Science in Indian Media

Monday, 13 February 2012

Science in Indian Media

Author: Dilip Salwi

Publisher: Vigyan Prasar

Publication date: 2002

Reviewer: Down to Earth

Indian media is not known to pay any more attention to science news than is strictly necessary. This book cites a survey conducted by Delhi-based non-governmental organisation Energy Environment Group, which discovered that coverage of science and technology-related news was less than one per cent on Doordarshan channels, and about three per cent in newspapers.

Dilip Salwi attempts to study the malaise in the system and offer suggestions for change. The book contains a number of interviews with Kalinga prize winners and mediapersons on the subject of science communication. The ladder of news priority for newspapers is revealed by P Sundarajan, special correspondent, The Hindu.

Sundarajan says, “In any newspaper, a political story gets the highest priority, second comes economics, third social happenings… science comes much lower down the rung unless something dramatic happens.” Salwi’s “blueprint” for the media, which includes suggestions on improving science news coverage, should interest science and technology editors.

Link to full article

Price: Rs 200

Add your comment

This is your network: share your views on any of our articles by adding your comments.

Comment

You need to be signed in to post a comment or to email a consenting comment author. Please sign in or sign up.

Email me when someone responds to the discussion

All comments are subject to approval and we reserve the right to edit comments containing inappropriate/unsuitable language. SciDev.Net holds copyright for all material posted on the website. Please see terms of use for further details.

All SciDev.Net material is free to reproduce providing that the source and author are appropriately credited. For further details see Creative Commons.

Back to Book Reviews
To the top