Department of Mass Communication Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj University Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Educational Campus, Amravati Road, Nagpur - 440033 Tel: (0712) 2500085, e-mail: [email protected]

About the Department

The media and entertainment industry in India, and indeed across the globe, is estimated to be the fastest growing among all other industries.

Even as the new media continue to grow in leaps and bounds, the traditional print medium is not far behind. Very interesting, fulfilling and financially lucrative career options are available to young people in the field of Mass Communication. While the focus of Mass Communication education remains on Journalism, the other attractive career options that open up are in the areas of Advertising, Public Relations/ Corporate Communications and New Media (including Social Media).

As for the entertainment industry, there are courses to train people in TV and Radio anchoring, reporting, editing, directing, shooting (camera persons) and such other specialized jobs for which skilled people are in great demand.

History

Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University could well claim to be a pioneer in mass communication education in India, for offering the first structured and well-planned journalism course after the country won freedom in 1947.

It was to the credit of Hislop college, Nagpur and its then Principal, the Late Dr.D G Moses, who established a full fledged Department of Journalism with the approval and encouragement of Nagpur University in 1952-53. Prof. K E Eapen was the first Indian scholar to be the head of the department. The begining was made with a diploma course in Journalism, which was later elevated to the degree level in the mid sixties.

The university’s Department of Journalism was set up as a unit of the Social Sciences faculty in July 1969. Mr.S T Puranik was the first Honorary Head of the Department. The Department was renamed as the Department of Mass Communication in 1989 and was shifted to its own building in the sprawling and verdant setting of the university’s post graduate teaching campus on Amravati Road, Nagpur.

Facilities

The Department offers:

 A well-equipped Television studio with Interactive Board backdrop, lights and Production Control Room (PCR),  A 14-Track audio mixer for sound recording  Digital Video Cameras PD 170 P,  Digital Recorder DSR - 11,  I-Mac and Final Cut Express professional video editing equipment,

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 The latest Sony MCS-8 Multi Format Switcher (8-source vision mixer),  Multi-media LCD projectors  Interactive Board for classroom teaching,  Canon 60D SLR Digital Camera for photography lessons,  Computer Laboratory with the A3 colour printer.  The entire building, including computer laboratory, TV studio, library, faculty rooms and classrooms are networked to enable Internet connectivity at all these places.

Training

The stress is on practical training. The students are required to produce news reports, interviews, features and articles on a variety of subjects. They are also required to make pages and produce video and audio news bulletins and documentaries. Besides, the students learn to conceive and prepare print advertisements and various forms of Public Relations literature. Other than all the practical assignments given throughout the year by the concerned faculty, the students undergo a minimum 30 days of internship at , news agencies, TV news channels, advertising agencies and public relations firms or departments. The students also produce a tabloid news bulletin called ‘Campus’ each year. The Department holds specialized workshops by outside experts to provide hands-on training in areas such as page-making, ad-making, video editing and television production. The students are regularly taken out for learning visits. The places visited range from printing presses and TV studios to the Legislature, the tribal areas of Gadchiroli and Chandrapur and the hills, forests and tribal villages of Melghat.

Faculty

Besides the highly-qualified and experienced full time teachers, the Department boasts of an outstanding panel of visiting faculty who are all people of rich experience and great expertise in news reporting, editing, feature writing, photography, advertising and public relations.

Alumni

Alumni of the department are highly successful individuals who have made a name for themselves in print, electronic and interactive media, besides in myriad other fields ranging from academics to politics. The Alumni Association of the Department is full of stalwarts eager to help the students not only in improving their skills and making the right career choices, but also in getting them suitably placed.

Placement

The quality of professionals produced by the Department is appreciated by the media industry. The Department has a nearly 100 per cent placement record in terms of getting jobs for those interested in joining the print media in particular. Alumni of the Department are also highly placed in the electronic media, advertising and public relations industries. Over the last four years, our students have been placed in the following organizations: , , , Nav Bharat, , Rashtra Prakash, Punya Nagari, IBN Lokmat, GTPL, BCN News, InCable, UCN, ABP News, Youth Junction, News Bharati, Nagpur Today and other media outlets.

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Courses Available

1. Master of Arts (Mass Communication) Duration: Two years (four semesters) Specialisation: Print, Electronic, Online, Advertising, Public Relations Intake : 30 Admission Eligibility: Bachelor’s Degree of any statutory university or any other degree recognized as equivalent thereto with minimum 45% marks or equivalent grade or a higher degree in Mass Communication/ Journalism. Admission is done through Entrance Test (Written and Interview) Subjects: First Semester: i) Principals of Mass Communication ii)Development of Media iii)Print Media – I (Reporting and Editing) iv)Electronic Media (Radio and Television) v) Practical Paper of 150 marks Second Semester: i) Development Communication ii) Communication Research iii)Media Management & Media Laws iv)International Communication v) Practical Paper of 150 marks Third Semester: i) Print Media – II ii) Electronic Media – II (Radio & Television) iii) Advertising iv) Public Relations & Corporate Communications v) Practical Paper of 150 marks Fourth Semester: i) New Media Applications ii)Intercultural Communication iii) Practical Paper of 150 marks iv)Project (Specialisation – Print, Electronic, New Media, Advertising, Public Relations) v)Internship at Media Organisation

