Commentary

Abstract

A university degree was once considered to be the least requisite to become a journalist in India. A sense for news, writing skills and a burning desire for truth were all that mattered. Times changed and so did the face of journalism in India. From a mission during the freedom movement to a commercially laden venture; journalists transformed from crusaders to those enslaved by advertising and revenue concerns. A subtle but decisive development that took place alongside was the formalization of journalism education in the country (1940–50).1 The need to educate and train media professionals was recognized and infrastructure and institutes laid down for the same. This was only the beginning of the popularity and spread of journalism education in India. Today the presence of audio-visual media, new media and other interactive media has provided a boost to journalismem education, in technical as well as academic terms. It is now not restricted to the traditional domain but includes many inter-disciplinary aspects. We have witnessed the blossoming of many institutes2 having their stake in media education apart from government universities and courses offered by media house.3 The article examines issues of quality in media education even as the number of institutions offering journalism programmes proliferate. As a nation, do we want to invest only in growing number of educational institutes or in quality education? Small town India is emerging fast on the media education map. How will it compete with media education in urban metros? Addressing these and other critical issues calls for an innovative role on part of media educators and improved training techniques in media education.