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SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

UNIT II- AEE 314

AGRICULTURAL JOURNALISM

READING MATERIAL

Syllabus- Communication media: characteristics; kinds and functions of

newspapers and magazines, characteristics of newspaper and magazine

readers.

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Communication media:

Communication media refers to the means of delivering and receiving data or information.

In telecommunication, these means are transmission and storage tools or channels for data

storage and transmission

Communication media is a process of sending or receiving data through a channel of

communication. It is the powerful tool in today’s world, which removes social irregularities

and social evils.

Types of Communication media

1. Television

2. Radio

3. Print industry

4. Outdoor media

5. Internet media

Radio-

• Radio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with

frequencies below those of visible light.

• In electronics, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of high

frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with respect to a modulating

signal

• Radio was the first truly mass medium of communication, reaching millions of

people instantly and altering social attitudes, family relationships, and how people

related to their environment.

• The government took over the broadcasting facilities and began the Indian State

Broadcasting Service (ISBS) on 1 April 1930 on an experimental basis for two years,

and permanently in May 1932 it then went on to become All India Radio on 8 June

1936

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History of Radio in India

• 1923– Radio club of Bombay

• 1926 – Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) – private company given permission to

set up 2 stations

• July 23, 1927 – Bombay station set up

• August 26, 1927 – Calcutta station followed

• Only 3000 licensed radio owners then

• Zulfikar Ali Bokhari (Talks on “widow remarriage” & “untouchability”, sound truck

tours)

• Communal Radios set up

• Timers put in

• Number of licensed sets climbed to 100,000

• German broadcaster Dr. Faruqui beamed his short- wave newscasts directly into

India (Indians readily listened to his anti-Britain talks)

• March, 1930 – IBC liquidated

• April, 1930 – Govt took over and formed Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS)

• 2 years later, Govt started broadcasting BBC in India

• 1932-To supplement the earning of the Indian State Broadcasting Service, the Indian

Tariff (Wireless Broadcasting) Act was amended leading to a sharp increase in the

duty on the wireless receiving set.

• The possession of a radio set without a license was made an offence.

• Lionel Fielden sent to India

• March 1935 - Office of Controller of broadcasting created under the Department of

Industries and Labour of the Government

• August 1935 - Mr. Lionel Fielden assumed charge as the first Controller of

Broadcasting

• January 1936 - Delhi radio station was opened

• June 8 1936 - the ISBS was renamed All India Radio (AIR)

• 1937 - AIR was transferred from the Ministry of Labour and Industries to the

Department of Communications.

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• 1938 - Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore composed the following poem entitled,

"Akashvani", on the inauguration of the Calcutta short-wave transmission:

"Hark to Akashvani up-surgring From here below,

The earth is bathed in Heaven 's glory,

Its purple glow, Across the blue expanse is firmly planted The altar of the Muse

The lyre unheard of Light is throbbing, With human hues.

From earth, to heaven, distance conquered, In waves of Light

Flows the music of man 's divining Fancy 's flight,

To East and West speech careers, Swift as the Sun,

The mind of man reaches Heaven 's confines Its freedom won. "

• September 1939 - News bulletins were centralized in all languages at Delhi.

• October 1, 1939 - External Service started and directed to Afghanistan, Iran and Arab

countries in Pushtu (to counter radio propaganda from Germany)

• 1939 - Controller Broadcasting Lionel Fielden was succeeded by Professor A.S.

Bokhari who remained the head of All India Radio for six crucial years.

• In 1943, the designation, Controller of Broadcasting, was changed to Director

General

• Portrait -A. S. Bokhari

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•

• By 1939, in addition to the existing medium wave transmitters, short wave

transmitters had also been Installed at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. New

stations with medium wave transmitters were opened at Lucknow and Tiruchiraplli.

• In 194 1, AIR was again transferred to the department of Information and

Broadcasting, which after Independence in 1947, became a separate ministry by

itself.

