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Books by Ananya Roy, Ph.D

Research paper thumbnail of Dimensions of Women in Media in India: Navigating Media Landscape for Opportunities, Representation & Portrayal

Research paper thumbnail of Reports and Data on India

WOMEN FOR CHANGE Building a Gendered Media in South Asia REPORT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN MEDIA IN SOUTH ASIA Vol I.

Research paper thumbnail of DIMENSIONS OF WOMEN IN MEDIA IN INDIA: NAVIGATING MEDIA LANDSCAPE FOR OPPORTUNITIES, REPRESENTATION AND PORTRAYAL

WOMEN FOR CHANGE Building a Gendered Media in South Asia REPORT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN MEDIA IN SOUTH ASIA COUNTRY RESEARCH REPORTS Vol II: COUNTRY RESEARCH REPORTS, 2020

Papers by Ananya Roy, Ph.D

Research paper thumbnail of Gender mainstreaming as an essential part of journalism education in India

World of Media Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 2020

The present paper posits relevance of gender mainstreaming (GM) in journalism education, which ca... more The present paper posits relevance of gender mainstreaming (GM) in journalism education, which can redress rising gender discrimination, violence, and gap in
media ethics, professionalism and journalistic practices. Reasons are embedded
in the structured, spatial and temporal aspects of the media profession,
especially in the digital media content and practice. Gender mainstreaming
framework (UNESCO/ UNITWIN, 2018) has been used in this paper to explore the progress in gender mainstreaming in journalism education in India. The findings are based on a survey of 34 Journalism schools of public and private
universities in India for an exploration of pedagogical and transactional practices
in gender mainstreaming. Findings suggest that epistemological and ontological perspectives in teaching and research programmes fall short of a consistent gendered approach and are universally sporadic. Any conscious agreement
on ‘gender mainstreaming’ is either restricted to a ‘topic’ or a paper and offers
limited scope of influence on changes in the interpretation of content, gender sensitive pedagogical perspective or diversity of issues in research. The position
of faculty on gender mainstreaming does not actually show a deep gender polarization, but such feelings essentially could not change the orientation of the curriculum of the course, their delivery and professional standards.
If enrolment of female students in journalism, as part of higher education, has shown a significant rise, yet their entry in the media industry has not dented the status quo of discrimination, or stopped women from deserting the profession mid-way. Mapping of gender mainstreaming in journalism education holds the promise of ushering in affirmative policies and actions in changing the media discourse pertaining to exploitation, disempowerment and marginalisation of
women.

Research paper thumbnail of Theoretical Underpinnings—Political Economy Approach to Media

Political economy as it applies to the media has historically found itself divided into two disti... more Political economy as it applies to the media has historically found itself divided into two distinct approaches of study: The socialist democratic tradition of Europe that saw broadcasting dominated by State-funded public service broadcasters such as the British Broadcasting Corporation following the Marxist approach, and the contrasting completely commercial American media that drove studies in political economy of the media towards the economics of media ownership. In recent years, however, globally the role of public service media has gradually lessened; commercial media provides much of the content. Therefore, in today’s era of globalisation, a lot of scholarship regarding the political economy of the media has focused on the commodification of information and media artifacts, which are produced and distributed for profit by commercial organisations in a capitalistic setup. The commercialization process including the development of the Internet itself as commercial space, in tandem with the growth of advertising and public relations, has propelled a consumer culture that Wasko (2005) terms as “cultural capitalism”, and which accurately describes the current media landscape.
Video made by MHRD: http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/ahl.php?csrno=24
Paper Name: Media and Globalisation
Module Name: Political Economy Approach to Media

Research paper thumbnail of ICTs as Enablers of Public Participation: A Case for News Closed Captioning in India

