MESSAGE UTILIZATION BEHAVIOUR OF FARM WOMEN

The role of mass media in disseminating valuable information to users through diverse sources and channels is crucial for introducing new technology and fostering awareness and changes in the attitudes of farmers and farm women. Although print media is the oldest form of media, it remains popular among rural populations as it educates and informs them about new technologies. Studies indicate that farm women are exposed to media to differing extents, but the frequency of their utilization of media sources varies. Therefore, the present study was conducted to analyze the utilization behaviour of farm women regarding various household and agriculture related messages in print media. A sample of 200 farm women from five agro-climatic zones of Punjab who were readers of selected newspapers and farm magazine were chosen for the research. Information was gathered using a carefully designed and pre-tested interview schedule. The findings reveled that the utilization of messages under the theme of clothing selection, construction, maintenance and storage was highest among all the theme-based categories in case of newspapers. Whereas, in farm magazine, messages regarding food, nutrition and health were most utilized and obtained first rank. Furthermore, the variables such as, age, educational level and land holding of respondents were positively correlated and contributing towards increasing the extent of utilization behaviour.