2. Bachelor of Journalism (BJ) Duration : One Year Specialisation : Print Media Intake : 50 Admission Eligibility : Any Graduate from recognized university Admission is done through Entrance Test (Written and Interview) Subjects: I. Principals and History of Journalism II. Modern News Reporting & Feature Writing III. Editing in Electronic Era IV. Modern Newspaper Management & Press Laws V. Public Relations & Mass Communication VI. Current Affairs, Language Study & Soft Skills VII. Information Technology Application in Mass Media

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3. P G Diploma in Video Programming (News & Current Affairs) Specialisation : Electronic Media Intake : 25 students Admission Eligibility : Any Second Class Graduate Admission is done on "First Come First Served Basis" Subjects: I. Principles of Communication and Development & Comparison of Mass Media II. News Gathering and News Reporting III. Editing and Script Writing IV. Presentation & Production V. Interviews & Discussion/ Quiz on Current Affairs VI. Documentaries on Current Affairs

Teaching Faculty

Mr. Moiz Mannan Haque Asst. Prof & Head Educational Qualifications: B.Com., M.B.A., B.M.C., M.M.C., Advanced Diploma in Journalism (International Institute for Journalism, Berlin, Germany), AFP Fellow (Washington DC, USA), Cert. in French, NET (UGC)

Industry Experience:

 Senior Reporter, The Hitavada, Nagpur (1987-1992)  Senior Reporter, Indian Express, Nagpur (1992-99)  News Editor, The Peninsula, Qatar (1999-2004)  Business Writer, The Greenville News, South Carolina, USA (AFP Fellowship 1998)  Correspondent: The Indian Post, The Sunday Observer, The Independent (for different periods between 1988 and 1992)

Academic Experience:

 University approved Lecturer at NBA-accredited NYSS Institute of Management & Research, Nagpur, specializing in Advertising and Marketing Communications (2004-09).  Head of the Department of Mass Communication, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (2009-present)  Member, Board of Studies in Mass Communication, RTMNU and Gondwana University  Member of Equal Opportunities Cell, RTMNU  Member, Syllabus Drafting Committee for M.A. (Mass Communication) and B.J., RTM Nagpur University  Member, Annual Report Committee, RTM Nagpur University  Member, University Newsletter Editorial Board  Member, University Students’ Newsletter Editorial Board  Member, University Research Journal Editorial Board  Visiting Faculty at Indian Institute of Mass Communication and Nagpur School of Journalism

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Dr. D.V. Dhawankar Asst. Prof. Educational Qualifications: M.M.C., M.A. (Adv. & PR), P. G. Dip. Video Programming, M.S.W., M.A.(), M.A. (Pub Adm) Industry Experience:

 Reporter, Citicable (1996-97)

Academic Experience:

 Lecturer and Head, Dept. of Mass Communication (2003-06)  Chairman, Board of Studies, Mass Communication, RTMNU (2003-06)  Chairman, Board of Studies, Mass Communication, Gondwana University  Research Supervisor at RTM Nagpur University and JJT University, Rajasthan  Presented research papers at 25 national and international conferences  16 Research papers published in national journals  Winner of ‘Shiksha Ratna’ Award

Visiting Faculty  Mr. Sudhir Pathak, ex-Chief Editor,  Mr. Arun Phanshikar, ex-Bureau Chief, Times  Mr. Jaideep Hardikar, Special Correspondent,  Mr. Dinesh Tekade, Senior Reporter, Nav Bharat  Mr. Chaitanya Deshpande, Senior Sub Editor, The Hitavada  Mr. Shekhar Soni, Senior Photojournalist  Dr. Ram Prakash Saxena, Linguistics Expert and ex-H.o.D  Mr. S.M.Joshi, senior faculty  Mr. Jayant Barve, retd. News Editor, All India Radio  Dr. Advocate Vasant Khaparde, High Court Lawyer  Mr. Jalandar Purohit, ex-PRO, MECL  Mrs. Reeti Pandharipande, free lance journalist  Mrs. Pratibha Pande, ex-Asst. Station Director, Doordarshan  Mrs. Kalyani B., professional television producer  Mr. Anand Kumar Patil, IT Expert  Dr. Atul Kulkarni, Research Consultant

Research Activity

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 The students of the department are engaged in periodic research on the topic of media, its development and its impact on the society. These are in the form of survey reports, dissertations, video and radio news bulletins and documentaries.

