Role of Television in Rural Development: A Study on Two Districts of Bangladesh

Abstract

The study’s main objectives were to evaluate the contribution of television to rural development, including understanding the sorts of massages that are broadcast by television channels, attitudes toward broadcasted massages, and the effects of those massages on rural development. For the study, 300 participants were surveyed from six villages in the Munshiganj and Manikganj districts. Key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussions (FGD) were also performed. The theoretical framework of the study was the agenda-setting theory of McCombs (1972) and the media growth theory by Mc Quail (1987). According to the study’s findings, all of the respondents own televisions and regularly watch television. According to the study, 72% of respondents believed television to be a powerful medium, and over 70% believed it to be an effective one. Another finding showed that about 74.3% of people utilized developmental messages received from TV channels, and 49.67% saw positive effects from the messages to raise their standards of living. In rural Bangladesh, as study revealed 100% of people use television, compared to 21% who use newspapers, 0% who use radio, and 53.67% who use the internet, it appears that television is the major and most dependable source of development messages. So, a decision can be made based on the study that TV is playing a significant role and have the potentiality to be used effectively in rural developments of Bangladesh. The government should provide training to television employees on rural development community engagement in program identification, delivery, follow-up, and administration of development messages successfully. The creation of high-quality television programming should be collaborative. According to the report, television can help with opportunity identification, policy options, and strategic initiatives to advance rural development policies and services.