• BBC steps in – Fielden and Bokhari reorganise BBC broadcasts to suit Indian

sensibilities

• 1940 – Shows for Indian troops (WW-2 around the corner)

• 1940 - Bokhari began broadcasting a daily ten- minute Hindustani news

commentary. Soon, programmes in Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Pushtu, Sindhi, Tamil,

Telugu and Malayalam followed.

• When Japan joined WW-2 in 1941, thus began AIR's Burmese, Chinese, Japanese,

Thai, Malay and the Indo-Chinese languages broadcasts.

• (Today, AIR broadcasts in 16 foreign languages)

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• 1947 - total number of radio sets at that time was about 275,000

Post independence -Radio

• At the time of Independence, 9 AIR stations (also including Peshawar, Lahore and

Dhaka)

• Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the first Minister of Information and Broadcasting in

Independent India.

• AIR stations in Delhi, Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Lucknow and Tiruchirapalli.

• Bahujana hitaya bahujana sukhaya ( For the benefit of many and the happiness of

many)

• Emphasis on disseminating information, education, music and drama.

• 1952 – Vadya Vrinda or National Orchestra with Pandit Ravi Shankar as the first

music conductor.

Vividh Bharti

• In the 50s, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. B.V. Keskar, put a ban on

broadcast of Hindi film songs on AIR.

• Radio Ceylon became immensely popular. Binaca Geetmala and Amin Sayani.

• 1957 – Vividh Bharti started.

• Emphasis shifted to entertainment.

• Vividh Bharti extended to Medium Wave which meant more listenership

• 1956- AIR officially called Akashvani.

• 1959 – Satellite Television introduced which later separated to form Doordarshan.

• 1957 – Rural Radio Forums

• Arrival of Transistor – Low cost and mobile.

• 1964 – Indira Gandhi becomes Minister of I&B.

Chanda committee.

• Headed by A.K. Chanda, former Comptroller & Auditor General of India

• 1.Convert AIR into a corporation run by a board of Directors like BBC.

• 2.Separate Radio from TV.

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• 3.Commercialize Vividh Bharti so that it earned revenue

• In1967,VividhBhartiwascommercialized.

• In 1976, AIR and Doordarshan were separated.

Prasar Bharati Act.

• Prasar Bharati Bill passed by Parliament in 1990 but subsequent governments didn’t

finalize it.

• Act implemented in September1997.

• Broadcasting Corporation of India with two distinct bodies – Akashvani and

Doordarshan

• Functioned as a corporate with a Board of Directors headed by a Chairman.

• Director General’s for both DD&AIR. Member of Ministry of I&B part of Board.

1999 -THE FM Wave

• Auctioning of FM bands to Private stations begins

• 21 stations commissioned across 12 cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,

Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Jaipur.

• 108 radio frequencies put up by the Government across 40 cities.

• Licenses for Community Radio also given

• Radio Mirchi amongst the first private FM stations set up by The Times Group.

• India’s first Private FM station came up in Bangalore.

Learning from Phase 1

• Strict government policies, unviable high license fee and lower advertisement flow

led many companies to leave the FM radio industry after the initial euphoria in 1999.

• Fewer than 3% of the Indian ad-spend goes to radio. When 108 frequencies across

40 cities were auctioned in May 2000, the bids went through the roof as the

loopholes in the tender document allowed people to make bids without any

significant obligation to fulfill their promise.

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• The exorbitant bid amounts and the high annual license fee resulted in only 21

stations getting off the ground across 12 cities in Phase-I.

PHASE 2

• 338 frequencies for radio stations 91 cities were on block

• The government awards 280 licenses for a total sum of $205 million

• Sun, Adlabs, HT Music, ENIL emerge as the leaders with nationwide footprint

• Government introduces new revenue- sharing model 2006

• In 1999, the government opened up the industry to private companies. While they

established themselves in India’s major cities, they couldn’t build a profitable

business because of the high license fee structure.

• The government then changed the fee structure to make FM radio a more viable

business. And it authorized the set up of FM radio in 91 cities across the country in a

“Phase II” rollout.

