pictorial representation of the environment as compared to the other three English dailies. The Indian Express is followed by The Hindu (8869.50 cm2). Hindustan Times has provided least space (4404.2 cm2) to photographs on environment among all. The variation in photographic coverage of environment present in the selected dailies evinces that space allocated to photographs on environment registers a sharp increase from 2002 (6395.2 cm2) to 2007 (17058.50 cm2), and tumbles down in 2012 (7746 cm2) (see Table 3, 3.2 & Graph 5). A close scrutiny will further reveals that in terms of percentage, there was increase of 166.7% from 2002 to 2007, and a decline of 54.6% from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was an increase of 21.1% in the photographic coverage from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, hypothesis no. 3 “There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of photographs in English dailies”, stands accepted.

Hypothesis No. 4

5.8.3 Articles

Validating the general perception that environment is inherently a complex issue that needs an interpretative and in-depth approach for better understanding, the mainstream English dailies also mirror a similar trend. The following data corroborates the inference.

189

Articles is the second most covered journalistic category only after news stories category in all the newspapers. The Indian Express has provided a space of 24.7% to the articles as compared to 18.3% by The Hindu. Meanwhile, assigning a space of 10.5% to the articles, The Times of India has provided more space to this category as compared to Hindustan Times 7.6%. Further data analysis reveals that with a space of 24855 cm2, The Indian Express has provided maximum space to this journalistic category followed by The Hindu with 23483.5 cm2. Hindustan Times has provided least space (3910.25 cm2) to this category also. The Times of India has assigned a space of 7642.25 cm2 to the articles on environment. When compared year-wise, the space provided to environment reporting in the form of articles was found to be increasing consistently through the three time periods. Registering almost a double fold increase, the space surged from 9609 cm2 to18820 cm2 from year 2002 to 2007, which further reached 31462 cm2 in 2012 (see Table 3, 31. & Graph 6). Further detailed analysis reveals that there was an increase of 95.9% in space assigned to the articles from 2002 to 2007, and 67.2% from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was an increase of 227.4% in the articles category from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, Hypothesis No. 4 “Articles on environment continue to find more space in major English dailies” stands accepted.

Hypothesis No. 5

5.8.4 Editorials

Contrary to the tentative perception, the mainstream English dailies failed to raise their voice on this vital social and scientific concern, which has a direct bearing on human well-being. The following data reveals the ground realities.

With 3.8% space to editorials, The Hindu has provided maximum space to this category as compared to The Indian Express’ 2.6%. On the other side, as against Hindustan Times’ 4.9% space to editorials, The Times of India has dedicated a space of 3.4% to this category. The further year-wise data analysis reveals that the space accorded to reporting environment in the form of editorials continues to decrease through the different time periods selected for investigation. Starting from 5680 cm2 in 2002, the space assigned to editorials decreased to 3969 cm2 in 2007 which further declined to 2930 cm2 in 2012 (see Table 3, Graph 7). In terms of percentage, there was a decrease of 30.10% in space assigned to the editorials from 2002 to 2007,

190

and a further decrease of 26.20% from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was a total decrease of 48.4% in the editorials category from 2002 to 2012. A study on editorials of three national dailies - The Hindu, The Times of India and Hindustan Times by Srinivasan (1985) revealed that the newspapers had devoted a space of 27.3 per cent, 27.8 per cent and 46.3 per cent respectively to cover the politics. Further, Srivastava (1996) concluded that no editorial appeared on the environment in the whole month of March, 1995. Therefore, Hypothesis No. 5 “The mainstream English dailies raise their voice in favour of environment more frequently through editorials” stands rejected.

Hypothesis No. 6

5.8.5 Letters to the Editor

Supporting the hypothesis, the data is categorically pointing out that the response of the enlightened readers of the selected elite Indian dailies to the varied environmental issues is extremely lukewarm.

The analysis shows that letters to the editor find only 0.6% space in The Hindu as against The Indian Express’ 0.2%. Assigned a space of mere 0.4% by The Times of India as compared to Hindustan Times’ 0.5%, letters to the editor remains to be the least covered category among specified journalistic categories in all the newspapers studied during the course of research. With a space of 803 cm2, The Hindu has provided maximum space to the letters to the editor and The Indian Express has assigned least space (216 cm2) to this journalistic category among all the newspapers. The space acquired by letters to the editor regarding environmental issues continues to decrease through the selected time periods. It was highest in 2002 (708 cm2), dropping to a low in 2007 (525 cm2), and further declining to the lowest in 2012 (317 cm2). Moreover, letters to the editor on environment cover only 0.4% of the total space given to environment coverage (see Table 3, 3.1 & Graph 8). On analysing further, the findings reveal that there was a decrease of 25.80% in space assigned to the letters to the editor from 2002 to 2007, and a further decrease of 39.60% from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was a total decrease of 55.2% in the letters to the editor category from 2002 to 2012. On the other side, D.V.R Murthy (2001) found that a total of 86 letters (13.5 per cent) appeared on development in the newspapers. The highest number of letters appeared in The Hindu (38), followed by The Indian

191

Express (17). In view of the data analysis and observation, Hypothesis No. 6 “Readers’ response to environment in English dailies is very low” stands accepted.

5.9 Newspaper-wise Journalistic Categories

The total environment reportage done by The Hindu comprised of 70.2% news stories, 18.3% articles, 6.9% photographs, 3.8% editorials, 0.6% letters to the editor and 0.2% others. (Table 3.1, Graph 10). The environment coverage by The Times of India included 76.2% news stories, 10.5% articles, 7.5% photographs, 3.4% editorials, 0.4% letters to the editor and 2% others. In The Indian Express, 57.1% were news stories, 24.7% articles, 12.4% photographs, 2.6% editorials, 0.2% letters to the editor and 3% others. Hindustan Times in its coverage on environment published 78.5% news stories, 7.6% articles, 8.5% photographs, 4.9% editorials and 0.5% letters to the editor. Apart from the above findings, it was also found that ‘others’ category registered a tremendous increase of 204.4% from 2002 to 2007, and dropped 58.3% from 2007 to 2012. Over all, there was a surge of 26.9% in the ‘others’ category from 2002 to 2012.

5.10 Trends in Environment Categories

5.10.1 Agriculture

The newspaper-wise coverage of agriculture in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories, spread over the different periods of time was analysed. The space and number of stories provided to agriculture in all the three years (2002, 2007 & 2012) was highest in The Hindu (see Table 5.1, 5.2 & Graph 11). On the basis of this data, it may be concluded that The Hindu has given more coverage to agriculture among all the newspapers as a whole. Even though, Hindustan Times secures second rank in year 2012 in publishing the total number of stories, The Indian Express follows The Hindu as whole in all the three years. In the same way, the variation in coverage of agriculture over the different points of time under investigation shows a decline in the coverage from 2002 to 2007 and an increase in 2012. The coverage of agriculture registered an overall decline of 7.50% from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, agriculture was found to have received a space of 6.36%. These findings are substantiated by the results of the study carried out by

192

Akoijam (2012). Researcher found that The Hindu and The Indian Express carried more coverage related to agriculture or development issues as compared to other newspapers. It added that The Hindu was found to cover important aspects on agriculture, unlike the other dailies. The Indian Express was also found to give importance to this domain. The study also found that coverage given by The Times of India and Hindustan Times to agriculture was lower than other dailies. While as, Narayana and Kumar (2009) found that the agriculture coverage in regional newspapers in India was fairly low.

5.10.2 Climate Change

The newspaper-wise coverage of climate change in terms of space (cm2) spread over the different periods of time shows a changing trend over the years. In 2002, the coverage was highest in The Times of India. With a space of 12036.50 cm2 and 36 stories in year 2007, The Hindu took the lead and left The Times of India behind. Replacing The Hindu, The Indian Express emerged as largest newspaper in covering the climate change in 2012. The variation in coverage of climate change over the different periods of time shows an upsurge in year 2007 and then a decline in 2012. Over all, the total coverage to the climate change increased in 2012 more than three- fold as of 2002 (see Table 5.3, 5.4, Graph 12). The coverage of climate change registered an overall increase of 233.20% from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, climate change was found to have received a space of 11.73%. Further verifying these results, Global Sherpa (2011) states that the attention given to climate change by newspapers has increased. There was a rise in newspaper appearances of articles mentioning the term climate change, from 0.5 articles near the beginning of 2006 to over 1.5 articles in 2007-08. The number fell back to about 1.0 article per paper since 2008, which also coincides with the beginning of the global economic recession. In the present study also, the coverage was seen to slump in 2012, after the remarkable increase in 2007.

5.10.3 Disaster

The newspaper-wise coverage of disaster in terms of space (cm2) spread over the different periods of time, reveals that The Indian Express provided maximum space to this category in 2002. Unlike the aforementioned year, in 2007, The Hindu overtook The Indian Express and secured first place in covering disaster. The Hindu maintained

193 its place in 2012 as well. On the other side, the variation in coverage of disaster over the different periods of time indicates that the space allotted to disaster registered an increase in 2007 and then a decrease in 2012. In total, the space assigned to disaster as whole in 2012 was less than that of of 2002 (see Table 5.5, 5.6 & Graph 13). Disaster category registered an overall decline of 27% in the coverage from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, disaster was found to have received a space of 11.80%. Akoijam (2012) states that only The Indian Express carried detailed reports of drought situations in Indian villages, mainly in Maharashtra, which were chiefly missing in the rest of the newspapers.

5.10.4 Energy

The newspaper-wise coverage of energy in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories, spread over the different periods of time exhibits that The Hindu has provided highest coverage to this environment category in 2002. The analysis also reveals that The Hindu continued to allot maximum space to the coverage of energy during 2007 as well as 2012. Further, variation in coverage of energy unveils that the space allotted to energy increased and then decreased over the already defined period of time (see Table 5.7, 5.8 & Graph 14). The coverage of energy also registered an overall increase of 47.7% from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, energy was found to have received a space of 4.36%.

