Media ownership trends in India

There are many media organisations in the country that are owned and controlled by a wide variety of entities including corporate bodies, societies and trusts, and individuals.  Information about such organisations and people is scattered, incomplete, and dated.

A few salient aspects about media ownership 

The sheer number of media organisations and outlets often conceals the fact there is dominance over specific markets in other words, the markets are often oligopolistic in character.

The absence of restrictions on cross-media ownership implies that particular companies or groups or conglomerates dominate markets both vertically (that is, across different media such as print, radio, television and the internet) as well as horizontally (namely, in particular geographical regions).

Political parties and persons with political affiliation own/control increasing sections of the media in India.

The promoters and controllers of media groups have traditionally held interests in many other business interests and continue to do so, often using their media outlets to further these. 

Large industrial conglomerates are acquiring direct and indirect interest in media groups.

Consolidation 

In the last few years there has been a growing consolidation of media organisations across the globe. In the political economy of the media the world over there is clearly an alarming absence of not-for-profit media organisations. Neither subscription- nor advertising revenue-based models of the media have been able to limit this tendency of large sections of the corporate media to align with elite interest groups.  The media is perceived as an active political collaborator as well seeking to influence voters on the basis of loyalty of owners and editors. This can, and often does, limit the free and fair exchanges of views to facilitate democratic decision-making processes.

The Indian media market differs from those of developed countries in several ways. For one, India is a developing country and all segments of the media industry are still growing unlike in developed countries. The media market in India remains highly fragmented, due to the large number of languages and the sheer size of the country.

In India  there were over 82,000 publications registered with the Registrar of Newspapers as on 31 March 2011. There are over 250 FM (frequency modulation) radio stations in the country  – curiously, India is the only democracy in the world where news on the radio is still a monopoly of the government. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has allowed nearly 800 television channels to uplink or downlink from the country, including over 300 which claim to be television channels broadcasting “news and current affairs”. There is an unspecified number of websites aimed at Indians.

The mass media in India is possibly dominated by less than a hundred large groups or conglomerates, which exercise considerable influence on what is read, heard, and watched. One example will illustrate this contention. Delhi is the only urban area in the world with 16 English daily newspapers; the top three publications, the Times of India, the Hindustan Times, and the Economic Times, would account for over three-fourths of the total market for all English dailies.

India’s established media conglomerates have refused to accept the need for restrictions over ownership and control, arguing that this would result in another  forms of censorship of the 1975-77 Emergency.. After all, powerful politicians need media industrialist as much as they need them .  A few randomly-chosen examples would include the Marans of the Sun group, and Chandan Mitra of The Pioneer.

Market dominance

The Hyderabad-based ASCI report pointed out that there is “ample evidence of market dominance” in specific media markets and argued in favour of an “appropriate” regulatory framework to enforce cross-media ownership restrictions,  The government seems unlikely to accept the recommendations of the report prepared by ASCI, which describes itself as an “autonomous, self-supporting, public-purpose” institution.

. It argued for restrictions on vertical integration, that is to say on media companies owning stakes in both broadcast and distribution companies within the same media. The reasoning behind this restriction is that vertical integration can result in anti-competitive behaviour, whereby a distributor can favour his/her own broadcasters’ contents over the content of a competitive broadcaster. In this scenario, large conglomerates would be able to impose their preferred content, a clearly dangerous situation.

Debates on media ownership are almost as old as the nation itself. The country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon would criticize the “jute press” in a clear reference to BCCL which was then controlled by the Sahu-Jain group. Then came references to the “steel press”. The Tata group, which has a substantial presence in the steel industry, used to be a part-owner of the company that publishes the once-influentialThe Statesman.   What was being clearly suggested by politicians was that particular family-owned groups would use their news companies to lobby for their other business interests.

For example, the Dainik Bhaskar group, which, in 1958, ran a single edition Hindi newspaper from Bhopal, has a market capitalization of Rs 4,454 crore (as on July 30. 2010), owns seven newspapers, two magazines, 17 radio stations, and has a significant presence in the printing, textiles, oils, solvent extraction, hotels, real estate, and power-generation industries.