• As a result, companies ranging from the obvious media ones to unlikely real estate

firms, bid and won Phase II licences.

Phase II- Radio Revived

• The Phase-II bidding process attracted greater interest compared with the first phase in

1999. Phase I participants, such as New Delhi- based Living Media India Limited and

Mumbai-based Midday Multimedia Limited popularized FM in large metropolitan cities and

paved the way for Phase II.

PHASE 3 2010 onwards

Auctions for radio frequencies for the third batch of phase III, which have been delayed for

the longest time, could flop unless the government tweaks the terms and conditions.

Auctions for the second batch were held in October 2016 and drew a lukewarm response.

• Can you name some of India’s Private FM stations?

• Radio City 91.1

• Big FM 92.7

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• Red FM 93.5

• Radio One 94.3

• Hit FM 95

• Radio Mirchi FM 98.3

• Fever 104 FM

Television-

• Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images

that can be monochrome (black- and-white) or coloured, with or without accompanying

sound.

• "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming, or

television transmission

• Television began in India on 15th September 1959 as an experiment from Delhi.

• In 1967 came pilot project of agricultural communication initiated by Dr Vikram

Sarabhai.

• The program me titled Krishi Darshan was primarily aimed at demonstrating the

effectiveness of TV as medium for programmes improved farming practices.

Background- post independence

• Broadcasting was expected to contribute to national integration and development in

the country .

• The government was reluctant to invest in television - it was felt that a poor country

like India could not afford the medium.

• Post- independence, for more than a decade – only radio news

• Government apprehensive that television was a costly medium for a poor country

Early days

• Television was introduced in 1959.

It had to prove its role in the development process.

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• First TV Broadcast in Sep 1959 as part of All India Radio's services.

• Programs - broadcast twice a week for ONE hour/DAY

• Programs related to the development and social issues – awareness on health and

citizen rights related issues.

• In 1961 the broadcasts were expanded to include a school educational television

projects.

• Slowly followed by entertainment - Indian films and bollywood songs

• Few old U.S. and British shows were also telecast sporadically

First breakthrough- SITE

• SITE - Satellite Instructional Television Experiment

• Year long –August 01 1975 to 31st July 1976

• Marked the beginning of a series of innovative, constructive educational television

programmes for national development

• It was designed to test whether satellite based television services could play a role in

socio- economic development.

What was the experiment?

• It was a system test of satellite broadcast technology in India

• ATS-6 was the satellite for this experiment provided by NASA( National Aeronautics

and Space Administration) USA

• the ground segment prepared by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

working in collaboration with first All India Radio and later Doordarshan

• 1976, the government constituted Doordarshan, the national television network

• 1976 witnessed a the advent of advertising on Doordarshan and in the history of TV

in India

• Commercialization of Doordarshan saw the development of soap operas, situation

comedies, dramas, musical programs, quiz shows

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Successful SITE Experiment

• The educational and developmental programmes were beamed up to the satellite from

earth stations set up in Ahmedabad and Delhi and were broadcast towards India using the

high power transmitter and the large antenna aboard ATS-6. These programmes were

received in about 2400 villages in six different states of India.

• The govt. recognized imperative role of television in bringing about the desired social

change an established at separate. organization named Doordharshan in 1 April 1976

• August 15,1982 was landmark in history of television in the national networking

become a reality by the establishment of satellite of links through Indian National

Satellite INSAT-1A.

• This day also marked the introduction of colour television in India.

• With increase of capability of satellite communication and TV transmission in ideas

agricultural and rural development programme are being organize in big way

•Print Industry:

• Print industry tried to grasp the new situation and shaped itself into a regular and

formal sector but from the start of the 19th century, print media in most countries

started specializing in certain areas.

History of Print media in India

• 1550: 1st Printing Press was used in India

• In the beginning only religious books were published in Portuguese, Tamil and

Malayalam.

• During Mughal’s regime news printing was quite prevalent.

• William Bolt attempted 1st for newspaper printing in Calcutta. But in reality, J.A.

