“ Media students should not specialize in a particular medium like television, radio, etc., instead they should specialize in a particular subject like sports journalism, business journalism, ” said Prof Poornananda, a research scholar, environmental communication expert, and professor in Mass Communication at Mangalore University . He was delivering a talk on ‘ Higher Education and Career Prospects in Media ' organized by the Department of Journalism chaired by Fr Richard Rego SJ on 18 January at the College.

He said the field of Journalism has wide scope and job opportunities in today's world and that courses like Public Relations and Advertising have good placement opportunities for students. Besides, he informed the students of the various courses offered in various institutions in India and abroad, like Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, Symbiosis at Pune, Makhanlal Chaturvedy' University in Bhopal which offers a Masters Degree in Public Relations and Advertising, Manipal University at Mangalore and many others.

He encouraged the students to take to research in media for which one would require a Masters Degree and a year's experience in any kind of Media. Talking about studies abroad, especially in USA and Canada, he informed that one requires four years of undergraduate education in Journalism and a GRE test. His personal experience revealed that it was not with a degree that one excelled in this competitive era, rather ‘the skills' which would mould students into competent journalists. He, also stressed the need to put media related skills into practice.

The talk concluded with a lively Question-Answer session.

Reported by,

Karishma M D , II BA (Journalism)
Archana, II BA (Journalism11)