5.10.5 Forests

The analysis of newspaper-wise coverage of forests in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study found that The Times of India devoted maximum space to the coverage of forests in 2002 and 2007. Unlike the earlier, in 2012, The Indian Express overtook The Times of India and allotted highest space to the coverage of forests (see Table 5.9, 5.10 & Graph 15). On studying the variation in coverage of forests during different years, it was found the total space allotted to forests category over the years kept increasing. The coverage was lowest in 2002 and highest in 2012. The coverage of forests recorded an overall increase of 72.5% from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, forests category was found to have received a space of 4.31%. In consonance with these findings, the statistics according to Global Sherpa (2011) also show that the news coverage given to the issue of biodiversity has increased steadily. From almost

194

negligible appearances in the last decade of 20th century, the newspaper media’s usage of the term biodiversity has increased to nearly 0.1 articles per newspaper in 2000 and 0.2 articles per paper by 2010.

5.10.6 Heritage Sites

When the newspaper-wise coverage of heritage sites in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study was examined, it was found that The Hindu has devoted maximum space to the coverage of heritage sites in 2002. Replacing The Hindu, The Indian Express took the lead and remained to be the largest newspaper in covering heritage sites in 2007 as well as 2012. On the other hand, variation in coverage of heritage sites during different years under study reveals that the coverage first decreased in year 2007 and then registered an upsurge in 2012 (see Table 5.11, 5.12, Graph 16). Heritage sites also registered an overall increase of 94.80% coverage from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, heritage sites category was found to have received a space 2.05%.

5.10.7 Pollution

The newspaper-wise coverage of pollution in terms of space (cm2) through the period of study shows that the largest space to stories on pollution was dedicated by The Hindu in 2002. In 2007, The Times of India takes the lead with The Hindu following closely. In 2012, the trend is reversed with Hindustan Times devoting maximum space to coverage on pollution. The variation in coverage of pollution during the period of study reveals that the space allotted to pollution registered a decrease over the period of time. The coverage was highest in 2002 and lowest in 2012 (see Table 5.13, 5.14 & Graph 17). Pollution category was found to have registered an overall decline of 64.30% from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, pollution category was found to have received a space of 4.45%. Lucas (2013) found that pollution and urban related news are given wider coverage in the newspaper sample analysed. It can be surmised that the variation in two studies may be due to the difference in sample size and time period.

5.10.8 Sanitation/Waste Management

The study of newspaper-wise coverage of sanitation/waste management in terms of

195

space (cm2) and number of stories through the three time periods show that The Hindu has allotted maximum space to the coverage of sanitation/waste management both in 2002 and 2007. Reversing the trend, in 2012, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times allotted highest and equal space to the coverage of sanitation/waste management. Showkat (2016) found that the number of stories related to sanitation policies and issues published by The Hindu is higher than that of the stories published by The Times of India. When the coverage of sanitation/waste management category was gauged year-wise, it was found that the coverage has increased in 2007 and then again declined in 2012 (see Table 5.15, 5.16 & Graph 18). Findings reveal that sanitation/waste management category has registered an overall increase of 54.30% from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, sanitation/waste management category was found to have received a space of 3.76%.

5.10.9 Weather

The analysis of newspaper-wise coverage of weather in terms of space (cm2) through the period of study shows that The Hindu has allocated maximum space to the weather category during 2002, 2007 and 2012. There was a different trend when the variation in coverage of weather was gauged over already defined period of time. It evinces that the space was more in 2007 as compared to 2002 and remained almost same in the year 2012 (see Table 5.17, 5.18, Graph 19). There was an overall increase of 6.30% in coverage of weather category from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, weather category was found to have received a space 10.25%.

5.10.10 Wildlife

Unlike the trends in case of weather category, the study of newspaper-wise coverage of wildlife in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories through the period of study showed that The Hindu has allotted maximum space to this category in 2002. It was found that The Times of India left behind The Hindu in 2007 and took the lead. Further, in 2012, The Indian Express reversed the whole trend and allotted highest space to the wildlife category. The analysis of space (cm2) allotted to coverage of wildlife by the newspapers through the given years shows that the space allotted to wildlife continues to increase through the three periods of time (see Table 5.19, 5.20 & Graph 20). Wildlife recorded an increase of 149.1% in coverage from 2002 to

196

2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, wildlife category was found to have received a space 24.36%. Among all the environment categories included in the study, it was found that wildlife was the single largest category to receive the highest space in total. Akoijam (2012) discovered that wildlife received significant coverage in all the newspapers, including The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times.

5.10.11 Water Resource Management

The comparative enquiry of newspaper-wise coverage of water resource management in terms of space (cm2) over the three time periods revealed that The Times of India in 2002, The Hindu in 2007 and The Indian Express in 2012 allotted highest space to the coverage of this category. On analysing the space (cm2) allotted to coverage of water resource management by the selected newspapers, it was found that the space allotted to water resource management registers only a slight variation through the selected years of study (see Table 5.21, 5.22, Graph 21). The coverage of water resource management category decreased 3.9% from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, water resource management category was found to have received a space 8.60%. Rashmi (2011) found that water issues were being poorly covered, and they only caught the fancy of the newspaper editors, with the happening of some related issue or event. With the rise and fall of events, the coverage also was found to vary.

5.10.12 Miscellaneous

The newspaper-wise coverage of miscellaneous category in terms of space (cm2) and number of stories over different time periods overall witnessed a different trend. It was found that The Times of India in 2002, The Indian Express in 2007 and The Hindu in 2012 devoted largest space to aforementioned category. The scrutiny of space (cm2) allotted to miscellaneous category by the selected newspapers revealed space shrank from 2002 to 2007. Overall, year 2002 remained dominating among the three years (see Table 5.23, 5.24, Graph 22). The overall coverage of miscellaneous category also decreased 22.7% from 2002 to 2012. Out of the total space provided to the environment in total, miscellaneous category was found to have received a space of 7.97%.

197

Further, the space (in cm2) dedicated to different environment categories by all the selected newspapers was analysed. It was found that The Hindu has assigned a space of 18.7% to wildlife, highest among all its categories, as compared to The Times of India’s 29.6%. On the other side, The Indian Express’ largest space of environment coverage is also occupied by wildlife with 28.2% as against Hindustan Times’ 23.6% space. With the findings of the study, it could be asserted that wildlife has garnered highest share of environment coverage in all the newspapers studied. Interestingly, heritage sites category has received least coverage in all the newspapers. The category has received 2.6% space in The Hindu, 0.9% in The Times of India, 2.7% in The Indian Express and 1.1% in Hindustan Times. With the above findings, it could be well established that wildlife has received highest while heritage sites has received lowest coverage in total among all the environment categories.

5.11 Environment Categories through Journalistic Categories

The study of variation in coverage of agriculture in The Hindu found that it comprised mostly of news stories (68%) followed by articles (24.3%). There was no photographic coverage of agriculture at all in The Hindu (see Table 7.1). On the other side, The Times of India didn’t publish a single article in order to cover agriculture. News stories (54%) and editorials (25.1%) remained to be the most covered journalistic category in The Times of India (see Table Table 8.1). In the same way, The Indian Express also covered the aforementioned category majorly in the form of news stories (70.7%) followed by the articles (27%). There was no photograph or any letter to the editor related to agriculture in the newspaper (see Table 9.1). Meanwhile, agriculture was not represented through photographs or letters to the editor by Hindustan Times. News stories (77.8%) followed by the articles occupied major space in Hindustan Times (see Table 10.1).

Unlike earlier trends, the coverage of climate change by The Hindu was mostly in the form of articles occupying a space of 48.8% followed by the 42.8% news stories (see Table 7.2). As against 6% coverage of The Hindu to climate change in the form of photographs, The Times of India has provided almost negligible space (0.3%) to such photos. The Times of India has covered climate change category by providing a space of 71.9% to news stories and 15% to the articles (see Table 8.2). The largest proportion of coverage in The Indian Express was garnered by articles (36.1%),

198

followed by news stories (33.1%). It is noteworthy that climate change coverage in The Indian Express received due representation through all the identified journalistic categories during the period of study (see Table 9.2). Hindustan Times have covered this category by providing a space of 68.3% to the news stories followed by photographs at 11.4%. Unlike the above trends, Hindustan Times have covered climate change by providing a space to all identified journalistic categories (see Table 10.2).

On the other side, even a single article on disaster didn’t appear in The Hindu during the course of research. Disaster coverage in the newspaper mainly consisted of news stories (82%) and photographs (16.8%) (see Table 7.3). News stories (80.9%) and (19.1%) photographs garnered ample space in The Times of India. It is important to mention here that no other journalistic category was given any coverage while covering disaster by The Times of India (see Table 8.3). Disaster category was majorly covered by The Indian Express in the form of news stories (66.8%), with photographs at 25.2% taking the second lead (see Table 9.3). Hindustan Times reportage was also present only in two formats – news stories (85.2%) and photographs (14.8%), while no articles, editorials or letters to the editor were found (see Table 10.3).

When it comes to energy category, The Hindu has assigned a space of 84.3% to news stories and 15.1% to the articles. Photographs or editorials on this variable were not found in the sample of study (see Table 7.4). On the other side, the news stories were found to have been spread over an area of 83% in The Times of India followed by the others category (10.4%). The data analysis further reveals that not a single photograph, article or letters to the editor on energy was found to be published by the newspaper during the span of study (see Table 8.4). Unlike the above result, it was found that The Indian Express has allotted maximum space to the articles (52.4%) on energy. Even though the news stories stood at 42.6%, The Indian Express haven’t given any coverage to photographs or letters to the editor (see Table 9.4). Again, a space of 48% to news stories and 23.7% to the articles related to the energy category was allotted by Hindustan Times (see Table 10.4).

In covering forests category, The Hindu has allotted maximum space to news stories (70.1%) followed by articles (26.4%). It was found that there was no photographic

199

coverage or letters to the editor on forests reportage in the sample newspapers (see Table 7.5). On the other side, The Times of India haven’t allotted space to any journalistic category on this variable except news stories (96.7%) and photographs (3.3%) (see Table 8.5). As per the findings of the study, the reportage in The Indian Express is dominated by news stories (65.9%) and photographs (33.2%). There was not a single article or editorial on forests in the sample under investigation (see Table 9.5). In an unusual revelation, it was found that coverage on forests by Hindustan Times was not present in any format except news stories (100%) (see Table 10.5).