Media companies tend to have a variety of professionals on their boards, such as investment bankers, venture capitalists, chartered accountants, corporate lawyers, and CEOs of big companies. Professional journalists, ironically, rarely figure. As a result, those at the top of the decision-making hierarchy are those for whom the bottom-line, not the by-line, is most important.

Evil of “paid news”

media houses relying on advertisers to fund quality journalism. Advertisers and corporate units begin to rely on news outlets to further their interests. In 2003, Bennett Coleman Company Limited (publishers of the Times of India and the Economic Times, among other publications) started a “paid content” service, which enabled them to charge advertisers for coverage of product launches or celebrity-related events. In the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the more clearly illegal practice of “paid news” emerged and became widespread.

The behind-the-scenes influence of corporate and vested interests was made by the leaking of tapes recording conversations between Niira Radia, a powerful lobbyist with clients such as the Tata group and Reliance Industries, and a variety of business men, politicians, and journalists.

From a business point of view, media consolidation has undeniable advantages. It allows for economies of scale, which enable media companies to absorb the costs of content and distribution over a large volume of revenue. In a competitive market, small media companies have a very hard time surviving. 

A few recent developments point towards the growing corporatization of the India media and the growing convergence between producers of media content and those who distribute the content.

On May 19, 2012, the Aditya Birla group announced that it had acquired a 27.5 per cent stake in Living Media India Limited, a company headed by Aroon Purie. Living Media acts as a holding company and also owns 57.46 per cent in TV Today Network, the listed company that controls the group’s television channels (Aaj Tak and Headlines Today) and a host of publications (including India Today).

Key concerns

The real challenges that lie ahead for the media in India are to ensure that growing concentration of ownership in an oligopolistic market does not lead to loss of heterogeneity and plurality. In the absence of cross-media restrictions and with government policies contributing to further corporatization, especially with respect to the television medium, diversity of news flows could be adversely affected contributing to the continuing privatization and commodification of information instead of making it more of a “public good”.http://www.thehoot.org/web/storypage/6053-1-1-16-true.html

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Media Literacy

"Media literacy refers to the knowledge skills and competencies that are required in order to use and interpret the media.  It is morethan functional literacy the ability to sense the programme. It uses an inquiry-based instructional model that encourages people to ask questions about what they watch, see and read. Media literacy education is one means of developing media literacy. It provides tools to help people critically analyze messages to detect propaganda, censorship, and bias in news and public affairs programming (and the reasons for such), and to understand how structural features -- such as media ownership, or its funding mode  affect the information presented.

Media literacy aims to enable people to be skillful creators and producers of media messages, both to facilitate an understanding as to the strengths and limitations of each medium, as well as to create independent media.

Media literacy is an expanded conceptualization of literacy. By transforming the process of media consumption into an active and critical process, people gain greater awareness of the potential for misrepresentation and manipulation  and understand the role of mass media and participatory media in constructing views of reality."

Media literacy a form of critical  literacy. It involves analysis evaluation and critical reflection. It entails the acquisition of meta language that is means of describing  the forms and structures of different modes of communication. It leads to broader knowledge of the social, economic and institutional contexts of communication and how these affect people's experiences and practices. Media literacy includes the ability to use and interpret media also analytical understanding.

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Communication Strategy Design

Development is all about change. Development to be achieved effectively, that change must be agreed to by, and not imposed on  relevant stakeholders or audiences.

The  elements of the strategy includes  the knowledge in which type of communication mix is needed,  which communication approaches, What kinds of media would use, or the effectiveness of messages  and communication specialist must look back into the research findings. 

Every design of a communication strategy is unique in content, methods, and media.  To design an effective strategy, a professional needs well-defined, spe­cific, and appropriate objectives that is, based on research, as well as in-depth knowledge in the systems of beliefs, perceptions, and knowledge of the specific issues are all need to be known.  

