Photo: EVKS Elangovan, Union Minster of State for Textiles, giving away the journalism diploma to a Sri Lankan journalist.(December, 17, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Journalists from Sri Lanka, who recently completed a six-month training programme, received their diplomas and special awards from Union Minister for Textiles EVKS Elangovan and Sri Lanka Deputy High Commissioner P M Amza at a function in Chennai on Saturday.
Denmark-based International Media Support (IMS) and Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) had selected 20 Tamil journalists for training at SRM University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
They all work in Tamil media in Sri Lanka’s ‘mofussil areas – the term used in Sri Lanka is outstation – and were only familiar with Tamil.
Most of them had joined the media straight out of school with no training.Historian and school dean S Muthiah recalled that the syllabus they had drawn up for the fledgling school was not entirely suited for the needs of journalists with two to 25 years of experience.
Amza said that it was incumbent on journalists to be impartial and report both sides of any story.
Tamil is one of the official languages of Sri Lanka – it lives and flourishes there, he said.
Former Central Vigilance Commissioner of India N Vittal said journalism should reflect society faithfully, monitor trends, and mentor change to create history.
The SRM School for Journalism also plans to offer short-term courses for Tamil journalists who would like to hone their skills, Vice-Chancellor P Sathyanarayanan said.
Post a Comment