Hichey started the first newspaper “Bengal Gazette” at Calcutta. His paper was

consisted of 2 sheets. The paper exposes the private lives of the servants of East

India Company.

• Messink and Read started the next newspaper named as “India Gazette”.

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• In 1784, “Calcutta Gazette” was started.

• In 1785, Richard Johnson started the “Madras Courier” from Madras.

• In 1789, “Bombay Herald” was started in Bombay. It publishes the personal

grievances of the Englishmen against the East India Company.

• In 1832, “Bombay Samachar” in Gujrati published from Bombay.

• In 1838, “Times of India” in English published from Bombay.

• In 1885, ‘Pioneer in English” published from Lucknow.

• In 1886, “Amrit Bazar Patrika” in English published from Calcutta.

• Online newspapers are cheaper version of print newspapers. Print newspapers are

labour intensive. It adds up the cost of production. The e-newspaper combines the

readability and overview from the printed newspaper with the possibilities of online

media such as constant updates, interactivity and video, and is predicted to replace

the printed edition in the long run.

• The potential replacement of the printed newspaper with the e-newspaper would

dramatically reduce production and distribution costs for the newspaper companies

(Ihlstrom, C, 1995).

• Newsrooms around the world, including those in India, have started to use new

technologies. Technologies such as desktop publishing and computerisation into

daily operations reduce cost. If production of online newspaper is cost effective,

there would seem to be no reason for expensive method. Because all business are

market driven.

• The long decline in newspaper circulation is over the years continued to accelerate.

Newspaper's circulation is going down continuously. Internet may be the reason for

this.

What is Newspaper?

Ø News paper is a bunch of loose printed papers properly folded, which contains news,

views, advertisements etc.

Ø And is offered for sale at regular intervals, particularly daily or weekly.

Ø Newspapers are usually printed on a special type paper, known as newsprint.

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Ø The first full- fledged printed newspapers in India, The Bengal Gazette, was

published by James Augustus Hicky on january 29, 1780. It was published in English

by weekly.

Characteristics of newspaper

1) Accuracy of News

Ø The accuracy of news is in fact taken for granted by the news consumers. Though it

is very difficult to be accurate in news.

Ø Readers should have a feeling that whatever they are being presented is the

overcome of an honest and dedicated effort of the writer.

Ø The readers should never be given an opportunity to say that they never believed

what appeared in the papers. All facts given in the news item should be accepted by

readers without questions

2.) News should be Balanced

Ø News is to be balanced though it is not an easy task to write news which is balanced

in every respects, a severe effort must be made by a reporter to render the account

of any event in the best possible manners.

Ø The reporter has to write all the specific facts correctly, fairly and accurately and

objectively. He has to put all the facts together in a manner that his report conveys

the correct and factual impression

3.) Objective

Ø News is a factual report of an event as it occurred. It is not the event as a prejudiced

eye might see it or as the reporter might wish it to be or have thought it to be on

those concerned in the event might like to present it.

Ø Facts must be reported impartially as they occurred. Objectivity in the news is one of

the most important principles of modern journalism

4.) News should be Concise and Clear

Ø News must follow the news form developed over a period of many years. It must be

unite, concise, clear and simple.

Ø A story that is diffused, disorganized and ambiguous in meaning does not have the

characteristic quality of news

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5.) Current (Elements of Time in News)

Ø The definition of news remains incomplete if element of time is not given major

consideration.

Ø Time is the essence of the news. Emphasis is on the time element of news story, this

is necessary because of the changes which may occur in the transitory period.

Types/Kind of Newspaper

Small Newspaper- A newspaper which has a circulation upto 25,000 copies per publishing

day.

Medium Newspaper- A Newspaper which has a circulation between 25,001 and 75,000

copies per publishing day.

Large Newspaper- A newspaper which has a circulation more than 75,000 copies per

publishing day

TYPES OF NEWS

1.Hard news

Hard news only informs the audience and does not educate them. Events like wars , terrorist,

massacres, earthquakes, flood, accident, etc create excitement and are source of hard news.

