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OVERVIEW

Training for careers
in journalism

India needs a national council of professionals to 
study the problems and prospects of media training,
say
Dr B P MAHESH CHANDRA GURU and M S SAPNA
 

What is India News Service
10 March 2005

Media education has undergone substantial change in terms of institutional set-up, priorities, structure and content in India and elsewhere.  The needs of the media industry and other societal goals are taken into account while planning and executing training programmes in Mass Communication and Journalism.

Noam Chomsky, eminent media critic of our times, views the media as an ideological system which serves powerful elites. He has called upon media owners, academics, policy makers and professionals to provide people–friendly and justice–friendly services to humankind.  He argues that western media have neglected their questioning role and are accessible only to intellectuals who defend the role of western governments.  Chomsky has strongly advocated media social responsibility and opposes media’s role in producing consensus amongst the public towards the ruling elites in government and business.

Mass Communication and Journalism education institutions have mushroomed in the university and non-university systems in the country.  New nomenclatures such as media convergence, new media, corporate communication and the like are coined in India with a view to attract the young generation of learners and to make money in the age of globalization, liberalization and privatization.  Policy makers in educational institutions have not given serious thought to a fundamental question i.e., how well the current training programmes fit into the requirements of the media industry in particular and societal needs in general? This paper precisely deals with the existing Mass Communication and Journalism training opportunities in India.

INSTITUTIONAL SCENE

Mass Communication and Journalism education at various levels -- such as certificate, diploma, degree, masters and Ph.D -- are made available in Indian universities and private coaching institutions in present times. Prof P P Singh set up a department of auspices of Punjab University at Lahore in 1941. The department functioned in Delhi for 15 years after the country’s partition in 1947.  Later on it was shifted to the new campus of Punjab University at Chandigrah in 1962. 

Presenting a paper on Journalism Education at the Communication/Journalism Teacher’s Seminar at Honolulu, Prof Singh observed: “Journalism education met with strong opposition from working journalists. Few thought that journalists needed training or that they could be trained”.  Media owners also believed that “Communicators are born, not made”.  They too did not encourage Mass Communication and Journalism training wholeheartedly because of this wrong notion.

From 1947 – 1954, five more courses in Journalism were commenced at Madras, Calcutta, Mysore, Nagpur and Osmania Universities.  During 1964–1985, 23 universities also launched journalism courses in the country.  They include – Universities of Poona, Guwahati, Shivaji, Jabalpur, Punjab Agricultural, Ravi Shankar, Marathwada, Banares Hindu, Saurashtra, Bangalore, Berhampur, Punjabi, Madurai Kamaraj, Garhwal, Rajasthan, Aligarh Muslim, Calicut, Kerala, Maharshi Dayanand, Dharwar, Sagar, Allhabad and Indore.  During 1985-2000 many more Universities such as Mahatma Gandhi, Bharatiar, Mangalore, Central Univesity (Hyderabad), Kuvempu, Women’s (Tirupati), Tejpur, Shimla, Guru Jambeshwar (Hissar), Kurukshetra, Annamalai, Assam, Bharathi Dasan, Bhavanagar, Chowdhary Charan Singh (Meerat), Dr. Hari Singh Ghaur (Sagar), Himachal Pradesh, Nagarjuna, Ranchi, Sri Krishnadeveraya, Bardhwan, Kashmir (Srinagar), Lalitha Narayana Mithila, Manipur, Swamy Ramananda Tirtha Maratwada, Goa, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, etc., also started Mass Communication and Journalism courses in tune with the needs of regional media, government and non-governmental institutional needs.

The Indian Institute of Mass Communication was set up at New Delhi in 1965 by the Government of India with responsibilities for consultation, training, research and development, particularly in the use of Mass Communication for national developmental endeavors.  The institute offers three whole–time courses of one academic year namely -- Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism, Post-Graduate Diploma in Advertising and Public Relations and Diploma in News Agency Journalism.  Besides these, orientation programmes and refreshers courses are also arranged from time to time for the benefit of government media functionaries.  The Press Institute of India was established in 1963 with a view to provide training facilities for journalists and other media professionals.  It organizes seminars, workshops and conferences.

