Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

Newsletters have evolved into a vital tool for disseminating information among targeted audiences, serving as an effective means to communicate pertinent, accurate, and appropriate information on specific topics to a captive audience. This research aimed to evaluate the usefulness of a participatory newsletter on potato growers in a purposefully selected block in the US Nagar district of Uttarakhand. Adopting an experimental research design, a newsletter was first developed by the researcher using participatory methodology and then distributed to the selected respondents. The study involved 120 potato growers purposively chosen from three villages in one block (Kashipur). The effectiveness of the participatory newsletter was assessed by measuring knowledge gain through pre- and post- test method, employing a structured interview schedule for data collection. The study findings revealed a significant difference in the knowledge gained by the respondents after being exposed to the newsletter. Further, a substantial majority expressed higher satisfaction with various aspects of the newsletter, including its size, design, content, accuracy, readability, and the utility and accuracy of the information it contained.