Industry-Institute Interaction  The Department has initiated various initiatives to strengthen interaction with the Industry.  An Industry-Institute Interaction Cell has been set up under the umbrella of the Department’s Media Club.  The visiting faculty is drawn from the mass media and related industries and professions.  Experts from the industry are regularly invited for Guest Lectures, Seminars and Workshops.  From the time to time, the Department assists news media in areas like reporting during special events and public relations activities.

Industry Internship

The B.J. and M.A. (Mass Communication) students undergo a compulsory Internship/ Attachment Programme wherein they are placed in leading media organizations and assigned various tasks related to the functioning of the mass media. The students are required to compile a file of all their work, including published reports, pages made, copies edited, reports broadcast, etc. The P.G.Diploma in Video Programming students are attached for various periods to Doordarshan, Zee News, ABP News, UCN, In-BCN and AIR or to the local correspondents of private national and regional news channels for hands-on training. Students have been placed in the following organizations:

1. The Hitavada 2. 3. Tarun Bharat 4. Sakal 5. Lokmat Samachar 6. Lokmat 7. Lokmat Times 8. Nav Bharat 9. Dainik Bhaskar 10. Star News/ ABP News 11. UCN cable TV news 12. InCable New Network 13. BCN News Network 14. Office of the Defence PRO 15. PR Dept. of Western Coalfields Ltd. 16. Directorate of I & PR, Govt. of Maharashtra 17. Profit Advertising Company

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The students receive certificates from the media organizations after completion of the Internship Programme.

Major Activities during 2013-14

1. Interaction with visiting Alumni The Department of Mass Communication’s alumni have achieved professional and personal success in different fields, particularly in journalism. Realising the importance of the inputs from alumni and the value of their experience, the department organized an interactive session with some of its past students. The alumni who participated in the session included Mr. Dharmendra Jore, Associate Editor, , and Mr. Abhijeet Sathe, Senior Assistant Editor (Crime), , Mumbai. They were accompanied by Mr. Chetan Kulkarni, who has worked as a sports journalist with , Nagpur and The Gulf Times, Qatar, and is now the Head of Media Communication with Asian Football Confederation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Another past student, senior journalist and faculty member, Mr. Arun Phanshikar presided over the session.

Mr. Sathe, who started out in Nagpur as a Crime Reporter, recalled his experiences and stressed the importance of creating and nurturing contacts. He also spoke about the importance of field work in a journalist’s career. Mr. Jore who began his career with Sports and went on to report politics with great impact, advised the students about career paths. He said they should draw the most out of their course and single-mindedly prepare for a career. He emphasized the need for practical training. By his own example, Mr. Kulkarni described how journalists also have the option of public relations and corporate communications if they do well. He said his love of sports and passion for the field has greatly helped him in journalism as well as media communication.

2. Getting tips on News Photography

Students of the Department attended an interaction session to mark World Photography Day, organized by Nagpur Press Photographers Association (NPPA) at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan.

The students spoke as a group and in one-to-one discussion with senior photojournalists attached to major newspapers of the region and got valuable tips on news photography and career options in photojournalism.

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3. Session on ‘Regulating Social Media’

In the era of networking using social media and blogs the knowledge of the scope and future of New Media assumes great significance for students of Mass Communication. Cyber Law Consultant, Advocate Mahendra Limaye, who is also involved with an NGO creating cyber awareness, spoke to the students about the different aspects of the new phenomenon. Mr. Limaye focused on the cyber laws at international level and also gave the students a detailed understanding of pertinent legislation in India. He was of the view that while the New Media gives a lot of freedom to users, if it is not properly regulated the consequences could be disastrous. He lamented that cyber security is not being given the serious attention it deserves by the government or the users.

4. Understanding Financial Journalism

At a time when the Indian rupee was plumbing new depths owing to a host of global and domestic factors, the Department invited noted economist Dr. Vinayak Deshpande, Head of the University’s Department of Business Management for a talk on “The Rupee Story: Understanding Financial Journalism.” News and other content writing skills in Finance are in great demand in India at the present time and students with a back ground of commerce education stand good chances of making a career in business/ finance journalism. With this in mind, Dr. Deshpande explained in lucid terms to the students the basic economic structure in place in India and the various policies adopted by the ministries of finance, commerce and industry, etc. He elaborated on economic phenomena such as inflation, balance of trade and balance of payments to make the students understand how the economy works and what a journalist should look at while reporting on it.

5. How media can fight corruption?

The mass media in India has played a major role in strengthening the hands of vigilance agencies such as the CBI in the fight against corruption, said Mr. Sandeep Tamgadge, Superintendent of Police, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Nagpur.

He was delivering a guest lecture on “Corruption – A serious menace” at the Department of Mass Communication. The session was chaired by Mr. Sanjay Tiwari, Senior Correspondent with NDTV. Mr. Tamgadge narrated several instances where the media has helped in exposing corruption, ensuring the registration of criminal cases, following-up on investigations and trials, and prompting systemic changes. The media has also been actively bringing wrong-doing into the public domain and bringing pressure to bear upon the investigating agencies. He made the students aware of the different vigilance and investigation agencies and organizations in the country. Mr. Sanjay Tiwari stressed the media’s role in exposing corruption.

