Improving journalism: Hazara University to launch capacity building programme

Students to be given concessions by the university.

MANSEHRA:

The Hazara University (HU) will launch a capacity building programme to improve the standard of vernacular journalism and bring journalists in Hazara division at par with journalists in urban areas.

This was stated by HU Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Sakhawat Shah while talking to media persons on Wednesday. Communication and Media Studies (CMS) Department Chairman Prof Shuakat Ali was also present on the occasion.

The VC said that the journalists in Hazara are doing a good job in educating the general public and guiding the policy makers to their available capacities successfully. He said they had “proved their worth” by highlighting the issues of readers’ interest at all levels.

However, with the changing trend in journalism across the world, local journalists had to be equipped with modern technologies.

The HU’s CMS Department is offering Bachelors of Science (BS) and Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) programmes, coupled with practical journalistic skills to the students of CMS, he added. A radio broadcasting academy, television academy and print media laboratory were established for producing qualified journalists, he remarked.

The university, he said, will arrange a number of training workshops, seminars and short refresher courses in the future, while journalists seeking admission in the CMS Department would be offered certain concessions so that the objective of producing quality journalism is achieved.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2011.