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From: suresh@amd.UUCP (P. Srisuresh)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.india
Subject: Re: Re: India and the Media
Message-ID: <1048@amd.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 8-Mar-85 16:50:37 EST
Article-I.D.: amd.1048
Posted: Fri Mar  8 16:50:37 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Mar-85 20:21:21 EST
References: <2440@hplabsc.UUCP> <197@gitpyr.UUCP> <>
Reply-To: suresh@amd.UUCP (P. Srisuresh)
Organization: AMD Applications, Santa Clara, CA
Lines: 92
Summary: 

In article <> prasad@cavell.UUCP (Prasad Srirangapatna) writes:
>> > [Kumar @ HP Labs]
>> > India as a country does not figure too prominently in the news
>> > media in the United States, but when it does, it is more often
>> > depicted as a poor, hot, overcrowded, undernourished, ex-British
>> > colony, rather than the new, emerging nation that it is.  
>> 
>> Sounds unsubstantiated to me. American media does not exactly kiss the feet
>> of India, but then again why should they. In general they are quite truthful
>> and more objective than Indian media is of America.
>> 
>Sub: Western Media coverage of Indian Events.
>
>On the one hand, it is clearly true that a country geographically as large, 
>politically as important, and technologically as rich in manpower as India,
>does not get the kind of western media attention  that it deserves. Even much
>smaller and apparently less "significant" countries seem to get much wider and
>more importantly, more frequent coverage. Examples include Korea, Vietnam and
>Cambodia and Afghanistan (in Asia), Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Iran (in the
>Middle East) and Nicaragua, El Salvador etc. (in Central America). There are
>............ so on.

     The above letter from Prasad pretty much summarizes why
India gets the coverage it gets today.

     I guess, any story gets a media coverge only when there
is a point of internal or international interest to the pub-
lic as whole or in part. By points of internal  interest,  I
mean  issues  like  serial  murders, muggings, latest foods,
execise programs, money earning tips and  so  on.  The  main
issues  of  international  interest are political, military,
economical and technological events. There has to  be  some-
thing  sensational or something different from usual for the
media  to  cover  it.  No  wonder,  Lebanon,  El   Salvador,
Nicaragua,  Afghanisthan gains more coverage than most other
third world contries including India does.

     As far as the first and second worlds go, their  issues
and events stand to gain high priority within the Americans,
perhaps as much as for  themselves,  since  they  have  high
vested  interest  in  those countries. Talking about them is
almost like talking about themselves. Competing with them is
almost  like  competing  internally within themselves. Hence
the second and third worlds are looked upon more as internal
than  otherwise.  Third  world is merely a scale by which to
compare and feel good about themselves or to know that there
does  exist some part of the world that doesn't concern them
that much. Well, may be I am rambling a little here.

     The point is  that  India  is  non-aligned.  At  worse,
soviet  oriented.  No great technological breakthrough. Nei-
ther is there much to talk about economical progress.  There
was  some  sensational  political  news with the raid of the
Sikh temple and Indira Gandhi's assasination following that.
Then, there was Bhopal disaater. I am sure most of you agree
with me that India had it's share of media  coverage  during
that  period.  India  has been very sluggish and dormant for
quite a long time. People are as sluggish as the govt.  they
elect  to  govern  themselves.   Only now, we hear some news
about the govt. taking some active role and begining to give
a  boost  to  the  technological and economical fronts. I am
sure, we will get more and more prominent  coverage  as  the
days  go by. India has been on the news much more frequently
now a days than before. This is a neat prelude to the  trend
that is likely to follow.

     You are right. American press is not the  only  way  to
communicate with the people. I do not deny that it is possi-
ble to communicate through other means like movies,  commer-
cials etc.. Sure, commercials too.  if Saudu Arabia could do
it, why can't we?  One  way  to  make  the  American  public
Understand India as much as they do of the McDonalds burgers
is to flash lots of commercials.  As  for  coverage  through
movies,  we  don't have many movies about India made outside
India. So, people like to listen and watch what  the  intel-
lectuals in India have to say. Take people like Satyajit Ray
or Mrinal Sen. Most of their themes circle around  the  poor
and their state of affairs. I am not complaining about that.
Poverty-it is topmost problem of India.  But, we do not have
many  movies throwing light on the other side of India. How-
ever, we do get some balanced coverage from Indian press,  I
believe. But that doesn't help that much.

     Another means of media education is possible via  Indi-
ans  abroad.  What can we do to bring up the image? If it is
not snobbish to do so, we could probaably start a nationwide
press, make some movies(English) and above all, impart tech-
nology we earned to India, to make some good news. Hope  you
enjoyed  reading  the  article. In case you didn't you'll be
glad to know that I am stopping here.

-- suresh