Hard news are very important and are based on events which have occurred very recently. In

hard news ‘consequence’ is an important element, because without having any consequence,

hard news may not be reported at all.

¢ Event oriented.

¢ Centred on “What, when, where and why.”

¢ Major thrust of newspaper is hard news.

¢ Hard news covers news on serious crime e.g terrorist attacks

¢ Politics

¢ Disasters eg: an earthquake

¢ Foreign affairs

¢ “CONSEQUENCE” is an important element in hard news.

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2. Soft news

Soft news, deals with topics like education, employment, science and technology, nature

and environment science and technology etc. Since urgency and excitement are not there

such report may be considered as dull.

¢ Soft news are news about entertainment, human

interest stories and less serious crime.

¢ More on analysis, reasons, background and interpretation.

¢ Mere account of events do not satisfy the readers.

¢ They would like to enter beneath the upper crust of hard news.

¢ Urgency & excitement is not there.

3.Straight news

According to Mehta (1999), a straight news story given factual account of what has happened

in a simple, clear and accurate manner.It also draw no conclusions,makes no

accusations,offers no opinion about news story.

4.Interpretative news

It is not the opinion of the reporters. So the sources of information are mentioned in each

portion(paragraph) of this type of news.This makes news authentic and reliable .

5.Investigative news

Investigative news is a type of information which has to be dug out by the journalists through

painstaking investigation (like a detective), and has some social significance.Some amount of

risk is involve in collecting such type of information.Proper evidence must be collected and

journalist must be very sure about the authenticityof the episode and the documents before

such information can be made public.

FACTORS DETERMINING NEWS VALUE

Timeliness:News must be timely and new. Not arouse interest if it is already known.

Proximity: People are more interested in what happens in their village, town, country.

Conflict: People gather in a street if and when there is fight. Conflicts of all kinds are part of

life and make good copy.

Prominence:

What happens to important people ,places ,things makes news.

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Human interest:Information concerning to human interest elements such as new

programmes,personal involvement ,progress have more news value

Consequences:The more audience are affected by the information ,the greater is its news

value.

Function of Newspaper

1.To Present Information:

The chief and fundamental function of a newspaper is to provide information, guidance,

help and entertainment to the general public.

Newspapers make the common man aware of the happening of an event, even all around

the world as an information

2.To give Comments on Daily Happenings:

In twenty-four hours, circumstances change in a short while and events happen every second after

second. Newspapers present not only news regarding an event but views also.

3.To Form Public Opinion:

Public opinion grows out of the great variety and diversity of the opinions, views, beliefs

and prejudices of individuals or. citizens of a state, when they think and want to do

something in common.

4.Platform for People Discussion :

Newspapers form the public opinion, on the other hand, provide a comprehensive platform

for people discussion. Newspaper is an open invitation to all to unite for or against any

problem, event or policy.

5.Truth and Reality:

Newspapers have to produce news-cause or any kind of information based on truth and

reality as the foremost function of newspaper is to bring out truth and reality before the

people.

6.Spokesman of Society:

Apart from other functions, newspaper plays a positive role to promote the thoughts,

customs and traditions of the society. But it does not affect impartiality.

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7.Information:

This is obviously the most important function but the other ones must be paid equal

attention if a newspaper is to make a lasting appeal to the public.

9.Entertainment:

Modern newspapers tend to carry many light materials including articles written in light

vein. These features not only indirectly influence the opinions of the readers but also fulfill

the entertainment function.

