INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MASS COMMUNICATION

ORIENTATION WEEK
INTRODUCTION
From 29th to 31st July, Indian Institute of Mass Communication organized an orientation
program for the newly admitted students. The major objective of the program was to make the
students aware of the academic aspects of the course as well as the rules and regulations of the
Institute. During this period the institute also arranged a variety of edifying guest lectures that
were held to orient and welcome new students.

ORIENTATION LECTURE – 1
OVERVIEW OF INDIAN ECONOMY
This lecture was provided by Mr. Subhomoy Bhattacharjee, a consultant for Research and
Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIC). Mr. Bhattacharjee is the author of Special
Economic Zones in India, and he has also authored a study on the land acquisition act. In his
lecture Mr. Bhattacharjee discussed the objectivity of judging the existing condition of a
nation’s economy. He also introduced the students to many exclusive examples and challenges
in the world economy at large. According to him a basic simplified objective judgement of an
economy can be carried out by analyzing 4 simple factors – Fiscal Deficit, Current Account
Deficit, Inflation Rate and Exchange Rate. He talked about the importance of adapting a more
advanced, enhanced and forward outlook towards policies, technological advancements, and
scientific discoveries and how acclimatizing to changes and technological advancements will
compound the rate of development of the individual as well as of the nation. He stressed the
importance of administering budgets to research and development departments and he also
underlined the fact that how a large number of Indian private companies are taking a blow in
the global market because of their pinchpenny approach towards investing in future, research
and development. He accentuated the actuality that the countries with ruling governments
having a hegemonizing governance model are experiencing severe problems in the economic
growth sector because a strictly inflexible rule and a weak policy making pattern shatters
innovation, development and growth. Even though he emphasized the importance of instituting
a balance among the private and public bodies of a nation, he also spotlighted the tenet that
the government of a nation should majorly oversee the defense, contracts and education
quarter of the governance.
 ORIENTATION LECTURE – 2
MEDIA AND GENDER

The lecture was provided by Professor Veena Sikri, Retired IFS, and a convener for South Asia
Women’s Network (SWAN). SWAN brings together women leaders, parliamentarians,
academicians, experts, activists and media representatives from nine countries: Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SWAN
coordinates its activities through eight sectoral networks, also called SWANs, respectively
dealing with the Environment; Arts and Literature; Women in Peacemaking; Health, Nutrition
and Food Sovereignty; Education; Crafts and Textiles; Finance, Livelihoods and
Entrepreneurship Development; and Women in Media. SWAN recognizes the serious challenges
facing the women of South Asia, irrespective of their religious beliefs and ethnicities. In her
lecture Prof. Sikri emphasised that despite several outstanding examples of individual and
collective achievements, women across South Asia still constitute an overwhelmingly large
body of underprivileged citizens, surviving within the limits of an environment that remains
largely hostile. She discussed that although the number of women working in the media has
been increasing globally, the top positions (producers, executives, chief editors and publishers)
are still very male dominated. This disparity is particularly evident in countries like India and
Africa, where cultural impediments to women fulfilling the role of journalist remain (e.g.
travelling away from home, evening work and covering issues such as politics and sports which
are considered to fall within the masculine domain). There was also a discussion on how female
journalists are more likely to be assigned ‘soft’ subjects such as family, lifestyle, fashion and
arts. The ‘hard’ news, politics and the economy, is much less likely to be written or covered by
women.

The level of participation and influence of women in the media also has implications for media
content: female media professionals are more likely to reflect other women’s needs and
perspectives than their male colleagues. It is important to acknowledge, however, that not all
women working in the media will be gender aware and prone to cover women’s needs and
perspectives; and it is not impossible for men to effectively cover gender issues. Recent
research from 18 disparate countries shows that male and female journalists’ attitudes do not
differ significantly. Nonetheless, the presence of women on the radio, television and in print is
more likely to provide positive role models for women and girls, to gain the confidence of
women as sources and interviewees, and to attract a female audience.
 ORIENTATION LECTURE – 3
Technology, Media and Society

This lecture was provided by Mr. Apar Gupta, Executive Director, Internet Freedom Foundation.
Internet Freedom Foundation is an Indian digital liberties organization that seeks to ensure that
technology respects fundamental rights. The ultimate goal of the foundation is to make sure
that Indian citizens can use the Internet with liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. In his
discussion Mr. Gupta highlighted the benefits of neutrality of network throughout the digital
spectrum. He discussed how net neutrality allows us to have the choice to visit and experience
every site or application equally without any discrimination in terms of price, speed or
availability from a telecom company and how this freedom allows us to create, communicate
and collaborate with people across the globe and for businesses to combine audio, video and
text, and reimagine consumer experience. He stressed on the fact that we need an open
Internet, where everyone has an equal opportunity to use the sites and services they want,
when they want, irrespective of which provider they use to connect to the Internet. Mr. Gupta
also underlined the importance of interlocking our digital information with proper privacy
protection gateways to maintain our confidentiality over the internet. He urged that as a
growing number of Indians come online there is a sense of being under a perpetual state of
surveillance. While the use of personal information to deliver advertisements is a historical
model for internet services, the dangers it poses are becoming clear only now. These risks
emerge from both, private and state entities and without privacy, internet users modify their
private behaviour out of fear and that takes away the ability of people to make important
choices about their life as it removes personal autonomy. He further accentuated the reality
that India at present does not have any comprehensive law to protect the privacy of internet
users and this requires further work.
 ORIENTATION LECTURE – 4

The State of Journalism in India: Challenges and Opportunities

This lecture was provided by Mr. Vipul Mudgal, a senior journalist and academic in India, the
UK, and South East Asia for over 30 years. He has held senior editorial positions at Hindustan
Times, India Today, BBC World Service and Asia Times. He has been Resident Editor of HT at
Jaipur and Lucknow, Editor Insight at New Delhi, and Regional Editor of Asia Times in Bangkok.
He has also headed operations in print, electronic and Internet media in India and abroad. Vipul
has a doctorate on media and terrorism from Leicester University and is a recipient of Nehru
Centenary British Fellowship, and the Jefferson Fellowship at the EastWest Centre, Hawaii. In
his lecture Mr. Mudgal talked about the existing state of journalism in India as well as the
challenges and obstacles that an honest true to his work wireman face while working in the
industry during this strange time of conflicting interests and unusual power dynamics. He
shared his own personal experiences on how even after working for over 30 years in the media
industry he still has to go through a number of hurdles to voice his honest opinion on a public
platform and how sometimes he has to face a strong vote of disapproval even from his friends
and family members. He enlightened the future contributors of the media and information
industry on how they should prepare and orient themselves so that they can their voice their
truth with absolute freedom, and complete resolution. He highlighted the fact that the bullish
growth story in the media industry, however should, not be confused with a vibrant and free
press. Freedom of press does not only mean freedom from direct State or corporate ownership
of the news media but it also means freedom from the insidious ways in which such controls
operate regardless of the ownership patterns. He concluded his discourse on existing state of
journalism in the nation by stating a simple reality that an honest journalist would never reap
the fruits of power and would always till his last breath endure the demanding position of being
in the opposition of the ruling government.