report for work
Sunit Dhawan

OF late, media has become the buzzword among the country’s youth. More and more youngsters are aspiring to make their mark by joining a media organisation or starting a web portal of their own.

The education sector has also responded in a befitting way by offering a vast variety of study programmes in the discipline.

However, the students wishing to join the field should not only be lured by the charm and glamour attached to it as it involves a lot of grind too. They should well understand that the job of a mediaperson is quite challenging and the path to success is paved with considerable responsibility, hard work and the constant pressure of meeting deadlines. Hence, they should be mentally prepared before choosing media as their career.

Spot news

With the advent of a number of electronic, print and web media organisations, the demand for trained media professionals has increased manifold during recent years. According to Pricewaterhouse Cooper report for FICCI, manpower requirement in the field of electronic media, animation and web designing is going to be the highest in the years to come.

Eligibility

A host of universities, colleges and other educational institutions offer specialised courses as well as degree programmes in the discipline at the graduate as well as postgraduate levels.

The minimum educational qualification is plus two for graduation and a bachelor’s degree for master’s courses. Most of the institutions admit students on the basis of separate entrance tests.

Study programmes

A number of institutes across the country offer courses in mass media, journalism and mass communication.

These include the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), which is located on the JNU campus in New Delhi and is run by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It offers postgraduate diploma courses in English and Hindi journalism, radio and television journalism, besides one in advertising and public relations. Its branch at Dhenkanal in Orissa also runs courses in English and Oriya journalism.

Then, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi, offers master’s courses in journalism and mass communication, electronic media and convergent journalism, besides a diploma course in development communication.

The Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad, runs specialised study programmes in advertising management and marketing communication. The admission is through CAT.

Among other specialised courses, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) offers study programmes in film direction, editing and other such technical fields. Then, there is the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata, which runs technical courses in film production.

Likewise, the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, offers a course in sports journalism, while NIFT, Delhi, runs a course in fashion communication.

The Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication offers study programmes in the print and electronic media as well as corporate communication. Manipal University also offers a course in corporate communication.

New courses in the offing

The Institute of Mass Communication and Media Technology at Kurukshetra University, Haryana, offers several specialised courses in the discipline and is shortly going to launch an M.Sc in Electronic Media, PG Diploma in Web Media and PG Diploma in Internet Journalism. The institute already runs courses in animation, printing and packaging.

Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar, plans to start a media school on the US pattern. Delhi University, Panjab University, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Guru Nanak Dev University (Regional Campus), Jalandhar, Punjabi University, Patiala, GGS Indraprastha University, Delhi, and Rajasthan University, Jaipur, also offer courses in the discipline.

Makhanlal Chaturvedi Rashtriya Patrakarita Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal, and Kushabhau Thakre Patrakarita Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, specialise in Hindi Journalism. Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, YMCA and YWCA offer diploma courses.

There are undergraduate courses in the subject at certain colleges in Haryanaas well as some of those affiliated to Delhi University.

Several leading media houses have also been setting up their own journalism schools. These include the Times School of Journalism, Delhi, Malayalam Manorama School of Journalism, Kottayam, Pioneer Media School, TV Today Media School and Total TV Media Institute.