Core Elements in Designing a Strategy- Main Steps of Communication Strategy Design

1. Defining Objectives: The Key Step

Objectives are the core of the strategy, also each element is important and should be carefully considered. Because each is linked to the others and can affect the final outcome. Most of the success of a communication strategy depends on the way the objectives are identified and formulated.  In designing a communication strategy depends largely on the complexity of the objectives. For instance, a project at a national level may  require different types of communication (corporate, advocacy, and development communication) Your objectives are the key to the success of your communications strategy. They should ensure that your communications strategy is organizationally driven rather than communications driven.  To make strategy design easier, the objectives should be as SMART as possible. that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely (SMART). 

All communication objectives should be SMART 

1. Simple and clear 
2. Measurable 
3. Achievable
 4. Reasonable
5. Time and location specific 

 For example, a communication objective might express knowledge or social change. If the programme does not have clear behavioural objectives or the objectives do not clearly express social and behavioural change.  

 Objectives will be easier to monitor and evaluate if they are structured using clear, action words that lend themselves to measurement.   A development of communication objectives starting with the corresponding programme objectives. 

Programme objectives for: 

“You must know that the basic purpose of development is to enlarge people’s choices and create an environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives.

 Let us list some of the core areas of development. 
 Agriculture 
 Fisheries 
Animal Husbandry 
 Food Security 
 Communication 
  Environment 
 Income generation activities 
 Education 
 Health and Sanitation 
Family welfare

2. Determining an audiences and Stakeholder Groups

Identifying target audiences

Determining the target audience 

• Who do you want to hear or see your target message?
 Who needs to receive your message? 
• Do you have primary, secondary or tertiary audiences? 
• What is your purpose for reaching the audience? 
 • Do you have the necessary resources to reach your target audience?
 • What are you prepared to invest to achieve your desired result? 
• Does your target audience have any special needs? For example, do they have low literacy rates, limited access to media, or disabilities that may prevent them from receiving your message?
 • Become familiar with your target audience. Depending on your communication aim and objectives, you might want to know: Age and other demographic characteristics, o Geographical location, Problems they want to solve,ducational needs/gaps,  Recreational or leisure interests,  Where the audience likes to get new information.

Target Audience Target audiences are the groups of people that you want to receive your message. Determining  target audience is an essential part of formulating a successful communication strategy.  After figuring out who your target audience is, the next step is to determine the importance of each audience.  Looking at it from a different perspective, the rank of importance could be how much you need the audience .  In order to select the most appropriate media and to design a message effectively, the communication specialist needs to know the norms, values of reference, actions, and aspirations of the audience. This can be achieved by adopting a high degree of empathy and doing proper research. Communicating the scientifically correct infor^­mation is seldom enough to change audiences' attitudes and behaviors.

Primary targets audience are those who have the power to effect the changes the campaign calls for. They need to be influenced in order to reach the campaign goal. 

The secondary target audience. Local leaders and opinion-makers, including mass media and religious or other traditional authorities, are key secondary targets in most campaigns because of their power to influence large numbers of people, as well as those who are in a position to make change. In complicated or complex campaigns.

Determining the target audience 

• Who do you want to hear or see your target message?
 Who needs to receive your message? 
• Do you have primary, secondary or tertiary audiences? 
• What is your purpose for reaching the audience? 
 • Do you have the necessary resources to reach your target audience?
 • What are you prepared to invest to achieve your desired result? 
• Does your target audience have any special needs? For example, do they have low literacy rates, limited access to media, or disabilities that may prevent them from receiving your message?
 • Become familiar with your target audience. Depending on your communication aim and objectives, you might want to know: Age and other demographic characteristics, o Geographical location, Problems they want to solve,ducational needs/gaps,  Recreational or leisure interests,  Where the audience likes to get new information. 

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3. Definition of type/Levels of Change

The communication objectives of approaches within the monologic mode imply a level of change that usually falls within one of the following categories: awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (or practices) or AKAB. 

Sometimes there is the need to address a change more on a social level, such as mobilizing communities to play an active part in the decentralization effort, having different groups of stakeholders collaborating on a common initiative, or mediating a conflict that has negative repercussions on the social development of the area. Such change is usually addressed by dialogic approaches.

