How print media covers community reaction to developmental works

A study of reportage of agitation of the fishing community over the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in The Times of India and Indian Express
(1991-2006)

THAKUR COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & COMMERCE By

VIJAY SONI

JANUARY 2011

ACKNOWLEDGMENT S

I sincerely wish to thank all those people who were influential in me conducting and
finishing this research project. First of all, I would like to thank my family who has supported me in this long and strenuous research process. He has helped me in everything and without his help and cooperation; this project would have not been possible.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Mrs. Richa Jain, who have inspired and guided me, for undertaking this project; her input to this study was very useful right from commencement to finish. I would also like to express my gratitude to the people in the Department of Archives, Thakur College, for their cooperation throughout my study.

VIJAY SONI

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to study the reportage on the fishing community at Mahim, a suburb of Central Mumbai, in the English print media in Mumbai, with respect to the effects of the Bandra-Worli Sea link on the community.

Developmental works or what are also called infrastructure development projects have been underway in Mumbai for over a decade. A key element of these projects is transport and all infrastructures required to facilitate transport of people and goods in Mumbai and its connecting suburbs and extended suburbs.

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link project is a stand alone infrastructure project in the sense that it has its own budgets and its own independent purpose that of providing a road over link over the sea thus connecting Bandra and Worli, two business suburbs in Western Mumbai. This project, however, is also a part of a grander design for upgrading the transport infrastructure in Mumbai, a plan that would facilitate movement within Mumbai and establish greater connectivity and mobility cutting costs, increasing access and thus facilitating all round growth of Mumbai.

However, as is the case with all such large projects, there are communities that would be seriously affected by the projects. The size of these communities in terms of sheer numbers is perhaps negligible in proportion to the population of Mumbai city (it stands at 15 million at last count).

In spite of this, it is important to study how the mass media has covered the impact of the infrastructure projects on these communities because such a study would give an understanding about the priorities of the mass media in terms of news and what and who makes news.

This study uses both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. I have chosen The Times of India, the largest circulating English language daily broadsheet in Mumbai and the Indian Express, its closest and traditional competitor in Mumbai to represent the English print media in Mumbai. I have analysed the newspapers from 1991, the year that the Bandra-Worli Sea Link project was launched, until date to find how much reportage has appeared on the fishing community at Mahim in connection with the Sea Link project.

There is scope for further research based on my research, as I have restricted my research to the English print media in Mumbai. An analysis of the community coverage with respect to the Indian media could be one of the major aspects for further research. My study answers my research question and raises many more thereby leaving rooms for further in-depth research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT Component 1: Introduction Context ....................................................................................................08

Research Question....................................................................................10 Aim and Objectives of the Study ............................................................10 Motivation ...............................................................................................11

Component 2: Research Methodology

Introduction .............................................................................................13

Research question ....................................................................................13 Definition ................................................................................................14 Interview..................................................................................................14 Research Design ..15 Characteristics of content analysis ..........................................................15 Data collection method ...........................................................................16 Data Analysis Method .............................................................................16

Problems encountered during the research .............................................16

Component 3: Results or Analysis Content Analysis (Text)...........................................................................38

Times of India and Indian Express (compare and contrast).....................41 Analysis of Interviews..............................................................................43

Component 4: Discussion or Conclusion Conclusion .........................................................................................................47

Component 5: References ..................................................................................49

Component 1: Introduction According to Aman Namra1, development journalism should focus on the needs of the poor, the deprived, and the marginalized and should emphasize their effective participation in development planning - "The kind of journalism that motivates the active participation of the affected people and advocating for their interests, in place of the views of policy makers and planners."

Mathatha Tsedu2 states that development journalism "is about highlighting what people are doing to help transform their lives The premise that development journalism is necessarily government oriented is faulty." He believes that since the strong and mighty are able to look after themselves, journalists should concern themselves with the plight of the poor and the weak.3

"Development is seen as humanitys common objective and interpreted as a quest both to eradicate poverty and protect the environment," according to Guy GoughBerger4. Environmental journalism and development journalism go hand in hand. It appears that while environmental journalism appears to lead to bigger success stories, development journalism progressively seems to be turning into a fad. The difference is that environmental campaigns and journalism have empowered the people - the common mass. It is Recycle Paper vs. We are running out of trees. Development issues covered today are still largely fixed on informing.5 Journalism needs to identify the common problems and