The scrutiny of space dedicated to heritage sites in different journalistic styles in The Hindu revealed that the coverage was dominated by news stories (76.6%) and articles (10.1%). Even though, no photograph was found in the sample, the readers seem to have taken a considerable interest in this issue as the letters to the editor received a space of 4.8% in the newspaper (see Table 7.6). Analysis reveals that The Times of India’s coverage to heritage sites was constituted of 80.8% news stories and 19.2% editorials. Rest, no journalistic category was given any coverage while covering heritage sites by The Times of India (see Table 8.6). In the same way, coverage of heritage sites in The Indian Express mainly comprised of news stories (62.9%) and articles (28.2%). No editorial was found in the sample newspapers (see Table 9.6). Meanwhile, Hindustan Times didn’t give any space to articles, editorials and letters to the editor on this variable. It was found that the reportage mainly consisted of news stories (80.4%) and photographs (19.6%) (see Table 10.6).

News stories (85.6%) formed the largest chunk of space given by The Hindu to pollution.

Although, photographs received 9% and articles 5.4%, not a single editorial or letter to the editor on pollution was found in the sample newspapers (see Table 7.7). In the same way, pollution did not find any coverage through editorials and letters to the editor in The Times of India as well. The space was mainly occupied by news stories (80.5%) and articles (see Table 8.7). The Indian Express also seems to have followed the same trend and didn’t cover pollution through editorials and letters to the editor. The coverage was constituted of news stories (93.9%) and articles (6.1%) (see Table 9.7). Hindustan Times on the other hand has dedicated space to pollution category only in the form of news stories (see Table 10.7).

200

Although not a single photograph has been published in the sample studied during the course of research, The Hindu was found to have provided a considerable space (4.6%) to letters to the editor on sanitation/waste management category. The data analysis further shows that news stories (72.3%) took the major share of the space allocated in total followed by articles (19.4%) (see Table 7.8). In the same way, with no photographs or editorials on sanitation and waste management’, The Times of India was discovered to have assigned most of the space to the news stories (82.9%) and articles (14.6%) on this variable (see Table 8.8). Without providing any space to photographs, editorials and letters to the editor, The Indian Express has allocated ample space to articles (42.6%) on sanitation/waste management. News stories (57.4%) still remain to be the largest covered journalistic category (see Table 9.8). Meanwhile, in covering sanitation/waste management, Hindustan Times hasn’t provided space to any other category except news stories (92.7%) and photographs (7.3%) (see Table 10.8).

Garnering a space of 83.4%, news stories dominated coverage of weather in The Hindu. News stories were followed by photographs (10%) and articles (4.2%) (see Table 7.9). Further analysis reveals that articles, editorials and letters to the editor on weather were not given any space by The Times of India. The journalistic categories that majorly dominated were news stories (84.9%) and photographs (15.1%) (see Table 8.9). By assigning a space of 34.9% to photographs, The Indian Express has given an utmost importance to the pictorial representation of weather in addition to the textual information in the form of news stories (58.9%) (see Table 9.9). Hindustan Times has also provided most of the space to news stories (81.1%) and photographs (18.5%) (see Table 10.9).

The data analysis reveal that The Hindu’s coverage to wildlife category mostly consists of news stories (63.6%), articles (22.5%) and photographs (10.8%). It was also found that The Hindu has provided coverage to wildlife in almost all specified journalistic formats (see Table 7.10). In covering wildlife, The Times of India was found to have provided a space of 72.1% to news stories, 13.8% to photographs and articles 11.1% (see Table 8.10). By providing coverage through all the identified journalistic categories, The Indian Express was found to have provided the major

201 share of coverage to wildlife in the form of news stories (58.1%) followed by articles (25.6%) and photographs (11.5%) (see Table 9.10). While covering wildlife, Hindustan Times also provided a space of 79.9% to news stories and 9.3% to the photographs (see Table 10.10).

Although, The Hindu was found to have covered water resource management through all the journalistic formats, the coverage mainly comprised of news stories (71%) and articles (18.1%) (see Table 7.11). In the same way, The Times of India has allotted maximum space to news stories (83.6%) and articles (11.6%) on this variable (see Table 8.11). Providing an ample space to the articles (37.4%), The Indian Express’ coverage on water resource management was majorly in the form of news stories (52.7%). Apart from that, all the journalistic categories were given a due consideration (see Table 9.11). Hindustan Times was found to have covered water resource management category mainly through news stories (84.7%). News stories were followed by articles (5.9%) and photographs (5.7%) (see Table 10.11).

Data analysis evinces that The Hindu has covered miscellaneous category through all the journalistic formats. It was also found that the major portion of the coverage was in the form of news stories (66.8%), articles (15.7%) and editorials (11.7%) (see Table 7.12). The analysis of space further reveals that there was no photographic coverage of this variable in The Times of India. The newspaper has provided a space of 65.8% to news stories and 26.4% to the articles (see Table 8.12). After assigning almost an equal space to photographs and editorials, The Indian Express has provided an ample space to the articles (29.6%) falling under miscellaneous category. With a coverage of 53.4%, news stories emerged as the largest category among all in The Indian Express (see Table 9.12). With no photographic coverage, Hindustan Times was also found to have allotted considerable space to articles (35%) falling under miscellaneous category. It was found that major portion of the coverage was occupied by the new stories (54.9%) (see Table 10.12).

With the analysis of data, it can be observed and deduced that different themes of environment vary in terms of representation in different formats. After receiving maximum coverage, news stories remained to be dominant among all the journalistic categories. On climate change category, The Hindu dedicated maximum space to the articles. The Indian Express has allotted maximum space to energy and climate

202 change categories through articles. Data analysis further reveals that The Indian Express has overall allocated more space to articles on various environment categories as compared to the other three. After providing a space of 57.1% to the news stories category, result reveals that The Indian Express has assigned a space of 42.9% in total, to all the other journalistic categories (articles, photographs, editorials, letters to the editor and others), which is highest among all. It was found that all the other three newspapers have accorded a space of more than 70 % to only one journalistic category (news stories). The environment categories that are more popular – those which receive larger space by all the dailies - are found to have been represented through a broader range of journalistic categories. Wildlife, which remains the single largest covered environment category, has found space in all the selected newspapers in the form of news, photographs, articles, editorials, and letters to the editor.

Moreover, the large space dedicated to wildlife photographs by all the dailies denotes the high visual appeal of this category. Climate change also finds space through a broader range of journalistic categories. It has been covered extensively through specified textual and pictorial formats by all the newspapers. Other themes which remain to be covered through a larger variety of journalistic categories are water resource management and miscellaneous. Pollution, forests, heritage sites and sanitation/waste management have received coverage in a limited range of journalistic categories. With the finings of the study, it could be well established that letters to editor remained to be the least covered journalistic category among all.

5.12 Results of ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD:

Table 11.2 & 12.2 reveal a statistically significant difference among the newspapers on total news area and total number of stories published. Further, the statistically significant ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD test shows that The Hindu scores highest mean on both the variables as compared to other three newspapers (Table 11.1 & 12.1). Hence, it could be concluded that The Hindu has given more importance to the environmental issues by assigning more space and publishing more stories as compared to other newspapers studied. On the other side, Hindustan Times scores lowest mean and remains to be the least concerned about the issues of environment among all.

203

A statistically significant difference was found among the newspapers on total photo area and total number of photos published (Table 13.2 & Table 14.2). The Indian Express scores highest mean on both the aforementioned variables as compared to its counterparts (Table 13.1 & 14.1). With the findings of the study, it could be stated that The Indian Express has ascribed more importance to the issues by providing larger space to photographs related to environment as compared to other newspapers studied. Findings further reveal that Hindustan Times remains at the last position by providing least space to such photographs.

Hypothesis No. 7

Hypothesis no. 7 encompasses a wide spectrum of environmental categories comprising twelve distinct streams of environment coverage. In order to determine the true nature of this wide spectrum, the statistical tool of ANOVA was applied and the analysis was carried out to understand the true relationships between and among these categories in respect of total newspaper coverage.

Table 15.2, 16.2 & 17.2 reveal a statistically significant difference among the newspapers on agriculture, climate change and disaster categories. As per the findings of the study, The Hindu records highest mean on these categories as compared to other three newspapers selected for the study (Table 15.1, 16.1 & 17.1).

Table 18.2 shows a statistically significant difference among the newspapers on energy category. The Hindu scores highest mean while The Times of India scores lowest mean among the four newspaper on stories related to energy (Table 18.1). Hence, it can be said that The Times of India has given least importance to this topic.

Table 19.2, 20.2 & 26.2 show a statistically insignificant difference among the newspapers on forests, heritage sites and miscellaneous categories. The Hindu records highest mean on all the three categories among all newspapers selected for the study (Table 19.1, 20.1 & 26.1).

Table 21.2 & Table 22.2 show a statistically insignificant difference among the newspapers on pollution and sanitation/waste management categories. The Hindu scores highest mean on pollution (Table 21.1) as well as sanitation/waste management (Table 22.1) as compared to its counterparts.

204

Table 23.2, 24.2 & 25.2 show a statistically insignificant difference among the newspapers on weather and wildlife categories. The Hindu scores higher mean among all the four newspapers on weather and water resources management category (Table 23.1 & 25.1) while The Indian Express records highest mean on wildlife category (Table 24.1).

Apart from publishing more number of stories on environment and ‘overall coverage to environment’, with the above findings, it may be concluded that The Hindu has given more coverage to various selected environment categories. Out of the total 12 environment categories, The Hindu has provided highest space among all the selected newspapers to 11 categories. These categories include agriculture, climate change, disaster, forests, heritage sites, pollution, energy, sanitation/waste management, weather, water resources management and miscellaneous. Besides, assigning maximum space to photographs and total number of photos on environment, The Indian Express has allocated highest coverage to the wildlife category. In view of the above observations, it can be concluded that there is a significant difference in coverage among the selected dailies on six environment categories, namely, agriculture, climate change, disaster, energy, weather and wildlife. The Hindu leads significantly on five categories. However, there is an insignificant difference among newspapers in coverage on forests, heritage sites, pollution, sanitation/waste management, water resource management and miscellaneous categories. Therefore, Hypothesis No. 7 “Significant difference in coverage of selected environment categories is non-existent in mainstream English dailies” stands partially accepted.