A large number of private institutions are also offering courses in Mass Communication and Journalism all over the country.  Prominent among them include Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Horniman College of Journalism (Mumbai), St. Xaviers institute of Communication (Mumbai), Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication (Pune), Asian College of Journalism (Chennai), Manipal Institute of Communication (Manipal), Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (Bangalore), Sri Sri Centre for Media Studies, and so on.

In India at present some 60 universities, 25 agricultural universities and 100 private institutions annually train about 2000 students in various aspects of Mass Communication and Journalism including reporting, editing, photography, videography, printing, designing, advertising, public relations and so on.  Agricultural universities are imparting training on farm communication, extension education and development communication.  Most of the universities and colleges have provided infrastructural facilities and manpower in audio-visual communication field also to some extent. 

TRAINERS           

Mass Communication and Journalism training in India has not progressed as much as in the western countries.  The media structures and training institutional structures are different from their counterparts in the western countries.  At present training programmes in this sector vary from certificate to doctoral level research.  Many surveys revealed inadequate trained manpower, infrastructural facilities (laboratories, libraries, equipments etc.) and other basic amenities.  A large number of departments remain ill-equipped in terms of manpower mainly due to lack of political will, and policy, financial and other constraints.     

There are university departments set up which offer training programmes with one or two full timers and couple of part timers.  There are a sizeable number of full time teachers who lack first hand experience and allied training benefits especially in subjects like advertising, public relations, satellite communications, cyber journalism, photo journalism, media laws, videography, newspaper design and printing technologies, information technology and so on.  There is no provision to include media professionals in training programmes. The gap between lab and land still remains in the field of Mass Communication and Journalism training.  The faculty members are not given adequate opportunities to develop higher specialization, skill and competence.  In reality, fellowships, scholarships and other facilities are not extended to the faculty members adequately in order to ensure advanced studies, research and professional growth.

The UGC directive of ensuring a minimum staff pattern of 1 Professor, 2 Readers and 4 Lecturers is not implemented by most of the departments in the university.  The rigid rules and regulations of state governments and universities have hampered training in this field very badly.  These institutions are yet to create an environment of professionalism on a par with developed countries in regard to manpower development.  Educational electronic communication and journalism remains absolutely malnourished in most of the universities and private colleges.  Educational print journalism has been over emphasized all these years.

The training opportunities which are made available to the teaching community are inadequate.  The fundamentals of Mass Communication and Journalism are taught more prominently rather than applied Mass Communication and Journalism.  The students are taught history, theory, research, extension and a broad array of other aspects of Mass Communication and Journalism.  Educators with advanced degrees and diplomas are not available in plenty.  Those who have not experienced the real practical problems, challenges and opportunities are not in a position handle the subjects judiciously.  The private managements have taken the teachers for granted.  They are not encouraged by these private managements to acquire specialized knowledge and experience.  Those who are qualified and competent professionally and otherwise are not encouraged with judicious pay, allowances, promotions and other benefits.

Media practitioners and scholars often found themselves on different paths. There are very few centers of learning where the citadel of Mass Communication education is directed at professional competence.  Even now there is no agreement on what Mass Communication education should be in India.  The question of whether universities should teach Mass Communication and Journalism has not been answered decisively.  Especially the private coaching institutions are not conducting the courses on sound agenda and grounds.  In particular, the implications of new media technologies for Mass Communication and Journalism training have not been seriously discussed especially in the government and media sectors even though the new media developments are enabling the transformation for Mass Communication and Journalism education.  The teachers are not enabled to use new media for the purpose of promoting understanding, communication and learning.  New media applications enable the trainers to create more dynamic multi-media contents which could help the trainees understand complex concepts and processes precisely and perfectly.  Most of the trainers are not in a position to supplement their programmes by utilizing new media technologies and techniques.
 

TRAINEES    

The policy makers in the government, UGC, universities and other bodies have not accorded a place of pride to Mass Communication and Journalism education even though there are gainful employment opportunities to the students in the modern society.  Lot of funds are made available to medical, engineering, management and other professional courses in universities and private institutions.  Unfortunately Mass Communication and Journalism departments are hunting for funds from several quarters.  These factors are largely responsible for the sorry state of affairs which exist in regard to Mass Communication training in India.     

