Sahayatra

Interview with:
Laxman Datt Pant
National Integrated College

1. How is your Teaching Experience in this Mass Communication Discipline?
I started teaching journalism at university level 8 years ago. Teaching has always remained a matter of pride for me. Many peopel still do not see media teaching a full time career. Yet, I do. It really gives me a thrilling experience -the efforts to attract someone towards media profession by means of teaching.
2. What opportunities do you see for the students studying this Media Discipline?
Opportunities are multi-dimensional, multi-sectoral. The students after completing degrees in media and gaining professional skills can join media institutions as journalists and the organizations as communication professionals. They can also contribute to different genres by means of research and teaching. There are ample opportunities in the areas including advertising and public relations, new media and entrepreneurships. However, one must come up with creative ideas, multifaceted innovations and courage to do something new.
3. What challenges do you see for the media students in present and future?
Every profession is full of challenges so does the media. Nepali media at the time is faced with professionalism crisis. The media students must equip themselves with market driven practical skills to overcome with the challenges. Political affiliation, nepotism, regionalism are some crucial issues the future journalists must be aware with. They should serve the stuffs the modern Nepal expects and digests with.
4. What is the significance or importance of Media related Studies?
It is undoubtedly significant. Studies on media, journalism or mass communication is crucial. Journalism has remained the least trusted profession in Nepal for a long time. It is due to people entering/joining the profession without education. I believe the specialized knowledge in the area can make the profession a trusted done.

Interview with:
Yam Bahadur Dura
Madan Bhandari Memorial College
1. How is your Teaching Experience in this Mass Communication Discipline?
I am very much happy with my teaching job. What makes me feel great is that my job has assisted me to be updated myself in my subject matter. In the same way, it has made me to imparting my knowledge and experience to young students who would utilize these things for the well being of the nation and own careers as well. My observation in my own teaching career is that I myself am a student who is following the course of "learning by doing." I have sill a long way to go. Nothing in this universe is absolute. So is the case of teaching career.
I am proud of myself for being a teacher of Mass Communication and Journalism. My job has given a good network of commutation experts, teachers and students, which, I think, is my property.
This is a practical subject. In Nepal, it greats lacks practical activities. However, the scenario is now swiftly changing and many colleges have experienced the need of the hour. This is positive gesture.
Sometimes some lazy students make me feel boring. They need to understand and internalize Charles Darwin's theories of "struggle for survival" and "survival of the fittest" that are very much applicable in this field.
2. What opportunities do you see for the students studying this Media Discipline?
It seems to me that there are vast opportunities to be explored in this discipline. Most of the people think that media disciple opens avenue only for reporting or journalism. That's a misunderstood concept. Actually, it opens avenues for media research, investigative journalism, information and communication related jobs viz. communication expert, communication/media/ information officer, and many more. Every laborious student can handle any of the aforementioned area. It can provide students with name and fame.
3. What challenges do you see for the media students in present and future?
What I have observed is many young people think that media is a glamorous field. Of course, it is glamorous job. It gives them exposure and sometimes they the appear in a way that they are celebrities. But, one needs to work hard to achieve this success. It is a matter of sorrow that a great number of students want to enter this area without working hard. This kind attitude takes them nowhere. Nothing can substitute labor. They need to read and write more and more complete their reading and writing hours.
4. What is the significance or importance of Media related Studies?
This is one of the disciplines of social science. It is equally important as other disciples are. Its importance, in my view, is that it gives enough room to widen the horizon of our understanding.

Interview with:
Mohan Nepali
Lecturer, Mass Communication and Journalism
Kantipur City College, Putlaisadak

