News Broadcasting
First-ever common entrance exam for media studies on 14 Aug
New Delhi: India’s first-ever national level common entrance exam for media studies will be held online on 14 August. The AIMCET (All India Media Common Entrance Test) is being guided by recently set up Global Media Education Council (GMEC).
The exam will be organised virtually by educational news portal, Edinbox.com for over 30 universities across the country including MUIT Noida, Adamas University Kolkata, Uttaranchal University Dehradun, JagranLakeCity University Bhopal, Ajeenkya DY Patil University Pune, Mody University Rajasthan among several others.
It will offer admission to the undergraduate journalism, mass communication, and other media courses in various partnering Universities across the country for the current academic year. Next academic year onwards, it will include the post-graduate media programs as well.
Set up early this year, the Global Media Education Council is a media body of educators and senior professionals looking into nurturing better quality human resources for the communication domain, and periodically contributing its suggestions on various niche media domains for consideration of institutes. It will also organise counseling sessions for entry-level media learners to assist them to make an informed choice, along with psychometric tests to judge their suitability for the profession.
Talking about the objectives, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication (Bhopal), vice chancellor and GMEC, president, Professor K.G Suresh said, “AIMCET is a good endeavour for upgrading the standards of media education. Global Media Education Council is a guiding force for it, and not commercially involved. GMEC is planning to bring a 75 days online event bringing the best media educators of India and the world soon to contribute to the learning of media and communication ahead.”
“AIMCET is the first national level test of its kind for media and communication domain. We have such tests for law, medical, engineering and management, not for media till 2020,” said Adamas University, Kolkata, pro vice chancellor, PR and Media and secretary, GMEC, Prof Ujjwal Chowdhury.
The test involving five sections will be of total 100 marks consisting 100 objective-type questions and has to be completed in 120 minutes. The last date to apply for AIMCET examination is 12 August and the application form costs Rs 750.
Interested students can look up AIMCET website (www.aimcet.in) for more information.
Elaborating on the working of GMEC, DME Media School, DME Media Academy, founder dean, Prof (Dr) Ambrish Saxena and GMEC, Vice President said, “The GMEC Executive Body shall meet once in quarter: thrice a year virtually, and one time physically which will be powered by Edinbox.com. The Secretariat shall keep functioning continuously towards the goal of the Council. There shall be small groups for specific functions working continuously as well.”
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