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6. Healthy Practices in Health Reporting

With is huge population divided starkly between rich and poor, India faces serious problems in terms of public health. As awareness rises owing to education, the common people too are becoming more conscious of their physical and mental well-being and expect to be adequately informed by the media.

The Heath Beat, therefore, has assumed significance. It is one of the specializations dealt with in the course content of the M.A. (Mass Communication) Third Semester syllabus of the university as well. Veteran health journalist, Mrs. Snehlata Shrivastava, Special Correspondent, The Times of India, spoke to the students about the health scenario in India, the new challenges before the public health services, the growth of the private health sector and other related issues.

7. The Language of Journalism

Among all other aspects of training to become a journalist, language holds special importance. It is the vital tool that enables the reporter or writer to transform observations, experiences and feelings into effective words that convey the import and substance of a report or article.

Senior professor of linguistics and former Head of the Department of Mass Communication, Dr. Ram Prakash Saxena, conducted a workshop on the basics of linguistic purity in English, Hindi and Marathi. The expert distributed easy to use charts and ready reference material that the students could put to use in order to use language that is grammatically and syntactically flawless. Starting with the alphabet of each language, he went on to explain the rules of grammar and syntax as well as idiomatic and literary nuances in Marathi, Hindi and English.

8. Group Discussion on Sachin’s Retirement

When cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar announced his decision to retire from the game, it was the most- talked about current event in India at that time. As future journalists, students of the department too had their opinions and observations which they expressed at an open forum organized on the issue by the department. To moderate the discussion and give valuable insight into Sachin’s career, the Department had invited noted Cricket writer who has regularly covered national and international fixtures, Mr. Ruchir Mishra, Senior Correspondent, The Times of India.

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9. Session on Sports Reporting

Mr. Ruchir Mishra, Senior Sports Correspondent, The Times of India, moderated a student discussion and later in the second session delivered a lecture on Sports Reporting. He traced his own career as an example to illustrate how important it is to understand sports in spirit rather than in statistics.

He pointed out that sports reporting basically differs from other beats, in that, a sporting event invariably ends in a result. Loss or victory, therefore, is the crux of sports news. Other than that, the job of print sports reporters has become more challenging because the electronic media and the new media are now giving instant updates and readers do not have to wait for the newspaper to come out. Mr Mishra explained how newspaper reporters are still relevant, albeit in a different role.

10. Workshop on Video Editing on iMac

Students wishing to make a career with the many television news as well as entertainment channels have the option of taking up an editor’s job. Video Editing is a highly specialized field that requires specific skills both creatively and technically.

To give them these skills, a workshop on Film Editing on Computer was conducted by electronic media expert Mr. Neeraj Nakhate. During the workshop, the students were trained on various aspects of the hardware and the software used in video editing. The Department has obtained the latest IiMac computer and Final Cut Express software that is being used professionally by film editors and in various news channels. Mr. Nakhate explained the concepts of editing including footage capture, vision mixing, sound tracks, voice overs, special visual and audio effects and other areas of editing, while working on raw footage taken by the students themselves using the professional PD-170 video cameras available with the Department.

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11. RTI for News Gathering

“ The Right to Information Act is a tool to enhance the participatory decision making process,” said Mr. Rahul Pande, City Editor, The Hitavada, while interacting with students of the Department of Mass Communication in a session on 'News Gathering and RTI'.

"Before the Act, bureaucrats could deny giving information citing the official secrets act. There is a sea change in this attitude after RTI came into force", said Mr. Pande. He highlighted the importance of this new tool in effective news gathering and urged the students of journalism to use RTI as a weapon to get required information.

On the misuse of RTI, Pande said, big business houses unnecessarily flood departments with RTI queries to trouble their rivals. Government functionaries are more cautious while taking decisions as they fear RTI queries and this has led to policy paralysis, he added. Many bureaucrats use RTI to obtain information about their colleagues and even their department, he pointed out.

12. Industry Placement for one month

Various initiatives are undertaken by the Department to provide practical training to the students in fields such as print and electronic journalism, advertising and public relations. One very important part of this training is the 30-day internship in media and related organisations.

The Department arranged for its students to be placed, according to individual interests and preferences in such organizations during the winter vacation at Diwali time. The students work as interns in the organizations observing, studying and learning the various work procedures and systems. They are also sent out on the field for assignments as and when required.

The organizations where students of the 2013-14 batch of B.J. and M.A. were placed included The Hitavada, Lokmat, Lokmat Times, Lokmat Samachar, Sakal, ABP News, BCN Cable TV Network, , Information and Public Relations Department of Government of Maharashtra and Profit Advertising Company.