The analysis relating to all the hypotheses reveals that five hypotheses were accepted, one was partially accepted and one was rejected as per the details given below:

H1: “Despite its growing significance, reporting of environment in Indian mainstream English dailies is yet to gain its due space” stands accepted.

H2: “There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of news stories in English dailies” stands accepted.

H3: “There is an overall increase in reporting of environmental issues in the category of photographs in English dailies”, stands accepted.

205

H4: “Articles on environment continue to find more space in major English dailies” stands accepted.

H6: “Readers’ response to environment in English dailies is very low” stands accepted.

H7 “Significant difference in coverage of selected environment categories is non- existent in mainstream English dailies” stands partially accepted.

H5: “The mainstream English dailies raise their voice in favour of environment more frequently through editorials” stands rejected.

206

CONCLUSION

The current study focused on varied dimensions relating to coverage and reporting pattern of environment in the mainstream English dailies. It has taken up quantitative analysis and analysis of the emerging trends, as evident through the micro-analysis of the selected categories, both environment-centric and journalistic-centric. The data was collected as per the requirements of the standards of scientific sampling methods and analyzed according to different parameters that are presently in vogue in similar studies. Efforts were made to make valid inferences and arrive at logical conclusions. Environment reporting in the newspapers under study was classified according to two broad criteria, i.e. classification based on journalistic category and classification based on environment category. The main objective was to determine the trends and patterns prevailing in reportage in both the aforementioned categories.

The findings of the study suggest that environment coverage is not very significant in selected Indian newspapers. Although there was an overall increase in the environment reportage over different periods of time, the percentage of environment coverage out of the total news hole is abysmally low when viewed in entirety, as well as when analyzed separately for each newspaper. It was found that when the space given to environment is compared against the grand total of environmental coverage, The Hindu takes the lead. However, when the space given to environment coverage in each newspaper is compared against its own news hole, The Times of India takes the foremost position. Further adding a visual appeal to the textual information, the findings show that there is a growing trend of publishing more number of photographs by all the newspapers studied. Although the space and frequency of environment photographs was higher in The Indian Express than its counterparts, newspapers overall seem to be giving more importance to pictorial representation. The data also reveals that environment stories supported with photographs have increased continuously, while those without photographs have constantly decreased.

The micro-analysis and comparison among the newspapers and between both environmental and journalistic categories present an insight into how environment is treated and projected to the awaiting millions of readers. The proportion and percentages reflect a dismal pattern of reality when compared with the coverage of environment in relation to other categories that find space in Indian media realm.

207

The data analysis of journalistic categories reveals that news stories dominate the environment reporting scenario, witnessing a slight increase over the years. However, the environment news reports registered a sharp rise in the period of 2007, particularly with climate change stories abound, which could be attributed to the fact that the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its fourth assessment report in that year. Later in 2012, the news reports on climate change witnessed a decline, since there was no major occurrence. This paves way for drawing the inference that environmental events having international underpinnings find substantial space in the Indian media spectrum. The Bihar floods of 2007 also contributed to an increased coverage in that year. Wildlife coverage also contributed a significant proportion, with the issue taking centre-stage commanding immediate attention, as the government and other organizations took cognizance of different animals and species becoming endangered and facing extinction.

The analysis shows that the Indian mainstream dailies pay larger attention to environment coverage of a ‘skin-deep’ nature. The fact emerges that out of total environment reporting space, 68.9% falls under news stories category (see Table 3), which is an event-centric write-up, presenting factual information regarding a significant situation, a happening or an event, that holds transient interest for an audience. A news story consists of certain elements such as timeliness, proximity, human interest, consequences, magnitude etc. connected to it. It is the standard and basic type of story being printed in newspapers about day-to-day happenings. Its main objective is to present facts in an objective manner without opinions or conclusions drawn. It is a kind of coverage that could be described as ‘auto-fall’, without much initiative and planning by the media. The content lacks the inspiring and motivational dimension which is required to create a deeper impact on adoption and protection practices to save environment and better the living situation. Thus, it could be concluded that news reporting on environment largely being event centered, tends to rise and fall with happenings and events.

Photographs on environment also witnessed a sharp rise at the mid-point of the study, falling back in the subsequent period, yet registering an overall increase (see Table 3). The analysis shows that photographic reporting largely focused on wildlife, flora and fauna, which can be attributed to high levels of human interest. While a substantial number of photographs pertained to climate change, the IPCC fourth assessment

208 report may be the lead factor. Wildlife remained at the focus of newspaper lens men, probably because there were growing worldwide concerted efforts towards conservation of wildlife at the turn of 2007. Apart from this, natural disasters like Bihar floods in 2007 also dominated the photographic coverage. Moreover, the Earth Hour was started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007, aimed at getting an immense inter-connected global community engaged on an extensive range of environmental issues. These facts strengthen the assumptions that global centric environment matters, along with natural disasters and environmental factors with a high dose of human interest value finds a distinct place in the pictorial coverage in the mainstream Indian English dailies.

The analysis markedly points out a continual increase in space dedicated to articles related to environment in the selected newspapers over the three periods. The publication of articles related to environment witnessed an upward trend through the span of study (see Table 3). They have been found to be increasing considerably since the beginning of the present millennium. It evinces that newspapers have started to assign more weight to environmental issues from the point of view of their interpretative significance. Newspaper articles embody an outcome of intellectual contemplation. They manifest the sensitivity ascribed to the events that strongly dominate the thought process of extremely energetic and well informed intellectual social class. Anything that appears in the form of an article inherits naturally the aura of social significance. The scaling up of the curve in respect of environment focused articles, leads to the corollary that the best brains of the contemporary times are engaging themselves to draw the world’s attention towards the environment and its issues that have enormous consequences for humanity.

The study reveals an overall decline in the editorials published on environment (see Table 3). Editorial being a piece of writing that reflects the opinion and stand of the newspaper and mirrors its beliefs, since it carries enormous intrinsic significance from the point of view of public discourse dispersion and public opinion formation. It indicates that the editorial board of the newspaper considers that subject to be important for policy makers and readers. It is the newspaper’s way of making an intervention with regard to specific issues, politics and course of action. The publication of editorials relating to environment in the selected newspapers records a steeply downward trend, indicating that the newspapers have not taken such issues to

209 be significant enough to voice their own stand and present their opinion. The fact that hardly 3.6% coverage of the journalistic category falls under ‘editorials’ (see Table 3) is an eloquent indication that the mainstream Indian English dailies do not consider taking stands shaping policy decisions in respect of environment. The plausible explanation is that environment does not draw the power and melodrama of political coverage or sensational underpinnings of criminal and scandalous reporting or money spinning and power wielding vested issues of corporate czars.

Letters to the editor on environment not only draw a pathetically low percentage of 0.4% in the overall scheme of journalistic category (see Table 3), but also display a waning trend in the time period of study. Being a forum of public sphere, supposed to reflect the stand of the readers and to make their voice heard, it is the readers’ way of influencing the policy makers directly and also help in shaping public opinion. The declining trend makes important indication regarding the readers’ attitude towards issues related to environment. In the wake of the results, it can be concluded that readers have become more passive in voicing their environmental concerns with the passage of time.

The analysis among the selected newspapers concludes in respect of laid importance to different styles of reporting environment through journalistic treatment that The Hindu has put a premium on issues related to the environment, transcending its counterparts. It has assigned largest space in the form of news reports and editorials. It stands second on assigning space to photographs and articles on environmental issues. Letters to the editor in The Hindu are remarkably higher as compared to the other dailies. These findings conclude that The Hindu is the newspaper which places environment higher on its policy, in comparison to the rest of the three newspapers. On the other hand, Hindustan Times has figured last on the list of news reports, photographs, articles as well as other formats published on environment. Its ranks third on the variable of editorials and letters to the editor. This indicates that Hindustan Times pays least attention to environmental issues in its reporting, when compared to the other dailies. The Indian Express has given highest coverage to environment in form of photographs, articles and other formats like interviews and book reviews. It ranks second when measured on the variable of news reports and editorials, and makes it to the last position on publishing letters to the editor. This shows that The Indian Express also gives due importance to reporting environment,

210 surpassed only by The Hindu. However, the readers’ response of this paper do not give environmental issues a very high value. The Times of India ranks third in case of news reports, photographs and articles. It finds second place when measured on the variable of others and letters to the editor, and figures last on the variable of editorials regarding the environment. It could be gathered that The Times of India does not place environment high on its reporting policy as compared to The Hindu and The Indian Express (see Table 3.1).

With regard to reporting environment on front page, a clear downward trend has been observed in the study (see Table 2.3). It can be inferred that the mainstream English dailies in India are giving lesser representation to environmental issues on their front page. On the other hand, the coverage on other pages has recorded an increase. It is highest in 2007, given certain events and occurrences, dropping again in 2012. It can be interpreted that through the span of investigation, reporting on environment on front page of selected dailies witnessed a declining trend, and registered an increase on the other pages. Or it would not be improper to infer that the coverage of environment has shifted from front page to the inner pages of the dailies. Anything that appears on the front page of a newspaper is considered as most important information that warrants immediate attention of the readers. This can direct towards the conclusion that the environment reporting could majorly find place in the inner pages of the dailies, while political, economic and crime news dominate the front page.

The in-depth analysis of specified environment categories also projects some observable trends. Considering that agriculture is the major contributor to Indian economy, agriculture category has received scarce space. This is a matter of concern for a developing country like India, where the majority of population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture. Moreover, the coverage was highest in 2002, the year that witnessed Indian government’s approval to the commercial cultivation of genetically modified Bt cotton. The issue of Bt cotton again hit headlines in India in 2012 when the Maharashtra state banned the sale and distribution of its seeds, to promote local Indian seeds which demanded lesser input resources. Consequently, the coverage of agriculture was again higher in 2012, as compared to the earlier period of 2007.

