Quality education can help improve Media’s image
GUWAHATI, March 8: Stress on professional education in Mass Communication with focus on development can not only check downslide of image of the Media and restore the people’s trust, but also contribute in a big way towards the health of a democracy, Information Commissioner in Assam and veteran journalist Samudra Gupta Kashyap said here.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the North-east chapter of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication Alumni Association (IIMCAA) held at Hotel Rituraj here on Saturday evening, he also called upon brilliant students looking at the Media as a profession to consider the IIMC as the first choice for professional education.
“The IIMC has, since its inception in 1965, produced several hundred professionally qualified media graduates, be it for journalism or for advertising and public relations, and IIMCians have continued to remain the first choice of editors when it comes to recruiting new hands,” he said. With six campuses across the country, including one in Aizawl, IIMC has also served as the sole training institute for PR professionals, whether for the private sector or for the government, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, another prominent IIMC alumnus Numal Mahatta, currently Additional DCP in the Guwahati Police Commissionerate said communication skills he had acquired in IIMC has made his task as a police officer easier. “Many times, I find my communication skills more effective than the lathi,” Mahatta, who had served in several insurgency-prone districts including Tinsukia, said.
IIMCAA national organising secretary Ritesh Verma, who is currently Editor of Hindustan digital, on the other hand said students passing out from IIMC continue to command the highest rating in the job market because the premier institute had never compromised on teaching quality. “Most IIMC graduates are chosen by employers from the campus itself, be it from Delhi, Dhenkanal, Jammu, Aizawl, Kottayam or Amarawati,” he said.
Another IIMC alumnus Abhishek Anand, currently Commandant of the 27th SSB Battalion located at Barpeta Road, said such has been the impact of quality education at IIMC that its alumni have also found easy selection in various competitive examinations including those for the Civil Services.
The meeting, attended by a number of IIMC alumni from across the region, was also addressed by ABP News Associate Vice-President Mihir Ranjan, Dadan Vishwakarma (Zee News), Nibir Deka, Manoj Khandelwal, Atul Gupta (India News), Anumita Das, Akansha Bhagawati, Trishna Das, among others. A souvenir was also released on the occasion.