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Role of Media in Kashmir Crisis The media, including print, radio, television and the Internet is known as the bridge that connect the events with the vast, heterogeneous and anonymous audiences that are not scattered only in a large country like India, but all over the globe. The media is also known as a great multiplier that connect even a small event or incident, happening at a remote place to millions of people within no time. The Media's role and its importance in the public sphere has never been questioned, but it is often tested in volatile crisis situations like the one in Kashmir. In this book Dr Viswam examines the role of print media in the trouble-prone Valley. The writer has analysed news stories, articles, editorials and features, pictures and letters to the editor published in two national dailies that bring out multiple editions in India. Though the Kashmir problem is an old one, the book takes into account the situation in Kashmir around the middle of the first decade of the 21st century and in the context of Indo-Pak relations. In early 2004, India and Pakistan resumed the talks and negotiations on Kashmir, known as "composite dialogue". The writer is of the view that the success of media depends on the positive role it plays in creating right kind of political atmosphere and consensus among the people, especially among the elite. Media has always been playing a big role in political processes and dialogues between two countries on any contentious issue. Whereas, the electronic media and new media focus on the immediacy of the information, the print media is known for its details deep analysis, interpretation and guidance. The book starts with the premise that "the role media plays in conflict resolution is very ambiguous and produces endless discussion." When the countries and their leaders are involved in a dialogue, they try to take control of the political situation and also want to use it in their favour. In this tug-of-war, they use media as a tool. Sometimes media initiates political developments as it has happened in the WikiLeaks and Radia tapes, but mostly the media reacts and respond to the political developments after they take place. In the present study the author has done content analysis of 1,358 news stories, 110 editorials, 15 features, 464 letters to the editor, 21 cartoons, 351 photographs published between 2005 to November 29, 2006 in the Madurai editions of The Hindu and The New Indian Express. The results indicate that both these newspapers have given both intensive and extensive coverage to Kashmir problem. The quantitative data clearly show that The Hindu provided more space to Kashmir as compared to the The New Indian Express. It is also established that the readers of The Hindu are more conscious and serious about Kashmir than the readers of the The New Indian Express. Though, the author claims that both the quantitative and qualitative analysis has been done, the book clearly lacks in depth qualitative analysis of the data. An injustice has been done to the analysis of cartoons and photographs. The difference between latest or manifest messages, the planted or non-planted stories, inclusive or exclusive coverage, embedded or free and objective journalism have not been made clear. The book is marred by grammatical and spelling mistakes. This was a good topical and vibrant subject that required a microscopic analysis. Unfortunately, that has not happened.
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The Kashmir Valley has been in the news for a long time now. The problem in the Valley is a multi dimensional one and it requires deep understanding and analysis to interpret various events and incidents that have affected the Kashmiri society.