211

Climate change coverage curve registers sharp fluctuations through different time periods. Its coverage was very low in 2002, which increased exponentially in 2007. However, in 2012, the coverage declined again. As stated earlier, the spurt in 2007 can be traced to the release of IPCC fourth assessment report. This was also the time when Davis Guggenheim’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, regarding the issue of global warming was released. Particularly in India, with R K Pachauri, an Indian, winning the Nobel Prize and also heading the IPCC, there was an increased media attention to the issue of climate change.

Disaster coverage witnessed a waning trend, being highest in 2007 and lowest in 2012. The higher coverage in first two periods can be linked to the occurrence of several natural disasters like the Indian heat wave (in south India) in 2002 and monsoon rains and flooding in the West Bengal in 2007. Indeed, the year 2007 was considered to be one of the most devastating for the Asian region as compared to the preceding years. There were windstorms and floods in Bangladesh, floods in China and the countries of South Asia, and earthquake in Japan. Apart from Asia, Europe, especially UK, also experienced extreme temperatures and floods which led to widespread destruction throughout the region.

Energy stories with an environmental angle find lesser space overall. Though the coverage has increased through the course of time, being highest in 2007, subsequently slipping down in 2012. The spike in 2007 can also be attributed to India’s keen interest in the natural gas projects IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) and TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India). In the same year, India joined the four- party intergovernmental agreement with the Asian Development Bank on the proposed TAPI natural gas pipeline. Various policies and initiatives of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy involving wind, solar and hydro power during 2012 also have contributed to the coverage of this territory.

The present study shows that forests and protected areas did not get much space in the dailies, as viewed in the whole spectrum of environment coverage. However, the space acquired by forests category in the newspapers has increased continuously through the three time periods. There was a gradual increase in Indian government’s attention towards conservation of biodiversity during the time span of study. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) India country office was

212 established in 2007, geared towards reduction of ecosystem and species loss. The period around 2010 to 2012 also saw forests and protected areas in news as the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’ listed India among the largest gainers in forest cover in the world.

Heritage sites category remains to be the least represented in each selected newspaper viewed in isolation. It is worth mentioning that stories related to heritage sites do appear, but rarely with the environmental element. Pollution stories also depict a continuously decreasing trend. Sanitation/waste management issues also portray a downward slope. Weather coverage remained more or less consistent throughout.

The study also discovered that coverage of wildlife has been provided largest space by all the four dailies separately. The popularity of this category among different dailies reflect that wildlife issues capture the interest of newspaper editors as well as readers. Wildlife stories display the most striking escalation in coverage figures. There is a continuous rise in space dedicated to wildlife coverage from 2002 to 2012. After the turn of 2000, India has taken up a widespread initiative in context of wildlife preservation. India is home to a substantial lion, tiger, rhinoceros and elephant population of Asia, which are all enlisted among endangered and poached animals. The country has also launched extensive protected area network of wildlife research institutions. An alarm triggered by the declining tiger population in India could also be one of the reasons behind increased coverage. A landmark report titled ‘Status of the Tigers, Co-predators, and Prey in India, 2010’, published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority also sent panic waves regarding the protection of the big cat, when it claimed that there were only 1400 left in the country. By 2011, the population of tigers in India continued to show a decreasing trend. All these factors can be surmised to have contributed to the large amount to space acquired by wildlife coverage in English language newspapers in India.

Water resource management stories do not register any striking fluctuation in space of coverage. The space dedicated to such stories remained almost constant through the three time periods with little variation. The coverage of this sphere largely consisted of stories related to the Narmada river controversy, the Cauvery water issue, cleaning and saving of other Indian rivers, and falling groundwater levels.

Findings further conclude that there is a significant difference among newspapers on

213

six environment categories with The Hindu taking the lead. It was found that The Hindu has not only published more number of stories and assigned maximum space to environment, but out of the total of 12 environment categories, The Hindu has provided highest space to 11 categories except wildlife. It can be concluded that there is a significant difference in coverage among the selected dailies on six environment categories, namely, agriculture, climate change, disaster, energy, weather and wildlife. The Hindu scores a significantly high mean on five out of six aforementioned categories. Meanwhile, The Indian Express was found to have scored significantly high mean on the wildlife category. With the findings of the study, it may be well established that The Hindu gives top ranking priority to issues related to environment. In view of the above observations, it could be further concluded that The Hindu has surpassed The Times of India, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times in covering environment.

In view of the findings of the present study, it can be deduced that reporting of environment in Indian media, particularly newspapers in English language, projects a bleak state of affairs. Not all environment categories have received adequate coverage. It may be concluded that most of the demanding issues have not found adequate space in the newspapers under study. On the basis of the findings of the study, it may be concluded that all the four newspapers selected for the study have treated topic of environment differently, when it comes to allocation of space. The total coverage received by the environment is extremely insufficient in the context of larger amount of concern expressed by the society. There is a dire need of improvement in the media coverage directed towards spreading awareness about conservation and preservation of the environment.

5.13 Limitations of the Study No research study can embrace all the essential dimensions encompassing a phenomenon. However, an effort was being made to cover certain essential aspects in the present study. There is always a scope for further exploration. This study’s major limitation is that it has confined itself to merely four mainstream English dailies, whereas, Indian print media spectrum is vast, comprising more than one lakh newspapers and periodicals printed in about hundred languages and dialects.

214

Consequently, there are concerns about the validity and wider generalizability of the result. Despite the fact that the selected newspapers are published from many cities and regional centres, the data was collected from the newspapers available in Aligarh. Also, a mine of information that finds space in the supplements has not been covered. Besides, the qualitative dimension of environment coverage has not been taken account of in the present study.

5.14 Scope for Further Research

 The study can be further conducted on regional press.

 The study can be further refined by including supplements.

 The metropolitan editions of the selected newspapers can also be studied.

 Qualitative dimensions of environment coverage can be explored.

5.15 Recommendations

As the existing mainstream newspapers have assigned low priority to environment reporting and its coverage, the government, policy makers and other private and public agencies engaged in protecting, preserving and improving the environment, should take a proactive initiative and sensitise the decision makers and content developers working in these newspapers. They should also provide meaningful content supported by the facts, coupled with rational interpretation, so that environment finds space in the columns of the Indian newspapers.

Orientation workshops on the important issues having a direct bearing on existing situations at local, national and global planes relating to environment should also be regularly organized.

The readers also need to be made aware of the significance of letters to the editor, so that the voice of the masses can find more representation in the newspapers, as these responses also influence the coverage pattern. Letters to the editor are a reflection of people’s interest in issues related to the society. The media always tries to cater more to those aspects of life in which l arger number of people evince interest.

215

REFERENCES

Abbas, H. H., & Ogadimma, E. C. (2015). Environmental Journalism: A Content Analytical Study of Omani Newspaper Coverage of Environmental Issues. International Journal of Arts and Commerce, 4(6), 69-82.

Ackland, L. (1995). A phantom audience for environmental journalism? In D. B. Sachsman, K. Salomone & S. Senecah (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference n Communication and our Environment (pp. 248-255). Chattanooga: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Ader, C. R. (1995). A longitudinal study of agenda setting for the issue of environmental pollution. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 72, 300–311.

Akhileshwari, R. (1989). Environment and the media. Vidura, 26(3), 11-12.

Akoijam, I. (2012, August 8). Covering the States- Part IV. Retrieved October 21, 2016, from The Hoot: http://www.thehoot.org/research/books/no-focus-on- development-issues-6159

Althaus, S. L., & Tewksbury, D. (2002). Online Versions of the New York Times. Agenda Setting and the "New" News: Patterns of Issue Importance among Readers of the Paper and Online Versions of the New York Times. Communication Research, 29(2), 180 - 207.

Anderson, A. (1997). Media, Culture and Environment. London, UK: UCL Press.

Atinmo, M., & Jimba, S. (1998). Environmental reporting in Nigerian newspapers: a longitudinal study. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 55(4), 333- 343.

Atwater, T., Salwen, M. B., & Anderson, R. B. (1985). Media agenda-setting with environmental issues. Journalism Quarterly, 62, 393–397.

Babe, R. (2005). Newspaper discourses on environment. Filtering the News: Essays on Herman and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model, 1-40. Montreal: Black Rose Books.

Bajohr, W. (2006). Media and Democracy: Media Lens in Germany and Turkey, the 20th German-Turkish Journalists Seminar in Istanbul. Retrieved

216

from http://www.scientific-publications.net/download/media-and-mass- communication-2013.pdf.

Balaswamy, B. (2000). Communication for Sustainable Development. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.

Ball-Rokeach, S. J., & DeFleur, M. L. (1976). A dependency model of mass media effects. Communication Research, 3, 3-21.

Bandura, A. (1986). From thought to action: Mechanisms of personal agency. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 15, 1-17.

Bandura, A. (2000). Exercise of human agency through collective efficacy, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 75-78.

Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. Media Psychology, 3, 265-298.

Bandura, A. (2002). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. In J. Bryant, & D. Zillman (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 121-153). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Banjade, A. (2006). Gaunle Deurali: Barefoot Community Journalism in Western Nepal. Global Media Journal, 5(8). Retrieved from http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/sp06/gmj-sp06-banjade.html.

Baptista, A., & Morgado, F. (2008). Contribution of the media to citizens learning about environmental education. In: AZEITEIRO, U., Goncalves, F., Leal-Filho, W., & Morgado, F. (Eds.). (2008). Towards the Integration of Science Education, Experimental Science Activities and Environmental Education. Peter Lang, Frankfurt, 349-360.

Barghouti, J. K. (1974). The Role of Communication in Jordan's Rural Development, Journalism Quarterly, 51(4), 418-424.

Bendix, J., & Liebler, C. M. (1999). Place, Distance, and Environmental News: Geographic Variation in Newspaper Coverage of the Spotted Owl Conflict. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 89(4), 658-676.

Berelson, B. (1952). Content Analysis in Communication Research. New York: The Free Press.

217

Bird, E., Lutz, R. & Warwick, C. (2008). Media as partners in education for sustainable development: A Training and Resource Kit. Paris, UNESCO Series on Journalism Education.

Bowman, J. S. (1995). American daily newspapers and the environment attitudes of editors. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 48(1), 55-68.

