Coverage of Sanitation Issues in India

Print media plays a crucial role in information distribution and thus enjoys the mileage of being one of the strongest medium of public information. Media plays an important role in our society as its purpose is not only to inform the public about current and past events, but it also determines what we think and worry about. With more in-depth coverage and investigation, this written form of communication creates a longer influence on the minds of the reader. Theory predicts that information provided by print media reflects the media’s incentives to provide news to different types of groups in society, and affects these groups’ influence in policy making. The article analyses the role played by the print media in creating awareness among the Indian public regarding the paramount sanitation issues. The study will use data produced by the different newspapers pertaining to such issues. It is a well established fact that a good percentage of people in India still have no adequate means of disposing their waste. Poorly controlled waste also means daily exposure to an unpleasant environment. Despite the presence of grand public sanitation schemes, waste management remains to be one of the major problems faced by the people. Content analysis is proved to be instrumental in analyzing the content of the major Indian English dailies. This study used content analysis to unveil how much importance newspapers have been giving to sanitation problems and hygiene-related issues. The findings reveal that newspapers have given an utmost importance to the sanitation policies in India.