Journalism and Communication studies – Where is it leading us?

S.Ganesh, INN/Chennai, @Infodeaofficial

Journalism and communication education are at crossroads as new media have come about democratic institutions have been flourishing everywhere and media have become more modern and professional.  Media education needs to take care of changing society’s need and to cope with the training requirements of this crucial area.  As the world becomes more and more modern we would need more resources to teach the current needs and challenges of modern society as the west especially America is leading.  It is nearly a century since communication education has started there and there is a need to revitalize course requirements of contemporary society’s communication profession.

India has 80000 publications 500 TV channels 150 radio stations and 60000 crores or more turn over of the advertising industry, a large corporate communication and PR industry in a vital communication scenario.  To meet exigencies and requirements communication scenario is to gear up to that and media education is to become more professional and more of high quality and knowledge-based opposed to training or experience-based.  The industry is highly competitive or a talent or education-oriented and in this context, it becomes important to equip students on skill sets

Professionalism

There is a need to professionalize media education to empower women and minorities to suit the private sector-oriented media industry in the nation.  Private sector-oriented nations are more modern and attractive compared to others and the media need to fit such a happy situation. The entire media industry needs to assist in revamping media education of socially conscious lower or middle class dominated media education in all possible ways to fit them into the media industry in this and other countries. The private oriented media industry is more dynamic and effective and to meet this happy situation we would need good and quality education  

With modernity sweeping worldwide as PM Modi and President Obama contributing to development of all sectors of economy in India and the USA, journalism education has assumed important positions in the world. Communication technology and media contributing to development or improvement in living standards of people media education assume important dimension. We need quality educators stressing the need for modernization capitalism private initiative among others among journalism and communication teachers as each can earn and live according to his ability and legally without violating any laws including family ones we need private orientation and private encouragement to media education in the right way.

Private media, as well as government ones, need qualified or trained staff to run offices or operate instruments to fulfill tasks as assigned and more rigorously trained manpower are in need.  With other developing nations modernizing faster, India needs the same stamina as others to become modern and develop rightly to fulfil each of its citizens’ aspirations in right way.  This needs trained and well-educated people in all fields including journalism and communication and ways to go in as other good nations march in international arena.

Communication helps people effectively to overcome caste or other barriers and communication education help in removing illiteracies and right inequalities as soon as one’s life term has come about.  It is a tool to overcome hindrances or obstacles in one’s way and one can walk in to brave new world of all with it.  Poor or wrong castes are not to be deprived of as education should not become a challenge as it should help in achieving one’s life in his family way as communication education is a way to fill a career in journalism or media etc. Language journalism may help in a way

In modern society but it is to go with national development or in working in a nationalist perspective as different languages exist in different nations and nations identity is to be kept up. Media technology or education in to it will develop suitable media for development of a nation contributing to fulfilling right aspirations of its people indigenous or others  also,  Electronic media education  too have its limitations because it empowers people more on skills and is not knowledge based.  

Journalism education speaks of freedom of press and freedom of all or true one should come out suiting most and would go in satisfying people in proper entertainment without resorting  to going into yellow journalism obscenity portraying women or others in a bad way.  A right media education will be a made for of all kinds so a person qualified or educated will enjoy a truly free modern society’s life.  But as times go fast as things change, it is a chimera only as different ideologies different ruling parties bring in different streams of thought and a social science subject as vast as communication or journalism education keeps changing adding some deleting old ones or reframing or reforming  constantly as people see fit.

In most situations Journalism education aims to cater to majority of people in a country as India or USA taking into account possibilities challenges talents available at a time and is like others.  There is a communication skill education like NEET is challenging medical fraternity in India as we may not get diseases partly as people in USA could get as doctors or people do not lead life style in India as people in a developed country as America might lead and a person scoring 95-98% in +2 may not always be required as a person scoring 80% or so scoring sufficiently well in NEET can become a doctor easily.  This might be the thinking and it can haunt journalist and educators of journalism alike.  Journalism and communication education needs just modern and right  orientation to fulfil all those who get in to it to serve or fulfil their  or other wishes effectively in coming days.