Bowman, J.S., & Hanaford, K. (1977). Mass Media and the Environment since Earth Day. Journalism Quarterly, 54, 160-165.

Boykoff, M. T. (2007). Flogging a dead norm? Newspaper coverage of anthropogenic climate change in the United States and United Kingdom from 2003 to 2006. Area, 39(4), 470–481. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4762.2007.00769.x

Boykoff, M. T. (2009). We Speak For The Trees: Media Reporting on the Environment. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 34, 431-457.

Boykoff, M.T., & Boykoff, J. M. (2007). Climate change and journalistic norms: A case study of US mass media coverage. Geoforum. Retrieved from http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/publications/downloads/boykoff07- geoforum.pdf.

Briggs, A., & Burke, P. (2005). A social history of the media: from Gutenberg to the internet. Polity: Cambridge. Brossard, D., Shanahan, J., & McComas, K. (2004). Are issue-cycles culturally constructed? A comparison of French and American coverage of global climate change. Mass communication and Society, 7(3), 359-377. Brothers, C. C., Fortner, R. W., & Mayer, V. J. (1991). The impact of television news on public environmental knowledge. Journal of Environmental Education, 22(4), 22–29. Brown, L. R., Flavin C., & Postel, S. (1991). Saving the Planet. How to shape an environmentally sustainable global economy. New-York, London: W. W. Norton & Company. Carson, R. (1962). Silent Spring. New York, United States: Houghton Mifflin Company.

218

Castrechinia, A., Pola, E., & Guàrdia-Olmosb, J. (2014). Media representations of environmental issues: From scientific to political discourse. European Review of Applied Psychology, 64(5), 213–220.

Chadwick, B. A., Bahar, H. M., & Albrecht, S. L. (1984). Content analysis. Social Science Research Methods, 239-257. New Jersey: Prentice- Hall.

Chakrabarty, N. K. (1994). Environmental Protection and the Law. New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House.

Chitepo, V. (1986). Our Common Future. World Commission on Environment and Development. Retrieved from http://www.un-documents.net/our-common- future.pdf.

CMS ENVIS. (2002). A comparative Study on Environmental Awareness and Environmentally Beneficial Behaviour in India. New Delhi: Hannah Hoerisch.

CMS ENVIS. (2010). Trends of Environmental News in National Dailies. Saket, New Delhi.

CMS ENVIS. (2011). Coverage in Indian news media. Climate Change conference. Durban, South Africa. Retrieved from http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/durbansummit2.pdf.

Covello, V., Hammond, S.L. & McCallum, D., (1991). Communicating about environmental risks: how the public uses and perceives information sources. Health Education Quarterly, 18(3), 349–361.

Das, J., Bacon, W., & Zaman, A. (2009). Covering the environmental issues and global warming in Delta land: A study of three newspapers. Pacific Journalism Review, 15(2), 10-33.

Dasgupta, S., Laplante, B., & Meisner, C. (2000). Environmental news in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and the Philippines. Local Environment, 5(3), 351–359.

Day, B. A., & Monroe, M. C., (2000). Environmental Education & Communication for a Sustainable World. Handbook for Intl Practitioners, Washington DC: AED.

Dearing, J.W., & Rogers, E. M. (1996). Agenda-Setting. Communication Concepts Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

219

Deutsch, K. (1966). The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and Control. New York: The Free Press.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (2006). Environmental Communication for Sustainable Development: A Conceptual Overview. Retrieved from https://www.cbd.int/cepa/toolkit/2008/doc/strategic%20communication%20for %20sustainable%20development.pdf

Dey, D. (2002). Bhutan’s Current Environmental Strategy: Sustainable Development through Reciprocity, Equity, and Participation. In Randal Helten & Greg Helten (Eds.), International Review for Environmental Strategies, 3(2), 342-34.

Domfeh, K. A. (1999). Evaluation of Environmental News Coverage in Ghana, Journal of Environmental Health, 62(3), 27-32.

Dorji, T. (2007). Attitude towards Mass Media and its Role in Promoting Environmental Consciousness: An Empirical Investigation. Media and Public Culture. The Centre for Bhutan Studies & GNH Research. Retrieved from http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/publicationFiles/ConferenceProceedings/Medi aAndPublicCulture/M-19.pdf.

Douglas, M. & Wildavsky, A. (1982). Risk and Culture. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Downs, A. (1972). ‘Up and Down with Ecology: The “Issue Attention Cycle”.’ Public Interest, 28, 38–50.

Durfee, J., & Corbett, J. (2005). Context and controversy: Global warming coverage. Nieman Reports, 59(4), 88-89.

Dutt, B., Garg, K.C., & Bhatta, A. (2013). A quantitative assessment of the articles on environmental issues published in English-language Indian dailies. Annals of Library and Information Studies, 60, 219-226.

Earth Negotiations Bulletin. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.iisd.ca/vol27/enb2751e.html on June 6, 2016.

220

Eveland, W. P. Jr., & Dunwoody, S. (2001). User control and structural isomorphism or disorientation and cognitive load? Learning from the Web versus print. Communication Research, 28(1), 48-78.

Fischhoff, B. (1995). ‘Risk Perception and Communication Unplugged – 20 Years of Process’, Risk Analysis, 15(2), 137-45.

Fischhoff, B., Lichtenstein, S. & Slovic, P. (1980). ‘Facts and Fears: Understanding Perceived Risk’, in W. Albers and R. Schwing (eds.). Societal Risk Assessment: How Safe is Safe Enough?, 181-14. New York: Plenum Press.

Folkerts, J., & Lacy, S. (2004). The Media in Your Life: An Introduction to Mass Communication (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Furnham A., Gunter, B., & Green, A. (1990). Remembering science: The recall of factual information as a function of the presentation mode. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 4, 203-212.

Ganguly, J. B. (1996). Sustainable Development in North-Eastern Region of India. ICSSR, Shillong. Regency Publications, 11-15.

Gaskell, G., Bauer, M.W., Durant, J. & Allum, N.C. (1999). Worlds Apart? The reception of genetically modified foods in Europe and the US. Science, 285, 384-387.

Gibbs, L. M. (2011). Love Canal: and the Birth of the Environmental Health Movement. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Goodfield, J. (1981). Reflections on science and the media. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Gordon., & George, N. (1975). Communications and Media. New York: Hastings House Publishers.

Gore, Jr., A. (1991). Steering by the stars. In C.L. LaMay, & E.E. Dennis (Eds.), Media and the Environment (179-183). Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Görmüş, A. (2012), Medyaironik, Devletindördüncükuvvet’i. Retrieved from http://www.scientific-publications.net/download/media-and-mass- communication-2013.pdf.

221

Graber, D. (1988). Processing the News: How People Tame the Information Tide (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Longman.

Gregory, R. (1991). Risk perceptions as substance and symbol. In L. Wilkins and P. Patterson (Eds.). Risky business: Communicating issues of science, risk, and public policy (pp. 1-10). New York, Greenwood Press.

Gupta, V. S. (1989). Environmental Reporting: Some issues. In B. Balaswamy (2000). Communication for Sustainable Development. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.

Gurevitch, M. & M. Levy. (1985). “Introduction.” Mass Communication Review Yearbook, 5. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

Hannigan., & John, A. (1995). Environmental Sociology. New York: Routledge.

Haque, M. (1986). Is Human Interest Stories More Salient than Development news? Gazette, 38(3), 83-99.

Hernan, R. E. (2010). This Borrowed Earth: Lessons from the Fifteen Worst Environmental Disasters Around the World. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hetherington, A. (1985). News, Newspapers and Television. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hindman, D. B. (1999). Social Control, Social Change and Local Mass Media. In D. Hobo, T. (1989). Yomigaere Mizuumi (Revive the Lake), Tokyo. Retrieved from http://repository.dl.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2261/34109/2/k- 02021.pdf.

Hindustan Times. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hindustantimes/?fref=ts.

Hindustan Times. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from Twitter: https://twitter.com/htTweets.

Hirschmann, K. (2005). The Kuwaiti Oil Fires. New York: Infobase Publishing.

Hopey, D. (2013). Reasons for Hope on Enviro Beat. Society for Environmental Journalists. Retrieved from www.sej.org/publications/sejournal-fa13/reasons- hope-enviro-beat.

222

Hsiao, H. H. M., & Tseng, H. (1999). The Formation of Environmental Consciousness in Taiwan: Intellectuals, Media, and the Public Mind. Asian Geographer, 18(1&2), 99-109.

Ifenkwe, G. E. (2008). Assessment of Newspaper Advocacy for Rural Development and Environmental Education in Nigeria, Journal of Agricultural Extension, 12 (2), 41-50.

Indian Express. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indianexpress/?fref=ts.

Indian Readership Survey (2014). RSCI http://www.mruc.net/sites/default/files/IRS%202014%20Topline%20Findings_0.pdf

Irvine, S., & Ponton, A. (1988). A Green Manifesto. London: Optima.

Iyengar, S., & Donald, R. K. (1987). News That Matters: Television and American Opinion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Janowitz, M. (1968). The Study of Mass Communication. In International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences. New York: Macmillan.

Jasanoff, S. (1994). Learning from Disaster: Risk Management After Bhopal. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Jia, H. (2008). Climate change media survey results and analysis. Climate change journalist club. Draft report.

Jurin, R. R., Roush, D., & Danter, J. (2010). Environmental Communication: Skills and Principles for Natural Resource Managers, Scientists and Engineers (Second Edition). London,New York: Springer.

Kakade, O., Hiremath, S., & Raut, N. (2013). Role of Media in Creating Awareness about Climate Change- A Case Study of Bijapur City. Journal of Humanities and Social Science 10(1), 37-43.

Kapoor, N. (2011). Role of mass media in promotion of environmental awareness along with skill development among the rural people of Shringverpur, Allahabad district, India. International Conference on Chemical, Biological and Environment Sciences. Bangkok. Retrieved from http://psrcentre.org/images/extraimages/80.%201211545.pdf.

223

Karackatt, F. (2015). Ethics of Print Media Journalism in Kerala. Unpublished Thesis. Kerala University, Kerala.