4. Selecting Channel

A deliberate media strategy is needed to identify and effectively use appropriate media. To conducting a situation analysis, defining clear goals, planning action, and deciding how to monitor the process and outcomes of the media strategy. 

The analysis should include a thorough mapping of the media environment, to review existing media and identify the communication channels which are most likely to reach each of your target audiences or audience segments.

• Communication channels

• Quantity and quality of media outlets; type of media outlet

• News cycles: 24-hours (like the BBC or CNN), daily (many newspapers), weekly, monthly (many magazines) etc.

• Popularity; levels of readership or viewership

• Types of readership or viewership (e.g. age group, education level)

• Levels of access by target audience(s)

• Ideological or other leanings (e.g. media that adopt a certain religious leaning, or that are for/against a particular political party)

• Non-traditional media outlets: new mediums (e.g. online news sites, blogs), alternative media (not mainstream, NGO-led, including community media outlets)
  

5. Basics of Message Design

In development, message design should be first and foremost about listening in order to understand and ensure that messages convey what is relevant and needed by stakeholders in a given situation. 

(1) the content design for messages to persuade individuals to change,

(2) the design of materials to stimulate open-ended discussions between different groups of stakeholders,

(3) the design of messages to promote or advocate specific issues, such as public reforms, and

In order to ensure the effectiveness of the desired outputs, when defining or supervising the design of messages, the following basic factors, derived mostly from Designing Messages for Development Communication, should be kept in mind.

Socio cultural sensitivity—Content and presentation should be appropriate for the cultural environment. In a number of cases, cultural issues, not content, were the main cause of a campaign failure. In one case, a campaign was encouraging women to vaccinate their children so they could have healthier and longer lives. But the color of the campaign posters was white, which in that particular culture sym­bolizes death and mourning. It is not difficult to see why the posters were not so effective.

Language appropriateness—This theme overlaps with cultural sensitivity; but it deserves special attention because it is often neglected. To be effective, it is not so important that messages be gram­matically correct or expressed in a scientifically appropriate manner but that they convey the take-away message in a way that relates to audiences' way of life and understanding.

Political compatibility—The degree of free expression and transparency varies significantly among countries.    professionals should be able as much as possible to avoid confrontations that could be detrimental to the achievement of the agreed-upon objectives.

Psychological appropriateness—It is imperative that each message resonates with its specific audience. Each message should have a specific appeal that catches audi­ences' attention. Appeals can be diverse in approach and nature. They can be rational—highlighting safety; economic effectiveness, health, and other similar issues, or emotional—appealing to ambition, attraction, fear, embarrassment, romance, or a sense of belonging. 

6. Outputs/Result:

Outputs can include the reach of broadcast or other mass media, message recall, number of household visits,  degree of use of communication skills by workers, number of community action plans developed, etc. Outcomes would be any resulting knowledge or behaviour change in any participant group: parents bringing children for complete vaccination over time, local leaders supporting programme activities through specific actions, more women breastfeeding exclusively, timely care seeking for children with respiratory infections, zero open defecation, more dialogue between adolescents and parents (on specified topics). Impact is the ultimate change in a beneficiary's quality of life such as, lower mortality of neonates, lower rates of child marriage and use of dowry, polio free country, higher school completion rates and improved learning competencies, etc. Many factors beyond communication contribute to these results- less corruption.

The communication strategy will now have accomplished the following: 
■ The participant groups involved in the programme intervention will be identified-primary, secondary and tertiary.
 ■ Through research, which has used as much as possible, community participation, will have revealed a lot about the social and cultural issues influencing participants' behaviours. 
■ The behaviours and practices to promote and change will have become clear. 
■ The channels and media will have been selected according to participants, behaviours and social norms to be changed, complexity of messages, and so on.
■ Communication components will be strategically selected and adapted to achieve each communication objective. 
■ Communication indicators of intermediate outcomes will be identified. The strategy document should be disseminated in the draft stage for comments from the Communication Coordination Group and other key stakeholders; and in its finished form, to a wider circle of stakeholders, counterparts and partners. 

