Top Mass Communication institutes in India

• Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, JNU New Campus, New Delhi-110067

Indian Institute of Mass Communication has created a niche for itself in the field of mass communication education, research and training. It is playing a pivotal role by organising suitable training courses to meet the new challenges of training and skilled manpower to make the best use of communication resources for national development and growth.
In the past thirty three years, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication has gained recognition from around the world and from UNESCO as a centre of excellence in the field of communication teaching, training and research, providing knowledge and skills to young communicators in a variety of disciplines including print journalism, photo journalism, radio journalism, television journalism, development communication, communication research, advertising and public relations.
The Institute was established in response to a perceived need to evolve a methodology and a mechanism to make efficient and effective use of communication resources as part of the country's overall development strategy. The blueprint for the institute was drawn up by a team of internationally renowned mass communication specialists, representatives of UNESCO and of the media in the country. The team was headed by Dr. Wilbur Schramm, the well known authority on communication. It recommended
'A Centre for Advanced Study in Mass Communication... with responsibilities for consultation, training, and research and development, particularly in the use of mass communication in support of national economic and social development.'
The Indian Institute of Mass Communication made a humble beginning on August 17, 1965, as department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, with a small staff including two consultants from UNESCO. Later it was registered as an autonomous organisation under the Societies Registration Act (1860) on January 22, 1966.

• A J K Mass Communication Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-110025

AJK MCRC is globally recognised as a premium institution in the field of mass communication. However, in a world seamlessly connected through the ubiquitous internet the centre was feeling somewhat left out. It will provide the staff members and the students the opportunity to exchange notes and share their achievements with other schools of mass communication in India and the web-connected world. Take a tour of the forums that have been created for the staff and students of the MCRC to facilitate interaction among themselves and with the world beyond the campus.

• Manipal Institute of Communication, Udayavani Building, Press Corner, Manipal-576119.

Emergence of Manipal Institute of Communication (1997) was in response to the phenomenal expansion of media – a spurt in print, broadcast & computer mediated communications industries. As of today, when these industries coupled with the rise of corporate communication make up a multi-billion dollar sector, the necessity and demand for young, dynamic, well-rounded communicators is the need of the hour. And Manipal Institute of Communication is just the right answer for all young media aspirants.

Equipped with the latest information communication technologies, MIC is just the right place to train competent skilful professionals who are equally sensitive to social values.

• Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Senapati Bapat Marg, Pune-411004.

SIMC has already established itself as India's premier media training Institute. SIMC's Vision
Document for 2010 envisages leadership in every sector of media and communication
education and training in India. Towards this end, SIMC will initiate high quality entry-level under-graduate education; maintain its leadership in industry-oriented post-graduate training; originate doctoral research practices in media and communication; and pioneer major social and
development communication initiatives. SIMC's vision encompasses the development of the personality of aspiring media professionals to enable them to fit in seamlessly into the industry.

• Asian College of Journalism, Kasturi Centre, 124, Wallajah Road, Chennai 600 002

The Asian College of Journalism is dedicated to the task of producing such journalists. It is a postgraduate college designed to provide students with world-class journalism education adapted to the specific needs of India and other developing countries in Asia. It seeks to prepare its graduates to achieve the highest standards in all branches of the profession, keeping in focus the trend and thrust of convergence in the media, and the consequent demands for multiple skills made on the contemporary journalist.

Members of the first six ACJ classes have proved to be in high demand and are already at work in all areas of journalism. Their success is a tribute both to their talent and to the institution that educated and trained them.

• Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Poona, Pune-411004.

• New Delhi YMCA, Centre for Mass Media, 1 Jai Singh Road, New Delhi-110001.
• Amity School Of Journalism and Communication, (More available at AKC House, E-27 Defence Colony, New Delhi -110024.

ASCO believe in an education, which is both knowledge and utility oriented. All pains are taken to update its course-contents on a regular basis,increase the practical components of its professional training, and bring the institute as close to the industry as possible.

Journalism training cannot come through merely lecturing on press laws or on basics of editing and reporting. It has to be performative, interactive and production oriented.

• Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media

January 2001 marked the opening of the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media (IIJNM), Bangalore, India. The main motivating factor behind the creation of this journalism college is the overwhelming need to improve the quality of journalism and elevate the stature of the profession in India. IIJNM is founded by the BS&G Foundation, a non-profit Trust dedicated to promoting democratic values and institutions in India. The BS&G Foundation is a partnership between the Adi Chunchanagiri Maha Samsthana Trust and The George Foundation. The former also runs several other educational institutions in medicine and engineering, while the latter is engaged in humanitarian projects and environmental issues

• Manorama School of Communication, Kottayam

Manorama School of Communication (MASCOM) is one of India’s premier institutes of journalism. The school’s goal is to develop quality personnel for the media industry. MASCOM exposes students to real-life media production and management techniques and trains them in state-or-the-art journalism and publishing. MASCOM training will give students aspiring for a career in journalism the headstart they need in the profession.

