Role of Media in Development Communication PRESENTATION BY: D R . TANU D A N G ASSISTANT PROFESSOR DEPT. OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION, KHWAJA MOINUDDIN CHISHTI URDU, ARABI – F A R S I UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW Understanding Development Communication Development communication refers to the use of process and tools of communication to facilitate social development. The term ‘Development communication’ was first articulated on December 10, 1971 at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos and it was initially concerned with promoting breakthroughs in Agricultural Development. Development communication has been labeled the "Fifth Theory of the Press” that focuses on ‘social transformation and fulfillment of basic needs.’ According to Nora C. Quebral development communication is "the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfilment of the human potential.’ Melcote and Steeves saw it as "emancipation communication", that empowers the masses in combating injustice and oppression. The three main characteristics of development communication are that it is purposive, pragmatic and value laden. Understanding Development Communication The term ‘Development Communication’ can be divided into two terms, i.e.— Communication and Development. Here communication refers to the use of different types of media for the process of development. It may also refer to sharing of information and experience to accelerate development. Whereas development refers to the process of betterment of a society. It may refer to both social and economic change for improvement or progress. When we say development communication we refer to the communication that can be used for development. It is about using communication to change or improve the way of living of the citizen of a country. A variety of mass media messages are used to transform the behavior or change the socio-economic condition of the people. According to Mass communication expert Everett M. Rogers, ‘Development communication refers to the uses to which communication is put in order to further development. Such applications are intended to either further develop in a general way, such as by increasing the level of the mass media exposure among the nations citizen, in order to create a favorable climate for development, or to support a specific definite program or project.” In the above mentioned definition Rogers said that for the development of community; the community will create an environment or climate for development. This climate is— a) physical climate and b) psychological climate. Role of Development Communication Development communication can be said to have two primary roles – (a) Transforming role - Development communication can be used for transforming role by bringing in social change in a way that it inspires the people to aim for a higher quality of life. Here communication acts as an instrument to achieve these objectives. (b) Socializing role - Development communication also tries to maintain the established values of the society by playing a socializing role. Development communication tries to build an atmosphere so the planned or proposed changes may be brought about while keeping the social fabric of the society intact. And mass media can play a proactive role in helping development communication fulfill these primary roles. In 1958, Daniel Lerner, while discussing the relation of development with that of any mass media said that “the greater the communication facilities, the greater or even faster is modernization.” Role of Media in Development Communication According to Wilbur Schramm, the role of media in development can be divided into three parts: (i) To inform – ‘Information is power.’ For the development of the society, correct social, political and economic influence is very important. Media helps the people to be aware about and develop a consensus upon important national and international development issues. It also helps them understand the various obstacles in the process of development. (ii) To instruct - Mass literacy is an essential criteria to development. This is possible by imbibing basic skills among the people. Mass media plays an important role in this. Mass media can instruct people and educate them. Projects like SITE and Gyan Darshan are few such examples where media is used to instruct people, educate them and teach them basic skills. These basic skills help people to develop their standard of living. (iii) To participate – All development activities are based primarily on people’s participation. Voluntary and continuous participation of the citizen of the country is necessary for continued development. Debate and discussions help people to know about the current issues, participate in developmental program and bring about a change in the society. Schramm has laid a lot of emphasis on Content, Feedback and Multiplier effect of Mass Media while discussing the role of mass media in development. According to him the content of development communication must be designed keeping in mind the target audiences of the message. Further, has put a lot of importance on feed back for successful communication for development. Feedback not only supports the implementation process of various communication strategies but also helps to access whether or not the communication is meeting their purpose or aim. He further adds that modern communication technologies, can be effectively used to multiply the messages and reach out simultaneously to a wide heterogeneous audience. Use of Mass Media for Development in India The history of organized development communication in India can be traced to rural radio broadcast in the 1940‘s. Independent India‘s earliest organized experiments in development communication started with communication development projects initiated by the union government in the 1950‘s. Print Media as a medium of Development Communication: Print media is widely used by the government to secure wide coverage of messages through various newspapers and journals. Print media as a traditional media plays a significant role in development communication. In India, print media strengths have largely been shaped by its historical experiences and, in particular, by its association with the freedom struggle as well as movements for social emancipation, reform, and amelioration. After Independence during the Five Year Plans, initiated by the government for planned development, it was the newspapers which gave great importance to development themes. They wrote on various government development programs and how the people could make use of them. They covered a variety of subjects like farming, weather, market rates, availability of improved seeds and agricultural innovations. With a wide variety of National, Regional and Vernacular newspapers, print media remains one of the powerful media among the rural people. The Government regularly interacts with the Press mainly through the Press Information Bureau (PIB). Frequent press conferences, press tours and workshops are organised through PIB, with the financial assistance from the Ministry, to sensitize press persons about Rural Development Programs. For the purpose of creating awareness in respect of rural development programs among the general public and opinion makers and for disseminating information about new initiatives, the Ministry issues advertisements at regular intervals in national and regional press through DAVP. To enable people in rural areas to access information on Rural Development Programs a booklet ‘Gram Vikas‘ Programs at a glance is brought out in regional languages. Radio as a Medium of Development Communication Radio as a medium of development communication: Radio from its very inception played an important role in development communication; this is mainly due to its advantage of reaching to a large number of people from different sections of the society. Universities and other educational institutes‘ especially agricultural universities, through their extension networks and international organisations under the UN umbrella carried various development communication experiments through radio. Community radio is another important medium which is registering growing importance, especially in rural India. Here, NGOs and educational institutions are given license to set up a local community radio station to broadcast information and messages on developmental aspects. Participation of local community is encouraged in these programs. Community radio provides a platform to villagers to broadcast local issues and thus has the potential to initiate positive action. With its widespread reach and acceptability among the rural audiences, several initiatives were made to use radio for development communication. A few of them are listed below: Radio Rural Forum: All India Radio has been the forerunner in the process of implementing communication strategy adopted by the government. The Radio Rural Forum experiment of 1956, covered 156 villages. It contained a 30 minute duration program that was aired two days a week primarily on agriculture and varied other subjects that could promote rural development. Since then efforts are being constantly made to use radio for social change. Apart from radio rural forum, other continuous efforts are being made to bring in development. As in the case of project