New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is getting wider media coverage in foreign countries than his predecessor Manmohan Singh, according to a report by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
It is for the first time that Government of India has done such a survey that measures exactly how the foreign media perceives the Prime Minister when he visits foreign countries.
Quoting the government report, Economic Times reported that over 27,639 words were written in 31 articles during PM Narendra Modi's maiden visit to the US in September 2014 in international publications. Less than one third of that number, to be precise, 7,596 words in 8 articles, were written when former PM Manmohan Singh visited the US in 2009.
Two main international media organisations, BBC and CNN, dedicated 6,726 words on Modi's visit to the US in contrast to just 848 words in two articles for Singh.
And when PV Narasimha Rao visited the country in 1994, there were just 1,825 words and two articles.
Interstingly, during UPA regime, the media coverage of 2010 Barack Obama's visit was just about for 82 hours whereas US President's visit as the Chief Guest on the occasion of Republic Day celebrations this year got 255 hours of relentless coverage by top ten TV news channels.
Also Read: Narendra Modi vs Manmohan Singh: Spot the differences
There has been special focus on Obama's visit. Over 33,564 words in 48 articles were written about Obama's visit in 2015.
Even DD news, dedicated 33 hours 45 minutes to cover Obama's 2015 visit compared to just 5 hours 49 minutes to his visit in 2010.
According to the report, Britain's Guardian newspaper had written 3,795 words for Modi, and for Singh, it had 1,408 words. Similarly, The Wall Street Journal dedicated 1,407 words to Modi, compared to 883 words for Singh.
The New York Times dedicated 6,432 words to Modi compared to 2,038 words on Singh while the Washington Post had 1,326 words on Modi and just 479 words for Singh. The New York Times had 6,432 words for Modi compared to 2,038 words on Singh while the Washington Post had 1,326 words on Modi and just 479 words on the former PM.
Also Read: Modi vs Manmohan: Both Global Roamers
In its series of reports, 'Comparative coverage analysis of the PM's foreign visits and visits of international leaders', the I&B ministry has listed numbers and analysis, comparing excitement in international media.
