Coverage of Sanitation Issues in India

Abstract

Print media plays a crucial role in information distribution and thus enjoys the mileage of being one of the strongest medium of public information. Media plays an important 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. With more in-depth coverage and investigation, this written form of communication creates a longer influence on the minds of the reader. Theory predicts that information provided by print media reflects the media's incentives to provide news to different types of groups in society, and affects these groups' influence in policy making. The article analyses the role played by the print media in creating awareness among the Indian public regarding the paramount sanitation issues. The study will use data produced by the different newspapers pertaining to such issues. It is a well established fact that a good percentage of people in India still have no adequate means of disposing their waste. Poorly controlled waste also means daily exposure to an unpleasant environment. Despite the presence of grand public sanitation schemes, waste management remains to be one of the major problems faced by the people. Content analysis is proved to be instrumental in analyzing the content of the major Indian English dailies. This study used content analysis to unveil how much importance newspapers have been giving to sanitation problems and hygienerelated issues. The findings reveal that newspapers have given an utmost importance to the sanitation policies in India.

Open defecation free: where do we need to focus ?

“…Furthermore, mass media like television, radio, print media, internet, etc. play a significant role in spreading information and raising awareness on sanitation issues [13]. They can help trigger positive changes in public opinion and behavior on matters of public health concern.…”

“…Households without toilets have various common factors, ranging from socio-culture norms [11] to economic status [12] of the people, creating further challenges for the effectiveness of these programs. Furthermore, despite huge government efforts, a lack of public awareness, human resource constraints, and a lack of proper planning act as obstacles to achieving total sanitation [6,13]. In order to meet government targets, there was national trend for declaring Open Defecation Free (ODF) areas, but some evidence shows inability of those areas to maintain their ODF status; for example, village development committees previously declared ODF were found to be unable to maintain minimum requirements of an ODF area afterwards [14].…”

The intertwining of world news with Sustainable Development Goals: An effective monitoring tool

“…The Hindu and The Times of India English 60 India October 1 -October 31 2014 (Showkat, 2016) The article examines the newspaper coverage of sanitation in Kannada. (Bourk et al, 2017) The article explores the dissonance between global and a specific local environmental imaginary through a case study of community newspaper coverage.…”

Framing for the Heritage Conservation in Malaysia

“…In supporting this effort, mass media are increasingly recognised as a pivotal part of the conservation efforts. The media collect, frame, and distribute information and can be an important notion in portraying and shaping conservation awareness towards the public (Gore et al, 2005;Rust, 2015;Showkat, 2016). In the broader term, the success of conservation may be championed by educating the community about conservation issues and promoting sustainable behaviours among them (Gusset & Dick 2010) and by contributing to conservation objectives outlined in global strategic plans (Moss et al 2015) via the mass media.…”