“Communicating Science through Mainstream Media”

AdityaAssistant Professor cum Junior Scientist,

Bihar Agriculture College,Sabour-813 210

Bhagalpur (Bihar)

Communicating Science! Why????Meaning of Mainstream MediaConventional media like radio, print and television which

has maintained their niche in many development spheres

ObjectiveTo understand the functioning of• Video production• Print media• Radio script writing

Purpose• To acquaint the participants with basic techniques used

in the production of media like video, print and radio

Video production techniques

Videos for Agriculture sector• 4 A’s in rural scene: Affordability, Acceptability,

Availability and Adaptability• Creation of Story Board• Voiceover• Actions/Links• Removal of RUSHES• Duration: Not more than 5 minutes• Title first; last: credits

Continued

• Different formats to upload video: .3GP, .MP4, .AVI, .FLV,.WMV• Editing (Sit with editor)• Brevity (Keep it short and brief)• Most Important: THERE IS NO SUBJECTIVE TO

GOOD CONTENT

Video script writingStep 1: Identify the objectives and create ideas

through brainstorming sessions with the producer, graphic artist and the media expert

Step 2: Establish the strategy and the style presentation and employ the strong points of the video medium

Step 3: Detail the total presentation into sequences, scenes and shots. Visualize graphics shot by shot

Step 4: Fill-up the video script format, complete with visuals and spoken word; revise it to ensure optimum communication

Print MediaTrend in newspaper circulation (2006-2010) in the World (Ram,2011)

USA Decline by 17%

Western Europe Decline by 12%

Eastern Europe Decline by 12%

Asia Pacific Rise by 16%

Latin America Rise by 5%

World’s top-selling 100 dailies are published from Asia

China and India are the absolute leaders in Newspaper Industry

Audience of Print mediaDifferent categories of print media and the media suitable to the categories

Category Audience Educational level

Print media

High level literates Researchers, extension

personnel and progressive farmers

Minimum of graduation

Books, booklets, magazines, leaflets,

pamphlets, newspapers

Medium literates Farmers With high school level of literacy

Leaflets, pamphlets, newspapers

Low level literates Farmers With high school education and low

level of understability

Leaflets, wallpapers,

banners, charts, posters, slides, photographs

Writing for print mediaThings to keep in mind while writing for print

media• Content of news• Format• Style• Lead• Lay out and balancingCool colors and Warm colors• Writing techniques

Writing news stories

Elements of news stories• Novelty• Directness• Pace and Variety• Quick and clear

Parts of news stories• The Headline• The first paragraph/ lead• The reminder of the story• Sales message

Organizing feature storiesUse the chronology that build to a climax at the end; Story has

been held together by a thread and often end where the lead started

1. Choose a theme2. Write a lead that invites audience into the story3. Provide vital background information4. Write clear and concise sentences5. Use a thread to connect the beginning, body and conclusion6. Use transition- connect paragraphs with transitional words7. Use dialogue when possible8. Establish a voice-signature or personal style of each writer

The Hindu Feature Story

Radio as Mainstream MediaRadio listeners in India (Proggya Ghatak,2005)State % of listeners

Andhra Pradesh 41

Tamil Nadu 36

Karnataka 22

Maharashtra 30

North-East 14

Haryana 83

Orissa 51

Jammu & Kashmir 41

Jharkhand 47

Gujarat 42

West Bengal 78

Rajasthan 23

Bihar 28

Kerala 9

Writing for Radio

Spoken word programme• News bulletins• Talks• Discussions• Drama• Radio feature • Documentary • Interview

Steps in Radio script writing• Use simple and familiar language• Avoid jaw-breaking words• Mix short and medium length sentences for variety• Use local information and sentences• Keep in mind the listeners point of view• Make the listeners realize the importance of the

programme• Be direct and personal• Be humorous and not serious• KISS technique

Conclusion

From Food security to Farmer’s security

Those who write don’t grow, those who grow don’t write

Farmers are basically brilliant. Let us always keep these UNSUNG HEROES in mind

References• Cornell University website available on

http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/ • Commonwealth education media centre for Asia

available at http://www.cemca.org • Ministry of Information and Broadcasting available

on http://www.mib.nic.in• LIB

TIFF website available on http://www.libtiff.org/video-formats.html

• VIDEO

THANK YOUwww.facebook.com/adityainc