Children in Print MediaChildren in Print Media · Sourav Guha Anandabazar Patrika • Our Newstrack...

Issue II, December 2010

BY-

THE NEWS TRACK GROUP

(Volunteer Initiative of CRY- Kolkata)

COMPILED BY-

Abhishek Chowdhury (CRY Volunteer)

DRAFTING & LAYOUT BY-

Ansuman Bhattacharjee (CRY Volunteer)

Abhishek Chowdhury (CRY Volunteer)

Children in Print MediaChildren in Print MediaChildren in Print MediaChildren in Print Media A Quarterly CompilationA Quarterly CompilationA Quarterly CompilationA Quarterly Compilation

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CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE NO.

� Preface 3

� The News track Group 4

� Methodology 5

� Findings & Analysis

• The Hindustan Times 6

• The Times of India 16

• The Telegraph 24

• Anandabazar Patrika 32

� Observations 36

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PREFACEPREFACEPREFACEPREFACE United Nations had introduced Convention on the Rights of The Child (UNCRC) in the

year 1989. Indian Government ratified it in the year 1992. 18 years hence and 63 yrs after

independence India has the largest population of children (over 400 million) in the world,

which is about 40% of our population. But the condition of the major portion of this

population is a cause of great concern for our country. Children are quite naturally the

foundation and face of our nation. They being more vulnerable as they are dependent on

others for their nourishment, protection and development, we as a nation and its citizens

should take utmost care so that they can have a safe and memorable childhood. India on

the verge of winning a permanent seat in UN’s Security Council and touted as one of the

fastest growing economies of this century must wake up to this fact and take up

efficacious steps to ameliorate their condition.

Media’s impact on our society is immeasurable and its potential to spread awareness

among the masses is unquestionable. Media especially print media’s reach throughout our

country is so vast that if this potential is utilized properly in spreading awareness about

child rights, it can bring about a sea change in the lives of millions of children in our

country. The media can also make sure the authorities and government of our country

take responsible decisions about children and push towards their proper implementation.

The media can instill in the minds of our countrymen the importance of child rights and

importance of proper treatment of children which is one of the main objectives of CRY.

Though media’ role is impregnable towards achieving our goal, we should make sure that

children’s rights figures prominently in mainstream media and though it might feature,

we must keep a track on the content and nature of their contribution. Children related

news is generally in the context of child abuse, exploitation and sensational news. They

are generally seen and heard at a distance, reflecting a weakness that resonates through

any discussion on media and rights of children that young people are seldom allowed to

speak for themselves. Media must not just report fairly, honestly and accurately on the

experience of childhood, but they must also provide space for colorful and creative

opinion of children themselves.

That is why we as CRY volunteers have started a NEWSTRACK GROUP to track and

analyze the news articles coming out in print media. We have already had our first

compilation for the month of January to March which helped us a lot in getting insights

into how children related incidents are dealt with and how seriously they are looked after

in that particular phase. As we have been tracking for about a year and this is our group’s

second compilation. We look forward to whatever little help this may be to the cause and

strive towards our endeavor to make this world a better place for children and present

every one of them with a childhood that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

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THE THE THE THE NEWSTRACK GROUPNEWSTRACK GROUPNEWSTRACK GROUPNEWSTRACK GROUP

The group referred to as news track group comprises of-:

CRY coordinator -Anupama Muhuri

Name Newspaper Tracked

Abhishek Chowdhury Hindustan Times

Ansuman Bhattacharya The Times Of India

Saptaparna Bhattacharyya The Telegraph

Sourav Guha Anandabazar Patrika

• Our Newstrack group has swelled in the last couple of months with more

volunteers joining this group. We are looking forward to contribute more for this

cause as a group.

• Sourav Guha being out of station for the phase July-Sept could not contribute in

this particular phase for Anandabazar Patrika.

5

METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGY

The four members from our group took in one daily newspaper into consideration. All the

news that was related to children directly or was children centric was tracked. Every

article that appeared in this domain was introspected from different perspectives and an

excel sheet was maintained to put in these views. Different parameters in the excel sheet

were “Role of the state”, ”Voice of Children Reflected”, “Confidentiality”, “ Presentation

of facts & figures”, “Portrayal of the community”, “Right based alternative”, etc. Various

trends were observed over time & we have decided to come up with the update of the

latest trends in print media in Kolkata for the phase: April- September 2010

Regular data entry was done in the uniform format and analysis done based on parameter

definitions and face to face discussions

This particular compilation is the second issue.

