Tuesday 29 May 2018

Media Governance and Cultural Issues: A book review

Media Governance and Cultural Issues  

Edited by Rajesh Das, Mugdha Sengupta and Saswati Gangopadhyay;
Department of  Mass Communication, The University of Burdwan, West Bengal; 2018; Pages 229; Rs. 225.

Reviewed by Shashidhar Kapur (Senior Journalist), 10, Indus Empire, Bhopal.)

The topical research volume on media governance and cultural issues published by The University of  Burdwan offers great insights. Featuring a wide spectrum of papers and case studies,  it covers both the theoretical and applied aspects.
 Its first paper by Vir Bala Aggarwal is about internet and religion which points to how religion is being transformed a by media and vice versa. The former has come up with simplistic versions to connect with the masses while latter has shed its secularist tag. Aggarwal offers an interesting insight by saying that media has become a religion of sorts. 
 Biplab Roy Choudhary’s take on the role of media in influencing the vote in LS  elections 2014 is discerning. It says that parties lose control over candidates who hire their own political consultants – often not mentioning their parties in campaigns. That the media acted as a matchmaker between creators’ perceptions and audience’s perceptions is an acute observation. Also, the concept of the “spiral of silence” from opponents’  after the first favourable opinion poll and the  “bandwagon effect” of subsequent polls puts things in perspective.
The highlight of this volume is a paper by Prof. ( Dr. ) Pavitra  Shrivastava and Prof. C K Sardana on “ Media - changed and changing role”.It avers that media has to be both proactive as well as reactive viz. have curtain raisers and follow ups. Its duty is to bring in the marginalised into focus. The duo has done a yeoman ’s service by underlining media’ s role in highlighting subjects like growing population, shrinking agricultural land, environmental degradation and the misuse of discretionary funds by elected representatives.
Mr Rajesh Das’ paper on Media mapping in SAARC region for development gives highly implementable suggestions such as having a daily SAARC news bulletin, hosting a SAARC documentary film festival and creating a  SAARC news agency. One can only hope that policymakers take note of it so that, in  South Asia,  have a shared vision and project a common view of the world. It is significant since our destinies are interlinked.
Written in a lucid style,  the compendium covers many case studies thereby bringing investigation into play.“ Media governance and cultural  issues”  has been edited professionally to proportionately range from mainstream media to new media .
Snehasis  Sur has underlined the critical role of  Public broadcaster which is slipping  away, largely in the absence of a revenue model and also due to a lack of  will on the part of  government. Moreover , in Archan Mitra and Aditi Singh Roy’s  paper  marks the paucity of  research in public service advertising . Besides , it brings up the aspect of  audience viewpoint in media  governance – which is almost  unheard of  in media discussions in India.
 Also, the oft overlooked aspect of  the relation of  Media with NGOS  has been  studied indepth. Both aspects of  advocacy and activism are brought out in            Jhilum Roy Chowdhary’s  paper on NGO’s and  Advocacy and  Kunal  Roy’s on  NGO  - Media interface respectively. Roy Chowdhary mentions the latest trends  of  Public  relations among  Ngo’s which include crowd funding and online petitions. Kunal sees a complementary role for Media in developmental  activities  albeit with caution.
  This well researched volume covers the entire span from past into the  future  via   the present . From the traditional democratic participatory communication in Santhal villages being vitiated by vested interests of modern  politics to a well   planned response of  India  to the problem of  Climatic change and prediction of  a bright  future of  Indian Cinema in  the complete timeline is covered . According  to  Amartya  Saha,   the  role of mass  media is critical in creating awareness about  climate change and sustainable living. Mugdha  Sengupta  refers to the digitisation in cinema governance as a pointer to its bright  future.
 Of course, not all the papers match up to a uniformly high standard but being uneven is in the nature of  any compilation. Perhaps better printing could’ve made  this  volume  even more reader  friendly.. However, it would be fair to say that  “Media  governance and  cultural issues” brings  out a continuum of  concerns  in the relationship. The volume offers hints to  the resolution of  most of these. All in all , the linkage between media governance and cultural issues has  been  deconstructed . It is likely to spawn a flurry of  work to further decode it .


Shashidhar Kapur
Sr. Journalist

10, Indus Empire, Bhopal

Tuesday 8 May 2018

Request for Syllabus and Books on digital/online/web journalism

Dear Colleagues,
I am adjunct faculty at Pune's FLAME University. I teach journalism. We are in the process of revamping our syllabus. Please help me with the soft copy of your syllabus on digital/online/web journalism.

Please suggest good books and course material related to these subjects. It will be useful to us if the books are authored from the Indian perspective. 

My email address: drkiranthakur
@gmail.com, kiran.thakur@flame.edu.in

Thanking you and with regards, 
Kiran Thakur
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Adjunct Faculty & Research Coordinator
FLAME School of Communication
Lavale, Pune 411042

Monday 7 May 2018

SIMC Conference Last Day for Abstracts is May 31, 2018.

