Documentary examines India's newspaper industry

Two faculty members from Grand Valley State University have produced a documentary film that examines how India’s newspaper industry has supported a deeply entrenched tradition of public debate that is considered the foundation of their democracy.

The documentary was produced by Associate Professors Vandana Pednekar-Magal and Alan Bell, both of Grand Valley’s School of Communications, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Bell and Pednekar-Magal, who worked as a journalist in India during the 1980s, traveled to many cities in India during their sabbatical leave to complete shooting of the film.

The premier screening of the 50-minute documentary, Divided by Language: India’s Newspapers, is on Friday, March 16, at 6 p.m., Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, on Grand Valley’s Pew Grand Rapids Campus. Pednekar-Magal and Bell will be available afterward to discuss the film with the audience. The event is free and open to the public.

Through interviews with prominent newspaper editors and cultural critics, and original footage shot in India, this documentary traces the trajectory of the nation's English newspaper in relation to the arrival of global business in India. It also examines the English media’s role in contemporary India, the nation’s democracy, and explores links between language, politics and culture.

For more information contact Vandana Pednekar-Magal at (616) 331-3337.