1 2 3

the probable solutions leading to development. Reporting issues related to poverty, corruption, hunger and illiteracy is depressing. Journalists committed to development should look at the situation beyond just reporting it. It is necessary to talk about development not in the ideological sense but in tangible and measurable terms journalism that leads to actual development. In a democracy, says Berger. That is what you need to put in the footnote. When "legislature and the executive are in the grip of crime, nepotism, financial frauds and all other kinds of allegations, journalists must buck up and plan their role adequately. Berger argues that coverage of development today focuses on the view that a journalists job is to report development and not to promote development. There is no doubt that the mainstream media dedicates significant space and time to developmental issues, but constantly exposing a problem is not going to lead to a solution. The job of the development journalist needs to be well defined. Despite NGOs and government bodies constant work, figures related to lack of development are still escalating. Meetings concerning development seem to be a pointless exercise. No bold proposals made during these lavish meals, turning into a huge failure.6 Ordinary people find it difficult to increase their standard of living. The poor seem to be getting poorer. The global group of poverty (almost half of the worlds population of six billion) has never been larger and is still growing. More than two billion people live under the poverty line. Each year, 24 million women enter the child bearing stage in poor countries, and a vast number of them do not have access to adequate family planning services." These may be global figures, but the issues are as applicable to the Indian circumstances as elsewhere in the world. With no education, no protection, no health services, how can we possibly expect population control? The facts are left dangling and there are no followups, and no solutions! A story stating, "e-waste is an issue in Bangalore and the situation
6

is predicted to get worse" is nothing. It is not development journalism; it is as good as a story off the wires. Development journalism involves following the situation through. What can an average person do to help? Donate/ Recycle? Which authorities are responsible? What is being done? What can be done?7 The struggle is, as Aman Namra puts it, the "media has no positive thinking and makes no effort to give society a new direction. Nor does it underline the success of the society. If we cherish the dream of a country where there is social justice for all, there is amity and mutual trust among people, there is equal distribution of resources, we need to take the society into a particular direction." It would be devastating if coverage of the recent Tsunami stopped at death polls and people predicting how much worse it could get. The magnitude of the disaster calls for accountability, action and sensitivity. So do daily development issues. Development journalism is about a journalists stamina and hunger to see something done. It need not be something as dramatic as World Peace. "The recommended role here is to offer leadership, build role-models and promote new norms and practices not simply mirror events and processes. Just as environmental journalism unashamedly celebrates victories, campaigns against polluters, and popularizes participation in clean-up campaigns, development journalism should be able to indulge in campaigns and at the same time keep its integrity and independence intact."

The Bandra Worli Sea Link Project has been one of the most highly recommended projects of all the transport studies done for the metropolitan region. How will the project affect the local fishing community considering that the entire project is along the sea in Mumbai?
7

Research Question How the print media covers community reaction to developmental works A study of reportage of agitation of the fishing community over the Bandra -Worli Sea Link in the Times of India and the Indian Express.

Aim and Objectives of the Study Aim - What are the frequency and extent and content of the coverage received in two leading English daily newspapers in Mumbai?

To assess and report the frequency, extent and content of the newspaper coverage of the fishing community at Mahim in the two leading English dailies of Mumbai.

Objectives To calculate the FREQUENCY of occurrence. To calculate the EXTENT OF COVERAGE by checking for size of the article, page number, location on the page and characteristic of the page like the front page or special page on which the article appears To make a generalized SCORING SYSTEM, for easy comparisons and analysis of the above said objectives. To QUALITATIVELY assess the tone of the article and to record a brief substance of it. To forward the SCORING SYSTEM for future use in assessing coverage of any program, agitation or strategy of public importance.

10

Motivation A proposed Departmental documentary made me think about issues related to development projects like the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which would affect communities around the project. Other such issues would be the media coverage of the special economic zones and the community opposition to it. I chose this project for study because it is based in Mumbai and more accessible for me to study in the given period and budget constraints. I decided to look deeper and analyse the coverage of the impact on fishermen living in Bandra, Mahim and Worli.

After interacting with a social activist about the development of Bandra-Worli Sea link, I read more about infrastructure development. I felt it was an interesting subject to research on -- the community of Mahim fishermen, their lifestyle, the impact of the Sea link and how they were now earning their livelihood. A developmental project can ruin livelihood of Mumbais oldest community, the fishermen or the Kolis. Bandra-Worli Sea Link is a developmental project, which has had a marked effect on the fishermen community in Bandra-Mahim-Worli.

