By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Majority of mass communications students at Qatar University (QU) prefer strategic communications over print journalism mainly due to social, economic and cultural reasons. The Mass Communications Department takes in around 90 students each year and has currently about 500.
However, about 30 of them are studying print journalism. Some are studying radio/broadcast journalism and the rest are strategic communications, according to Dr Mahmoud Galander, Head, Mass Communications Department.
Strategic Communications, which includes public relations, is the study of how individuals and organisations use communication and media to negotiate their role in highly mediated societies.
“Majority of students prefer strategic communications to radio and TV and the least preferred is print media,” Dr Galander told this newspaper yesterday.
He said students are least interested in print media not only in terms of income but also they see it as putting themselves into more risks than other jobs.
“Risks like if they try to criticise others, they would be in trouble. To get rid of this, we need to educate them more about the profession,” he added.
The least preference for print journalism is seen as one of the main reasons for not having sufficient number of mass communications graduates as journalists in the industry.
“We have been trying to address the problem for long. There are many reasons, but it has to do more with economic reasons.
“When you ask students to join print media, they say those studying strategic communications can get better salary, better job. Some of them, especially ladies, are not comfortable with activities like travelling,” said Dr Galander.
However he does not agree with the commonly said ‘limitations’ within Qatari media that refrain mass communications students from taking up journalism as a profession. “It’s (limitations) not the issue here, it’s there all around the places, all around the region, there are red liens everywhere. Here, it’s social, economic and cultural reasons behind people refraining from journalism,” said Dr Galander.
He suggests that more involvement of authorities and awareness among high school students about print journalism would increase the number of Qatari journalists in the industry.
“It can be done, but it needs a lot of efforts, not just by the university but by authorities in the country. We have discussed this in length and went into kind of discussions, but generally we see improvement, we have seen students like to involve themselves in print journalism,” said Dr Galander.
“With Doha Centre for Freedom, we have started media literacy programmes at schools. We are also working on a programme to go to schools and introduce students to journalism,” he said. However, being an important player in journalism studies at the national university, Dr Galander is optimistic about the future.
“When it’s about future, we should think positive, when we started here, we didn’t have a single student in the Print Department, now we have around 30. We did take many steps, and we do more, so a time will come that you see many of our graduates working in newspapers,” he said. “It (the future of journalism in Qatar) has all potentials, have resources, best equipment, all we need is human resources, if we develop that, then we will have an excellent industry,” he added.
The Department of Mass Communications at College of Arts and Sciences at QU is assigned to prepare undergraduate students for successful mass communications-related careers.
Students are initially enrolled at the college study for two years with a course on media and society and then apply for departments. The Mass Communications Department takes students based on the number of seats. After being selected to departments, students choose to specialise in print journalism, broadcast journalism or strategic communications.
The Peninsula
