Press Council for regulation of media education

New Delhi, Mar 3 (UNI) Recognising the urgent need to raise the standard of journalism, the Press Council of India, teachers of journalism and senior mediapersons today decided to set up a council on the lines of the Medical Council of India to bring standardisation in the media education.

For this purpose, a core group would soon be formed by the Press Council in consultation with the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication.

These decisions were taken at the end of a workshop organised by the PCI and the University on the topic 'Standardisation of Media Education' here.

The core group, which was going to be set up soon, would hold intensive and extensive consulation with various experts, professionals and bodies and would come with a comprehensive set of recommendations to improve the standard of media education. The group has decided the participants in the workshop which was attended by senior journalists and teachers in the field.

PCI chairman Justice G N Ray said there was an urgent need of laying down norms for the various course offerred in journalism across the country.

''Moreover, there was the need of a permanent regulatory body to maintain a check on the quality of education offered,'' he said.

Earlier, inaugurating the workshop, he said the revolution in communication technology had thrown open to the public a much wider world, therefore, the principles of journalism needed to be directed towards the highest quality of news reporting in public interest.

With globalisation, there has been an increased recognition of the crucial role of journalism in promoting democracy and lending voice to the people, he said.

''It has also emerged as a profession of choice by virtue of power it can wield and this has created an urgent demand for well-trained journalists,'' said the PCI Chairman.

Referring to the observation of UNESCO International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems that '' in may countries today, journalists were not regarded as members of an acknowledged profession,'' Mr Ray said to overcome the situation, journalism was needed to raise its standards to get recognition.

''Programmes of instruction need to be developed not only for entry-level recruits, but also for experienced personnel who from time to time would benefit from special seminars and conferences designed to refresh and enrich their qualifications,'' he said.

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