Component 2: RESEARCH METHODOLGY Introduction This chapter presents the methodology used to carry out the study. It discusses the research designs, data collection methods and elaborates on the interviews. This chapter

11

also discusses the problems I encountered while conducting this research and how I attempted to over come them.

Research question How print media covers community reaction to developmental works A study of reportage of agitation of the fishing community over the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in The Times of India and the Indian Express.

This research aims at analyzing, using qualitative and quantitative methods, news reports on the fishing community agitating over the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The researcher shall use two techniques for data collection and analysis. Content analysis In-depth interview.

Definition Content analysis is a technique for mapping symbolic data into a data matrix suitable for statistical analysis. Content analysis involves measurement, not analyses in the sense of the word.8 Not all analyses of contents are conventionally called "Content Analysis" . Rather, Content Analysis usually only refers to quantitative techniques. These encompass, but are not limited to, frequency counts, concordances, collocation measurements, and a number of clustering techniques for strings and/or codes derived from textual, audial or visual data, sometimes also called text mining or data mining. Content Analysis is also associated with dictionary based analyses of textual data,

12

whereby the distribution of concepts is measured by the distribution of (lemmatized) words in a given text. Qualitative content analys merely means all analytical approaches to textual, audio or video content, which does not rely on statistical [Link] methods would qualify as qualitative content analysis from this point of view. However, today, Qualitative Content Analysis mainly means the interpretive coding of data. The resulting codes can then be analyzed in quantitative fashion.9

Interview The method is to enable the researcher to complement the method of content analysis. The researcher will determine the interviewers based on their expertise in journalism, more specifically their writing on issues regarding social issues on communities, activists in the field and academics. The data collected will help supplement the data collected through content analysis. Through the method, the researcher seeks to find the gap between given coverage and what issues concerning the Mahim community need to be reported. In addition, to find out whether the experts agree with the trends that emerge out of the data collection. By using content analysis as a method, the researcher wants to compare quantitatively the amount of coverage of fishermen community received in the Times of India and the Indian Express. The analysis will be subjective. The research will also aim at a comparison of the coverage within a span of 15 years.

Research design Comparative research design where the researcher will be using content analysis (both quantitative and qualitative) as a research tool for a comparison between reports on the

13

fishermen community and their agitation over the Bandra-Worli Sea Link project which have appeared in Times of India and Indian Express between the years 1991-2006.

To support the above data and to give a more holistic understanding of the issue, the researcher will also be doing content analysis of the in-depth interviews of experts and writers on the issue. These would include journalists, environmentalists, and social activists.

Characteristics of content analysis Content analyses have been used most frequently for research problems in which the question could be answered directly from a description of the attributes of content. In such studies the investigator is in large part freed from problems of validity, except to the extent that validity is related to sampling and reliability; the content data serve as a direct answer to the research question, rather than as indicators from which characteristics of the sources or audience are to be inferred.

Data collection method Researcher will look through the editorial content of Times of India and Indian express (in totality) to find out the article on Mahim fishermen in the context of Bandra- Worli sea link. Then analyse it that is the placement of the article, dateline, timeline, by-line, source, core idea of the article and whether it contains a picture and its length and breathe in column and centimeters.

Data Analysis Method:

14

The research is based on developmental issue of the Mumbai city and its communication thorough print medium for example, the Bandra-Worli sea link in the context of the Mahim fishermen. The researcher will quantitatively analyse the number of times the issues is covered, its coverage, and the angle given to it, whether it has a positive connotation or a negative connotation.

Problems encountered during the research There were certain hindrances while I was conducting my research, but I did find a solution for all of them. During my data collection, I was not allowed to take photocopies of the newspapers (due to some technical difficulty). I was allowed to take pictures, but it was very expensive, as the number of reports was many in number. Due to these technical and financial constraints, I sat there throughout the day analyzing each report on the spot. I could not get them home for a detailed analysis. Component 3: Results or Analysis Content Analysis The Times of India No of articles from (1991-2006)23 articles. No of articles specifically on Bandra-Worli sea link-10 No of article specifically only on the fishermen community at Mahim - 3 No of article specifically only on both aspect of Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the fishermen community at Mahim - 3 Article not directly related to the sea-link but mentions the sea-link and/or the fishermen community at Mahim -7