Following from Prof Santosh Kumar Biswal:

Greetings from Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC), Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India. 
This mail is a gentle reminder to invite you all to submit your abstracts to the two-day International Conference on Media and Communication (ICMAC): New Media Studies: Re-examining Articulations of Theory, Practice and Context which will be held on September 21 and 22, 2018, at SIMC, Symbiosis Knowledge Village, Lavale, Pune, India. The last date for submission of abstracts is May 31, 2018

I am glad to share that the following journals would bring out special issues with select papers from the conference (subject to their editorial guidelines and laid-down review process) 
1. Media Asia, Taylor & Francis 
2. Studies in South Asian Film & Media, Intellect Journals 
3. Media Watch (Scopus-indexed)

ICMAC 2018 is the second biennial conference being organized by SIMC, Pune after the successful first edition that attracted over 100 research paper presentations and four brilliant keynote speakers in October 2016. 

The keynote speakers for ICMAC 2018 are - 

1. Dr.Anabel Quan-Haase, ProfessorFaculty of Information and Media Studies/Department of SociologyWestern University, Canada - Dr Quan-Hasse will deliver the keynote on subjects around her scholarship in areas like Digital Humanities, Internet Studies and Big Data. 

2. Dr Kaitlynn Mendes, Associate Professor, School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester, United Kingdom - Dr Mendes will address on  'Digital Media and Narratives of Gender and Sexualities', especially in the wake of recent movements like #metoo and her work in the space of 'Slutwalk'. 

3. Dr Kevin Sanson, Senior Lecturer, School of Communication, Queensland University of Technology, Australia - Dr Sanson would focus on the subject of New Media Platforms in the Digital Age & Audiences , especially with a focus on streaming, sharing and selling.

The conference invites research papers in the following key tracks -

               Theories, Practices and Sociology of New Media
               Business, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
               Consumers, Prosumers and Brands in Digital Ecosystem: 
                 the New Mediascape
               The Practice of Journalism in Digital Age

Besides, the above research paper sub themes, this conference will have a unique ‘Emerging Scholars Section’ where young students/scholars, early career faculty members are invited to present their white papers/working papers/ongoing research work for insights, discussion and guidance in the form of poster presentations. 
For details, please visit the conference website www.simcicmac.com
Please find attached the conference floater for important information on track details, important dates, registration and contact details  
Look forward to your participation and contribution to the emerging discourse and scholarship in New Media Studies! 

Thanks and Regards,
Santosh Kumar BiswalPhD
Assistant Professor
Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (SIMC)  (www.simc.edu
Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune

Jagdish Upasane takes over as Vice-Chancellor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism & Communication



By Chander Sardana 

Veteran journalist Jagdish Upasane has recently taken over as Vice-Chancellor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism & Communication at Bhopal.

Widely respected for his responsive and responsible writings, Shri Upasane has spent over four decades in print journalism. He is known for his innovation and enterprising spirit. His talent has been recognised by several organisations. M.P. Government bestowed on him the prestigious Ganesh Shankar Vidyarathi Award. Madhavrav Sapre Sanghralaya honoured him with Madhavrav Sapre Samman.

A man of foresight and farsight, Shri Upasane has set an agenda for himself as the Vice-Chancellor. His priorities include recognition and encouragement to innovation among teaching and support staff, value-based education, job-oriented courses, close interface with Media and Media-related organisations, overall personality development of its students, and the emergence of the University among the top universities not only nationally but globally and competence building of all its stakeholders.  

Shri Upasane started his career in journalism in 1974 with Yugdharma, Jabalpur. Thereafter, he moved over to Hindusthan Samachar news agency where he earned a name for himself and the agency for his writings. He was among the first to join Jansatta launched in 1983 in the team ably chosen by the eminent journalist, Shri Prabhash Joshi. He did extremely well through his investigative, exclusive and special news stories and features.

His contribution to the build-up of Hindi edition of India Today as a top-class magazine is widely acclaimed. He joined the magazine as Chief Sub-Editor in its early stage. He led the editorial team to launch four regional editions of India Today besides building up a strong network of good writers from among promising students. His qualities of leadership are well known.

Shri Upasane's stance and style of writing has been unique and marked by authenticity and apt presentation for Hindi edition of India Today. Thereafter he took responsibility as Group Editor of Panchjanya and Organiser magazines.

Born on 23rd November 1953 at Raipur, Shri Upasane had an excellent academic record. He won a Gold Medal in Law. He also did his M.Com and Degree in Journalism. A soft-spoken and an attentive listener, he inspires trust and confidence among all those who come in contact with him.
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Shri Upasane can be reached at the following email address 

upasanejd@gmail.com 
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Shri Sardana is Director of the National Executive of Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), based in Bhopal. His email address is: casardana@gmail.com