Even now universities, governments, UGC and media organizations have not come forward to work in unison in this venture.  Many scholars have also criticized the utter callousness and hostility on the part of media organizations in regard to Mass Communication and Journalism education in our country.  The purpose of Mass Communication education is more than understanding theory and practice of Mass Communication though Communication skill development and communicator’s capacity building are very essential.  Its purpose should go beyond these things.  The great task for Mass Communication educators is to equip their students with a firm sense of professionalism.  The teachers and trainees cannot confine themselves to the classroom.  The best foundation for a career in Mass Communication is in the field setting (newsroom in print media, studio in electronic media, film making settings in film media, computer room in software setting etc,).  The programmes lack professional depth, seriousness and quality.  The students do not get opportunities frequently to gain familiarity with the diverse media systems and operations.  They do not personally understand the media environment along with social, economic, political and cultural needs and aspirations due to lack of frequent interactions.  The students are not enabled to acquire practical skills and operational competence on regular basis during their study period.  The trainees remain malnourished practically and otherwise mainly due to lack of practical exposure. 

SYLLABI 

The purpose of Mass Communication education is more than understanding theory and practice of Mass Communication though Communication skill development and communicator’s capacity building are very essential.  Its purpose should go beyond these things.  Media practitioners and scholars often found themselves on different paths. There are very few centers of learning where the citadel of Mass Communication education is directed at professional competence.  Even now there is no agreement on what Mass Communication education should be in India.  The question of whether universities should teach Mass Communication and Journalism has not been answered decisively.

The Mass Communication and Journalism training programmes in India are not planned as an integrated development programme.  There is no consensus with respect to syllabi in this age of communication revolution.  Many scholars have rightly felt that general instructions and classroom lectures particularly in universities and colleges are bookish, bereft of practical demonstration or explanation on the part of faculty.  Media institutions have become industrial centers.  We come across information industry, knowledge industry, entertainment industry, advertising industry and other kinds of media industries.  The expectations of these media industries are not properly understood by our policy makers and educationists. 

What is Mass Communication and Journalism?   What are the expectations of the media industry?  How to train our students?  What these students should do in the media organizations?  These questions have to be answered by our policy makers and teachers in order to facilitate need based training and make the students worthy communicators of our times.  Mass Communication training programmes are not designed in tune with the changing media trends and expectations.  The programmes lack professional depth, seriousness and quality.  The students do not get opportunities frequently to gain familiarity with the diverse media systems and operations.  They do not personally understand the media environment along with social, economic, political and cultural needs and aspirations due to lack of frequent interactions.  The students are not enabled to acquire practical skills and operational competence on regular basis during their study period.  The standard of teaching, research, extension and publication activities is not periodically assessed in order to make necessary changes and improvements.  The critics have termed Mass Communication training programmes as ‘hog-wash’. 

INFRASTRUCTURE

Lack of trained teachers, infrastructural facilities and upgraded syllabi are the major hurdles in the way of sound Mass Communication teaching.  Most of the departments are not getting latest books and professional journals due to financial constraints.  They do not have well equipped audio-visual lab, computer lab, photo lab, close circuit television, Internet facility, departmental library and allied facilities.  A major drawback of Mass Communication and Journalism education in India is the lack of locally relevant textbooks, professional journals and advanced reading materials.  The latest techniques such as desktop printing, video display terminals, facsimile editions, videography, photography and so on are not fully and properly understood by the trainers and trainees mainly due to lack of infrastructural and training facilities.  

MEDIA INDUSTRY NEEDS AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES

The Mass Communication and Journalism sector is growing rapidly mainly due to changing global economic scenario.  Revolutionary changes are taking place in the field of communication technologies.  The dream of Marshal Mc Luhan has become a reality.  Today the whole world has become a single ‘global village’ thanks to the revolutionary communication technological innovations and their applications.  There are five major areas which offer umpteen number of employment opportunities to the young generation of graduates in Mass Communication and Journalism.  They include: Print Media, Electronic Media, Advertising, Public Relations and New Media.

Print Media have provided lot of employment opportunities uptil now.  Dailies, Periodicals, Professional Journals, Institutional Publications etc., provide adequate job opportunities in various sectors such as reporting, editing, designing, press photography, advertising, marketing etc.  Mass Communication and Journalism departments have been able to train the students in the art and craft of print media production.  They also bring out lab journals periodically.  The students are also enabled to work in print media organizations as internees.  The teachers also have practical training in newspaper production to some extent.  However, most of the departments do not have well developed computer labs, DTP, VDT and allied facilities.  Advanced designing and printing facilities are not available in most of the UG and PG departments.  There are very few departments in the country which have state of the art newspaper production facilities. 

