Exploring Conceptual Links between Development Journalism and the Gandhi Model of Rural Development

Development journalism has the power to bring positive changes in society and presents as an alternative to sensationalist, commercially driven journalism. However, for development journalism to be successful, it must follow the postulates that M. K. Gandhi stated for development of rural society. A village built on his ideals of swaraj and self-development will be a fit background for local newspapers, radio stations, and other media channels to spread awareness and interest in villages. This will, in turn, motivate and garner resources for the village to pursue its development plans more effectively. Exploring this symbiotic relationship between rural self-development and supportive development journalism, preferably by the villagers themselves through a simple means of communication, can be a new step in the direction of rural uplift. This is the concept that the paper has tried to explore. The paper aims to establish a theoretical link between two groups of literature available in printed form – the articles, books, and papers written about development journalism, and the selected writings of M. K. Gandhi on the topic of rural self-development. It takes a qualitative approach with an advocacy/participatory worldview. The paper presents a model depicting mutual coexistence between development journalism and elements of Gandhian rural development, and gives policy recommendations based on this analysis.