HYDERABAD: Dr MCR HRD Institute Hyderabad launched a two-week training program on media management for journalists and media professionals from Guyana. The training program has been sponsored under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) by the Ministry of External Affairs, the institute said in a press release on Monday.
Dr Shashank Goel, Director General of the institute and Special Chief Secretary to Govt of Telangana, said journalism and media relations are not merely professions, they are indispensable pillars of any democratic society. “In the context of Guyana, a country with a rich cultural heritage and a rapidly evolving media landscape, the importance of equipping media professionals with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities has assumed great importance,” he said.
Dr Goel further stated that the traditional media such as newspapers, radio, and television, from across the globe held significant sway in public communication and thereby kept citizens well-informed about societal issues and empowered them to contribute to positive change and inclusive development.
“However, the emergence of new media including social media platforms, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc, has transformed journalism and brought about a profound transformation in the world of media with their huge speed and unprecedented access to global audience. In addition, Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising the news industry, from content creation to audience engagement,” Goel observed and added that with these advancements come such significant challenges as misinformation and fake news, which pose a grave threat to the integrity of journalism and the trust of the public.
In this rapidly evolving landscape, it is incumbent upon media professionals to uphold the principles of accuracy, impartiality, and ethical conduct in their pursuit of truth, the DG said and added that, in this scenario, media professionals should not only keep updating their domain knowledge but also adapting to the changing trends in order to enriching the quality of their media strategies.
Rohan Singh, Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of External Affairs, said that the ITEC is a flagship capacity building program of the ministry. He added that the MEA imparted training to about 2,25,000 officers from 160 partner-countries, under ITEC, since its inception in 1964, and thereby shared the expertise of India in 40 streams.
Dr Madhavi Ravulapati, course director & Head, CLP, shared the salient features of the training program. “A unique fusion of classroom sessions and multiple field visits will enable the media professionals from Guyana to understand different aspects of media management in their true and total frame of reference,” she stated.