• Xavier Institute of Communication, Mumbai

The Xavier Institute of Communications (XIC) is a professional media centre which offers a variety of services in training and production. The Institute is located on the St. Xavier's College campus, Mumbai.

XIC is an autonomous educational unit of the Bombay St. Xavier's College Society Trust, which comprises St. Xavier's College, the Institute of Management, the Institute of Counseling and the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture.

Media in India: From colonial era to modern media

Mass media in India, especially news media, are undergoing significant changes in the current liberalised environment. To understand these changes, it is useful to examine the road traversed so far. This requires looking at media in two phases of India’s history - pre-colonial and post-colonial. Each medium has taken its own evolutionary path.

The National and the English press; The Hindu and Indian Express ; The Times of India and The Statesman; India Today and Outlook; Pothan Joseph and G Kasturi; N Ram and Vinod Mehta; The Hoot and IndianOnlineJournalism are not contrasts but a sampling of the range that needs to be covered here.

Colonial journalism: William Bolts, an ex-employee of the British East India Company attempted to start the first newspaper in India in 1776. Bolts had to beat a retreat under the disapproving gaze of the Court of Directors of the Company.

Bengal: The Bengal Gazette was started by James Augustus Hicky in 1780. The Gazette, a two-sheet newspaper, specialised in writing on the private lives of the Sahibs of the Company. He dared even to mount scurrillious attacks on the Governor-General, Warren Hastings\’, wife, which soon landed “the late printer to the Honourable Company” in trouble.
Hicky was sentenced to a 4 months jail term and Rs.500 fine, which did not deter him. After a bitter attack on the Governor-General and the Chief Justice, Hicky was sentenced to one year in prison and fined Rs.5,000, which finally drove him to penury. These were the first tentative steps of journalism in India.

Calcutta: B.Messink and Peter Reed were pliant publishers of the India Gazette, unlike their infamous predecessor. The colonial establishment started the Calcutta Gazette. It was followed by another private initiative the Bengal Journal. The Oriental Magazine of Calcutta Amusement, a monthly magazine made it four weekly newspapers and one monthly magazine published from Calcutta, now Kolkata.

Madras (now Chennai): The Madras Courier was started in 1785 in the southern stronghold of Madras, which is now called Chennai. Richard Johnson, its founder, was a government printer. Madras got its second newspaper when, in 1791, Hugh Boyd, who was the editor of the Courier quit and founded the Hurkaru. Tragically for the paper, it ceased publication when Boyd passed away within a year of its founding.
It was only in 1795 that competitors to the Courier emerged with the founding of the Madras Gazette followed by the India Herald. The latter was an “unauthorised” publication, which led to the deportation of its founder Humphreys. The Madras Courier was designated the purveyor of official information in the Presidency.

Bombay: Bombay, now Mumbai, surprisingly was a late starter - The Bombay Herald came into existence in 1789. Significantly, a year later a paper called the Courier started carrying advertisements in Gujarati.
The first media merger of sorts: The Bombay Gazette, which was started in 1791, merged with the Bombay Herald the following year. Like the Madras Courier, this new entity was recognised as the publication to carry “official notifications and advertisements”.
‘A Chronicle of Media and the State’, by Jeebesh Bagchi in the Sarai Reader 2001 is a handy timeline on the role of the state in the development of media in India for more than a century.
Bagchi divides the timeline into three ‘ages’. The Age of Formulation, which starts with the Indian Telegraph Act in 1885 and ends with the Report of the Sub-Committee on Communication, National Planning Committee in 1948.

Post colonial journalism: The Age of Consolidation that follows stretches from 1951, with the extension of the Indian Telegraph Act to the whole of India and ends with the promulgation of the “Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act” in 1985. The current age is the Age of Uncertainty, which began in 1989 with the introduction of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Bill.

Two News Agencies: Press Trust of India (PTI) and United News of India (UNI) are the two primary Indian news agencies. The former was formed after the it took over the operations of the Associated Press of India and the Indian operations of Reuters soon after independence on August 27, 1947. PTI is a non-profit cooperative of the Indian newspapers.
UNI began its operations on March 21, 1961, though it was registered as a company in 1959 itself.

Reference: J. Natarajan, History of Indian Journalism in Part II of the Report of the Press Commission - is an excellent source.
Robin Jeffrey, India’s Newspaper Revolution
Nalini Rajan(ed) Practising Journalism
http://www.indianonlinejournalism.org/?page_id=17

See Also:What are different fields of Mass Communication?

What is Mass Communication and Journalism? Scope in India

What are different fields of Mass Communication?