NEWSPAPER

Advantages

• Low cost

• Large coverage in short time

• Efficient source of timely information

• Carries the prestige and confidence of printed words

• Reinforcing effect on other extension methods

Limitations

• Of no value if people are illiterate or do not read

• Difficult to check the results

• Requires special training to write

Theories of press:

The mass media that exists in a country is directly relatedto political system in that

country.The political system determines the exact relationship between the media and the

government .Some important theories of press are presented

1. Authoritarian Theory :

The authoritarian system is owned by the state, which controls mass media. This is practiced

around the globe. Direct governmental control of mass media .Media are not allowed to print

or broadcast anything, which could undermine, the established authority, and offense to the

existing political values is avoided. The Government may go to the step of punishing anyone

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who questions the state’s ideology.It says that government is infallible. Media professionals

are therefore not allowed any independence with the media organisation

2. Libertarian:

Complete freedom of expression of ideas with no controls. This theory is also called free

press theory.This was the contrast which rests on the idea that the individual should be free to

publish whatever he or she likes. In 17th century’s thinker John Milton, who asserted that

human beings inevitably choose the best ideas and values. The attack on the governments are

fully accepted and even encouraged. No restriction on import or export of media messages

across the national frontiers.Journalists and media professionals ought to have full autonomy

within the media organisation.

3. Social Responsibilities:

It was initiated in USA. Muckraking and media investigation of wrongdoing is practiced. This

is the American initiative in the late forties. In this model media assigned to perform some

obligation towards society. Obligation:- Informativeness - Truth - Accuracy - Objectivity and

balance .Media cannot function in a vacuum. It has connectivity with the political system and

people subjected to it. Media and society are independent and mutually influential .Media

shapes the society and gets shaped by society. In a democratic society, media has definite

prime objective to inform people and act as an opinian leader. More practical and relevant in

democratic world

4. Soviet System:

Like authoritarian, Soviet System regulates its own content. Theory linked with socialist

countries in a communist ideology. The origins of the socialistic thought in 1917 Russian

revolution based on the concepts evolved by Marx and Engels. There is no private ownership

of media organization under this system. Responsible to serve the interest of working class.

This theory apparently similar to the authoritarian theory. The element of self regulatory

mechanism and character of responsibility makes different of the authoritarian,after the fall of

the soviet union we can find the best example of this model in China where television, radio

and newspapers are under total control of the communist regime.

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Journalistic Writing- Based on the queries:

Brief, Specific, Accurate, Convincing MAGAZINES

Concept of magazines

We know that the word "magazine" is derived from Arabic word makhazin or "storehouse," which contains a collection of facts and fiction, all bundled together in one package.

What is magazines

➢ A periodical publication containing articles and illustrations, often on a particular subject or aimed at a particular readership.

➢ A magazine is a publication, usually a periodical publication, which is printed or electronically published (sometimes referred to as an online magazine).

➢ Magazines are generally published on a regular schedule and contain a variety of content.

Characteristics of magazine

• While popular magazines provide broad overviews of topics, scholarly journals

provide in-depth analysis of topics and report the findings of research, and trade

magazines report on industry trends, new products or techniques.

• A popular magazine which caters to the general public uses non-technical language.

The why of writing The whom of writing The what of writing The where of writing The when of writing The how of writing

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• The contents of these magazines include interviews, general interest articles and

various types of features.

• They usually cover a wide range of topics based on research, source comments and

generalizations.

• Articles are usually written by a staff writer or a journalist; in some cases, interesting

articles of freelancers are also encouraged.

• They generally contain many interesting and sometimes sensuous photographs to

attract readers.

• In general, magazine articles are easy to read, fairly brief in length, and may include

illustrations or photographs.

Types of magazines

1. Magazines of general interest: these magazines cater the need of entire population

and have large circulation. The world famous reader digest is also in same category.

2. News Magazine: these are periodicals which are produced weekly or fortnightly.

Articles on situation, politics, Economics, Religion, industry, sports etc are published

3. High Class Magazines: These magazine are aimed at selected audience, they appeal

to a particular class. These magazines are serious minded periodicals offering high

level reporting with emphasis upon literacy, ethical, social, political or scientific

problems.

4. Magazine of Men’s Interest: e.g. sports, love stories, fashion, photos

5. Technical Magazines: these magazines are for specialized sections of society i.e.

engineering, medicine, agriculture etc.

6. The House Magazine/ Journals: These are produced by companies, organizations etc

and are distributed free of cost to employees, customers. The purpose behind is to

present the products of a company. House journals are produced by the public

relation department ofany organization.

