S&T Coverage in English-language Indian dailies

 

 

Bharvi Dutt, K.C.Garg  and  Suresh Kumar

 

Mass media representations are probably the most important, continuing, influences shaping perceptions of science and technology. For most people, the reality of science is what they come to know through the mass media. Only a minuscule proportion of the populace in any country is exposed to formal science education. Most people understand science less through direct experience or past education and more through the filter of journalistic language and imagery . The media are their only contact with what is going on in rapidly changing scientific and technical fields, as well as a major source of information about the implications of these changes in their lives. Newspapers are one of the oldest and most important channels of mass communications. Despite the onslaught of electronic media, majorities of the literate people in India still read newspapers and rely on them for information.

As science and technology have intruded in almost all aspects of our lives today, it is very crucial that the populace in the country is aware of what goes on in this field. There are moments in individuals’ lives when one may have to take decisions, which involve S&T information inputs, for example in the area of health. Such decision making if based on well informed choices may ultimately prove judicious and beneficial to the individuals, and collectively to society as a whole. Moreover, in democratic societies peoples’ awareness about the S&T issues is vital S&T related decisions are taken by peoples’ representative which have political ramifications at the local, national or international levels, for example nuclear science and technology, organ transplantation, global warming & climate change, and a wide spectrum of bio-ethical issues, etc. It is here, that the role of newspapers as a cost effective tool for disseminating information among the common people, become very critical. David Dickson says democratic dialogue on scientific matters is crucial to modern societies.

 

Historically, the English language has been the official working and link language of the Government of India. Those well versed in this language have always commanded awe and authority in the country. Even after 60 years of independence, English is still valued as a language of the privileged and powerful, so more and more people in the country intend to acquire the skills of the language and socialize in it. Due to the colonial legacy and the cultural values passed on to the next generations, the fact remains that no other language in the country is endowed with as much value, power, and respect as is the English language. Also, in the recent past, the process of globalization and liberalization has acted as a catalyst in the rise of English language in India. According to National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUPEA) the nationwide enrolment in the upper primary section of English-medium schools rose by 74% during 2004-06. In actual figures, this is a rise from 54.7 lakh students in 2003 to 95.1 lakh in 2006.

 

 In 2005-2006 the number of dailies being published in the country was 2,130 with a claimed circulation figure of 8,88,63,048 copies which was 12.93% higher than the previous year. In this set of dailies, 201 English-language dailies claimed a circulation figure of 3,41,06,816. Rapid growth in the number of newspaper is an indicator of increasing desire among individuals to put forth their own views and thereby attempt to influence the public. The increasing circulation of the newspapers is a sign of access to newspapers for a larger and larger proportion of people in the country.

 

Public interest in science has increased and the scientific community has become more diversified whereby newer and newer areas of science and technology like, nano-science, gene mapping, telemedicine, etc. have emerged. There has also been a re-emergence of infectious diseases coupled with efforts by the scientific communities to find their remedies, therefore, one might expect to find a broader and more regular coverage of science and technology related items in the newspapers.

 

An earlier study conducted for 1996 English-language dailies estimated less than 1% of the printed space to science and technology related items. This study suggested that greatest proportion of the space was devoted to nuclear science and technology followed by defence, space S&T and astronomy. However, this study did not include health related items. A cursory look at the English-language national dailies reveals that considerable space is being devoted to science and technology related stories encompassing a broad range of scientific and technological issues, which touch peoples’ lives at various levels. In view of the above, it is imperative to study the science and technology coverage in the newspapers. This section attempts to study the coverage of science and technology related items in English-language dailies in India and to throw light on the quantum of space allocated to different subjects by different newspapers, positioning and spread of S&T items, and identify the newspapers that accorded priority to science and technology related items.