Mass communication is a vast field covering many areas under it. Some of these are discussed under the following headings.

1. PRINT JOURNALISM: In short, journalism is collecting and editing of news for presentation through media. Print journalism has been one of the oldest forms of journalism. Newspapers and magazines, big or small have always been major source of news and information throughout the world and millions of readers go through them daily. Over the years, print journalism has witnessed major transformation, the simple reporting of yesteryears has taken a shape of highly specialized and professional field owing to competition and other factors. The newspapers and magazines today cover a wide range of specialized sections like political events, business news, leisure, cinema, sports, career, health and so many other subjects, which demands for professionally qualified journalists. Given the variety of subjects to choose from, one can look forward to a field of his interest and pursue several avialable courses in that direction.

2. ELECTRONIC JOURNALISM: Introduction of electronic communicaiton especially through broadcasting has affected the lifestyles and thoughts of masses. Communication mediums like television, radio, audio, video etc. has made possible news, entertainment, information, education related subjects reach the very far and wide places. It has to an extent sidelined other forms of communication. With the growing network of TV, satellite communication, cable services, radio stations, etc., the future of this industry seems bright. Electronic journalism offers to professionally qualified aspirants opportunities in a number of fields. Some of these are direction, production, camera, graphics, editing, sound, programme research, script writing etc.

3. FILMS - PRODUCERS, ACTORS, MUSICIANS AND DANCERS - When we talk of films today, there is no dearth of available professional career options. Although, it is not all that easy to taste success in one of the most competitive and sought after fields, but definitely for someone sanguine and determined, it can be quite rewarding. Films have always earned recognition and fascination of masses. There are so many different groups of people associated with the so-called big screen and one has a variety to choose from the available options from technical professions like directors, producers, soundmen, lightmen, cameramen, editors etc. to artists like actors, dancers, musicians, stuntmen etc.
The rapidly growing film industry and its certain future has led to various institutes offering highly professional courses. One definitely finds it useful to pursue these courses in order to hone their skills and make themselves better to compete with the best in the industry.

4. ADVERTISING: Advertising is brand building process of a product, idea, thought or a even a service, through effective mediums of communication. From newspapers, magazines, posters, signboards, bills to the commercials on radio, television and even Internet, advertising has come a long way. Business organisations, political organisations, social organisations, all find it important to advertise in order to influence public opinion.
Since advertising is a service industry, the reputation of the ad agency depends on the effective work being done and campaign released from time to time. This makes the job even more challenging. With the advent of the multinational companies, more and more Indian agencies are tying up with the the foreign agencies to pitch for international clients which is clearly indicative of high growth in coming years in this industry.

5. PUBLIC RELATIONS:Once, the simple operation of publicity, today has emerged as an important management function. Public Relations, as the name suggests, is used to generate and portray, positive image of an organisation by various means. Business houses, schools, universities, hospitals, government institutions, etc. engage public relations personnels and agencies to cast and present their image, objectives and policies in the best possible light.
For somebody to become a successful public relation consultant, it is imperative to have a liking to meet people alongwith excellent communication skills, ability to interact with, convince people, and build a rapport is important. The other traits should be, quick decision making abilities and good organisational skills.
See also: What is Mass Communication and Journalism? Scopes in India

What is Mass Communication and Journalism? Scope in India

Changing times have revolutionized prospects in all most every career field one can find today. So many new and exciting career options are lined ahead that it is difficult to choose one.
Mass communication is one such field which is attracting a lot of young these days and why not, when it has to offer such interesting career options in the fields, like various kinds of medias - newspapers, magazines, radio, television, advertisements, public relations etc. Though its presence has been there since long but it is only in recent times that it's been able to earn due recognition. Efforts are on to add professionalism to different areas of mass communication, with many universities and institutions offering number of professional courses.
Mass communication covers a wide area, comprising of closely related fields of advertisement, communication and public relations. Almost all kinds of establishments whether business, government or political are availing of services, offered by these industries, therefore an encouraging sign for those looking ahead to making a career in mass communication.

Journalism-
Journalism is concerned with collection and dissemination of news through the print media as well as the electronic media. This involves various areas of works like reporting, writing, editing, photographing, broadcasting or cable casting news items. Journalism is classified into two on the basis of media- (i) Print Journalism and (ii) Electronic (Audio/Visual) Journalism. Print Journalism includes newspapers, magazines and journals.
In print journalism one can work as editors, reporters, columnists, correspondents etc. Electronic journalism includes working for Radio, Television and the Web. In the web, skilled people are required to maintain sites by web newspapers (which cater only to the web and do not have print editions) and popular newspapers and magazines who have their own web editions. In electronic journalism one can be a reporter, writer, editor, researcher, correspondent and anchor.