This paper examines considerations for the possible implementation of closed captioning on Indian... more This paper examines considerations for the possible implementation of closed captioning on Indian television as outlined in the Draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2012. The Bill, which proposes to replace the existing disability law in India draws upon the UNCRPD that India ratified in 2007. The case for mandating closed captioning of news and current affairs programs on Indian television to make them accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population is built upon the theory of the public sphere. The theory conceptualizes a democratic country such as India as one in which enabling participation from all demographic groups allows for the creation of a space where the citizenry debate, discuss, and opine on issues of public interest, and thus contribute to its effective functioning. In addition, this study explores how policymakers and disability rights advocacy groups view closed captioning as a means for such participation for the hearing impaired population in India.
Data collection for the study consisted of in-depth interviews with policymakers directly involved with disability and media policies in India, and senior most representatives of disability rights NGOs involved with advocacy for the hearing impaired in the country. Additionally, 43 newspaper articles published in the timeline during which the Bill was drafted, and multiple revisions were made before being passed over to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for discussion, and two relevant policy papers were analyzed to examine the current scenario of the disability rights movement in India.
The findings of this study pointed towards various aspects of technology, political will, advocacy, and industry initiative as key considerations for closed captioning of Indian television.

Research paper thumbnail of ICTs AS ENABLERS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED: A CASE FOR TELEVISION NEWS CLOSED CAPTIONING IN INDIA

This paper examines considerations for the possible implementation of closed captioning on Indian... more This paper examines considerations for the possible implementation of closed captioning on Indian television as outlined in the Draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2012. The Bill, which proposes to replace the existing disability law in India draws upon the UNCRPD that India ratified in 2007. The case for mandating closed captioning of news and current affairs programs on Indian television to make them accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population is built upon the theory of the public sphere. The theory conceptualizes a democratic country such as India as one in which enabling participation from all demographic groups allows for the creation of a space where the citizenry debate, discuss, and opine on issues of public interest, and thus contribute to its effective functioning. In addition, this study explores how policymakers and disability rights advocacy groups view closed captioning as a means for such participation for the hearing impaired population in India. Data collection for the study consisted of in-depth interviews with policymakers directly involved with disability and media policies in India, and senior most representatives of disability rights NGOs involved with advocacy for the hearing 15 impaired in the country. Additionally, 43 newspaper articles published in the timeline during which the Bill was drafted, and multiple revisions were made before being passed over to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for discussion, and two relevant policy papers were analyzed to examine the current scenario of the disability rights movement in India.

Research paper thumbnail of Trends in Sharing Health Information by College Students on Social Networking Sites

Recently, the Internet world has seen an increasing trend of social networking sites being used t... more Recently, the Internet world has seen an increasing trend of social networking sites being used to obtain and share personal information. Since the first social networking sites appeared in the late 1990s, these websites, of which some prominent names are Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, have provided a platform for users to connect with their acquaintances, share pictures and life updates with them. The possibility of use of these social networking sites in sharing health information is a topic of discussion among healthcare providers, as documented by recent news reports and analyses. A review of the literature on the use of these social networking sites for sharing health information, however, suggests that very little work has been done on this front despite 80%* of Internet users having reportedly looked online for information about health topics at some time. To address this paucity in literature, 300 students enrolled full-time at a large South East American university were surveyed to find trends among SNS usage for sharing health information. A majority of the participants reported they were very unlikely to share sensitive health information on SNS including alcohol consumption, birth control, depression, diabetes, genetic disorders, sexually transmitted diseases or smoking, about themselves or about their relatives or friends. But most of them were likely to share their own diet and nutrition, and physical activity information on SNS. Many were very unlikely to be friends with their primary health care provider and pharmacists on Facebook, but some were likely to follow their healthcare provider but not their insurance provider on Twitter. The study has implications for health care providers, health educators, college healthcare program coordinators and technology experts in exploring the social networking platform to develop health programs, and establish health related relationships with this young population.