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The Role of Media, & Information and Communication Technologies in Development Communication

Information and communication technologies (ICTs; the Internet, satellites, mobile phones, wireless computers, and so forth) play a major role in devel­opment communication initiatives. The use of media in development can be treated at two levels: mass media, often using television, radio, and print media in campaigns aimed at inducing the adoption of innovations or other changes in behaviors; and community media, mainly using radio and other folk expressions such as theater, concerned with giv­ing voice and representation to the various segments of local communities. Media within a country into three groups: private, public, and community. Such a classification seems to better reflect the different nature, scope, and range of functions included within the broader media system. In the past, media systems were considered key elements in supporting the national development of poorer countries.

The media influence is not as strong as origi­nally believed, especially if it does not take the local context into account. For instance, the community radio that has emerged in recent years is often more empowering and influential than the more celebrated medium of television, at the local level. The blind faith placed on media in the past as a means to push development in poorer countries resembles the current hype for ICTs. The rise of more sophisticated communication and information technologies, such as satellites or the Internet, has opened new horizons and opportunities. But it  has not only increased the penetration of mass media, for instance, through satellites, but it has also created new opportunities to enhance communication at the local level utilizing technologies. The establishment of "tele centers" in rural areas is spreading in many countries as a way to support local development in the social and economic dimension.

However, to avoid past mistakes, media and ICTs, powerful as they are, should always be considered as tools to be used within the context of the broader social and communication environment. The effectiveness and value of ICTs and other new communication technologies are determined by the way they are selected and utilized. The research element of the communication strategy is crucial in determining the best and most effective use of media and ICTs.

There are some critical factors to consider before adopting them. These factors can be divided in three basic cate­gories: economic, technological, and cultural. 

From an economic point of view, there are high costs associated with the software and the hardware components of ICTs for individuals in developing countries, placing these commodities outside the reach of most people. In the case of the Internet, there are also access and connec­tivity costs to consider. liberation and privatization taking place in this sector in many developing countries can be a limiting factor for marginalized sectors of society, "The development of ICTs by the private sector fails in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. The poor who are marginalized—and in some cases physically isolated—remain disconnected from the rest of society. 

From a technological point of view, it is difficult to ensure the proper operation of such technologies in places where there are no phone or electric lines. In many countries, users need basic training in computer use, and prior to that, literacy skills to communicate effectively on the Internet.

From a cultural point of view, there are also a number of constraints. The lan­guage in which most of the information is available on the Internet can pose a bar^­rier. In 1999, a survey concluded that about 86 percent of all Web pages are in English (Thussu 2000), thus precluding access to information for many users. Additionally, given the high illiteracy rate of many areas of developing countries, many potential users are excluded from the start. Even when language barriers are overcome, often cultural issues remain crucial in gaining fundamental knowledge and the needed frame of mind in order to take full advantage of the power of these technologies.

The digital divide—the division between those who have access to modern information technologies and those who don't—has become a hot one in recent years. Many development workers believe that ICTs can be the right answer to leapfrog developing countries toward a better future. The enthusiasm for these technologies is reflected in the demand for universal connectivity (Sachs 2005), but connectivity and access are only some of the issues that need to be addressed.

Many studies on the digital divide show that the information poverty gap between the have and have-nots is still a wide one , and it does not seem to be decreasing in any significant way.  Despite such shortcomings, however, media and ICTs can and do play a major role in development communication. In addition to the widely used information dissemination functions, technologies such as the Internet also have the potential to support the horizontal processes of communication. 

Source Developement communication source book paolo mefalopulos

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Major Programming Trends Television

Television programming began by borrowing genres from radio such as variety shows, sitcoms, soap operas, and newscasts. Starting in 1955. The two major branches of TV programming: entertainment and information. the two were once more distinct.

TV Entertainment: Our  Comic Culture

TV comedy is usually delivered in three formats: sketch comedy, situation comedy (sitcom), and domestic comedy.