6

Themes/ aspects related to children that is highlighted/ covered during

this phase

1) Right to Education Bill has been in the news as it has come into effect from 1st

April 2010. News items related to concerns about RTE from different

organizations such as madrasas, pathshalas and private schools has been

reported.

2) News articles related to Corporal Punishment has been reported heavily.

3) News articles related to malnourishment and Right to Food campaign by

Hindustan Times is commendable.

4) As has been the case earlier news has been sensationalized quite often.

• News articles related to accidents and crimes such as kidnappings and

murder have been reported.

Profile on the nature of coverage

Total number of news article tracked – 64

Very few of the news covered has been an editorial or opinion. Most of them have been

reportages. Voice of children in the news items could have been much better represented.

Out of the 64 news items tracked in this phase

• 3 of them have been an Edit.

• 5 have been Features.

• 1 had been an Opinion.

Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: HINDUSTAN TIMES

Tracking period: Tracking period: Tracking period: Tracking period: April, 2010 to June, 2010

Tracked By: Tracked By: Tracked By: Tracked By: Abhishek Chowdhury

7

Reportages

Features

Edits

Opinions

Size, positioning of the coverage, in which page

Out of the 64 items tracked 6 are large and all of the others are medium and small.

While child issues making the front page are few but whatever news articles which made

the front pages have mostly been incident based rather than issue based. The Rouvanjit

suicide case had very often made headlines in this tenure and another important issue

which made it to the first page headlines was “Maoist raising a teen army”.

The language- approach and sensitivity reflected in the coverage

The language used by the reporters is always very respectful and many times they are

found to be sensitive to the issues related to child rights. But there have been numerous

occasions when the incidents have just been reported, without in depth analysis and going

to the root of the problems faced by children.

Coverage of issues recognizing the role of the State

• The number of articles recognizing the role of state and critically looking at states

responsibilities has risen compared to previous phase. The cases reported of

malnutrition in MP, UP and Bihar and deaths due to it has been extensively

covered in Hindustan Times Right to Food campaign.

• Also the issue of Corporal Punishment and the State Government’s handling of it

had been hugely covered though the Rouvanjit’s suicide case has in a long way

acted as a catalyst in this case.

8

Whether children’s voice/ opinion are captured

Yes children’s opinion and voice has been captured in quite a few articles but it could be

much more and it can be captured in a much better way.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Total Role Of State Voice of

Children

Hindustan Times

How well researched/ mention of sources there in the coverage(s)

In most cases the sources has been mentioned and mostly the sources have been Police,

Schools, Government and hospitals.

Some of the well researched articles that have been tracked in this phase are -:

1) “School bell rings for every kid” Date 2nd

April 2010.

2) “Hardly a class act” Date 4th

April 2010.

3) “Storm dealt deadliest blow to children” Date 26th

May 2010.

The pertinent aspects/ issues of West Bengal as covered in the paper and

suggestions for volunteer campaigns in the East

1) “Storm dealt deadliest blow to children” Date 26th

May 2010.

2) “Teen in police net for maoist links” Date 10th

May 2010

Coverage/ Articles which stand out in this phase

Title -- “School bell rings for every kid”.

Date – 2nd

April 2010

9

Abstract -- Education now becomes a fundamental right with the RTE passed in

Parliament.

Title -- “Children in Village eat mud”.

Date – 5th

April 2010

Abstract – Its high time that the government do something worthwhile regarding food

bill

Title -- “Hot rod horror for hungry children”.

Date – 20th

April 2010

Abstract – A barbaric act of punishing children looking for food.

Title --“Storm dealt deadliest blow to children”.

Date -- 26th

May 2010

Abstract – Aila affected children drop out of schools looking for jobs outside WB.

Names of journalists/ reporters with whom media advocacy can be

taken up in future

Mou Chakraborty & Tasmayee Laha Roy.

Compared to others, the above mentioned journalists seem to be more consistent with

children and child right’s related news.

Concluding Remarks

Rights based news have been on the rise compared to the last phase due to news articles

related to RTE, Corporal Punishment and Right to Food campaign by HT. Though the

numbers of edits have been less. Bigger events which took place in this phase sidelined

child related news.

10

A short write up

Date -- 26

th May 2010

“Storm dealt deadliest blow to children”.

