The media industries employ many of our graduates. We are proud of what little we contribute to the industry and the country as a whole.
We believe we also teach that free and uncrontrolled media is a prerequisite for a healthy democracy, however, without compromising the laws of this land.
There is a well-developed unit in this institution called Media Law and Ethics.
We suspect that such comments are made on the pretext that the Media Studies program at the University of Papua New Guinea has come to a chaotic end. Wrong!
This training ground will survive. This school has a history!
It made history and it will survive to add on chapters into the millennium because some of [us] work tirelessly without pausing to receive compliments.
The current restructure and the eventual tranisiton into the Enrichment program under the new trimester system is not a change for the worse.
This is an improvement, making the streamlined and tailored courses more relevant and enriching for the students. The specialised courses are being modified to meet the needs and demands of various professions and specialised areas within industries, civil service and disciplined forces as well as for the overall job market.
Perhaps the Media Council members deserve a reply and some explanation of what is happening here at UPNG.
We have been silent because we are not ready with the answers. We don't blame them for being suspicious of the changes undergoing in silence, because the task has been quite immense and slow.
Immense - because the whole academic system is being revolutionised, so to speak. Slow - because, naturally things of such magnitude take time and effort for changes to take place.
Incidentally, the changes involve all discipliunes at the university.
However, the task is almost complete and the stage is about to be set for the 1999 academic year.
Journalism of Media Studies is no different or, otherwise, not immune to these changes.
The Media Studies program, which merged several years ago and housed jointly with Library and Information Studies under the South Pacific Centre for Communication and Information in Development (SPCenCIID), is being phased out and instead a strand to be shown as Integrated Program in the Information and Communication Sciences (IPICS), with majors in Information Management and Journalism/Public Relations, is replacing the goals and functions of the centre.
IPICS is part of the School of Social Sciences and Development.
The Board of Journalism Studies will remain independent to cater for course development/changes and interaction with the media industry, and in close consultation with the Media Council.
Most of the courses on basic journalism and media studies will remain, except one unit from Information Technology and one Introductory unit in Mass Communication will act as entry level courses to the strand.
Naturally, the students will be required to take compulsory courses and other requirements from the enrichment programme and the major strands before getting into the intermediate and advanced Media Studies courses.
Desktop publishing/Print Media production (Uni Tavur and other newsletters) and Electronic Media (broadcast: Campus 98.5 FM Radio carried out test transmission successfully on 13 October 1998) courses, are being modified and upgraded as professional development units. Options category will be taken up by industrial attachments (compulsory for final year students), Public Relations and Special Projects (Magazines, Journal production etc).
The catch is quite simple. This move is more an upgrade for the status of Media Studies/Public Relations and Mass Communication courses at the university.
The intake will no longer derive from Foundation Year and Grade 12 students.
The program will have students prepared for professional development under the new arrangement, hence the entry level is expected to be more prepared and receptive.
The program will be eventually lead towards offering postgraduate diploma courses (apart from the bachelors degree) and eventually - masters degree.
In other words, the Media Studies program at the University of Papua New Guinea is leading towards offering postgraduate courses in the long run.
This will be an advantage for the working media professionals who don't have formal qualifications, as well as professionals from other disciplines who need to gain skills in the use and application of various media, will find this arrangement quite useful in the future.
Sorariba Nash is the University of Papua New Guinea's journalism coordinator.
