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Media institute opened in Chennai

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, Aug. 28

THE Asian Media Institute (AMI), established by the Media Development Foundation (MDF), will seek to promote excellence in journalism through education, offer in-career training and carry out research on media-related issues.

AMI's journalism course would be relevant to the specific needs of India and other Asian developing countries, Mr. Sashi Kumar, Chairman, and Mr. N. Ram, Trustee, MDF, told a press conference here on Monday.

Mr. Ram said a unique aspect of the journalism programme was a course on covering deprivation which was a South Asian reality.

The Asian College of Journalism, which was being run in Bangalore by the B.D. Goenka Foundation, has been merged with the AMI and will be the AMI's media education arm. The ACJ will offer post-graduate courses in print, broadcast (television and radio) a nd new media streams.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had joined AMI in offering the course on television journalism. This was the first time that BBC was establishing a permanent training centre in Asia and it reflected the importance of India to the BBC, accordin g to Mr. Mark Young, Managing Director, BBC Worldwide.

He said the course was important for BBC as it extolled the values of good journalism and emphasised the role of training. BBC had endowed two scholarships annually to be administered by AMI.

Mr. Ram said the journalism course had been designed after visiting a number of foreign universities and institutions, including the City University of London, the Cardiff University, and the Thomson Foundation. Mr. Sashi Kumar said the course had been m odelled on the lines of that at the Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, New York.

Prof. Tom Goldstein, Dean, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, said journalism education in the US took many shapes and forms, but the one he preferred was a post-graduate programme, as was being offered by the Columbia University.

Mr. Ram said AMI hoped to establish links with reputed institutions from different parts of the world. Apart from the journalism course and in-career training, AMI would also concentrate on research on media-related issues, an area that had been neglecte d so far, he said.

The new media stream, which was being supported by Satyam Infoway, would equip the students to work as content providers for Web sites, portal and on-line publishing.

Mr. David Appasamy, General Manager, Corporate Communications, Satyam Infoway, said technical personnel from Satyam would help the students understand various aspects of the new media.

Mr. Ram said the Ford Foundation was likely to extend support to MDF in three areas -- faculty upgradation and training, scholarships for women belonging to non-privileged and historically disadvantaged backgrounds, and for developing a course on communi cation and development.

Inaugurating the AMI and the 2000-01 journalism education programme at the Asian College of Journalism, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr. Murasoli Maran, said free flow of information from the Government to citizens and non-governmental organisatio ns (NGOs) suffered due to several reasons including lack of infrastructure and the attitude of secrecy in the civil service. This should prompt all those interested to offer their views on the proposed right to information legislation, Mr. Maran said.

The Karnataka Minister for Information and Publicity, Prof. B.K. Chandrashekar, said secrecy was the staple diet of speculation and was the reason for Karnataka taking up the initiative to make information available to all.

Pic.:Mr. Mark Young, Managing Director, BBC Worldwide, Mr. Sashi Kumar, Chairman, Media Development Foundation, and Mr. Tom Goldstein, Dean, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, at a press conference in Chennai on Monday.

Pic. credit: Shaju John