critical analysis on the Journalism studies in India
A critique of ‘Media education and communication studies’ as a discipline in India:
In 1920, the foundations for Journalism as a discipline in India were framed by Annie Besant, founder-editor of New India who started mass communication training in Madras. Journalism studies had been introduced in India way before it gained independence. India’s first institution of mass communication was tried at the Aligarh Muslim University in 1938, where a concrete plaque for a regular communication school was formed. The school was established by Punjab University (then located in Lahore) in 1941. Ever since, India has seen the rise in number of journalism and mass communication institution to the point that it now harbors over 100 schools in universities and over twice that much outside the university system. Most programs offered in these institutions are at the post graduate level with a focus to cultivate the required suitable skills the profession demands. However, journalism studies in India are still considered to be adolescent. Mass media and journalism studies in India have been concerned most importantly with the print form of media for a long time, the reason for which is the minimalistic infrastructure required to start such an academic program. Gradually most institutions went on to inculcate the other forms of media such as broadcast, radio and social media into their syllabuses which demand a greater infrastructure than print journalism. Like any other integrated degree program, the presence of full time faculty members and a linkage between universities and organizations for employment purposes is a compulsion for programs that offer media education. These factors help make journalism studies more accessible and efficacious which produce professionals who can 1) critically analyze media texts and 2) learn effective skills which enable them to understand content production more concisely. Unfortunately, both these factors are absent in
In 1920, the foundations for Journalism as a discipline in India were framed by Annie Besant, founder-editor of New India who started mass communication training in Madras. Journalism studies had been introduced in India way before it gained independence. India’s first institution of mass communication was tried at the Aligarh Muslim University in 1938, where a concrete plaque for a regular communication school was formed. The school was established by Punjab University (then located in Lahore) in 1941. Ever since, India has seen the rise in number of journalism and mass communication institution to the point that it now harbors over 100 schools in universities and over twice that much outside the university system. Most programs offered in these institutions are at the post graduate level with a focus to cultivate the required suitable skills the profession demands. However, journalism studies in India are still considered to be adolescent. Mass media and journalism studies in India have been concerned most importantly with the print form of media for a long time, the reason for which is the minimalistic infrastructure required to start such an academic program. Gradually most institutions went on to inculcate the other forms of media such as broadcast, radio and social media into their syllabuses which demand a greater infrastructure than print journalism. Like any other integrated degree program, the presence of full time faculty members and a linkage between universities and organizations for employment purposes is a compulsion for programs that offer media education. These factors help make journalism studies more accessible and efficacious which produce professionals who can 1) critically analyze media texts and 2) learn effective skills which enable them to understand content production more concisely. Unfortunately, both these factors are absent in