13. The art of designing ads

A workshop in Newspaper Page Making and Advertisement Designing on Computer by Mr. Hemant Abhyankar, Chief Design Artist, The Hitavada was organized for students wishing to join the print and advertising media. Mr. Abhyankar, an expert in design, gave them practical training various aspects and

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concepts of layout and design and trained the students on modern software such as Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop and Quark Xpress. The areas of training included generating creative concepts and use of computer software for Page- making, Layout and Design, making pages and of pictures, illustrations, graphics, sketches colours, and other visual elements. The students were also trained in advertisement layout and design principles.

14. Legislature Reporting

At a time when the Second Capital was abuzz with the ongoing Nagpur Session of the Maharashtra legislature, the students were given a primer on legislative practices, procedures and tools by senior journalist, Mr. Arun Phanshikar, former Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times.

Mr. Phanshikar explained the basic tenets of parliamentary democracy and the structure of legislatures at the national, state and local level. Focussing on the state legislature, he described in detail the powers, duties and functioning of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad. He explained to them the basic procedures and protocol followed during Question Hour, debates and discussion, passage of bills, Zero Hour and other practices. He further explained the importance of the legislature in a parliamentary form of democracy.

15. Experiencing a bustling newsroom

The daily is the oldest surviving Hindi newspaper of the entire central India. It has a rich tradition of journalism, having been founded by the late Mr. Ramgopal Maheshwari in 1934 to arouse the masses during India’s freedom struggle. Students of the Department spent half a day at the offices of Nava Bharat to get acquainted with the newspaper’s functioning. Senior journalist Mr. Purushottam Datir gave them a detailed account of the newspaper’s history and practices. He spoke about the importance of value based journalism and social commitment. Nava Bharat is publishing its editions from six centers in Maharashtra, two in , and six in Madhya Pradesh along with presence in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat ,Goa, Rajasthan, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Senior Reporter Mr. Dinesh Tekade gave the students an overview of the working of various departments and sections including news, features, regional, proof-reading, pagination, advertising, circulation and marketing. The students were also introduced to the working of the different desks including main desk, business, education, crime, politics, cultural and sports.

16. The latest in Photography

Technology has changed the art and science of photography in unimaginable ways. Digital cameras and processing have opened up new opportunities for photographers besides throwing up new challenges. As

12 visuals are an integral part of the mass media, the students of the Department were taken for a visit to one of the oldest yet most modern photography establishments of the city, the Moonlight Studio.

Established in 1950, the Moonlight Studio in Sitabuldi has now been transformed into a huge ‘Photography Mall’ providing a gamut of services and products. The students were shown around the studio and processing facilities and made aware of the latest cameras, lenses, lights and other equipment. They are also given demonstrations on how some of the sophisticated equipment work and could be put to best use in news photography. Similarly, they also witnessed the lab’s technicians work live on computerized processing of images with a variety of special effects.

17. Tips on Political Reporting

Even as the election mania for the 1014 Lok Sabha polls was setting in, students of the Department got a primer on the basics of political reporting from Mr. Pradip Kumar Maitra, Assistant Editor, Hindustan Times, and President of the Department’s Alumni Association. Political reportage forms the backbone of India’s journalism. Political institutions and journalism are considered two of the pillars of the parliamentary form of democracy. Mr. Maitra stressed the importance of deeply studying the political intuitions and political parties and leaders and their history and background for meaningful political reporting. He cited several examples of how leading political writers in India have been able to maintain their credibility through objectivity. Ethics form an important part of political reporting, he said. He urged the budding journalists to take interest in politics even if the subject appears dry to begin with. Speaking from his own experiences, Mr Maitra explained the importance of personal contacts, trust worthiness and credibility in this type of reportage. He also explained how the policies of newspaper managements and owners need not come in the way of unbiased reporting.

18. Mass Comm – The Cricket Champs

Students of the Department of Mass Communication, who are trained to wield the proverbial pen, showed they were equally skilled at handling the cricket bat and ball. The Department’s team created a bit of history this year by emerging champions in the university-level cricket tournament during the ‘Yuva Spandan’ Youth Festival.

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Students from around 40 departments participated in the events held between February 6 and 14. The cricket tournament was fought by teams from 30 departments. The Mass Communication team won the glittering trophy by defeating the Sociology team by a margin of 37 runs. Rohit Mishra of Mass Comm was the top scorer with 39 runs, including four massive sixes and one boundary. Mass Comm captain Vinay Pande grabbed 3 wickets in 2 overs, giving away just 7 runs. Rohit Mishra was adjudged the man- of-the-match, while man-of-the-series title was picked up by Vinay Pande for his all-round performance.

In earlier rounds, the Department of Mass Communication defeated teams from the Departments of Marathi, Education and Economics to enter the semifinals, where they beat Chemistry on their home ground to set up a final clash with Sociology.