The news related to the children in the Aila affected region was very depressing to say

the least. In that article it has been clearly pointed out due to the large scale devastation

caused by the tornado and inability on the side of the administrators life has not come to

normalcy till now after so many days. With the most affected among them being the

children of those areas. As most of them had to leave school to earn their living. Most of

the boys are going to other states in search of work and sometimes girls also looking for

employment in other states as their parents are unable to provide them with food. One of

the most alarming thing which might result from this is trafficking.

Date – 5th

April 2010

“Children in Village eat mud”.

Date – 20th

April

“Hot rod horror for hungry children”.

One of the most important issues that have been raised by HT is widespread malnutrition

in our country in their excellent campaign of Right To Food. Related to this campaign

there have been two articles which has been comprehensively covered. One of the news

that was covered was of children given mud to eat in the villages of MP and UP due to

scarcity of food and another quite ghastly and barbaric act of children being punished by

hot rods when they ask for food. In the 21st century and in a country like India incidents

like these are not only shameful but also unforgivable. The administrators should instant

steps against the perpetrators.

11


this phase

1) News related to KMC schools and madrasas to be upgraded and improvement of

infrastructure and up gradation.

2) Corporal punishment news was reported in abundance especially after the

Rouvanjit Rawla case was splashed in the last quarter. Though news related to

Rouvanjit and La Marts were also present in this quarter.

3) Right to education bill news, related to the amendments taking place to

incorporate majority of children.

• Individual incidents such as accidents, abuses and a few cases of

kidnappings were also reported.

Profile on the nature of coverage: number and proportion of edit news/

reportage/ opinion

• Total number of news article tracked - 80

• Reportages, as have been the case throughout, were major part of the articles. But

one of the things that was clearly noticeable was the number of features, opinions

or edits has dwindled in this tenure compared to previous quarters.

• Among the 80 articles tracked reportages-75, edits-2, feature-2, opinion-2.

Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Hindustan Times

Tracking period: Tracking period: Tracking period: Tracking period: July,2010 to September,2010

Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Abhishek Chowdhury

12

Types Of Coverage

Reportages

Features

Edits

Opinions


• The news articles that have been tracked have been mostly found in the Nation

section or the HT Live section.

• Most of the news articles in the Nation section were the news related to RTE and

its amendments. There were also articles related to condition education and

children in Kashmir. There were also articles related to Right to Food Campaign

of HT.

• The news items which appeared in HT Live were related to our state. The quality

of education in our state. Corporal punishment and child abuse cases were also

reported in this section.


• Language used in all the articles has been Always Respectful towards them.

• As mostly the news items reported have been reportages the root cause and right

based alternative is not found in most of the cases.

• Continuity in coverage is found in a few of the cases.

• The reporters have mostly been sensitive about the children’s issues.

• Most of the times facts and figures have been clearly stated out. More so in case

of the edits opinions or features.

• Right based news have been on the rise compared to previous quarters


• There have been 19 articles which covers the role of state. Some of them quite

scathing in their attack against the state or the central government and a few of

them have also appreciated their positive moves.

13

Whether children’s voice/ opinion are

• Coverages tracked by me rarely captured the voice of the children directly though

in most of the cases they seem to be sensitive in their cause and seems to

represent them.

• There should be more number of articles which captures voice of children and

their opinion must get more weight age in future.

• In many cases it is not applicable as in cases of individual news there isn’t much

scope to present children’s opinion.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Total Role Of

State

Voice Of

Children

Hindustan Times

Facts and figures stated in the articles

• Facts and figures are almost stated everywhere as required.

• Edits, Opinions and Featured articles are well backed by facts and figures.



• In this phase there have been a few articles which showed the newly elected KMC

officials were interested in upgrading the state of municipality schools in our city.

We should keep a track on their actions and push them towards taking their stated

steps.

• There has also been an article where the State Government is looking forward to

make madrasa education upto class VIII free. This would help about 4 Lakh

madrasa students. We should see it is implemented properly and soon.

• As reported cases of Corporal Punishment have risen a lot and the Government is

also trying to bring out a law to intervene directly in cases of Corporal

Punishment. We should look forward to end this menace altogether by being more

vigilant and active in these cases.

14


Title – “Re 1 per hr; Kids fuel Bt Cotton boom.”

Date -- 20th

July 2010

Abstract – “Children paid Re 1 pr hr to work in Bt cotton fields.”

Title – “Education Department setting rules for direct intervention.”

Date -- 28th

July 2010

Abstract –New rules empowering Dept to act without complaint in cases of Corporal

Punishment.