7. Religious Magazine:.

8. Film Magazine:.

9. Sports Magazine: cricketer, sports times etc

10. Magazine For Children:

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11. Agricultural magazines: The magazine provides comprehensive information on the

market and industry, economic and policy issues, scientific advances, new agri-input

products, new technologies and latest news and analysis on the developments in

agriculture.

Functions of Magazines

1. Surveillance: They specialize by subject matter covering narrow topics such as

science, health, agriculture etc.

2. Correlation : They do by interpreting aspects of the content for their readers

3. Entertainment: They usually contain a lot of entertaining content.

4. Marketing goods and services: Often readers spend more time looking at ads than

reading editorial contents as they browse a magazine.

Characteristics of Magazine Readers

• The magazine is a different medium from television. The latter is the largest

advertising medium with an almost universal penetration of the population.

• By comparison, the magazine is a print medium and typically contains a fair amount

of text to go with photos and illustrations. This requires some minimal level of

literacy.

• As well, whereas television is free in theory (with the exception of the one-time cost

of the purchase of the television set as well as optional subscription to television),

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the cover price of magazine can be relatively hefty. However, magazines can be

circulated around and there are very often many readers per copy.

• Due to these considerations, it is unlikely that magazine readership is universal

among the population.

• Furthermore, we would expect magazine readers to differ in systematic ways.

• A single copy of a magazine may be read by many readers. It is sometimes argued

that not all of these readers are equal, at least in terms of advertising value.

• A primary reader of a magazine is someone who –

• Personally bought the magazine at a newsstand or store.

• Personally subscribed to the magazine, either at home, at work or elsewhere

• Someone else at home bought the magazine and brought it home

• Someone else at home subscribe to the magazine at home

• Since magazines may be relatively expensive, someone who can afford to purchase

or subscribe is likely to be more affluent.

Characteristics of Newspaper Readers

• This increase in readership has resulted from the several advantages that are not

viable with print journalism.

• Audiences rely on newspapers on the web because they are instantly available,

constantly updated and more interactive in terms of content.

• For instance, almost all online newspapers have slideshows of images, attractive texts

and sounds making them far more interesting to read than their print counterparts.

• Readers have options to post their feedback and join groups that share similar

interests.

• They also offer services like electronic mail alerts for any breaking news or severe

weather notices. Basically these newspapers reap the benefits of hypermedia and

hypertext.

• All these advantages put together are attracting to the readers who would previously

not even be interested in printed news because now it is available to them at no

additional cost of buying the printed version.

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• It all comes at a very low cost of Internet access. But we must also consider the fact

that a part of the population, namely the elite, political and business oriented or even

sports fans are ready to pay subscription fees for these online publications.

• Younger generation, who do not like to read print newspaper publicly and more

friendly with computers, are increasing in numbers.

• Auh, (2000) observes that hundreds of millions of people today- especially the young,

better educated, and affluent - connect themselves to the web as a preferred medium

for information and entertainment. It appears the web journalism has the power to

engage the unchanged with its interactive, on-demand, and customizable features. To

the traditional media and newspapers, in particular, these trends can be a threat.

• Outdoor media:

• Outdoor media are a form of mass media that comprises billboards, signs, or placards

placed inside and outside of commercial buildings, sports stadiums, shops, and buses.

Internet media:

• The Internet media Communication which is largest mass media by Internet

technologies for various communications in both Internet and mobile networks.

• Common channels in internet media are Email, Search engines.

• Interactivity, immediacy, and limitless space are some of the characteristics of the

Internet (Erlindson, 1995). These characteristics render the Internet a suitable

publishing ground if harnessed properly. There are many advantages in Web

publishing, one of which, Erlindson mentions, is the low cost of setting up a Web

site—as little as U.S. $5,000. He also says an absence of paper and delivery costs

involved in electronic newspaper publishing is a benefit. (Foo, Tham et al., 1999).

• Online newspapers became a part of the mainstream medium even before many of

us had the opportunity to learn about the medium (Li, 2006).

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