Q 1.Define the term Mass Media.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:
The 'mass' media include a wide variety of forms, including television, newspapers, films, magazines, radio, advertisements, video games and CDs .It is called mass because it is able to reach mass audiences – audiences comprised of very large numbers of people. They are also sometimes referred to as mass communications.

Q 2.List out different forms of mass media.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:
It includes a wide variety of forms, including television, newspapers, films, magazines, radio, advertisements, video games and CDs .

Q 3.The first attempt at printing books using modern technologies began in
(a) America
(b) Africa
(c) Asia
(d) Europe
(Chapter 7: Mass Media and Communications)

Ans: (d) Europe

Q 4.In India Ilbert Bill agitation was organised by the British in the year:
(a) 1883
(b) 1943
(c) 1783
(d) 1683
(Chapter 7: Mass Media and Communications)

Ans: (a) 1883

Q 5.Sambad-Kaumudi in Bengali in the year 1821 was published by:
(a) Dayanand Saraswati
(b) Swami Vivekananda
(c) Raja Rammohun Roy
(d) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
(Chapter 7: Mass Media and Communications)

Ans: (c) Raja Rammohun Roy

Q 6.Mirat-Ul-Akbar was publisher in persian in the year:
(a) 1822
(b) 1821
(c) 1883
(d) 1722
(Chapter 7: Mass Media and Communications)

Ans: (a) 1822

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Q 7.Who called upon the media to function as a watch-dog of democracy?
(chapter 7: Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister, called upon the media to function as the watchdog of democracy.

Q 8. Analyse the growth of the radio as a medium of communication in Independent India.
(Social Change and Development in India - Chapter 7: Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• When India gained independence in 1947, All India Radio had an infrastructure of six radio stations, located in metropolitan cities.
• The country had 280,000 radio receiver sets for a population of 350 million people.
• After independence the government gave priority to the expansion of the radio broadcasting infrastructure, especially in state capitals and in border areas.
• Over the years, AIR has developed a formidable infrastructure for radio broadcasting in India.
• It operates a three-tiered – national, regional, and local – service to cater to India’s geographic, linguistic and cultural diversity.

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Q 9.Explain the changes brought about by globalisation in Print and Electronic media.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:
Print Media:

• In India the circulation of newspapers grew in spite of growth in television and internet.
• A large number of glossy magazines have also made their entry into the market.
• The reason for growth in print media like newspapers were seen because of the migration of literate people to cities.An example is The Hindi daily Hindustan in 2003 printed 64,000 copies of their Delhi edition, which jumped to 425,000 by 2005.
• Another reason is the needs of the readers in the small towns and villages are different from that of the cities and the Indian language newspapers cater to those needs.
• The Indian language newspapers have adopted advanced printing technologies and also attempted supplements, pullouts, and literary and niche booklets.

• The staggering growth of Doordarshan and private satellite television has been one of the defining developments of contemporary India.
• In 2002, 134 million individuals watched satellite TV on an average every week.
• While Doordarshan was expanding rapidly in the 1980s, the cable television industry was mushrooming in major Indian cities.
• The VCR greatly multiplied entertainment options for Indian audiences, providing alternatives to Doordarshan’s single channel programming.
• There are growing number of news channels in Hindi and English, a large number of regional channels and an equally large number of reality shows, talk shows, Bollywood shows, family soaps, interactive shows, game shows and comedy shows.

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Q 10.Identify and explain the role of radio.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• It includes a wide variety of forms, including television, newspapers, films, magazines, radio, advertisements, video games and CDs .
• The AIR's programmes consisted mainly of news, current affairs, discussions on development.
• Over the years AIR has developed a formidable infrastructure for radio broadcasting in India. It operates a three-tiered – national, regional, and local – service to cater to India’s geographic, linguistic and cultural diversity.
• In 2000, AIR's programmes could be heard in two-third of all Indian households in 24 languages and 146 dialects, over some 120 million radio sets.
• The privately owned FM radio stations in 2002 provided a boost to entertainment programmes over radio.
• As privately run FM channels are not permitted to broadcast any political news , so these channel specialise in popular music to retain their audiences.
• The demand for local news is growing. The number of homes listening to FM in India has also reinforced the world wide trend of networks getting replaced by local radio.