15

Details about text Frequency of appearance from 1991-1999) not a single article has appeared. Only after year, 2000 article has stated appearing. The details are as follows: In year 2000 nos. of article appeared:-SEVEN In year 2001 nos. of article appeared:- NIL In year 2002 nos. of article appeared:-THREE In year 2003 nos. of article appeared:-TWO In year 2004 nos. of article appeared:-ONE In year 2005 nos. of article appeared:-TWO In year 2006 nos. of article appeared:-EIGHT

Byline Almost all articles by A Staff Reporter. Seven stories carried the name of the reporter. Placement of the article (a) front page- only once (b) inside pagesarticle occurrence on Second page- Six times(6) and third pageTen times(10). Only One(1)article have appeared on Fourth page, On Fifth page article have occurred only twice(2) or Sixth and Seventh page occurrence is only Once(1) Length of the article-maximum is - 5column*23cm and minimum of- 2 1/2 column*12cm

Graphic- small pictures of sea link. However, not single a picture of Mahim fisher folk from the Mahim village.

16

 Tone of article- focusing only on construction of Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Two articles on the fishing community from Mahim. The tone is neutral. Headline is positive toward sea link construction.

The Indian Express No of articles from (1991-2006) 7 articles. No of articles specifically only on Bandra-Worli sea link- 5 No of articles specifically only on the fishing community at Mahim - nil No of articles specifically only on both aspect of the Bandra Worli Sea Link and the fishing community in Mahim 2 Details about text Frequency of appearancefrom 1991-1999) not a single article has appeared. Only after year, 2000 article has stated appearing. The details are as follows: In year 2000 nos. of article appeared:-TWO In year 2001 nos. of article appeared:-ONE. In year 2002 nos. of article appeared:-NIL. In year 2003 nos. of article appeared:-ONE. In year 2004 nos. of article appeared:-NIL. In year 2005 nos. of article appeared:-NIL. In year 20006 nos. of article appeared:-THREE. Byline Four stories out of the seven articles had names of the reporters. The rest of the stories were By A Staff Reporter or Express News Service.

17

 Placement of the article (a) front page- only once (b) inside pagesarticle occurrence on Second page it is Four (4) times and once on Third and Fifth page. Length of the article-maximum is - 4column*22cm and minimum of 2column*6cm Graphic- 4 pictures of sea link not single a picture of the fishing community at Mahim. Tone of article- focusing only on construction of Bandra-Worli Sea Link. No article on the fishing community at Mahim. Headline is positive toward the Bandra Worli Sea Link construction.

Times of India and Indian Express (compare and contrast) Times of India No of articles from (1991-2006) TWETNTY THREE articles. No of articles specifically on BandraWorli sea link- TEN No of article specifically only on the fishermen community at Mahim THREE No of article specifically only on both aspect of Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the fishermen community at Mahim THREE No of articles specifically only on both aspect of the Bandra Worli Sea Link and the fishing community in Mahim - TWO Indian Express No of articles from (1991-2006) SEVEN articles. No of articles specifically only on Bandra-Worli sea link- FIVE No of articles specifically only on the fishing community at Mahim - NIL

18

Article not directly related to the sea-link but mentions the sea-link and/or the fishermen community at Mahim SEVEN Analysis:-

Article not directly related to the sea-link but mentions the sea-link and/or the fishermen community at Mahim NIL

Times of India have given more coverage related construction of Bandra-Worli Sea Link but Indian Express has not given enough attention construction of the BandraWorli Sea Link. In Times of India, coverage of construction work of Bandra-Worli Sea Links details is more and elaborate in comparison to Indian Express. Times of India also followed fishermen community at Mahim more often than Indian Express. Times of India and Indian Express give substantial coverage on mixed issue of Bandra-Worli Sea Link and fishermen community at Mahim. Only Times of India has covered Bandra-Worli Sea Link indirectly related issues but no coverage by Indian Express.