Title --“Start A Hungama.”

Date -- 23th August 2010

Abstract -- MP has the most number of malnourished children followed by UP and

Bihar.

Title -- “Bringing Special Children On Par.”

Date – 28th

Sept 2010

Abstract -- Psychological society of Loreto College organizes dance & music for special

children.


taken up in future

• Most of the news were reported by Correspondents

• There have been a host of writers who have taken up children related issues but

amongst them Tasmayee Laha Roy had been a name which had featured from the

last couple of quarters.

• Charu Sudan Kasturi had been found to be active in this quarter along.

Concluding Remarks

• Right based news was more compared to previous quarters.

• Most of the news articles were individual events such as accidents etc where the

government doesn’t have much role to play

• Time to time some good surveys are featured.

• Sufficient amount of coverage is done on West Bengal specific news

15

A short write up

Driver drugs rapes employer's children

18/9/2010

The article which appeared under this title was in my opinion the most disturbing article I

have come across in the span I have been tracking news. In this case a driver had drugged

his employer’s children with cocaine for a long time and not only sexually abused them

but also forced them into it amongst themselves. He also threatened to kill their mother if

they in any way thought of complaining to anybody. This case is one of the most heinous

crimes and this incident has permanently damaged the lives of the children concerned.

This man must get the most rigorous punishment possible in the court of law.

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this phase

1. Right to education

2. Suicide case of Rouvanjit Rawla

3. Corporal punishment

• Besides there were individual incidents like accident, abuses reported

• Kids and teens lured towards Maoist groups was reported in a couple of articles

• 5-6 cases of abduction and kidnapping were reported


reportage/ opinion


• Reportage was predominant(60), followed by feature (3), there was just one

Edit and one opinion

Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: The Times of India


Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Ansuman Bhattacharjee

17


• Feature news involving statistical data from various reports and research were big

in size and mostly made it to the top

• Individual events like accidents were reported in small columns or metro digest at

the bottom

• Most predominantly medium size(34); small & big were around the same

proportion

• Uniformly distributed across the page, in top, bottom, left & right sides

• Extremely sensitive cases and certain shocking feature news made it to the 1st

page


• Always respectful language is used for children

• Root cause is identified in most of the coverages

• Stakeholders voice is also captured almost always

• Continuity in coverage is their in case of sensitive news that has caught up a

storm with the people


• 29 coverages tracked by me recognized the role of the state, which either the

reader can infer or is clearly mentioned in the article


• Voice of the children was not captured in any of the articles, in many cases it is

not applicable as in cases of individual events and feature news there isn’t much

scope to present children’s opinion. At least 5 news articles required voice of

children to be covered

18

How well researched/ mention of sources there in the coverage(s):

• Feature news articles are well researched and sources are mentioned.

• But for reportage news sources are not always mentioned and many a times it is

not at all clear.

Locals, Police and hospitals are the sources of most of the articles



Not much specific to any particular domain of child right issues were focused, though all

the aspects got sufficient attention. In the wake of Rouvanjit’s suicide case a panel has

been set up by the west Bengal government to look into corporal punishment incidents in

various schools, but owing to the large number of schools in West Bengal and especially

the ones in the rural areas. and also owing to the large number of news related to corporal

punishment coming up after the case was highlighted I think cry volunteers should act as

a pressure group on the panel, notice and survey the schools in rural areas and bring up

the incidents to their view and punish the perpetrators so as to curb this menace.


Title RED CORRIDOR KIDS SWELL REBEL RANKS

Abstract Deprived of basic necessities, kids lured into Maoism

Title NOW CITIZENS TO AUDIT GOVT WELFARE SCHEMES

Abstract citizens to audit midday meals, anganwadi workers and other welfare schemes

Title SCHOOL KIDS GET STUCK ON GLUE ADDICTION

Abstract children of elite schools addicted to glue along with street kids

Title NO RESPITE FOR CHILD LABOURS

Abstract audit shows child labor rampant because of poor implication of laws

Title 2 BABIES DEAD AFTER VACCINATION

Abstract 2 babies die, 3 hospitalized after vaccination from health dept

Title 12 CRORE KIDS MAY NOT GET MID DAY MEAL

Abstract lack of fund and food grain, 12 crore kids not to get midday meal from July

19


taken up in future

• Most of the news were reported by TIMES NEWS NETWORK

• Akshaya mukul was again very prominent in this phase

Concluding Remarks

• Respectful language is used to depict children.