Research paper thumbnail of Public diplomacy in the Internet age: Voice of America’s and Russia Today’s depictions of Russia and the U.S.on their websites

The development of satellite and Internet technologies facilitated further rise of international ... more The development of satellite and Internet technologies facilitated further rise of international broadcasting, making it easier for nation states to spread their messages across the borders (McPhail, 2010). This paper assesses the content and tone of two government-funded media organizations: Voice of America (VOA) and Russia Today (RT), more than twenty years after the end of the Cold War. In particular, the study looks at how each of these media covers the United States and Russia, two former ideological rivals that nowadays compete in spheres of global politics and economy. The analysis revealed that each of the media organizations was two to four times more likely to cover their own country in a positive light, while the opposite was true for the negative coverage. However, while VOA stories were still accurate and balanced, RT reporting was often biased and misleading.

Research paper thumbnail of Dynamics of the Radio Landscape in India

Changing Media, Changing Societies: Media and the Millennium Development Goals

"In the midst of amazing discoveries, inventions and scientific advancements that we have achieve... more "In the midst of amazing discoveries, inventions and scientific advancements that we have achieved today, it is ironic that more people lack the basic needs of food, water and shelter than any other time in mankind’s history. Half a billion of the world’s adults are illiterate. Of all these, two-thirds are women. In some countries, more food and clean water is wasted on feeding and fattening livestock while people in other parts of the world lack even basic access to one meal and a glass of clean drinking water a day. After so many years of civilization and with so many advances in technology and living standards, yet we have been unable to resolve these inequalities.

The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals aim to resolve these inequalities by ending hunger, eradicating extreme poverty, providing universal education and facilitating gender equity, among other goals. One of the key stakeholders in this process is the media. In our globalised world, the media is more than just a watchdog. In every society, the media play important roles including creating awareness, disseminating the relevant messages, providing channels of communication and ensuring transparency in this global effort of the UN to achieve its millennium development goals.

Changing Media, Changing Societies: Media and the Millennium Development Goals explores the media’s role in the UN’s effort. Selected papers from a conference of the same name have been organised and presented in this book under the sections of thematic issues, case studies of the media in various Asian countries and media representations of the various issues."

Teaching Documents by Ananya Roy, Ph.D

Research paper thumbnail of Race, Gender, Class and the Media syllabus

Research paper thumbnail of Dimensions of Women in Media in India: Navigating Media Landscape for Opportunities, Representation & Portrayal

Research paper thumbnail of Reports and Data on India

WOMEN FOR CHANGE Building a Gendered Media in South Asia REPORT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN MEDIA IN SOUTH ASIA Vol I.

Research paper thumbnail of DIMENSIONS OF WOMEN IN MEDIA IN INDIA: NAVIGATING MEDIA LANDSCAPE FOR OPPORTUNITIES, REPRESENTATION AND PORTRAYAL

WOMEN FOR CHANGE Building a Gendered Media in South Asia REPORT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN MEDIA IN SOUTH ASIA COUNTRY RESEARCH REPORTS Vol II: COUNTRY RESEARCH REPORTS, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Gender mainstreaming as an essential part of journalism education in India

World of Media Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 2020

The present paper posits relevance of gender mainstreaming (GM) in journalism education, which ca... more The present paper posits relevance of gender mainstreaming (GM) in journalism education, which can redress rising gender discrimination, violence, and gap in
media ethics, professionalism and journalistic practices. Reasons are embedded
in the structured, spatial and temporal aspects of the media profession,
especially in the digital media content and practice. Gender mainstreaming
framework (UNESCO/ UNITWIN, 2018) has been used in this paper to explore the progress in gender mainstreaming in journalism education in India. The findings are based on a survey of 34 Journalism schools of public and private
universities in India for an exploration of pedagogical and transactional practices
in gender mainstreaming. Findings suggest that epistemological and ontological perspectives in teaching and research programmes fall short of a consistent gendered approach and are universally sporadic. Any conscious agreement
on ‘gender mainstreaming’ is either restricted to a ‘topic’ or a paper and offers
limited scope of influence on changes in the interpretation of content, gender sensitive pedagogical perspective or diversity of issues in research. The position
of faculty on gender mainstreaming does not actually show a deep gender polarization, but such feelings essentially could not change the orientation of the curriculum of the course, their delivery and professional standards.
If enrolment of female students in journalism, as part of higher education, has shown a significant rise, yet their entry in the media industry has not dented the status quo of discrimination, or stopped women from deserting the profession mid-way. Mapping of gender mainstreaming in journalism education holds the promise of ushering in affirmative policies and actions in changing the media discourse pertaining to exploitation, disempowerment and marginalisation of
women.