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Q 11.Identify and explain the role of television.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• Television programming was introduced experimentally in India to promote rural development as early as 1959.
• The television broadcasting centre showed its own mix of programmes comprising news, children's and women's programmes, farmer's programmes as well as entertainment programmes.
• Most television channels are on throughout the day, 24X7. The format for news is lively and informal. News has been made far more immediate, democratic and intimate.
• Television has fostered public debate and is expanding its reach every passing year.
• There are a growing number of news channels in Hindi and English, a large number of regional channels and an equally large number of reality shows, talk shows, Bollywood shows, family soaps, interactive shows, game shows and comedy shows.
• Entertainment television has produced a new cadre of superstars who have become familiar household names, and their private life, rivalry on sets feed the gossip columns of popular magazines and newspapers.
• Reality shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati or Indian Idol or Big Boss have become increasingly popular.

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Q 12.What is the meaning of the term 'imagined community'?
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:
The well known scholar stated that the printing press helped the growth of nationalism, the feeling that people who did not even know of each other’s existence feel like members of a family. It gave people who would never meet each other a sense of togetherness. Anderson thus suggested that we could think of the nation as an 'imagined community'.

Q 13.What are the contributions of Raja Rammohun Roy, Fardoonji Murzban and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in the field of Print Media.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:
Raja Rammohun Roy Sambad-Kaumudi in Bengali published in 1821, and Mirat-Ul-Akbar in Persian published in 1822, were the first publications in India with a distinct nationalist and democratic approach.
Fardoonji Murzban : was the pioneer of the Gujarati Press in Bombay. It was as early as 1822 that he started the Bombay Samachar as a daily.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar : started the Shome Prakash in Bengali in 1858.

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Q 14.Why is the media called the “watchdog” of democracy?
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• The media was expected to spread the spirit of self-reliance and national development among the people.
• The media was seen as a means to inform the people of the various developmental efforts.
• The media was also encouraged to fight against oppressive social practices like untouchability, child marriages, and ostracism of widows, as well as beliefs of witchcraft and faith healing.

Q 15. Explain the evolution of modern mass media.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• The first modern mass media institution began with the development of the printing press.
• The first attempts at printing books using modern technologies began in Europe.It was first developed by Johann Gutenberg in 1440.
• With the Industrial Revolution, the print industry also grew.
• The first products of the press were restricted to an audience of literate elites. It was only in the mid 19th century, with further development in technologies, transportation and literacy that newspapers began to reach out to a mass audience.
• People living in different corners of the country found themselves reading or hearing the same news.People across a country feel connected and develop a sense of belonging or 'we feeling'.

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Q 16.Explain mass media status during colonial period.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• The Anti colonial public opinion was nurtured and channelised by the nationalist press, which was vocal in its opposition to the oppressive measures of the colonial state.
• This led the colonial government to clamp down on the nationalist press and impose censorship, for instance during the Ilbert Bill agitation in 1883.
• Association with the national movement led some of the nationalist newspapers like Kesari (Marathi), Mathrubhumi (Malayalam), Amrita Bazar Patrika (English) to suffer the displeasure of the colonial state.
• But that did not prevent them from advocating the nationalist cause and demanding an end to colonial rule.

Q 17.How was mass media during British period?
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• Under British rule newspapers and magazines, films and radio comprised the range of mass media.
• Radio was wholly owned by the state.
• Newspapers and magazines either in English or vernacular were not very widely circulated as the literate public was limited.
• News and information was read and spread by word of mouth from commercial and administrative hubs like markets and trading centers as well as courts and towns.
• The print media carried a range of opinion, which expressed their ideas of a 'free India'.