• Feature news is backed with sufficient statistical data, though in this phase there

are not as many as earlier.

• Right based news very sparsely covered, most of them are individual events such

as accidents etc where the government doesn’t have much role to play.

• Continuity is there where required

A short write up Title 1 PEOPLE 2 WORLD:MAO N MICROSOFT

Abstract Big schools and aspirational students side by tribal kids who have not seen

schools in Maoist region

Title RED CORRIDOR KIDS SWELL REBEL RANKS

Abstract Deprived of basic necessities, kids lured into Maoism

A lot has been said about Maoist and their menace, about the dreadful deeds and the ones

the government is doing to curb it .But very little is talked about the people who are

suffering collateral damage from both the sides. The condition of the kids in these regions

deprived of education, food and other absolute necessities resemble the kids, the one in

search of blood diamond in South Africa. Instead of trotting to schools and being under

the protective shade of their parents, these children are sporting guns, not with the ones

we used to play in our childhood days, but the ones that can kill. That can kill humans,

humanity and the prospects of being a productive, responsible citizen of this country, and

most importantly to be a man and not an animal

20


this phase

1. Corporal punishment news articles were reported in abundance especially

after the Rouvanjit Rawla case got highlighted in the last quarter.

2. Right to education and its various amendments.

• Kids affected by the unrest in Kashmir made some headlines.

• Cases of accidents, individual cases of abuses etc made up the majority of

news.


reportage/ opinion


• Reportage was predominant(41),followed by feature (6),then news(3)

Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: The Times of India

Tracking period: Tracking period: Tracking period: Tracking period: July, 2010 to September, 2010

Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Ansuman Bhattacharjee

21


• The news articles usually featured in either the Times City(Kolkata and west

Bengal section) or the Times Nation section

• News articles in the Times nation section were predominantly on Right to

education, various surveys in children welfare and issues like Maoism

• News articles in the Times city were highlighting individual cases of accidents

and abuses

• Around nine articles appeared right on the first page on top, significantly

highlighting the news, and most of these were on Corporal Punishment


• Always Respectful language is used for children

• Root cause is identified in most of the coverages

• Continuity in coverage is their in case of sensitive news that has caught up a

storm with the people

• In many of the places role of the citizen has been sighted

• Facts and figures are clearly stated out


• 20 coverages tracked by me recognized the role of the state, which either the

reader can infer or is clearly mentioned in the article

Whether children’s voice/ opinion are

• 5 coverages tracked by me captured the voice of the children

• In many cases it is not applicable as in cases of individual events and feature news

there isn’t much scope to present children’s opinion.

22

Facts and figures stated in the articles

• Featured articles and surveys are very well backed by facts and figures.

• Facts and figures are almost stated everywhere required



• In this particular phase there was an abrupt rise in the cases of individual incidents

of accidents and abuses in West Bengal, and specific issues of children like child

labor, malnourishment were undermined so nothing specific can be suggested

Coverage/ Articles which stand out in this phase (minimum of five such)

Title- JATS SEEK 15 AS MARRIAGE AGE FOR GIRLS

Abstract- Reduction of marriageable age to 15 and 17 pleaded by jat mahasabha

Title- RTE LIKELY TO BE WATERED DOWN

Abstract- Revisions in RTE, private schools to screen 75% of kids

Title- CHILD ABUSE BILL BARS KIDS AS DOMESTIC LABOURS

Abstract- The prevention of child bill 2009,will bring all forms of exploitation of child

including as domestic labors under it

Title- MOTHER FAILS TO PAY, CLINIC SENDS NEWBORN TO NGO

Abstract- Mother fails to pay maternity fees, clinic sends newborn to NGO, owner of

clinic arrested

Title- HOW A 15 YEAR OLD VENDOR BECAME A DEAD MAOIST

Abstract- Common people and kids falling prey to CRPF bullets intended at Maoists

23


taken up in future

• Most of the news were reported by TIMES NEWS NETWORK

• A host of writers were seen writing on children issues some of them were Subhro

