Srinagar, Mar 27: Reputed academic and expert on International Relations, Prof. Amitabh Mattoo Saturday delivered an online special lecture to the students of the Department of Convergent Journalism (DCJ), Central University of Kashmir (CUK), which was presided over by Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mehraj ud Din Mir.
Besides students and scholars, the lecture was also attended by Registrar, Prof. M Afzal Zargar, Dean School of Media Studies, Prof. (Dr.) Shahid Rasool, Head Department Dr. Arif Nazir, and the faculty members of the department, School of Legal Studies and the Department of Politics and Governance.
In his lecture, Prof Mattoo highlighted the role of media in the modern world and the “enormity” of its influence on the social, political, and economic structures, globally. He said international relations have become “prisoner” of internet. “Social media has been the most disruptive force, in both positive and negative sense of the word, in international relations. Bypassing the traditional media world leaders are increasingly using social media to directly engage with the masses,” he remarked. He said the power of social media can be gauged from the fact that leaders like former US president Donald Trump, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and even local leaders have switched to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to communicate directly with people. Prof. Mattoo said the most difficult job in today’s world is to be a journalist because there is so much of power a media person wields which calls for more responsibility.
Commenting on the contemporary global media scenario, he said a huge churning is happening world over and nobody is sure which way this media will turn. “There are opportunities and risks in media now that are unique and unparalleled,” he said.
Advising the journalism students to follow deadlines and learn using language that is accessible to people, Prof Mattoo said that online newspaper like The Conversation.com, which is purely run by the academicians, are good examples to follow.
Vice Chancellor Prof Mehraj-u-Din Mir welcomed Professor Mattoo and thanked him for sparing time for the lecture.
In his opening remarks Dean School of Media Studies, Prof (Dr.) Shahid Rasool said that world has become truly flat because of the expanse of online media and the McLuhanian prophesies have become a reality. He cited various instances of how media has been used to “manufacture the consent” and create favourable conditions for policies and actions at global level. He said the department will be inviting more experts and academicians so that the student and scholars get wide exposure.
In his remarks Registrar, Prof M Afzal Zargar, advised the students and the scholars to make most of such opportunities. “Media is a mirror of the society and is linking people across the globe, therefore, students have lot of opportunity provided they are ready to exploit such career options,” he said, adding, “By getting chances to meet the eminent personalities from academia and media professionals students can broaden their horizons and get exposure beyond their class rooms.” Dr. Arif Nazir conducted the interactive session and presented a vote of thanks.