There is no denying the fact that, whatever
we do we should do, after proper thinking. If there are major issues, the thinking should be done, by a group of concerned persons. If national issues are involved, then there should be a consensus on a national level. Media is one such national issue, concerning & involving every one, & therefore deserves serious consideration, for its national policy formulation & its periodic review, to provide guidance to the media, from time to time. No doubt, the book highlights the various issues, related to the media policy formulation at the national level. It has 14 Chapters covering its various aspects. Chapter 1 opens up with the need for a balanced national
communication policy, meaning thereby, the rules & regulations, which determine Government & Media relationship. Policy for Television is discussed in Chapter 2. Issues connected with the programmes, which are of utility to the common man, essentially as a social service, are taken up in Chapter 3. Film is a major medium of entertainment, & the formation of National film policy is discussed in Chapter 4. Any media policy should take into account the fact that, women account for fifty percent of the population. This is the theme in Chapter 5. Continuing this theme forward, Chapter 6 takes up the issues connected with women, e.g. promoting positive images of women in media, gender balancing, recognition & encouragement etc. What is most important is National
development, & that media policy should keep this in view, is stated in Chapter 7. Besides issues of women development, Chapter 8 takes up the matter of environment, in media policy formation. Assessing what the common man will need in future, & designing the media policy such that the commoner will get what he wants, is the theme of Chapter 9.
Ethics & values are important everywhere, so also in media. The credibility of media must not be eroded. This is taken up in Chapter10. Literacy & education are very important & necessary for development, & can be speeded up by satellite communication. This is the theme in Chapter 11. For getting any job well done, training is essential, so also for the media personnel. The media policy should take this into account, as discussed in Chapter 12. For making the policy as per the needs of the people, the needs should be determined through research, as revealed in Chapter 13. Finally, Chapter 14 presents salient points of the four regional seminars, & National Colloquium, regarding the National media policy. It is however to be noted that, Chapters 1 to 13 are papers selected from those presented at these seminars. The strength of the book lies in presenting in a comprehensive manner, the views of various authors, on various aspects of this important topic, nine annexure & a total of 66 references. This book is considered useful for policy makers, administrators, journalists, broadcasters, media managers, students, & teachers in this field. On the whole, it can be said that the editors have made a good effort in bringing out this book.