Maitra, Himanshu Dhawan, Dhananjay Mahapatra, Somdatta Basu, but none of

them were proactive in this regard

Concluding Remarks

• Right based news very sparsely covered, most of them are individual events such

as accidents etc where the government doesn’t have much role to play

• Time to time some good surveys are featured that are eye openers

• Sufficient amount of coverage is done on West Bengal specific news

A short write up

Title- JATS SEEK 15 AS MARRIAGE AGE FOR GIRLS

Abstract- Reduction of marriageable age of girls and boys to 15 & 17 pleaded by the jat

sabha

I believe childhood is perhaps the only time in our lives when we are not bound by any

responsibilities, there is unadultered fun, love, care and all that, that is needed for proper

development of a person and a personality. It’s a time to dream big and though may be

unrealistic later try and achieve them, cluttering these very essence of life by imposing

strong family relationship and responsibilities in the form of marriage are in no way a

welcome move. Also as medical sciences have proved, though girls can conceive from

the age of 13, its no way safe to conceive before 18. So keeping all these points in mind, I

would seriously hope such developments never take place that kill the basic instincts of

childhood

24


this phase

The themes or aspects those were highlighted in this phase are-:

1. Accident related articles

2. Incidents related to Corporal punishment

3. Right to Education Act

4. Education/schools related

5. Abuse/Exploitation of children

6. Suicide cases by students


reportage/ opinion

I have tracked about 25 news articles in this phase out of which the types of articles that

have been tracked are Reportages - 10, Features – 8, Edits – 1, Opinions - 3,

News - 3.

Reportages

Features

Opinions

News

Edits

Name of the NewspaperName of the NewspaperName of the NewspaperName of the Newspaper:::: The Telegraph, Kolkata.

Tracking period:Tracking period:Tracking period:Tracking period: April, 2010 to June, 2010

Tracked By: Tracked By: Tracked By: Tracked By: Saptaparna Bhattacharya

25


1. Mostly covered in Bengal (state related cases)

2. 1st April, the day RTE was implemented, saw few front page news

3. A few of the child right’s related articles were found in the Nation section.

4. In Metro section all the articles related to West Bengal and Kolkata.

• Approximately 300-450 words reports. Few reports , with just 100-150 words,

And couple of half page reports on Ravanjit Rawla case (Metro)


• Overall, most coverages did not use any objectionable language for children.

• Children’s voice not given enough importance in most reports.

• News coverage involving children concentrated more on corporal punishment

after Rouvanjit Rawla case. 9th

, 14th

, 15th

, 16th

, 17th

, 25th and

30th

June saw

various news/repots/features related to this case


• Even when the role of the state was recognized in few cases, fewer news articles

could be seen which actually questioned and grilled the Govt. on its responsibility

towards the social issues.


• The issues are covered but very rarely do we get to see the children’s views, their

opinions or them being quoted.

0

5

10

15

20

25

Total Role of State Voice of children

Telegraph

26

How well researched/ mention of sources there in the coverage(s)

• The Features and Editorial pieces look to be well researched, the reportages or

news pieces try and give as much information they can in 150-200 words.



• Students/teen suicides

• Trained teacher shortage in rural schools


Link -- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100610/jsp/calcutta/story_12547522.jsp

Abstract -- A detailed report on the most talked and written about local news in the

months of May-June’10, the Rouvanjit Rawla case. This report gives a complete

coverage of the issue.

Link -- www.telegraphindia.com/1100622/jsp/.../story_12592357.jsp

Abstract -- This report presents the other side of corporal punishment, how right or

wrong are the teachers to reprimand students who are indiscipline or play pranks. This

was presented in a letters format, where parents supported the teachers reprimanding

indiscipline students.

Link -- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100622/jsp/frontpage/story_12592357.jsp

Abstract -- Devika Rotwan, the girl who helped the judiciary to nail Ajmal Kasab, by

identifying and testifying against him in courts, is refused admission in a private school

that does not want to risk trouble by admitting a 26/11 victim

Link -- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100611/jsp/bengal/story_12552970.jsp

Abstract – A girl from a village in Murshidabad, fights with the family, who want to get

married her off, to continue her studies, with the help from police. A positive story,

inspirational, and shows the stake holders in positive light.

Link -- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100608/jsp/calcutta/story_12400101.jsp

Abstract -- The ground reality of inclusive education, how willing are the schools to

admit children with disabilities and give them an opportunity to learn and grow. A group

from CRY undertakes a study to reveal the state of affairs in inclusive education

27


taken up in future

• Charu Sudan Kasturi

• Jhinuk Majumdar

• Chandreyee Chatterjee

• Sukanta Chaudhuri (guest editor)

Concluding Remarks

• RTE has come into effect in this tenure though there are question marks over its

proper implementation.

• Corporal punishment incidents reported very highly including the much

publicized Rouvanjit Rawla case.