 

The present study is confined to a period of three months from 01-03-2008 to 31-05-2008. A set of 36 newspapers published from different parts of the country, in order to cover almost all the regions, were selected. In case of newspapers publishing multiple editions, only the main edition formed the source of this study. Table 1 presents the list of selected newspapers. These newspapers were scanned to identify science and technology (S&T) related items, which were then subjected to content analysis. These S&T items were categorised into 31 different subjects listed in Table 2. The space occupied by each item was measured in square centimetres (cm2) and its positioning in the newspaper along with column spread was also recorded.

 

 

 

Results

 

Newspapers:   In a period of three months the selected 36 newspapers published a total of 2,395 items related to S&T, which occupied a space of 4,75,503 cm2 [Table 1]. The Times of India, published from New Delhi, emerged as the leading newspaper which carried the maximum number of items (577) allocating maximum space (77,412 cm2), followed by The Asian Age (177 items and 34,451 cm2), The Hindustan Times (155 items and 29,508 cm2). Top ten newspapers published about 70% of the items and allocated ~ 60% of the total space across all the newspapers, Certain regional newspapers like Shillong Times and Assam Tribune from north eastern India, Daily Excelsior, Kashmir Times, Greater Kashmir from Jammu and Kashmir, Nav Hind Times from Goa and Hitvada from Nagpur and Central Chronicle from Bhopal accorded little priority to S&T related items.

 

 

Table 1:  Distribution of S&T related items in different newspapers

S. No.

Newspaper

No. of items

%

Space occupied cm2

%

1.

Times of India

577

24.1

77,412

16.3

2.

Asian Age

177

7.4

34,451

7.2

3.

Hindustan Times

155

6.5

29,508

6.2

4.

Free Press

Journal

134

5.6

19,823

4.2

5.

Financial Express

121

5.1

20,909

4.4

6.

The Hindu

108

4.5

27,354

5.7

7.

Indian Express

106

4.4

24,891

5.2

8.

Deccan Herald

101

4.2

16,299

3.4

9.

Statesman

94

3.9

25,895

5.4

10.

Tribune

85

3.5

12,195

2.5

11.

Hindus Business

Line

81

3.4

19,034

4.0

12.

DNA

80

3.3

18,058

3.8

13.

Mail Today

75

3.1

25,960

5.5

14.

Economic Times

73

3.0

10,809

2.3

15.

Metro Now

67

2.8

16,669

3.5

16.

Mumbai Mirror

62

2.6

14,033

2.9

17.

Pioneer

47

2.0

12,826

2.7

18.

Mint

40

1.7

16,471

3.4

19.

Political and

Business Daily

36

1.5

6,024

1.3

20.

Telegraph

27

1.1

10,604

2.2

21.

Deccan Chronicle

26

1.1

5,410

1.1

22.

New Indian

Express

26

1.1

7,702

1.6

23.

Business Standard

23

1.0

5,485

1.5

24

Others (13)*

74

3.0

17,681

3.7

 

Total

2,395

100

4,75,503

100

NOTE: *Sentinel, Assam Tribune, National Herald, Bangalore Mirror, Daily Excelsior, Kashmir Times, Mid Day, Hitavada, Central Chronicle, Sahara Times, Shillong Times, Greater Kashmir and Nav Hind Times, allocated less than 1% items have been clubbed under the category ‘Others’.

 

Fig 1:  Distribution of S&T related items in different newspapers

 

 

Table 2: Broad subject distribution of S&T related items across the selected newspapers

S. No.

Subject

No. of Items

Space occupied (cm2)

1.

Health

939

1,39,067

2.

Environment

343

80,243

3.

Astronomy

162

35,639

4.

Biological Sciences

146

24,735

5.

Space S&T

133

36,550

6.

Indian Science

99

29,128

7.

Psychology

82

15,289

8.

ICT

65

13,455

9.

Defence S&T

45

11,686

10.

Indian Defence S&T

37

7,043

11.

Agriculture S&T

32

7,346

12.

Evolutionary Sciences

31

7,289

13.

New Technology

Products

29

5,437

14.

Physics

26

9,597

15.

Robotics

25

5,536

16.

Material Science

23

5,266

17.

Energy

21

7,483

18.

Animal Behaviour

19

5,127

19.

