'Hindi channels poor on reporting health issues'

New Delhi, Jun 25: Compared to print media, news channels were found lacking in reporting about health issues, according to an analysis of prime time bulletins of six prominent Hindi channels.

The analysis, carried out by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) for a month, brought out that reports on major diseases, Malaria, TB, disability, Cancer and STD, were not included in the prime time bulletins.

Even other health related issues, immunisation, diabetes, mental health, hardly figured in any of the month's bulletins.

And not surprisingly, if health issues formed a part of the channel content, it was mostly by the way of a commercial advertisement for one product or the other.

The CMS Media Lab monitored and analysed for a month (March/April) all the prime time news bulletins, commercials and any other feature programme contents of six Hindi news channels, Zee News, Doordarshan, Star News, Sahara, NDTV and Aajtak.

Nearly half of the news stories to do with health covered during the month were about doctors' strike.

What ever got mentioned relating to health, mostly by the way of commercial advertisement, was medicine, diet/nutrition, cold/flu bird flu, allergies and AIDS.

''Despite considerable advertisement support to news channels from health related products, there is hardly any coverage in the news bulletins of health issues concerning common people.... as if they are no ones' concern,'' it said.

''This is contrary to the general impression that news media tend to cover more of those issues which could also get them advertisement support,'' it added.

However, it said regional news channels were performing somewhat better in covering basic health issues.

Also, daily newspapers report relatively more about basic health issues concerning large section of people, going much beyond commercial support, the analysis said.

Only three per cent of all items in the news bulletins of the channels could be categorised as to do with health, in one way or other, the analysis said. 'Star News', however, had twice as many news items. Children's health was completely ignored by all the six Hindi channels during the month.

Of the 15 health stories of Zee News during the month, for example, ten were to do with doctors' strike, two were on alleged neglect of hospitals. Similar was the case with Sahara TV.

The other stories in this regard were to do with bird flu or about yoga.

''There was only one story on TB in the entire month by one news channel. But that was to do with a Government's policy to eradicate TB in the country,'' it said.

One-thirds of all that was to do with health in the news channels, were about "care and treatment", only 15 per cent was to do with "precaution and prevention".

''News channels promote health, if at all and wherever, mostly by way of commercial claims to do with cough syrup, headache pills, vitamin tablets, digestive, ulcer gels, hand and mouth wash liquids,'' it said.

Over all, more than half of the stories related to health covered by the news channels were "negative" or had nothing to do with the basic health issueS concerning people as such.

''An occasional story appears about malnourishment of children or about Gastro-enteritis or viral fever,'' it said.

Recently, the new trend has been to feature such issues by way of regular programmes, outside news bulletins, the analysis said.

Zee News for example, has "Total Tandrusti" on Wednesday, Doordarshan has "Total Health" on Sunday by way of live phone-in programme.

NDTV has "Sehat Ka Yog" Monday to Friday in the mornings.

The Analysis has brought out that "phone-in" programmes on health have acquired interest and participation of people from across the country.

While Ayurveda figures mostly in commercials, there was no reference, no where, about Homeopathy and Naturopathy during the month. Over 30 percent of items were based on Allopathy.

Television news channels allow themselves to be used to promote "health remedies" rather than actually doing something to inform and educate people on basic health issues and help in prevention despite impressive power television has.

Technology apparently is not yet being utilised for the cause of health education as channels often use technology in covering calamities, controversies and crime stories, it said.

UNI