Communication using Printed Media

Printed media can combine words, pictures and diagrams to convey accurate and clear information. Their great advantage is that they can be looked at for as long as the viewer wishes, and can be referred to again and again. This makes them ideal as permanent reminders of extension messages. However, they are of course only useful in areas where a reasonable proportion of the population can read.

Posters Leaflets and Booklets Circulars Newspapers Using Printed Media Guidelines for Design References and Further Reading

The printed media that are commonly used in extension include posters, booklets, leaflets, circulars or newsletter, and newspapers.

Posters are useful for publicising forthcoming events and for reinforcing messages that farmers receive through other media. They should be displayed in prominent places where a lot of people regularly pass by, or where people normally gather such as shops, markets, water supply points and health posts. The most effective posters carry a simple message, catch people's attention and are easy to interpret.

Posters are a low-cost method of exposing large audiences to single ideas and to information that can be expressed simply and interpreted quickly. However, they can fail to communicate effectively unless they are designed on the basis of careful analysis of:

• the audience(s) for which they are intended
• the context in which they will be seen — a poster on a wall in a training centre will hold attention for longer than a poster displayed at a retail outlet where it will be in competition with a lot of other visual material and where people are not actively seeking research-based information
• the objectives which the poster is intended to achieve.
  

For examples of well designed posters that present an easily understood message see the following examples:

Leaflets can summarise the main points of a talk or demonstration , or provide detailed information that would not be remembered simply by hearing it, such as fertiliser application rates or names of seed varieties.

For more on the use of booklets see the following research projects where booklets played important roles:

	R6774	Alternative Strategies for Small Livestock Keepers in Forest Margins
	R7425	Development, validation and promotion of appropriate extension messages and dissemination pathways

Circular letters are used to publicise local extension activities, to give timely information on local farm problems and to summarise results of demonstrations in the area so that the many farmers who cannot attend them may still learn about the outcome.

Newspapers may not be widely available in rural areas. However, local leaders often read newspapers, and a regular column on agricultural topics is useful to create awareness of new ideas and to inform people of what other groups or communities are doing.

Printed media can be very sophisticated, with colour photographs and a variety of lettering styles, requiring access to expensive equipment that is only available in large cities; or they can be produced simply and cheaply using equipment found in many local extension offices, such as a computer and a photocopier, or even a typewriter. Where there are local commercial printers, media with text and black and white photographs or drawings can be printed at low cost. This simpler technology makes it possible for extension workers to produce leaflets and circular letters which are relevant to their area and can be made available quickly to farmers. Some extension organisations are now using desk-top publishing (DTP) equipment, with computers and software linked laser printers which can produce material suitable for photocopying or printing in large quantities. These allow printed material to be produced locally and to a high standard, incorporating pictures, diagrams and text with professional standards of layout and presentation. However, the successful operation of this equipment requires specialist design and computer software skills which many extension staff will not have the time or opportunity to acquire. However, the availability of computers and software is increasing, and the the software itself is becoming easier to use.

Where extension agents are using printed material that has been mass produced, they should make sure that it complements their extension activities. Posters may be used, for example, to draw attention to a topic related to a demonstration that will take place in the near future, or to remind farmers of something that has recently been demonstrated.

Obviously, printed media are of little use if they are not distributed or displayed. Expensively produced posters, leaflets and magazines should not be allowed to gather dust on office shelves. They should be made widely available and farmers should be encouraged to look at and discuss them. Posters should be replaced regularly with new ones. In addition, where printed material proves to be irrelevant or difficult for farmers to understand, extension workers should inform those who produced them so that improvements can be made to future productions or editions. It is important to realise that posters and leaflets which seem to be clear and understandable to the extension worker may not be fully understood by farmers. Whenever possible, one should check whether they are understood and help to explain them if necessary.

Extension workers can design their own local printed mass media for display or for distribution to farmers. They can also contribute articles to local, regional or national newspaper s. In their training, it is useful for agents to practice this: even if their own opportunities to design and produce media in the future are limited, it is a good way of learning or reinforcing general principles of the presentation of information to farmers. The following stages offer a useful guide, both in the training situation and in their extension work.