Research paper thumbnail of Theoretical Underpinnings—Political Economy Approach to Media

Political economy as it applies to the media has historically found itself divided into two disti... more Political economy as it applies to the media has historically found itself divided into two distinct approaches of study: The socialist democratic tradition of Europe that saw broadcasting dominated by State-funded public service broadcasters such as the British Broadcasting Corporation following the Marxist approach, and the contrasting completely commercial American media that drove studies in political economy of the media towards the economics of media ownership. In recent years, however, globally the role of public service media has gradually lessened; commercial media provides much of the content. Therefore, in today’s era of globalisation, a lot of scholarship regarding the political economy of the media has focused on the commodification of information and media artifacts, which are produced and distributed for profit by commercial organisations in a capitalistic setup. The commercialization process including the development of the Internet itself as commercial space, in tandem with the growth of advertising and public relations, has propelled a consumer culture that Wasko (2005) terms as “cultural capitalism”, and which accurately describes the current media landscape.
Video made by MHRD: http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/ahl.php?csrno=24
Paper Name: Media and Globalisation
Module Name: Political Economy Approach to Media

Research paper thumbnail of ICTs as Enablers of Public Participation: A Case for News Closed Captioning in India

This paper examines considerations for the possible implementation of closed captioning on Indian... more This paper examines considerations for the possible implementation of closed captioning on Indian television as outlined in the Draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2012. The Bill, which proposes to replace the existing disability law in India draws upon the UNCRPD that India ratified in 2007. The case for mandating closed captioning of news and current affairs programs on Indian television to make them accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population is built upon the theory of the public sphere. The theory conceptualizes a democratic country such as India as one in which enabling participation from all demographic groups allows for the creation of a space where the citizenry debate, discuss, and opine on issues of public interest, and thus contribute to its effective functioning. In addition, this study explores how policymakers and disability rights advocacy groups view closed captioning as a means for such participation for the hearing impaired population in India.
Data collection for the study consisted of in-depth interviews with policymakers directly involved with disability and media policies in India, and senior most representatives of disability rights NGOs involved with advocacy for the hearing impaired in the country. Additionally, 43 newspaper articles published in the timeline during which the Bill was drafted, and multiple revisions were made before being passed over to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for discussion, and two relevant policy papers were analyzed to examine the current scenario of the disability rights movement in India.
The findings of this study pointed towards various aspects of technology, political will, advocacy, and industry initiative as key considerations for closed captioning of Indian television.

Research paper thumbnail of ICTs AS ENABLERS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED: A CASE FOR TELEVISION NEWS CLOSED CAPTIONING IN INDIA

This paper examines considerations for the possible implementation of closed captioning on Indian... more This paper examines considerations for the possible implementation of closed captioning on Indian television as outlined in the Draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2012. The Bill, which proposes to replace the existing disability law in India draws upon the UNCRPD that India ratified in 2007. The case for mandating closed captioning of news and current affairs programs on Indian television to make them accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population is built upon the theory of the public sphere. The theory conceptualizes a democratic country such as India as one in which enabling participation from all demographic groups allows for the creation of a space where the citizenry debate, discuss, and opine on issues of public interest, and thus contribute to its effective functioning. In addition, this study explores how policymakers and disability rights advocacy groups view closed captioning as a means for such participation for the hearing impaired population in India. Data collection for the study consisted of in-depth interviews with policymakers directly involved with disability and media policies in India, and senior most representatives of disability rights NGOs involved with advocacy for the hearing 15 impaired in the country. Additionally, 43 newspaper articles published in the timeline during which the Bill was drafted, and multiple revisions were made before being passed over to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for discussion, and two relevant policy papers were analyzed to examine the current scenario of the disability rights movement in India.