19. Past students get nostalgic at Alumni Meet

The Alumni Association of the Department of Mass Communication, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur, organized “Sampark-2014” – The Alumni Meet with great enthusiasm. The atmosphere was nostalgic as nearly a hundred past students from batches as far back as the seventies, turned up at the department to meet old friends and relive memories of their student days.

Alumni of the department are highly successful individuals who have made a name for themselves in print, electronic and interactive media, advertising and public relations besides in many other fields ranging from academics to politics. Interaction with them is a significant event for the students as part of preparing for their careers and also to develop personal relations with important people. Over the last four years, the Association has regularly been organising a major annual event. Last year, the Association, in collaboration with Yeshwantrao Chavan Pratishthan, had organized a national Seminar on Credibility of the Indian Media. The existing batch of students got a chance not just to show off their talents and skills but also to interact individually and in groups with the alumni who graciously shared their experiences and also advised the students on making the best of their time with the Department of Mass Communication. As the guests included editors of several major newspapers and senior professionals in the government and private sectors, the personal discussions prove very useful for the students.

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A large number of them gathered for the 2014 meet and shared their experiences with the students. A variety of events, including fellowship, games, quiz, entertainment items were staged during the event. An exhibition of rare newspaper copies compiled by noted city collector, Mr. Deepak Sant, and a display of photographs of past batches and events were also arranged giving nostalgic moments to the visitors.

20. Workshop on Media Careers

Students from different institutions offering Mass Communication courses under RTM Nagpur University participated in a Workshop on Careers in the Media organized by the Department in collaboration with its Alumni Association. Senior professionals and experts in the field of Print Media, Electronic Media, New Media, Advertising and Public Relations/ Corporate Communications guided the participants about the career opportunities and how to prepare for them. The workshop was inaugurated by Mrs. Shraddha Belsaray, Director, Information and Public Relations, Govt. of Maharashtra, Mumbai. The expert panelists included Miss Sujata Anandan, Political Editor, Hindustan Times, Mumbai, Mr. Sanjay Arora, CEO, Shells Advertising Inc., Mr. Chandramohan Puppala, Editor-in-Chief and Channel Head, Saam TV, Mumbai, Mr. Ganesh Kanate, Senior Jouirnalist and Vice President – Corporate Affairs, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Mumbai, and fourth-semester student of the Department, Miss Richa Sainani.

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Narrating examples from her own long and rich career, Mrs Shraddha Belsare stressed the importance of sensitivity and creativity in Public Relations. The field of Advertising is growing at a rapid place and has many wonderful career opportunities for students with Mass Communication degrees, said Mr. Sanjay Arora. Mr. Ganesh Kanate stressed the importance of language proficiency and stressed on the knowledge of English. Mr. Chandramohan Puppala floated the idea of ‘Content Farming’ involving students to provide material to the huge TV entertainment industry. Miss Richa Sainani provided valuable information to students on how to get started in New Media careers in areas such as content writing, search engine optimization and website development.

21. Times debate on ‘Youth and Elections’

The RTM Nagpur University Department of Mass Communication was the first stop for a team of journalists from The Times of India which conducted a series of open debates in various city colleges to get an opinion of the youth on politics in and elections in particularly.

In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, students of the Department were all charged up with diverse views on politics, politicians, elections and the future of the Indian democracy. Miss Aparna Nair and Mr. Ranjit Deshmukh from the Time of India, along with Head of the Department, Mr. Moiz Mannan Haque, moderated the discussions that ranged from corruption and criminalization of elections to the growing interest in the country’s governance shown by the youth. The students animatedly debated the pros and cons of democracy and the functioning of democractic institutions at the national, state, municipal and panchayat level. The effect of the ban on student elections in churning out youth leadership was also discussed. The discussion ended with a consensus on the importance of well-meaning youth taking up politics as a career to clean the system rather than complaining as spectators.

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22. Field visit to The Hitavada printing press

To get the real feel of how newspapers are actually produced using the latest computerized printing methods, the students were taken to visit the printing press of The Hitavada situated in the Hingna MIDC area. Production Incharge, Mr. S.R.Sarode gave the students a guided tour of the entire facility and explained each stage of the production from electronic transfer of pages and the computerized plate making operations to the final printing of the newspaper pages.

The students saw the process right from the time the soft copies of the pages are electronically received from the city-based newsroom and digitally converted into plates, the colour printing and the final cutting, folding and packing.

Of the two units currently in use, one has a capacity of printing 25,000 to 30,000 papers per hour and the other has a speed of 30,000 to 36,000. Many of the students saw a newsprint roll for the first time in their lives. The various chemicals and colours used and the manner of their application were also explained.