Sketch Comedy

Sketch comedy, or short comedy skits, was a key element in early TV variety shows, which also included singers, dancers, acrobats, animal acts, and stand-up comics.  

Sketch comedy, though, had some major drawbacks. The hour-long variety series in which these skits appeared were more expensive to produce than half-hour sitcoms. Also, skits on the weekly variety shows used up new routines very quickly.

Situation Comedy

Until recently, the most dependable entertainment program on television has been the half-hour comedy series . The situation comedy, or sitcom, features a recurring cast; each episode establishes a narrative situation, complicates it, develops increas­ing confusion among its characters, and then usually resolves the complications.

 Characters are usually static and predictable, and they generally do not develop much during the course of a series. Such characters "are never troubled in profound ways." Stress, more often the result of external confusion rather than emotional anxiety, "is always funny."

DOMESTIC COMEDIES

Domestic Comedy   focus on character relationships, but they often also reflect social and cultural issues of the time in which the show is set. For example, ABC's Modern Family features three generations of a family that includes members of different ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and marital statuses.

Characters and settings are usually more important than complicated corners. Although an episode might offer a goofy situation as a subplot, more typically the main narrative features a personal problem or family crisis that characters have to resolve. Greater emphasis is placed on character development than on reestablishing the order that has been disrupted by confusion.

Today, domestic comedies may also mix dramatic and comedic elements. This blurring of serious and comic themes marks a contemporary hybrid, sometimes labeled dramedy.

TV Entertainment: Our Dramatic Culture

Because the production of TV entertainment was centered in Chennai City in its early days, many of its ideas, sets, technicians, actors, and directors came from theater.   The TV dramas that grew from these early influences fit roughly into two categories: the anthol­y drama and the episodic series.

Anthology Drama

Anthology dramas brought live dramatic theater to that television audience. Influ­enced by stage plays, anthologies offered new, artistically significant teleplays (scripts written for television), casts, directors, writers, and sets from one week to the next. Ex: Gracy Mohan and Balumahendra.

The anthology' drama on television ended for both economic and political reasons. First, advertisers disliked anthologies because they often presented stories containing complex human problems that were not easily resolved.    A second reason for the demise of anthology dramas was a change in audience. Anthology dramas were not as popular in this newly expanded market.

Third, anthology dramas were expensive to produce—double the cost of most other TV genres in the 1950s. Each week meant a completely new story line, as well as new writers, casts, and expensive sets. Sponsors and networks came to realize that it would be less expensive to use the same cast and set each week, and it would also be easier to build audience allegiance with an ongoing program.

Finally, anthologies that dealt seriously with the changing social landscape were sometimes labeled "politically controversial." Eventually, both sponsors and networks came to prefer less controversial programming.

Episodic Series

Abandoning anthologies, producers and writers increasingly developed episodic series, first used on radio in 1929. In this format, main characters continue from week to week, sets and locales remain the same, and technical crews stay with the program. The episodic series comes in two general types:  Chapter shows and serial programs.

Chapter shows are self-contained stories with a recurring set of main characters who confront a problem, face a series of conflicts, and find a resolution. This structure can be used in a wide range of sitcoms and dramatic genres, including adult westerns like Gunsmoke (1955-75); police/detective shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000- ) In contrast to chapter shows,

serial programs are open-ended episodic shows; that is, most story lines continue from episode to episode. Cheaper to produce than chapter shows, employing just a few

Another type of drama is the hybrid, which developed in the early 1980s with the appearance of Hill Street Blues (1981-87). Often mixing comic situations and grim plots, this multiple-cast show looked like an open-ended soap opera.

Reality TV and Other Enduring Trends

Up to this point, we have focused on long-standing TV program trends, but many other genres have played major roles in TV's history, both inside and outside prime time. Talk shows like the Tonight Show (1954- ) have fed our curiosity about celebrities and politicians, and offered satire on politics and business

^{Source: :  AN}INTRODUCTION   EDITION              TO MASS  COMMUNICATION

Richard Campbell

Christopher R. Martin ,  Bettina Fabos

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