GAON CONNECTION: THE RURAL MOUTHPIECE
Abstract
Author(s): Kirti Khanduja
We live in an age where there information is available at just a click. But things are not same in rural areas. There are places in India where people are still unknown about the basic information. Me dia has also ignored the rural population. Regional and national newspapers carry news items that have relevance in urban India. But now it’s time for a change; change for the betterment of rural India. Now, the rural people no longer have to be isolated from the outer world, a world full of technology. Instead, people would be able to have an access to information. In a nutshell, they would have access to the possibility of aimproved life. And this would be achieved by a new initiative- Gaon Connection, initiative taken by Neelesh Mishra, Founder & Editorial Director of the newspaper. Gaon Connection – India’s first and biggest rural newspaper which fills the gap between the unemployed and the jobs, betweenthe poor & outdated farming conditions and new farming practices, between the needy and the opportunities,between social backwardness and social reforms. Miracles can happen, once both the poles are bridged. And Gaon Connection intends to do the same task of bridging. Gaon Connection was started in Dec 2012 is a 12 page all color broadcast newspaper priced at Rs 5, printed on imported newsprint, and brings together reportage, beneficial information, rural culture, rural problems, interviews, sports, government schemes, agricultural reporting, rural food, information from make-up advices for women and men, to the precautions needed while buying insurance, and how to use new mobile applications. It is now available in the form of print media, digital media, social media and mass media. The Gaon Connection newspaper, currently, has a presence in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand and is planning to expand its content footprints to all Hindi-speaking states soon.The paper is self-financed, and not for profit, although it does not strictly follow the NGO model. India lives in its villages. Gaon Connection attempts to empower rural people by making them up-to-date and give a voice to their concerns.
