"Lack of Popularity of Newspapers in Lakshadweep "

Abstract

We live in an information age where the media has transformed the world into a global village. However it would come as a surprise to many that even in this twenty first century there are isolated pockets in India such as Lakshadweep without adequate newspaper reach, lacking timely newspaper coverage of local issues. The social implications of such glaring inequalities are striking.This study seeks to shed new light on a hitherto sidelined issue which has a lot of significance. The specific objectives of the study are to analyse the lack of popularity of newspapers in Lakshadweep, to study the media habits and media preferences of the islanders and to study the coverage given to local Lakshadweep issues in newspapers.The survey method was utilized to collect data required for the study. It was conducted only in the Kavaratti islands, the capital of Lakshadweep The following reasons are noted for the lack of popularity of newspapers in Lakshadweep. Delay in getting newspaper in time, Lakshadweep local news do not get adequate coverage in newspapers, Regular newspaper readers are less in number, subscribers of newspaper are less in number, few people depend on newspaper for breaking news, After the arrival of electronic media, the natives gradually shifted to electronic media for news. Very few people (4%) prefer newspapers for information purposes, while the vast majority depend on Television. In a region populated by scheduled tribes there is a pressing need to enhance their public awareness, to strengthen democracy at the grassroots and gain a better understanding of media habits in such isolated areas. This exploratory study has thrown fresh light on media coverage and media habits of such marginalised communities. The study is confined to only one island Kavaratti, the capital of Lakshadweep. Perhaps in future more detailed studies on such topics need to be undertaken keeping in mind their social relevance.