Research paper thumbnail of Trends in Sharing Health Information by College Students on Social Networking Sites

Recently, the Internet world has seen an increasing trend of social networking sites being used t... more Recently, the Internet world has seen an increasing trend of social networking sites being used to obtain and share personal information. Since the first social networking sites appeared in the late 1990s, these websites, of which some prominent names are Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, have provided a platform for users to connect with their acquaintances, share pictures and life updates with them. The possibility of use of these social networking sites in sharing health information is a topic of discussion among healthcare providers, as documented by recent news reports and analyses. A review of the literature on the use of these social networking sites for sharing health information, however, suggests that very little work has been done on this front despite 80%* of Internet users having reportedly looked online for information about health topics at some time. To address this paucity in literature, 300 students enrolled full-time at a large South East American university were surveyed to find trends among SNS usage for sharing health information. A majority of the participants reported they were very unlikely to share sensitive health information on SNS including alcohol consumption, birth control, depression, diabetes, genetic disorders, sexually transmitted diseases or smoking, about themselves or about their relatives or friends. But most of them were likely to share their own diet and nutrition, and physical activity information on SNS. Many were very unlikely to be friends with their primary health care provider and pharmacists on Facebook, but some were likely to follow their healthcare provider but not their insurance provider on Twitter. The study has implications for health care providers, health educators, college healthcare program coordinators and technology experts in exploring the social networking platform to develop health programs, and establish health related relationships with this young population.

Research paper thumbnail of Public diplomacy in the Internet age: Voice of America’s and Russia Today’s depictions of Russia and the U.S.on their websites

The development of satellite and Internet technologies facilitated further rise of international ... more The development of satellite and Internet technologies facilitated further rise of international broadcasting, making it easier for nation states to spread their messages across the borders (McPhail, 2010). This paper assesses the content and tone of two government-funded media organizations: Voice of America (VOA) and Russia Today (RT), more than twenty years after the end of the Cold War. In particular, the study looks at how each of these media covers the United States and Russia, two former ideological rivals that nowadays compete in spheres of global politics and economy. The analysis revealed that each of the media organizations was two to four times more likely to cover their own country in a positive light, while the opposite was true for the negative coverage. However, while VOA stories were still accurate and balanced, RT reporting was often biased and misleading.

Research paper thumbnail of Dynamics of the Radio Landscape in India

Changing Media, Changing Societies: Media and the Millennium Development Goals

"In the midst of amazing discoveries, inventions and scientific advancements that we have achieve... more "In the midst of amazing discoveries, inventions and scientific advancements that we have achieved today, it is ironic that more people lack the basic needs of food, water and shelter than any other time in mankind’s history. Half a billion of the world’s adults are illiterate. Of all these, two-thirds are women. In some countries, more food and clean water is wasted on feeding and fattening livestock while people in other parts of the world lack even basic access to one meal and a glass of clean drinking water a day. After so many years of civilization and with so many advances in technology and living standards, yet we have been unable to resolve these inequalities.

The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals aim to resolve these inequalities by ending hunger, eradicating extreme poverty, providing universal education and facilitating gender equity, among other goals. One of the key stakeholders in this process is the media. In our globalised world, the media is more than just a watchdog. In every society, the media play important roles including creating awareness, disseminating the relevant messages, providing channels of communication and ensuring transparency in this global effort of the UN to achieve its millennium development goals.

Changing Media, Changing Societies: Media and the Millennium Development Goals explores the media’s role in the UN’s effort. Selected papers from a conference of the same name have been organised and presented in this book under the sections of thematic issues, case studies of the media in various Asian countries and media representations of the various issues."

Research paper thumbnail of Race, Gender, Class and the Media syllabus