Paleontology

18

3,666

20.

Earth Sciences

17

3,111

21.

Science Communication

16

4,897

22.

Chemical Sciences

9

3,398

23.

Nuclear S & T

8

2,822

24.

Oceanography

8

791

25.

Aerospace

7

1,353

26.

Archaeology

7

897

27.

Automobile  Engineering

6

1,053

28.

Anthropology

5

676

29.

Food S&T

5

325

30.

Sexology

5

778

31.

Indian Nuclear S&T

5

1,381

32.

Others*

22

4,439

 

Total

2,395

4,75,503

*Nanotechnology,forensic sciences,marine sciences,meterology,archaeology,automobile engineering, etc.

 

Fig 2: Broad subject distribution of S&T related items across the selected newspapers

 

Subjects covered:  Among all the 31 subjects, the maximum number of items (939) was published in the area of health, followed by environment (343), astronomy (162), biological sciences (146) and space science and technology (133) [Table 2]. These five subjects together accounted for 72% of the items and ~ 66% of the total space. The rest of the space was distributed among 26 other disciplines. The area of health and biological sciences together constituted 45% of all the items occupying 34% of total space.

 

Dominant topics:  Though the entire S&T coverage was broadly categorised into 31 different subjects, however, within 14 subjects certain topics received major focus both in terms of number of items and the space allocation. Table 3 lists such major topics. For example, in the subject area of health, neurosciences, cancer, obesity, cardiovascular system, genetics and diabetes accounted for 40% of the health related items. Similarly, in the subject area of environment about 70% items pertained to global warming and climate change.  

 

 

Table 3- Dominant topics

 

S.No.

Subject

Topics

1.

Astronomy

Mars, discovery of new planets, discovery of black holes, Saturn moon, ice on mars, etc.

2.

Biological sciences

Neuroscience, genetics, cloning, stem cell research, immunology, human reproduction, entomology and animal human embryo research, etc.

3.

Earth Sciences

Earthquakes, underwater volcanoes, storm forecasting

4.

Energy

Bio-fuels and alternative fuels

5.

Environment

Global warming, climate change, emission control, melting of arctic ice and Himalayan glaciers

6.

Health

Neuroscience, cancer including breast and lung cancer, diabetes, obesity, genetics, dermatology, reproductive systems, vision research, respiratory systems, tuberculosis and AIDS, etc.

7.

Indian Defence S&T

Launch of Agni III

8.

Indian science

Policy issues relating to S&T manpower, investments and scientific output

9.

Indian space S&T

Launch of PSLV, Chandrayan mission

10.

Material sciences

Biomaterials, nano technology and bio sensors

11.

Physics

Particle physics, large hadron collider and atmospheric sciences

12.

Psychology

Anger, grief, anxiety and sexual behaviour

13.

Robotics

Development of emotional robots, laser robots and brain robots.

14.

Space S&T

Mars exploration mission, space shuttles, solar mission and Phoenix landing on mars

 

 

Front page prominent stories:    Out of the entire coverage spanning over 2,395 items about 4% appeared on the first page of the newspapers occupying about 6% of the total S&T space across all the newspapers [Table 4]. The majority of these items related to the launch of PSLV, global warming and climate change genetics, cardiology and neurosciences. Not only were these stories positioned on the front page, about 72% of these had a column spread of three or more than three columns to arrest the attention of the readers.

 

Table 4: Front page stories

Subjects

# items

Space allocation (cm2)

Indian Space S&T

25

10035

Environment

16

4595

Health

17

5620

Indian Defence S&T

9

2749

Space S&T

5

1258

Astronomy

4

1332

Indian Science

4

866

Biological Science

2

412

Earth Sciences

2

660

ICT

2

277

Indian Defence S&T

2

286

Animal Behaviour

1

290

Anthropology

1

120

Evolutionary Sciences

1

104

Material Science

1

340

Science Communication

1

216

Others

2

676

Total

95

29836

 

 

Fig 3: Front page stories

 

 

 

References:

 

 

 

 

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