A short write up With the implementation of Right to education Act one expects that the education system

of the country will see a complete revamp, but in actuality, regular news reports on

corporal punishment, lack of trained teachers in rural schools, irregularity in admission

procedure, makes one wonder what would it really take to give to the coming generations

of children a hope and a dream for a better future.

The Act implemented on the 1st of April, saw a lot of coverage from all publishing

houses, one hopes, they would again act as the conscience of the society and question the

stakeholders regularly so that the Act touches the life of each and every child of this

country.

28


this phase

The aspects related to children that were highlighted during this phase-:

1. Corporal punishment

2. Crimes committed against children

3. Individual incidents such as accidents.

4. Education related issues

5. MDMS

6. Health related issues of children such as malnourishment and proper vaccinations.

Profile on the nature of coverage

• The news articles covered in this phase have been mostly reportages while edits,

opinions and features been distinctly low in numbers.

• Out of the 34 News articles tracked 16 of them have been Reportages and 18 have

been News.

Reportages

Feature

Opinion

News

Edits

Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: The Telegraph, Kolkata.

Tracking period: Tracking period: Tracking period: Tracking period: July, 2010 to September, 2010

Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Saptaparna Bhattacharya

29


• Most news articles came in ‘Bengal’ section usually on pg 7 and few on Nation

on pg 5

• Also, a lot of local news on Education and crime found space in the supplement

‘Metro’.

• There were 2-3 news items which took to the headlines on pg 1 too.


• In all new pieces the language used for children or the stakeholders is non-

objectionable.


• Hardly any news article held the State responsible or critically questioned the

stakeholders.

• In News and Reportages accountability is not given enough weightage.

• In News /Reportages the journalist doesn’t air his/her opinion rather states the

incidents that have taken place, So questioning the accountability of the State is

not expected in these columns.


• In most of the articles the children have been quoted, but rarely have they been

given any space beyond 1or 2 sentences.

• Children voice could be represented in print media in a much better way with

their opinions taken into account and given enough weightage.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Total Role of

State

Voice of

children

HT

30


• Many articles give their facts and figures in details e.g “Bengal Spolier in Polio

fight” gave the figures of Polio cases in Bengal and other related information in

details with a separate chart.

• Many news articles have been continuously covered like “Missing: 2500 girls in a

year”, this news has been followed on and has been reported 2-3 times, same with

“Rush on parallel school bill” too has been followed on and reported in detail for

more than a week.



1. Education and lack of trained teachers in rural Bengal

2. Stopping students from dropping-out from primary schools.

3. Health care awareness/infrastructure in Rural Bengal


Title --Missing:2500 girls in a year

Date -- 17th

Sept 2010

Abstract – Over 2500 girls have been missing from WB this year going by police

records

Title – “Eggs? Chauhan says no”

Date – 24th

Sept 2010

Abstract --Madhya Pradesh chief minister has decreed that eggs need not spice up

midday meals in state.

Title – “Heart of gold master fights a curse”

Date – 27th

Sept 2010

Abstract – Headmaster on the verge of his retirement buys dresses for all of his 90

students.

Title – “1000 girl's schools for backward belts”

Date – 22nd

Aug 2010

Abstract – Centre decides to open 1000 residential schools for backward students.

31

Title – “School pool car driver preys on siblings”

Date – 17th

Sept 2010

Abstract – School pool driver raped a 12 yr old girl and sodomised her two brothers.


taken up in future

There have been a host of journalists writing about children related news and a few of

them who have been found to be consistent and sensitive on these issues are-:

1. Mita Mukherjee

2. G.S Radhakrishna

3. Uttam Dutta

4. Abhijeet Chatterjee

5. Rasheed Kidwai

6. Tapas Ghosh

7. Chandrima S.Bhattacharya

Concluding Remarks

• Few news pieces are there which could have been given more space and focus,

but they get lost amongst big political news.

A short write up

The news article by Uttam Dutta “Heart-of-gold master fights a curse

Gifts to stop dropouts” is a very inspiring story and need to be read and re-read by all.

What difference a committed teacher can make in a student’s life, especially in rural

areas has been showcased in this article.

A primary School teacher in the verge of retirement gifts dresses bindis, gold studs etc to

the poor students as an incentive to stop them from dropping out. In an area where

schools are rare and dropping out of schools is the order of the day, a lone teacher’s

efforts have been beautifully highlighted by Uttam Dutta.

The State should take such initiatives if the drop-out rates need to be controlled.

