A conclave of media students, professionals and veterans in the industry organised by the DCJ Alumni association of Kerala University turned out to be a refreshing and enriching experience for the attendees. Students from the first batch of 1977-99 to the students who currently pursue two-year MCJ course at the department of communication and journalism on the Kariavattom campus were part of the daylong event.
During various sessions, the summit discussed growing concerns regarding the media industry, chances for more active collaboration of industry and academic sector and how to equip media professionals with new technologies that will help them tide over professional crises.
Kerala University Pro- Vice-Chancellor Dr P P Ajayakumar inaugurated the mega alumni meet held at University Senate Chambers on January 25. Ajayakumar suggested that veteran alumni members should find time and occasionto share their rich knowledge about the media industry with the upcoming professionals. He also said the university can think about provide opportunity for working media professionals to do part-time research at the department.
Kerala University registrar Dr C R Prasad, who presided over the inaugural session, said experienced alumni should help the department start more specialised courses in journalism and communication. Syndicate member Dr S Naseeb offered felicitations. Alumni association secretary Jacob George presented the working report. DCJ Head Dr P Lalmohan welcomed the gathering and joint secretary B Sreejan offered vote of thanks.
A session on how to deal with changing media landscape was led by S Radhakrishnan. A debate on how the synergy of alumni and students can be optimised was led by Dr P Lalmohan, Priyadas G Mangalath, Dr M S Harikumar, Jacob George and S Georgekutty.
Maxwell Fernandez journalism award instituted by the DCJ alumni association in memory of Prof. Maxwell Fernandez who founded the department was announced in the meeting. Azhimukham which was adjudged as the best stand-alone Malayalam news portal will bag this year’s Maxwell Fernandez journalism award comprising Rs. 25,000, a plaque and a citation. The Cue has been selected for a special mention as the best emerging news portal. “Azhimukham has been a unique portal in several ways. It has provided an alternative narrative for many of the news stories reported by mainstream media. The portal was launched much ahead of its main competitors these days and has been consistently maintaining the editorial quality and objectivity in reporting”, noted the judging committee comprising B Sreejan, S Radhakrishnan, S D Prins, K R Beena and Joe Joseph Thayamkary.
The meeting also decided to introduce two new endowments for the students. Family members of Thengamam Balakrishnan, former editor of Janyugom daily and A Firoz, former director of I&PR department have announced the endowments.
The meeting also passed a resolution urging the government to make MCJ mandatory minimum qualification for all teaching jobs regarding journalism and media studies. Another resolution urged the university to offer part-time PhD and MPhil courses for working media professionals at DCJ. A short-term course to detect and defend fake news was also proposed to begin at DCJ through another resolution.
A 21-member executive of DCJ Alumni association for 2020-22 was also elected by the meeting. New Office bearers: Dr P Lalmohan (President), Priyadas G Mangalath (Working President), Joe Joseph Thayamkary (Secretary), S Georgekutty (Treasurer), K R Beena (vice president) and Sangeetha Unnithan (joint secretary).
