Dr SHOBHA KUlSHRESTHA, director of ASMS speaks with SANGEETA YADAV about the second season of Global Festival of Journalism and the scope of media in all fields. Excerpts:
Tell us about the Global Festival of Journalism (GFJ) which was recently concluded at Asian School ofMedia Studies (ASMS)IJ
It’s the second season of GFJ. We are the first ones, in India, to launch a festival in journalism and maybe the second in the world. It was first started in Italy four years back. The festival is for the journalist, by the journalist and to the journalist. It’s a platform to promote journalism which is a good career option for the youth of this country. There are a plenty of job opportunities in India and abroad. Journalism is a part of the entertainment industry and connects films, TV, radio, print media and online. This is one field which is connected to and has space for in every field whether its medicine, engineering, politics, or business. It can’t do without journalism.
What is the USP of this festivalIJ
The leading journalists from across the world conducted seminars and workshops. They talked about the recent developments in the field of journalism and gave the students a clear picture of what is happening today. They talked about the career options opened to them once a student takes up a course in journalism. Earlier, engineering, medicine, law, bureaucrat and taking the UPSC exam were the only popular before, now I believe that today, media and journalism can overtake everything. If one goes through the economics budget one will find that the economics budget into the entertainment is the highest in the world and in our country. This is the best form of promoting cultural exchange.
With the online media growing leaps and bounds, what is the future of journalism especially printmediaIJ
Future is great. Social media, Internet, TV everything will be there but they all require journalists who can write for these platforms. Print will never die because it’s so comfortable for people to just pick up a newspaper or a magazine whenever they want to. You don’t have to go to the Internet and turned on the laptop or a computer to read the news. You can carry your offline reading material wherever you want to. Online is another growing platform which has lots of opportunities for the start-ups, bloggers, etc.
What are the things that are lacking in the young brigade of journalistsIJ
Journalism is lacking credibility. One doesn’t know if the young journalists are working for money because if they are, one can’t tell the truth in its entirety. If one tells the truth, then there is no money. So it’s all inter-related. I don’t know when we’ll come with a situation when one can honestly write for the media and still get paid well.
How do you define a true journalistIJ
A true journalist is one who works by passion and tries to be honest with the profession. A good journalist conveys what is right, without bias and works for the betterment of the society at large.