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Q 18.Analyze the role of mass media in independent India.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• The media was called as the "watchdog" of democracy in Independent India.
• The media was expected to spread the spirit of self-reliance and national development among the people.
• The media was seen as a means to inform the people of the various developmental efforts.
• The media was also encouraged to fight against oppressive social practices like untouchability, child marriages, and ostracism of widows, as well as beliefs of witchcraft and faith healing.
• A rational, scientific ethos was to be promoted for the building of a modern industrial society.

Q 19.Explain how mass media is part of our everyday life.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• In many middle class households across the country people wake up only to put on the radio, switch on the television, look for the morning newspaper.
• The younger children of the same households may first glance at their mobile phones to check their missed calls.
• Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters and sundry other service providers in many urban centres have a mobile telephone where they can be easily contacted.
• In cities many shops have small television set and customers who come in may exchange bits of conversation about the cricket match or the film being shown on tv.
• Indians abroad keep regular touch with friends and families back home over the internet and telephone.
• Migrants from the working class population in the cities are regularly in touch with their families in the villages over the phone.

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Q 20.What are the reasons for the amazing growth in Indian language newspapers?
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• First, there is a rise in the number of literate people who are migrating to cities.
• Second, the needs of the readers in the small towns and villages are different from that of the cities and the Indian language newspapers cater to those needs.
• The Indian language newspapers have adopted advanced printing technologies and also attempted supplements, pullouts, and literary and niche booklets.
• The Dainik Bhaskar group started to carry out consumer contact programmes, door-to-door surveys, and research.
• The prices of English language newspapers were reduced and on the other hand brought out editions from multiple centres.

Q 21.Do you think that with the growth of TV and internet in India, the print media has been sidelined? Give your comments.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:
It is often believed that with the growth of the television and the internet the print media would be sidelined. However, in India we have seen the circulation of newspapers grow.
The new technologies have helped boost the production and circulation of newspapers. A large number of glossy magazines have also made their entry into the market.
Following are the reasons for the growth of newspaper in India:

• There is a rise in the number of literate people. In the year 2003 Hindi daily Hindustan printed 64,000 copies, which jumped to 425,000 by 2005. The growth was because of an increase in Delhi's population which was 52 per cent from the Hindi belt of the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Out of this, 47 per cent have come from a rural background and 60 percent of them are less than 40 years of age.
• The needs of the readers in the small towns and villages are different from that of the cities and the Indian languages newspapers cater to those needs.
• Dominant Indian language newspapers such as Malayala Manorama and the Eenadu launched the concept of local news in a significant manner by introducing district and whenever necessary, block editions.
• Dina Thanthi, another leading Tamil newspaper, has always used simplified and colloquial language.
• The Indian language newspapers have adopted advanced printing technologies and also attempted supplements, pull outs, and literary and niche booklets.
• Marketing strategies have also marked the Dainik Bhaskar group’s growth as they carry out consumer contact programmes, doo-to-door surveys, and research. Thus, modern mass media has to have a formal structural organisation.

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Q 22.The beginning of the printing press led to the growth of the idea of a ‘Nation’ as an ‘imagined community’. Comment as suggested by Benedict Anderson.
(Chapter 7 : Mass Media and Communications)

Ans:

• The first modern mass media institution began with the development of the printing press.
• The history of print in certain societies dates back to many centuries, the first attempts at printing books using modern technologies began in Europe. This technique was first developed by Johann Gutenberg in 1440.
• With the Industrial Revolution, the print industry also grew.
• The first products of the press were restricted to an audience of literate elites. It was only in the mid 19th century, with further development in technologies, transportation and literacy that newspapers began to reach out to a mass audience.
• People living in different corners of the country found themselves reading or hearing the same news.
• These made people across a country feel connected and develop a sense of belonging or "we feeling".
• The well known scholar Benedict Anderson has thus argued that this helped the growth of nationalism, the feeling that people who did not even know of each other’s existence feel like members of a family.
• It gave people who would never meet each other a sense of togetherness. Anderson thus suggested that we could think of the nation as an "imagined community".