Analysis of Interviews:-

President of respective fishermen community Questions No. of fishermen community Bandra (John Karzile) 2 are national and 32 are Mumbai Mahim (Vitthal Tare) 2 are national and 32 are Mumbai Worli (Vasant Nakwa) 2 are national and 200 are Mumbai based

19

based associations. No. of fishermen associated with community All are associated with nearly 2 national level associations and rest to locality based. There are about 40,000 Area in which fishermen are spread over Income Pre and post (sea link project) Which media has covered more (English/Regional) How project is affecting life of fishmen fishermen. 1 and half kilometer 30,000-40,000 per month. Now-NIL Both ( not to fishermen expectation) Absolutely no fishing on in this area. working on wages in near by banglows and as daily worker

based associations. All are associated with nearly 2 national level associations and rests to locality based. There are about 50,000 fishermen. 1-2.5 kilometer

associations. All are associated with nearly 2 national level associations and rests to locality-based .There are about 50,000 fishermen.

3-4 kilometer

50,000-60,000 per

70,000-90,000 per

month. Now-7,000- month. Now-50,000 8,000 Both ( not to fishermen expectation) Small amount of fishing is done and still they work out side for livelihood Both ( not to fishermen expectation) Ample amount of fishing is done, as they are not disturbed much.

20

All the fishermen leaders interviewed by the researcher expressed the opinion that the media did not cover their agitation up to their expectation. According to Mr. John Karzile president of Bandra Mahikawati Udyog Machimar Society, there are two national level machimar associations: (1) Maharashtra Machimar Samiti (2) Maharashtra Akhil Machimar Samiti.

All the fishermen are associated with these two associations and they are also members of respective local associations in their locality.

The fishing ground of Bandra is about one and half kilometer from end of Bandra reclamation to some extent of bandstand. According to [Link] Tare 10 Mahim is spread over two and half kilometer, where as Worli is spread over a large area of three to four kilometers.

The income of fishermen has gone down, post construction of Bandra-Worli sea link. Bandras fishermen were earning Rs 30,000-40,000 per month but with the construction of the Bandra Worli sea link, their fishing activities have come to a standstill. No fishing is possible in their traditional area and their means of livelihood has been shattered.

The income of the Mahims fishermen was to the tune of Rs 50,000-60,000 per month, which has now gone down to Rs.7000 8000 per month. Worlis fishermen were earning

10

21

comparatively more than these two fishing village, approximately Rs 70, 000- 90, 000 per month which has now reduced to Rs.50000 per month, according to Mr. Vasant Nakwa11.

The coverage by media on their agitation did not benefit the cause of the fishermen. English dailies as well as regional (Marathi) newspapers did not make a mark according to the fishermen community in Bandra, Mahim and Worli.

Life of fishermen in Bandra, Mahim and Worli has changed after the construction of Bandra-Worli sea link started. With absolutely no fishing possible in the Bandra fishing area, fishermen and their wives are working on daily wages in near-by bungalows and as daily laborers at construction sites. Small amount of fishing is still done in Mahim region but it is not sufficient for livelihood. So, for additional income the fishermen work as daily workers.

Only the Worli fishing community seems to be least affected by the Bandra Worli sea link. Ample amount of fishing is done in Worli and the only difference the sea link has made is that the fishing has to be done in deeper waters.

11

22

Component 4: Conclusion The sea link connecting Bandra and Worli, two suburbs of Mumbai, is a part of the MUTP The Mumbai Urban Transport Project, which is slated to drastically change the traffic map of the city. It is expected to substantially alter the movement of traffic and this in turn is likely to change the structure of the city itself. This is so, because thus far the city 'moved' in the north-south direction. However, with the coming of the sea link project, the city traffic and consequently the city itself will also crisscross between the west and the east. These movements are likely to substantially affect the culture of the city.

The building of the Bandra Worli sea link clearly is going to affect not only the local fishing communities that reside along the sea link but the community space in the entire city. However, the leading newspapers of the city, The Times of India and The Indian Express, appears to have focused only on the project per se - its cost, what areas it will connect, whether work is being done by deadline etc. There is almost no mention of what this will mean for the culture, the character and the direction of growth of the city of Mumbai.

This research specifically studied the coverage and the reportage of the impact of the sea link project on the fishing community at Mahim. The research has shown that the coverage is sporadic and therefore largely inconsequential as far as providing the readers with a better understanding of the community issues and the cultural changes that the project will bring about are concerned.

One possibility that needs to be investigated is whether the local language Marathi

23

newspapers have dealt with the issue differently from the English language newspapers that were selected by the researcher. A comparison between the English and Marathi language newspapers is also required for a better understanding of the reasons why the coverage has been the way it has been. ..

24

References:1. Google 2. Thakur College of Science & Commerce (Library)

25