23. Understanding Graphic Arts

Extraordinary developments in graphic arts and printings technology have made life easy for those in the print medium and at the same time posed certain challenges. Journalists need to be aware of these developments and be able to use the new technology to their advantage. Veteran printing technologist Mr. Abhay Banhatti was invited for the guest lecture on graphic arts. He spoke to the students about basic principles of graphics, elements and types of newspaper design, importance of page make-up, layout and graphic styles in newspapers, magazines and tabloid, types and styles of design, new trends in newspaper production and printing, role of artists and art-work in modern newspapers. Different newspaper design software & DTP professional software and fonts.

24. Workshop on Page-making on Computer

Senior journalist Mr. Anand Bhisey conducted a workshop in Newspaper Editing, Layout and Design for students wishing to join the print and advertising media. Mr. Bhisey, an expert in editing, layout, design and production gave them practical training various aspects and concepts of layout and design and trained the students on modern software such as Adobe Photoshop and Quark Xpress.

The areas covered included Page-making, Layout and Design, use of computer software for making pages, use of pictures, illustrations, graphs, sketches and other visual elements, use of colour, pictures,

17 graphics, fonts, planning a page make-up, page display variety and balance, Front Page, Inside Page, Feature page, Regional Page, Editorial Page, etc. and Introduction to web production.

25. Entering the Tiger’s Den

One of the most important aspects of all learning in a Mass Communication course is awareness of ground realities. For those who wish to practice journalism, in particular, it is not enough to just sit in classrooms and lecture rooms and hear speeches about different issues affecting people. They need to see and feel more than hear. There are issues aplenty in the region itself and those who wish to enter journalism can’t afford not to know about these issues first. Over the past four years, the Department of Mass Communication has arranged for its students to visit places like Gadchiroli and Melghat where they got a firsthand experience of tribal life, Naxal activities, rural poverty and malnutrition, etc. This year, the learning visit covered Navegaon-Nagzira area in Bhandara and Gondia districts and the gigantic Gosikhurd irrigation project near Bhandara. Vidarbha has most of Maharashtra’s forest wealth and wildlife and therefore this makes for a vibrant and challenging beat for young reporters. Equally interesting is the Development beat which covers the vast under-utilised irrigation potential of Vidarbha region. An example of this is Gosikhurd which, apart from the developmental aspects, also provides a study in the sensitive socio-economic issues related to resettlement and rehabilitation of the project- affected people.

It was a happy co-incidence that the visit to Nagzira-Navegaon started on the International Day of Forests.

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Bhandara

The students had a fruitful interaction with Mr. Vinay Thakare, Deputy Conservator of Forests at Bhandara. Accompanied by senior officials as well as Honorary Wildlife Warden Rajkamal Job, Mr Thakare briefed the students about activities of the Joint Forest Management (JFM) Committees. The student were shown ‘camera trap’ pictures of different wild animals found even in non-forested areas and told the astounding story of ‘Jai’ the gallant male tiger who migrated from Nagzira to Umred- Karhandla in a journey that has become the foresters’ folklore.

Nagzira

At Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, the students were given a talk on Eco-Development Committees (EDC) and tiger census by Mr. Sanjay Thaware, Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) at the Pitezari gate. The students also interacted with the local EDC president Mr. Mangesh Madavi about the efficacy of measures such as distribution of subsidized LPG and milch cows to ease pressure on the forests and job- oriented training to local youths.

On a memorable jungle safari, the students were fortunate to spot the legendary tigress ‘Mai’, mother of Jai, apart from a rare sighting of a pack of wild dogs tearing apart a Sambhar dear. They also spotted Sambhar, Neelgai (Blue Bull), wild boars, Cheetals, Bisons (Indian Gaur) and other wildlife.

Navegaon

In Navegaon National Park, the Wildlife Wing organized a lecture and film show on tigers and a nature trail for the students. They spotted dozens of rare aquatic birds besides a variety of deer. ACFs Mr. Pramod Panchbhai and Mr. Sushil Gupta along with RFOs Mr. Vilas Kale and Mr. Sainath Narod made the visit memorable for the students.

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The students were particularly grateful to Mr. Ramesh Marulkar, Deputy Editor, The Hitavada and noted environmentalist, who not only made the arrangements but personally accompanied the group and gave guidance from time to time.

Itiadoh Dam and Tibetan Settlement

The group also visited the sprawling Itiadoh irrigation project and took a tour of the Tibetan Settlement in Gothengaon. Their visit to the Monastery and village coincided with the 53rd anniversary of the settlement which transports the visitor to Tibet.

Gosikhurd Project

In the last leg of the visit, the students were given a tour of Gosekhurd irrigation project arranged by Executive Engineer Mr. Ramesh Wardhane. From Sub-Divisional Engineer Mr. Bhatiya, they learned about different developmental aspects of the project, its irrigation and electricity generation potential and also the issue of rehabilitating the villages in the submerged areas. It was a first for most people in the group to descend hundreds of metres down in the base of the dam and take a walk in the gallery and maintenance tunnels below the massive concrete structure.

