RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

Furthermore , the communication component was never emphasized in the planning . Strategies of communication as part of the planning were never realized by planners who were obsessed by the traditional bureaucratic procedures without the research inputs of modern sciences such as communication and media use . Available media in the local settlng in the form of folK anđ cultural media were also ignored . At another level, basic infrastructures available to small farmers , their economic conđitions, material agricultural goods and inputs , mar Ket f acilities , level of technical Knowledge of the audience and other communication aspects of target areas were not consideređ before embarKing upon development programs in PaKistan . A profound communication strategy , based on the preliminary research findings and basic assumptions about the people and society , should be incorporated in all development projects as a basic anđ fundamental principle . The following generalizations about the rural masses anđ their conditions are significant; 1 . The rural social structure is based on the power mainly concentrated in the feudal elites . The land which is a basic source of power and control, is owneđ by the big feudal families who manipulate the rural population for their political, social and economic interests . 2 . Women play an important role in the rural есопоту . They worK at home and in the field helping their husbands although their share as labor force is not recogmzed in the national есопоту . 3 . Literacy rate is very low in rurai areas . Children rarely go beyond primary education as they are absorbed in the family farming at an early age . Early marnages are also very common. 4 . Religion operates on emotional and superstitious levels . People , especially the youth , do.not observe religious commandments , though they believe in them theoretically . Religion as a social organization provides a practical-ritualistic significance in the form of social occasions such as marriages , festivities and funerals . 5 . Interpersonal communication channels аге the most common modes of interaction for the exchange of mformation , This is also the best way of establishing outside communication for social change .

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