The Mass Media and Village Life

The Mass Media and Village Life assesses the actual and potential contribution of mass communication media to the process of development in the Third World in general and India in particular.

Despite the faith placed in the power of the mass media to promote desirable social change in the less developed countries, the impact of mass communication on development in India has been limited. The authors of this volume examine the reasons for this by studying the process of communication in Indian villages. Their conclusions are based on extensive anthropological studies of five villages in three Indian States which, taken together, provide a graphic account of Indian village life. These detailed case studies provide new insights into the role played by communication in the social processes that bear upon development. The study locates communication firmly within the socio-economic context of community life and offers both qualitative and quantitative data in support.

The authors conclude that the influence of the media is filtered through structures of inequality that themselves pose a major obstacle to change. Further, that locally-based rather than centralised strategies for communication show the most promise of success.