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26. Our own publication ‘Campus’

The student journal ‘Campus’ of the Department of Mass Communication, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, was released at the hands of Mr. Sanjay Tiwari, Resident Editor, Nav Bharat.

The journal is planned and produced by Bachelor of Journalism (BJ) and M.A. in Mass Communication students of the department. The latest issue contains articles, photographs, poems and other matter generated by the students as part of their practical training. The subjects handled range from the plight of potters in a tiny MP village to the issue of unwed mothers in Yavatmal. The issue deals with the negative aspects of Social Media as well as news of major events conducted at the Department and personal accounts of past students.

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Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Tiwari applauded the quality of matter and production and urged the future journalists to constantly read and write. “The more you practice writing, the more you will be required to read; and the more you read the higher will be the quality of your journalism,” he said. Sharing his experiences, the veteran journalist who specialised in crime reporting himself, advised the students to make full use of the excellent facilities provided by the Department to prepare for a fruitful career.

27. Campus Recruitment of TV Network

There was excitement among the students wishing to join the electronic media. BCN, a leading cable TV network, had approached the Department to conduct a campus selection process to recruit Reporters and Sub- editors to work in Marathi and Hindi languages.

The selection team was led by the company’s H.R. Manager, Ms. Rimpy Francis and Senior Executive, Ms. Smita Gujar. Nearly a dozen students from the B.J. and M.A. had applied to participate in the selection process.

The BCN team began with conducting personal interviews in which they checked out the students for initiative, drive, knowledge and awareness and skills. In the second phase, the aspirants were subjected to two rounds of Group Discussion. As many as five applicants were short-listed by the television network.

For the others, it ended as a useful practical learning exercise in facing interviews and participating in group discussions for job placement.

28. Seeing ‘Akashwani’ from inside

Radio is one of the most important vehicles of mass communication in India because of its wide reach and high penetration among the masses. All India Radio has been at the forefront of radio communication in the region and students from the department spent half-a-day at the Nagpur Station of Akashwani to get firsthand knowledge of its functioning.

Station Engineer Mr Nandkishor Pokle took them around the Drama Studio, Musical & Playback Studio, Live/ Commercial Studio and Talk Studio. The students witnessed a live programme being presented by anchors Archana Gajalwar, Swati Tupkar and Ashok Jambhulkar. Later, the Head of the News Section, Mr, Sunil Dabir, also an alumnus of the Department, gave them a briefing on the news gathering and dissemination aspects of the station.

The students also took in details of programming from Mr. Sanjay Bhakte, Programming Assistant, who explained the criteria and basis on which programmes are created keeping different sections of audiences in mind. The methods of archiving content was shown to them in the Library and explanations on the equipment and gadgets used in production were given in the Control Room by Technician Mr. K D Atram.

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29. Interaction with French Journalist

It was an interesting experience for students of the Department of Mass Communication to have a personal interaction with Mr. Fabrice Node-Langlois, a journalist with Le Figaro, the leading newspaper in France.

He was touring India to cover the ongoing general elections and was in Nagpur to do a special story on the city because it lies in the centre of India. He interacted at length with the Head of the Department and senior journalist, Mr. Moiz Mannan Haque, about the political, social and economic history of Nagpur and was curious to know about the different dimensions of the demand for Vidarbha’s statehood.

Speaking to the students, he said the basic requirements of someone wanting to be a journalist are the same all over the world – curiosity and interest in people. He lamented that the new generation of journalists, owing to the easy availability of information on the Internet and other IT tools, is not too keen to rough it out on the field and actually meet a lot of people face-to-face.

Online media, he said has thrown up many challenges for the traditional print journalists. Replying to a question, he pointed out that the credibility of the media in France, as in most of the world, is at a low at this time. Tough competition and the need to get things into public view as soon as possible, often makes young journalists compromise on facts and fair play, he said. He offered his newspaper’s co-operation to students who might want to conduct joint studies between Indian and French media.

Mr Node-Langlois was accompanied by Mr. Abhishek Singh, Managing Editor of the city’s first major web news portal NagpurToday.

30. Sizzling Students

Apart from all the events organized at the Department, the students themselves through the vibrant ‘Media Club’ were busy with fun ways to learn. They picked up presentation techniques and enhanced their self-confidence through seminars done by them on a variety of topics straight out of the syllabus.

On occasion, they used the ‘Media Club Hour’ each Friday to stage mock press conferences and role play. The atmosphere was the most charged when Gargy Parate ‘played’ the role of US President Barrack Obama and engaged in a live debate with Shreyas Ubgade who took on the role of Syrian leader Basher Al Assad.

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Not only did the students lift the cricket championship in ‘Yuva Spandan’ but also made a mark in all events including the fashion show and personality contest. They undertook a lot of practice interviews and tried their hand at writing news and features on subjects ranging from eco-friendly Ganesh immersion in Futala lake to youth’s views on corruption.

All in all, 2013-14 proved to be as action-packed as the earlier years, if not more.

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