Kilman, L. (2011). World Press Trends: Newspapers Still Reach More Than Internet. WAN-IFRA. Retrieved from http://www.wan-ifra.org/press- releases/2011/10/12/world-press-trends-newspapers-still-reach-more-than- internet.

Kipphan, H. (2001). Handbook of Print Media: Technologies and Production Methods. Germany: Springer-Verlag Heidelberg New York.

Kosteralla, I., Theodosiadou, S., & Tsantopoulos, G. (2013). The coverage of environmental issues by the Greek media from the editors’ perspective. Global Virtual Conference, 399-407. Retrieved from http://www.gv-conference.com.

Lazarsfeld, P. F. (1940). Radio and the Printed Page. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce.

Leacock, E. (2005). The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. New York: Facts On File, Inc.

Lester, L. (2010). Media and Environment: Conflict, Politics and the News. Cambridge: Polity.

Lester, L., & Hutchins, B. (2009). Power games: Environmental protest, news media and the internet. Media Culture & Society, 31(4), 579-595.

Lippman, W. (1922). Public opinion. New York: MacMillan.

Lippmann, W. (2012). Public Opinion. Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Courier Corporation.

Lucas, A. (2013, October). Print Media’s Coverage on Environmental Issues in India. Paper presented at Garden City College National Seminar, Bangalore. Retrieved from https://arunicecream.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/print-medias- coverage-on-environmental-issues-in-india-a-paper-presented-on-22nd- tuesday2013-in-garden-city-college-bangalore.

Lusted, M. A. (2011). Chernobyl Disaster. (M. Kesselring, Ed.) North Mankato, Minnesota.: ABDO Publishing Company.

Maceviciute, A. (2000). The Influence of the Media on the Development of Publics Environmental Consciousness: Case study of Lithuanian Press. Masters Thesis, Lund University.

224

MacKuen, M. B. (1981). More than News. Media Power in Public Affairs, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

MacNeil, J. (1989). Strategies for Sustainable Economic Development. Scientific American, 261(3), 154-165.

Majumdar, P., & Saikia, B. C. (2010, December). Science Coverage in Regional Newspaper: A Case Study of Two Newspapers from North East India. Paper presented at the 11th International Conference on Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST), New Delhi, India. Retrieved from http://www.pcst.co/archive/pdf/Majumdar_Saikia_PCST2010.pdf

Mancha, S. (2012). Role of Media in Tribal Agriculture Development – A study of Khammam District Agency Tribes. International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research, 1(10), 244-253.

Mazur, A. (1981). Media Coverage and Public Opinion on Scientific Controversies. Journal of Communication, 31, 106-115.

Mazur, A. (1981). The Dynamics of Technical Controversy. Washington, DC: Communications Press.

Mazur, A. (1998). Global Environmental Change in the News, 1987-90 vs. 1992-6. International Sociology, 13(4), 457-472.

Mazur, A. (2004). True Warnings and False Alarms. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future.

Mazur, A. (2006). Risk Perception and News Coverage across Nations. Risk Management, 8(3), 149-174.

Mazur, A., & Lee, J. (1993). Sounding the Global Alarm. Social Studies of Science 23, 681-720.

Mazur, A., & Conant, B. (1978). Controversy over a Local Nuclear Waste Repository. Social Studies of Science, 8, 235-243.

McComas, K., & Shanahan, J. (1999). Telling Stories about Global Climate Change. Communication Research, 26, 30–57.

McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The Agenda-setting Function of Mass Media, Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176-87.

225

McLuhan, M. (1962). The Gutenberg galaxy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

McQuail, D. (1994). Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Micklin, P., Aladin, N., & Plotnikov, I. (eds.). (2014). The Aral Sea: The Devastation and Partial Rehabilitation of a Great Lake. Springer Earth System Sciences. Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642- 02356-9_13.

Mikami, S., Takeshita, T., & Kawabata, M. (1999). Influence of the Mass Media on the Public Awareness of Global Environmental Issues in Japan Asian Geographer, 18(1-2). Eco-consciousness in Asia and the Pacific, 87-97.

Miller, T., & Pollak, T. (2013). Environmental coverage in the mainstream news: We need more, an inaugural ranking report. Project for Improved Environmental Coverage (PIEC). Retrieved from: environmentalcoverage.org/ranking.

Mishra, M. (2013). Environmental Communication in India: Lessons from Orissa. Media Asia, 40(1), 85-95.

Morayo, I., Atinmo., & Samuel, W. J. (1998). Environmental reporting in Nigerian newspapers: a longitudinal study. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 55(4), 333-343.

Moscovici, S. (1976). La psychanalyse: Son image et son public. (2nd ed.). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

Mukherjee, S. (2002). Bhopal Gas Tragedy: The Worst Industrial Disaster in Human History. Chennai: Tulika Books.

Mukherji, S. (2004). Fragile Environment, New Delhi: Manak.

Murthy, D. V. R. (2001). Developmental Journalism. New Delhi: Dominant Publishers and Distributors.

Murty, D. V. R. (2001). Developmental Journalism, New Delhi: Dominant Publishers.

Nagarathinam, S., & Bhatta, A. (2015). Coverage of climate change issues in Indian newspapers and policy implications. Current Science, 108(11), 1972.

226

Narayana, U., & Kumar, S. (2009). Content Analysis of Agricultural News Coverage in Leading Language Dailies of India– A Study of Kannada Language Dailies of Karnataka State. Karnataka University Journal of Communication. 1-14. Retrieved from http://eprints.uni- mysore.ac.in/14546/1/Content%20Analysis%20of%20Agricultural%20News-.pdf.

Nelkin, D. (1987). Selling Science. New York: Freeman.

Nelkin, D. (1995). Selling Science: How the Press Covers Science and Technology. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.

Neuman, R. W., Just, M. R., & Crigler, A. N. (1992). Common Knowledge. News and the construction of political meaning. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

News Trends in Sustainability, Development Issues. (2011, March 18). Retrieved October 21, 2016, from Global Sherpa: http://globalsherpa.org/news-trends- sustainability-development-issues/

Nirmala, T., & Arul, A. I. (2016). How online Indian Newspapers Frame Environmental Stories. Journal of Global Communication. 9, 1-7. Retrieved from http://www.uasb.in/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/041.352102019.pdf.

O'Neill, J. (1988). The Market: Ethics, Knowledge and Politics. London, UK: Routledge Publications.

OECD-DAC-Working Party on Development Cooperation and Environment. (1999). Environmental Communication: Applying Communication Tools Towards Sustainable Development. Retrieved from http://www.pumagua.unam.mx/assets/pdfs/publicaciones/recomendadas/applyi ng_communication_tools_sust_dvt_oecd.pdf.

Ohkura, Y. (2000). The Roles and Limitations of Newspapers in Environmental Reporting: Case Study- Ishaya Bay Land Reclamation Project Issue. Science Direct, 239, 3. doi:10.1016/S0025-326X(03)00057-2.

Ojo, M. O., & Kadri, S. S. (2001). Perception of the role of mass media in environmental conservation: case study of some media houses in Oyo State. Journal of Environmental Extension, 2(1), 95-101.

227

Olayiwola, A. O. (2014). Mass Media of Communication and Environmental Problems: Islamic religious Communication Solution Perspectives. International Journal of Academic Research and Reflection, 2(4), 5.

Olayiwola, A. O. (2014). Mass Media of Communication and Environmental Problems: Islamic religious Communication Solution Perspectives. International Journal of Academic Research and Reflection, 2(4), 1-18.

Östman J. (2013). The Influence of Media Use on Environmental Engagement: A Political Socialization Approach. Environmental Communication, 8(1), 92-109.

Ostman, R. E., & Parker, J. L. (1987). Impact of Education, Age, Newspapers and Television on Environmental Knowledge, Concerns and Behaviors. Journal of Environmental Education, 19(1), 3-9.

Ovwigho, B. O., & Orogun, P. (2013). Preliminary assessment of newspaper coverage of agricultural news in Delta State: A case study of the Pointer newspaper in Delta State, Asaba, Nigeria. Sustainable Agriculture Research, 2(3), 101-106. doi: 10.5539/sar.v2n3p101

Paisley, W. (1989). Public communication campaigns: The American Experience. In R. E. Rice & C. K. Atkin (Eds.), Public communication campaigns (2nd ed., 15-41). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Palfreman, J. (2006). ‘A Tale of Two Fears: Exploring Media Depictions of Nuclear Power and Global Warming’, Review of Policy Research, 23(1), 23-43.

Parlour, W. J. (1980). The Mass Media and Environmental Issues: A theoretical analysis. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 15(2), 109-121.

Patil, M. D. (2011). Recent trends of Print Media in Development Communication. Global Media Journal, 2(2), 2-3.

Pérez-Peña, R. (2010, Jan 11). Study finds that real news comes from the newspapers. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com.

Perritano, J. (2010). The Truth about Environmental Hazards. In R. N. Golden, & F. L. Peterson (Eds.). New York: Infobase Publishing.

Pharr, S.J., & Krauss, E.S. (Eds.) (1996). Media and Politics in Japan. Honolulu. University of Hawai'i Press. Retrieved

228

fromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wr239.

Pompper, D. (2004). At the 20th century’s close: Framing the public policy issue of environment risk. In S.L. Senecah (Ed.), The Environmental Communication Yearbook, 1, 99-134. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.

Popoola, M. (2014). Public(s): Journalistic Slanting of the Governor Chris Ngige and Chris Uba Prebendal Political Conflict in South-Eastern Nigeria, 2004-2006. J Mass Communication Journalism, 4, 218. doi: 10.4172/2165-7912.1000218.

Press in India. (2013). 58th Annual Report of the Registrar of Newspapers for India, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. Retrieved from http://rni.nic.in/pin1314.pdf.

Priest, S. (2010). Doing qualitative research (2nd ed.). California: Sage Publications Inc.

Rashmi, C. P. (2011). Coverage of water related issues by print media: A content analysis. International Journal of Management Research and Review, 1(4), 30- 34.

Ray, G. N. (2009). Future of Print Media. In I.B. Krishna (Ed.) Effectiveness of Print and Electronic Media Advertisement: A Comparative Study. International Research Journal of Social Sciences, 3(7), 23-28.