Electronic media today provide plenty of employment opportunities when compared to print media.  Especially, the TV has become the massest of all mass media.  Script writing, acting, sound recording, lighting, photography, directing etc., have become thrust areas of electronic media.  Most of the departments do not have specialized programmes, specialists, state of the art facilities etc., in order to do justice to the role of teaching broadcasting journalism.  Hence, the students lack practical exposure especially in broadcasting journalism.   

Advertising has become a promising profession as well as industry in the present times.  There are many employment opportunities in this field.  The students are familiarized with the theoretical aspects of advertising.  The trainers and trainees do not have the benefit of practical association with advertising industry.  Both the parties awfully lack practical training especially in advertising management.  This field demands highly skilled, creative and competent professionals who can race against the time and bring rich dividends to the owners.  Copywriters, artists, field executives, media managers and other personnel are in great demand in advertising industry.  Most of the Mass Communication and Journalism departments have utterly failed to provide highly resourceful professionals mainly due to lack of trained teachers, infrastructural facilities, training opportunities, field experience and so on. 

Public Relations has become an important organizational management function of our times.  In this age of competitiveness, there is increasing need for establishing mutually beneficial relationship between the organization and various publics (Investors, suppliers, distributors, employees, consumers, local citizens, government personnel, media professionals etc.).  Today, people have become a force to be reckoned with.  No organization can afford to grow further in the absence of public patronage.  Hence, all organizations are practicing Public Relations vigoursly.  This field also offers challenging employment opportunities in plenty especially to the young generation of graduates in Mass Communication and Journalism.  Many teachers teach predominantly theoretical aspects based on the information which they receive from books and journals.  Neither the teachers nor the students can boast of practical training in this subject. 

The New Media, which include computer communication, telecommunication, satellite communication etc., have emerged as highly resourceful tools of communication especially in the present age of information revolution.  Most of the departments do not have trained teachers, necessary infrastuctural facilities, technologies, laboratories and the like in order to provide need based training facilities to the students especially in the field of New Media application and management.  There are plenty of employment opportunities in the age of e – governance and e – commerce.  However, the departments are not in a position to provide highly resourceful graduates in this field.                              

CONCLUSION

The active involvement of HRD Ministry, State Ministries of higher education, professional organizations, media institutions and universities in Mass Communication and Journalism education in the country is not fully felt by us.  Some committees and working groups have looked into Mass Communication and Journalism training and offered some suggestions toward improving the state of affairs.  Some seminars and workshops have also provided some insights and remedies.  The subject panels for Mass Communication and Journalism have also provided useful suggestions and guidelines.  The media institutions continue to hover around the argument that mass communicators are born and not made.  The universities continued the teaching methodology which was by and large theoretical.  Even now many departments and other centers of learning are struggling for identity. 

A national body called Indian Council for Mass Communication and Journalism training needs to be set up to look into the status, problems, and prospects of training in this field.  Media policy makers, professionals, scholars and researchers should be actively involved in redesigning training programmes in tune with changing media industrial needs and societal demands.  All training programmes should be standardized and accredited with the national agency.  The course pattern, faculty, students, training programmes, evaluation methods, infrastructural facilities etc., should be systematically evaluated in order to check the growth of ill-conceived courses and mushrooming institutions.  A National Media Commission is also required to put forth meaningful checks and balances in respect of the teaching and practice of Mass Communication and Journalism in India.  Adequate opportunities are also required to provide the benefit of specialization especially to the trainers and trainees.  Locally relevant training programmes, publications, facilities and allied resources are required to make Mass Communication and Journalism training absolutely timely, relevant and purposeful.  Emphasis should be laid on co-ordination among media policy makers, professionals, scholars and others interested in developing Mass Communication and Journalism training programmes.  Media watchdogs are also required in large number to monitor deviations from professed professional ethics and standards in the national setting.                 

Dr Mahesh Chandra Guru is Professor & Chairman, Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore. Sapna M.S  is a lecturer in the same department

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