A new outlook on media

Seminar seeks to hone the skills of future media professionals

Outlook ’09, a seminar highlighting the emerging trends in media, was held in Bangalore recently. The seminar was organised by the students of MOP Vaishnav College for Women (Autonomous), Chennai, in collaboration with Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, with INTEL as the sponsor.

The objective was to broaden the vistas of education and to hone the skills of future media professionals. It provided students a platform to interact with media professionals. Maya Sharma, Senior Editor and Chief of News Bureau, NDTV; V.R. Raman, News Editor, Deccan Herald; Geoffrey Thomas, National Programming Director, Radio Indigo; and Prajwal Hegde, Senior Reporter, Times Of India, participated in the event and answered the queries of students. The seminar focused on pertinent issues including the influence of media on society and the future of media and saw participation from many students from the city colleges.

The students raised questions ranging from issues concerning the ‘business’ of journalism to the media’s role in representing the unrepresented. The students were also eager to know about the opportunities in media and whether the economic slowdown would affect this field too.

No personal agenda

Asked if tabloid journalism was a threat to ethical journalism, Mr. Thomas and Ms. Hegde felt that media is representative of the people and was just catering to “what the people wanted.” The other two panellists agreed and opined that media is in itself diverse and has its own target audience. When the topic veered towards the importance of maintaining restraint in coverage of sensitive issues, Ms. Sharma felt that the media sometimes jumps the reins. She said that all newspersons must remember not to have any personal agenda and uphold the ethics of journalism while still retaining sensitivity.

To the question whether media is doing a good job of representing the unrepresented, Mr. Raman felt that one cannot turn a blind eye to social inequities and that media should strive to remain inclusive of all sections of society.

The panellists unanimously agreed that the fine balance between socially responsible journalism and profit making has to be maintained at all times.

The speakers were glad to be a part of an event which saw to the emergence of a well-informed bunch of students while the seminar made students to rethink popular notions and instilled the belief in them that any job done passionately is a job well done. ‘Outlook’ is being conducted across eight cities to bring forth media matters relevant to the student community.