Reid., & David. (1995). Sustainable Development: An Introductory Guide. London: UK. Earth Scan Publications.

Resources for Young Reporters. (n.d.). National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved on January 23, 2016 from https://www.nwf.org/Young-Reporters-for-the- Environment/Resources-for-Young-Reporters/Definitions.aspx.

Ricoveri, G. (n.d.). Youth Towards the Third Millennium- A Risk and a Promise- The role of Mass Media for an Ecological Awareness. Ecologia Politic. Roma, Italy. Retrieved from http://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c11/E1-17-04- 03.pdf.

Ries, R. (1999). Coverage of the Earth Summit by Brazilian Newspapers. Science Communication, 21(2), 137-155.

229

Rong, C. (2009). Newspaper Coverage of Environmental Problems in China: An Analysis of Three Chinese Newspapers. Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK.

Rüdig, W., & Lowe, P. D. (1986). ‘The “Withered” Greening of British Politics: a Study of the Ecology Party’, Political Studies 34, 262–84.

Sabade, R., & Tambat, S. V. (n.d.). The Press in India (2008 to 2012) Report submitted to The Press Council of India. University of Pune, Department of Communication and Journalism. Retrieved June 30, 2016, from http://presscouncil.nic.in/WriteReadData/Pdf/ReviewofthePressinIndia.pdf.

Sachsman, D. (2000). The Role of Mass Media in Shaping Perceptions and Awareness of Environmental Issues. Climate Change Communication: Proceedings of an International Conference. University of Waterloo, Canada, A2, 63-68. Retrieved from http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/En56-157-2000E.pdf.

Salayakanond, W. (1994). The role of the media in covering environmental issues. Environmental Journalism Seminar Papers, 40-41. Cambodia: Cambodia Communication Institute.

Sampei, Y., & Aoyagi-Usui, M. (2009). Mass-media coverage, its influence on public awareness of climate-change issues, and implications for Japan’s national campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Global Environmental Change, 19, 203–212.

Schoenbach, K. (1983). Das unterschätzte Medium: PolitischeWirkungen von Presse und FernsehenimVergleich [The underestimated medium: Comparing political effects of press and television]. Munich, New York, London, Paris: Saur.

Schoenfeld, A. C., Meier, R. F., & GriYn, R. J. (1979). Constructing a social problem: the press and the environment. Social Problems, 27(1), 38–61.

Schramm, W. (1965). The Role of Information in National Development (abridged version of “Mass Media and National Development”). Paris: UNESCO.

Sekar, T. (1981). Role of newspapers in creating mass concern with environmental issues in India. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 17(2), 115-120.

230

Shanahan, J., & McComas, K. (1997). Television portrayal of environment: 1991- 1995. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 74, 147-159.

Shanahan, J., Morgan, M., & Stenbjerre, M. (1997). Green or brown? Television and the cultivation of environmental concern. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 41(3), 305-323.

Sherman, S. J., Mackie, D. M., & Driscoll, D. M. (1990). Printing and the differential use of dimensions in evaluation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,16, 405-418.

Shiva, V. (1991). Ecology and the Politics of Survival. New Delhi: Sage.

Showkat, N. (2013). Cricket Diplomacy between India and Pakistan: A Case Study of Leading National Dailies of Both the Countries (The Hindu & Dawn). J Mass Communication Journalism, 3,142. doi: 10.4172/2165-7912.1000142.

Showkat, N. (2016). Coverage of sanitation issues in India. Sage Open, 6(4), 1-6. doi:10.1177/2158244016675395.

Simooya, S. M. (2011). The Role of the Zambian Media in Public Environmental Awareness and Education. Unpublished M. Ed Dissertation. The University of Zambia, Lusaka.

Singh, K. S. (2012). Environmental Education and Awareness. In R.S. Khoiyangbam & N. Gupta (Eds.). Introduction to Environmental Sciences. New Delhi: TERI Press.

Singh, R., & Chandra, K. K. (2004). Content analysis of agricultural news covered in daily newspapers and its importance to farmers, UP.: Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

Singhal, A., & Rogers, E.M. (1989). India’s Information Revolution. New Delhi: Sage.

Slovic, P. (2000). The Perception of Risk. London: Earthscan.

Soma, A. A. (2012). The press and development journalism: A study of Three Daily newspapers on their coverage of development news. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. Assam University.

Sonwalkar, P. (2002). ‘Murdochization’ of the Indian press: from by-line to bottom line. Media Culture & Society, 24, 821–834.

231

Spector, M. & Kitsuse, J. I. (1977). Constructing Social Problems, New York: Aldine. Retrieved from https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/npb/people/amc/articles- pdfs/socipsyc.pdf.

Speers, T. (2005). A picnic in march: media coverage of climate change and public opinion in the United Kingdom, en Humphrys, G. y Williams, M. (eds.), Presenting and Representing Environments. Dordrecht: Springer.

Srivastava, M. P. (1996). Coverage of environment by Print Media. Communicator, 31(l); 20-24.

Stamm, K. R., Clark, F., & Eblacas, P. R. (2000). Mass communication and public understanding of environmental problems: the case of global warming, Public Understanding of Science, 9(3), 219-237.

Starr, P. (2004). The creation of the media: political origins of modern communications. New York: Basic.

Sterling, C. H. (Ed.). (2009). Encyclopedia of Journalism. Los Angeles- London- New Delhi- Singapore- Washington DC: Sage Publications.

Stocking, H. & Leonard, J. P. (1990). The Greening of the Media. Columbia Journalism Review, 29(4), 37-44.

The Hindu. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehindu/?fref=ts.

The Hindu. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_hindu.

The Indian Express. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndianExpress.

The Times of India. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2016, from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimesofIndia/?fref=ts.

Tilt, B., Xiao, Q. (2010). Media coverage of environmental pollution in the People’s Republic of China: responsibility, cover-up and state control. Oregon State University, USA.

232

Times of India. (n.d.). Retrieved Jan 23, 2016, from Twitter: https://twitter.com/timesofindia.

Top 10 Environmental Disasters. (2016). Retrieved from Time: http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1986457,0 0.html.

Trumbo., & Craig. (1996). Constructing Climate Change: Claims and Frames in US News Coverage of an Environmental Issue. Public Understanding of Science 5, 269–83.

Trumbo, C. (1995). Longitudinal Modeling of Public Issues: An Application of the Agenda-Setting Process to the Issue of Global Warming. Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs,152, 1–57.

Tuchman, G. (1978). Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. New York: Free Press.

UN Documentation: Environment. (2016). Retrieved from Dag Hammarskjöld Library Research Guides website, http://research.un.org/en/docs/environment.

Ungar, S. (1992). ‘The Rise and (Relative) Decline of Global Warming as a Social Problem’, The Sociological Quarterly 33(4), 483-501.

Ungar, S. (2000). “Knowledge, Ignorance and the Popular Culture: Climate Change Versus the Ozone Hole.” Public Understanding of Science, 9(3), 297.

Vilanilam, J. V. (1985). Education and Communication. Trivandrum: Kairali Books International.

Vilanilam, J. V. (1993). Science Communication and Development, New Delhi: Sage, 179-186.

Vilanilam, J. V. (2009). Development Communication in Practice: India and The Millennium Development Goals. New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Vilanilam, J.V. (1975). Ownership vs. Development News Coverage: An analysis of independent and conglomerate newspapers of India. Paper presented at AEJ convention, Ottawa.

Vincent, S., & Mahesh, A. (2007). Journalism: The Practise and the Potential. In N. Rajan (2007). 21st Century Journalism in India. New York: Sage.

233

Wakefield, S. E. L., & Elliott, S. J. (2003): Constructing the News: The Role of Local Newspapers in Environmental Risk Communication. The Professional Geographer, 55(2), 216-226. doi: 10.1111/0033-0124.5502009

Walker, J. S. (2004). Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective. London: University of California Press.

Walliman, N. (2006). Social Research Methods. London: Sage Publications.

WASH Media – South Asia (2012). Water and sanitation in the media: A collection of stories by South Asian journalists. Retrieved from http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/south_asia_media_scrapbo ok.pdf.

Watt, M. J. (2010). Has green news reporting gone green? An analysis of geographically diverse newspapers' online and print coverage of climate change. First Monday, 15(10 - 4). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3163/2631http://firstmond ay.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3163/2631http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index .php/fm/article/view/3163/2631.

WCED. (1987). Our Common Future. United Nations, World Commission on Environment and Development. Oxford University Press.

Weingart, P., Engels, A., & Peensegrau, P. (2000). Risks of Communication: Discourses on Climate Change in Science, Politics, and the Mass Media. Public Understanding of Science, 9, 261-283.

Wilkins, L. (1993). Between facts and values: Print media coverage of the greenhouse effect, 1987–1990. Public Understanding of Science, 2(1), 71–84.

Willis, J., & Okunade, A. A. (1997). Reporting on risks: The practice and ethics of health and safety communication. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.

Wilson, K. M. (1995). Mass Media as Sources of Global Warming Knowledge. Mass Communication Review, 22(1&2), 75-89.

Wodak, R., & Krzyzanowski, M. (Eds.). (2008). Qualitative Discourse Analysis in the Social Sciences. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

234

World Conservation Strategy: 1980. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2016, from Conservation: Historical Perspective: http://www.culturalecology.info/cons_hist/WorldConservationStrategy.1980

World Population Trends. (2015, October 6). Retrieved from United Nations Population Fund: http://www.unfpa.org/world-population-trends

World Population. (n.d.). Retrieved on June 23, 2016, from http://www.worldometers.info/world-population.

World Summit on Sustainable Development. (2002). Johannesburg, South Africa. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/environment

Yamashita, H. (1989). Who has protected the tideland? - Fisherman and Creatures of Ariake Sea, Nasongyoson Bunka Kyokai, Tokyo. Retrieved from http://repository.dl.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2261/34109/2/k- 02021.pdf.

Zia, A., & Khan, A. (2012). Media coverage for development of agricultural sector: An analytical study of Television channels in Pakistan. Journal of Agricultural Research, 50(4), 555-564.

235