32


this phase

1) Right to education does not get proper coverage

2) No KMC related coverage concerning the children of our city.

3) Suddenly corporal punishment gets a lot of focus after the Rouvanjit incident.


reportage/ opinion

Most of the news are reportages. Out of the 30 news I have tracked only 6 are edit and

opinion rest are reportage. Reportage – 24, Opinions – 4, Feature – 1, Edit – 1 .

Reportages

Features

Opinion

Edits


• News Items regarding children rarely makes it to the first page

• Very few coverages are accompanied by visuals.

• Most of the articles range from being medium to small in size.

• The observations are same as in the previous 6 months

Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Name of the Newspaper: Anandabazar Patrika


Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Tracked by: Sourav Guha

33


• Generally positive images of children are portrayed.

• The incident of the La Martinere student Rouvanjit was covered very well.

There was a lot of continuity in coverage.

Coverage of issues recognizing the role of the State:

• The count of such news items is negligible.

• Role of State has been reported in 4 cases.


• Children’s voice and opinion are captured whenever they are relevant.

• There have been 3 such cases where they have been captured.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Total Role of

State

Voice of

Children

Anandabazar


• Police and hospitals are the sources of most of the articles.

• A few articles such as the features, opinions and edits have been well backed by

facts and seemed to be well researched.



Title - shikhshar bibhed

Date 14/4/2010

Abstract - opinion on the harm that will be caused once examination system is abolished

in state run school following Kapil Sibal's action in central school

34


Title - dorjay koda nere chhatro dhoren ramjibon

Date- 2/4/2010

Abstract - Teacher goes from door to door to encourage students to come to school

Title - pass-fail tullei keu aar pora chhere debe na (4th

page 2nd

column)

Date – 4/5/2010

Abstract - How the abolishing of examination system affect the education system

Title - shikhshar adhikar aine kintu shishukanyara bonchito (4th

page 2nd

column)

Date – 20/5/2010

Abstract - Girls are deprived in the right to education act

Title – shishu shiksha kendre health card (8th

page 2nd

column)

Date – (Covered in google spreadsheet there is no option to save date)

Abstract – 16 lakh students of 16 thousand child education center will receive health

card. They will receive free treatment in all government hospitals when they show their

card

Title – Bangla oder matri bhasha noy tai ora pore kintu bojhe na(4th

page bottom right)

Date – (Covered in google spreadsheet there is no option to save date)

Abstract – Students of backward classes do not understand Bengali. But there is no

provision to teach them in mother tongue. Hence they do not understand what they read.


taken up in future

Most of the reporters are staff reporters. Rarely there has been any reporter named and if

named are not as consistent to be found to be sensitive in these issues.

• Simanto Mitra

• Soumen Dutta

• Tarunkanti Naskar

• Achin Chakraborty

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• Nikhil Kabiraj

Concluding Remarks

Though Right to Education Act was passed in this phase and was one of the biggest news

at this point of time very little coverage was there related to Right to Education Act.

A short write up An important issue that ABP covered recently was an editorial article by Achin

Chakraborty

Title : - sokoler jonyo shiksha aamra sotyi kotota chai

Date:- 22/4/2010

Reported in:- 4th

page 3rd column

The issue raises two pertinent questions:-

1) Do we really need a right to education act? If so how will that benefit all?

2) How will the act be implemented? A lot of discussion has been going on

regarding the act. But no one thinks about how this act is going to be

implemented.

Note: Sourav Guha being out of station for the phase July-September was not able to

contributre in this particular phase

36

Capsule ObservationsCapsule ObservationsCapsule ObservationsCapsule Observations

Comparative figures of child related coverage

Phase 1: Jan- March 2010

Phase 2: April-Sep 2010

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

HT TOI Telegraph ABP

1st Phase

2nd Phase

Reflections

• Though the number of articles might have been the same for the respected dailies

with respect to earlier compilation the number of well researched articles have

been lesser in this phase.

• During these two phases the corporation elections were held but very little was

actually represented about children’s education and corporation schools.

• Some of the big events in this period like the IPL, FIFA WC and CWG scam had

really put children related issues to the backseat.

• Right to Food campaign of Hindustan Times is really commendable in this phase.

• Corporal Punishment related issues especially Rouvanjit Rawla case had been

widely reported and taken care of.

• since second phase of ABP tracking was not regular in the latter months, it

doesn’t get captured in the graph to avoid giving out incorrect trends!

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