Abstract
Science journalism in India is need-based and happens only when the country is in crisis. There are many reasons to it including a lack of journalistic training in presenting science stories. While India has one of the largest newspaper markets in the world, its reach does not extend to one-third of its population. The vastness and vibrancy of the country, teeming millions in need of decent science stories in hundreds of different languages, and a large network of research institutions and think tanks offer enormous opportunities for the proliferation of science journalism. Journalists must tap these opportunities to promote this scientific stream.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ang
C.
(2020 , August 17 ). These are the countries where internet access is lowest . World Economic Forum . https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/internet-users-usage-countries-change-demographics/
2.
Biswas
S.
(2021 , February 4 ). Why journalists in India are under attack . BBC News . https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55906345
3.
Business Standard
. (2021 , April 15 ). TV-owning households in India grew 6.9% to 210 mln in two years: BARC . https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/tv-owning-households-in-india-grew-6-9-to-210-mln-in-two-years-barc-121041500923_1.html
4.Council of Scientific and Industrial Research . (2021 ). About Council of Scientific and Industrial Research . https://www.csir.res.in/about-us/about-csir
5.
David
Y. B. B.
Garty
E. S.
Baram-Tsabari
A.
(2020 ). Can scientists fill the science journalism void? PLOS ONE , 15 , Article e0222250. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222250
6.
Dayal
M.
Monga
P.
(2015 , June 29 ). Science coverage in leading English dailies . Communication Today . https://communicationtoday.net/2015/06/29/science-coverage-in-leading-english-dailies/
7.
Dutt
B.
Garg
K. C.
(2000 ). An overview of science and technology coverage in Indian English-language dailies . Public Understanding of Science , 9 , 123 –140 . https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0963-6625/9/2/303/meta
8.The Global Statistics . (2022 ). Social media statistics of India 2022 . https://www.theglobalstatistics.com/india-social-media-statistics/
9.
Goel
A.
Chawla
R.
(2022 ). How can we address data bottlenecks in India? World Economic Forum . https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/02/data-sharing-by-psus-crossing-the-last-mile/
10.
Hartz
J.
Chappell
R.
(1997 ). Worlds apart: How the distance between science and journalism threatens America’s future . First Amendment Center . https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/worldsapart.pdf
11.
Kapoor
C.
(2015 ). The emergency: A personal history . Penguin .
12.
Kapoor
M.
Ravi
S.
(2021 ). Making waves in India: Media and the COVID-19 pandemic . The Brookings Institution . https://www.brookings.edu/research/making-waves-in-india-media-and-the-covid-19-pandemic/#:~:text=This%20paper%20uses%20data%20from,March%202020%20to%20April%202021
13.
King
D. A.
(2004 ). The scientific impact of nations . Nature , 430 (6997 ), 311 –316 .
14.
15.
McGann
J. G.
(2019 ). 2018 global go to think tank index report (TTCSP Global Go to Think Tank Index Reports, No. 16). University of Pennsylvania . https://repository.upenn.edu/think_tanks/16
16.
Mochahari
M.
(2013 ). Revisiting India’s science communication and journalism: Issues and challenges . Global Media Journal , 4 (1 ), 1 –9 .
17.
18.
Otis
A.
(2018 ). Hicky’s Bengal gazette: The untold story of India’s first newspaper . Westland .
19.
Patairiya
M. K.
(2007 ). Science journalism in India . Pantaneto Press . http://pantaneto.co.uk/science-journalism-in-india-manoj-patairiya/
20.
Patairiya
M. K.
(2016 ). Science communication in India: An assessment . International Journal of Deliberative Mechanisms in Science , 4 (1 ), 22 –64 . https://doi.org/10.17583/demesci.2016.2182
21.
Peters
H. P.
(2013 ). Gap between science and media revisited: Scientists as public communicators . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 110 (Suppl. 3 ), 14102 –14109 .
22.Prasar Bharati . (2021 ). Growth & development . Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India . https://prasarbharati.gov.in/growth-development-air/
23.Press Information Bureau . (2019 , February 1 ). Government unveils vision for the next decade . Ministry of Finance, Government of India . https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=187925
24.Press Trust of India. (2018 , July 1 ). More than 19,500 mother tongues spoken in India: Census . The Indian Express . https://indianexpress.com/article/india/more-than-19500-mother-tongues-spoken-in-india-census-5241056/
25.
Pulakkat
H.
(2017 , January 10 ). Will India be among the top 3 nations in science output by 2030? The Economics Times News . https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/will-india-be-among-the-top-3-nations-in-science-output-by-2030/articleshow/56429161.cms
26.
Pullin
R.
(2020 , December 15 ). Record number of journalists imprisoned in 2020—Report . Reuters . https://www.reuters.com/article/global-rights-journalists-int/record-number-of-journalists-imprisoned-in-2020-report-idUSKBN28P0DZ
27.
Rajgarhia
S.
(2020 ). Media manipulation in the Indian context: An analysis of Kashmir-related discourse on Twitter (M-RCBG Associate Working Paper Series No. 147). https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/mrcbg/files/Final_AWP_147.pdf
28.Registrar of Newspapers of India . (2018 ). The press in India 2017-18 [Report]. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, New Delhi . http://rni.nic.in/all_page/press_india.aspx
29.Reporters Without Borders . (2021 , June 10 ). In rural India, journalists face choice between covering pandemic and survival . RSF News . https://rsf.org/en/news/rural-india-journalists-face-choice-between-covering-pandemic-and-survival
30.
Russell
C.
(2010 ). Covering controversial science: Improving reporting on science and public policy . In Science and the media (pp. 13 –43 ). https://www.amacad.org/publication/science-and-media/section/5
31.Statista . (2022 , March 15 ). Number of internet users in India from 2010 to 2020, with estimates until 2040 . https://www.statista.com/statistics/255146/number-of-internet-users-in-india/
32.Telecom Regulatory Authority of India . (2022 ). “Indian telecom services performance indicator report” for the quarter July-September, 2021 (Press Release No. 2/2022). Information Note to the Press . https://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/PR_No.02of2022.pdf
33.
Tharoor
S.
(2017 , May 24 ). There’s one country in the world where the newspaper industry is still thriving . World Economic Forum . https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/despite-the-decline-of-printed-papers-theres-one-place-that-is-bucking-the-trend
34.United Nations . (2008 ). Principles and recommendations for population and housing censuses (Revision 2, Statistical Papers Series M No. 67/Rev.2). Department of Economic and Social Affairs Statistics Division .
35.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization . (2022 ). Education and literacy . http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/in
36.
Upadhyay
H.
(2021 , February 25 ). Govt says WhatsApp has 530 Mn users in India . Entrackr . https://entrackr.com/2021/02/govt-says-whatsapp-has-530-mn-users-in-india/
37.
Wilkes
J.
(2002 ). Training scientists to be journalists . EMBO Reports , 3 (11 ), 1005 –1008 . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307590/
38.World Population Review . (2022 ). Total population by country 2022 . https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries