11:15 AM |
Title – 7112 REGION: USP 'honours responsibility' to Pacific journalism education
Date – 5 November 2010
Byline – None
Origin – Pacific Media Watch
Source – Pacific Scoop, 5/11/10
Copyright – PS
Status – Unabridged
----------------------------
* Pacific Media Watch Online - check the website for archive and links:
* Post a comment on this story at PMW Right of Reply:
* Pacific Media Centre on Twitter - http://twitter.com/pacmedcentre
USP 'HONOURS RESPONSIBILITY' TO PACIFIC JOURNALISM EDUCATION, SAYS SINGH
SUVA (Pacific Scoop/Pacific Media Watch): The University of the South Pacific takes its role as leading journalism educator in the region seriously – and continuously invests in learning and teaching, the annual student journalism awards event heard last night.
Outlining plans to improve facilities and further boost teaching capacity, the head of journalism at USP, Shailendra Singh, said a teaching assistant would be recruited and renovations to a broadcast lab were in the pipeline.
"This will mean more one-on-one support for students and an improved broadcasting studio," said Singh.
Speaking at USP journalism's annual awards night at the Oceania Centre at the Laucala Campus in Suva, Singh said the programme was externally audited by University of Queensland associate professor Pradip Thomas last year.
The audit is part of quality controls that the USP has in place.
"The audit was positive and encouraging, and we are implementing some recommendations," said Singh.
The gala event was attended by publishers, editors, and reporters from all major news media organisations in Fiji.
Gender research
Chief guest and keynote speaker Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, coordinator of femLINKpacific, spoke on the latest Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), the world's longest-running and most extensive research on gender in the news media.
USP academics, journalism graduates and representatives of civil society organisations were present.
Singh said the USP journalism advisory committee with industry representation had been revived to consult on curriculum and other matters.
He emphasised that journalism staff spared no effort to ensure students received an enriching academic experience.
"Twice this year, Radio Australia journalist Bruce Hill voluntarily conducted workshops and seminars at Laucala Campus and in July, Karen Knudsen from the East-West Center in Hawai'i addressed students," Singh said.
Also, former USP journalism coordinator associate professor David Robie, who is now director of the Pacific Media Centre, addressed journalism students and delegates as a media keynote speaker at the global Oceans, Islands and Skies climate change conference at the Laucala campus in September.
Eight speakers from different regional institutions addressed students during the fortnightly Friday Forums held at the campus newsroom.
Real world
"This exercise exposes our students to some leading minds in the region," said Singh. "It creates a real world understanding among students, who use the Friday Forum platform to undertake assignments and generate story ideas."
USP journalism has been around for more than 20 years and it has produced around 150 graduates who work in various media sectors in more than 12 Pacific countries.
"We are pleased with this result, especially given our resource constraints," said Singh.
"For instance, at the moment, there are just two full time teaching staff. We have, nevertheless, managed to offer variety in teaching and we have broadened student learning and opportunities," said Singh.
"This by forging strategic alliances with media industry, NGOs, and regional organisations in Fiji and beyond."
Singh added that USP journalism's achievement showed that stakeholders could overcome resource constraints by forging mutually beneficial strategic alliances and by pooling resources.
Strategic alliances
He gave these examples:
- The Fiji Sun, Fiji Times, Communications Fiji Ltd, Fiji TV, Mai TV and Fiji Bradcasting Corporation all provide internships for students.
- Radio Australia also offers USP Journalism internships, and one student will go on a four-week attachment with the radio station in Melbourne.
- The Secretariat of the Pacific Community's media unit is assisting USP train TV journalism students.
- The Fiji Sun publishes and distributes Wansolwara, the award-winning student training newspaper, free. The Sun also publishes stories written by students.
- The Pacific Freedom Forum arranged for Maggie Boyle to attend the media freedom conference in Brisbane.
- With help from the Fiji Amateur Sports Association, final year student Rashneel was selected from Oceania to cover the Singapore Youth Olympics recently.
- Last year, the Cook Islands News sponsored Arin Kumar to help cover the Pacific Mini Games in Rarotonga.
* Comment on this item pmediawa@aut.ac.nz
+++niuswire
PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH ONLINE
PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH is a media and educational resource compiled by the AUT Pacific Media Centre for the Pacific region.
(c)1996-2010 Creative Commons
Items are provided solely for review purposes as a non-profit educational service. Copyright remains the property of the original producers as indicated in the header. Recipients should seek permission
from the copyright owner for any publishing. Copyright owners not wishing their materials to be posted by PMW please contact us. The views expressed in material listed by PMW are not necessarily the views
of PMW or the Pacific Media Centre.
For further information or joining the Pacific Media Watch listserve, visit:
Email:
Fax: (+649) 921 9987
SnailMail: Pacific Media Centre, School of Communication Studies, AUT
University, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Website: www.pacmediawatch.aut.ac.nz
_______________________________________________
Pacific_media_watch mailing list
-- ----------------------------------------
pacific islands media association
pima.nius@gmail.com
aotearoa, new zealand
----------------------------------------
The pima.nius googlegroup is a facility for discussion and distributing information. Content sent by this googlegroup are forwarded from various networks and media publications.
DISCLAIMER: These emails are unedited and discussions made through this googlegroup are unmoderated. Announcements made through this googlegroup do not constitute endorsement for the organisations, individuals or opinions featured. Please check the integrity of organisations and individuals before exchanging personal information with them.
- - - - - - - - -
comment here:
http://groups.google.com/group/pima-nius/topics?hl=en
send an email comment here:
pima-nius@googlegroups.com
unsubscribe:
pima-nius+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
more options
http://groups.google.com/group/pima-nius?hl=en?hl=en
- - - - - - - - -
0 comments:
Post a Comment