A more exploratory habit in me gets deepened as I continue teaching mass communication and journalism. The biggest challenge involved in this context is the difficulty making students internalize the fundamental principles.
Students, like people in other sectors, are the products of the existing political and socio-economic structures. They have got their own psychological settings on which their thinking and behavioral patterns are based. Moreover, persuading students to examine the current phenomena critically and analytically is a serious challenge since consumerist and skin-deep mentality prevail in the modern society.
Bright Prospects for Media Students
Some people take education just as a fashion or showbiz. However, most regard it as a tool to promote their life status. Those who study mass communication and journalism with a vision of social life, they are the ones most likely to obtain more opportunities. The Nepali society today is at the threshold of transformation despite some efforts of resisting newer changes. Thorough analysis of the Nepali society is vital for restructuring and transformation processes. There are heavy tasks to carry out for the Nepalis in every sector, at home or abroad. More communicators and information players will definitely be required.
Be it private or non-private, institutions will require more experts who can analyze issues, rapport about them or undertake research assignments. We will need more quality journalists to shed light on current phenomena, national and international. Furthermore, citizens equipped with rich information and media consciousness will be in high demand in any profession. Thus, there are always opportunities for communication graduates.
Challenges for Media Students
Nepali students—born and brought up in a digitally divided society—will have to face some technological challenges while trying to gain communication expertise. More important, there are wider gaps of misunderstanding among different walks of people due to the deep-seated hierarchic society full of political and socio-economic discriminations.
Mass communication and journalism students can prove their worth only if media educators can inspire them to dig into the issues and roots of gaps. If media educators encourage their students to stick to status quoism instead of helping them to navigate their native society better, this should be considered unfortunate.
As far as challenges in media education itself are concerned, scarcity of resources and the need to guarantee practical skills will be the major challenges. Equally, media students in the future will face more ethical challenges than ever before.
Significance
Megabillion multinational media corporations manufacture news and views and market them throughout the world. There are so many relevant and useful things for us to derive from them. However, information bombardment may keep on stunning us if we do not prepare a society with a background of information and media.
Amidst the ocean of information, advertisements and entertainment programs, media-knowledgeable citizens can lead their society. Besides, things already stated above, indeed, justify the media-related studies.
Interview with:
UJJWAL ACHARYA
LECTURER, MASS MEDIA,
WHITEHOUSE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
URL: www.nepalivoices.com
Email: ujjwal@cricket.com.np
1. How is your Teaching Experience in this Mass Communication Discipline?
Mass communication comprises of two equally important aspects: the theoretical knowledge as well as the practical understanding. For the first part, the students are competent enough to understand because they have been learning almost everything theoretically. But for the second part, it's not easy particularly because students and institution are not used to practical education. And, despite trying my best to go into practical aspects, I find it hard to get into all matters that I wanted students to learn.
However, teaching mass communication has given me wonderful experiences as I get opportunity to share my knowledge and experience; and also to understand more about, including what youths think about, my own profession. It's satisfying. 
2. What opportunities do you see for the students studying this Media Discipline?
Media in Nepal has not yet gained its full potential - in terms of number, effectiveness, coverage and professionalism. It's a growing and with growth, let be ensured, that the demand for people will understanding/study of media will grow. These days, the competition among media is for establishment and coverage; which once achieved will turn into a competition of becoming best among the good ones and that's where students of media studies will be sought after.
And, media students should not only think that their future profession is journalism alone. They can be good media planner, Public Relations officers and also advertising agency employees. All that fields are at a very infant stage and with good learning and practice; today's students can help shape up those industries. 
3. What challenges do you see for the media students in present and future?
Studying media is not easy - particularly because it's not a linear study of one subject. Good media students need to be all-rounder - they have to have knowledge about the curricular topics and also have to understand the social, political, economic situation of the nation and have good command over a language. For this, media students need to study more than others.
Many institutions teach media for the sake of teaching. They are not focused on practical aspects which makes media studies a non-starter for many students when they go to the practical field.
The challenge they face right now is that their studies are not considered important by media people. Once in the field, they will compete will the people who had learnt/are learning by experience alone. And, many times, they feel their studies were useless - which is however not. Their studies give them an edge using which they can progress early/quicker. 
4. What is the significance or importance of Media related Studies?
Media studies in important for various reasons. It's not only a profession and even if someone does not wish to pursue their career in media, study of media could become important aspect for their decision making. For media studies teach a few very important lessons - first, the critical eye on any news/event; second, the analytical skills; third, the self-confidence and finally, a better language skill while writing/speaking/listening.

Interview with:
Sachin Shrestha
St. Xavier's College, Maitighar
Email- thousandoask@gmail/yahoo.com
Cell- 9841487046
1. How is your Teaching Experience in this Mass Communication Discipline?

Since 2063, I’ve been teaching mass communication and journalism. My teaching experience is good one in my life. I thank all the students of Makawanpur Multiple Campus, Hetauda. But, there was lack of equipments for teaching this subject. And now I'm teaching in St. Xavier's College. This subject is new one in Nepal. Journalism practice is very essential for the students. But these days due to the lack of space in media houses, the job is much competitive. In gist, my teaching experience was fine outside Valley and going well in Valley.
2. What opportunities do you see for the students studying this Media Discipline?
In my point of view, Journalism is a great job and each student must be great, I mean must be talented. It's a competitive job and all should be energetic and hard working. Today, we have variety in mass media. We have print, electronic and the recent emerged online media. Students can choose one of these sectors. But, hard working, intelligent, courageous are very essential. I think students have great opportunity.
3. What challenges do you see for the media students in present and future?
In present, practicing journalism is the challenging job. Students' major challenge these days is ' lack of space in media house for internship'. They are trying their level best to find the room for internship in different media houses. There still lacks the sufficient equipments for studying mass communication and journalism. Especially, students from outside valley are facing these problems. But students in Valley they have access to these equipments. In future, i think this job will be hardest one. No doubt it is one of the challenges for them in future. 
4. What is the significance or importance of Media related Studies?
"Voice of the voiceless", "Press is the fourth estate". These are the very famous statements originated only for journalism. Every journalist is the part of the society. They have social responsibility. And journalism teach them how to be responsible for the society and for the whole audience. With journalism students can maintain good public relation with the public. They can be a very famous media celebrity

Interview with:
Tanka Upreti
Senior Producer
Nepal TelevisionFax: 977 1 4228312
Tel: 977 1 4220348/4242907 ext 145 (Office)
        977 1 4601140 (Residence)
        9841 268889 (Mobile)
Website: www.neptv.com.np
1. What opportunities do you see for the students studying this Media Discipline?
There are innumerable opportunities such as being a journalist, researcher, media analyst, teacher, communication officer, consultant, media manager, independent content producer, marketing professional and PR manager 
2. What challenges do you see for the media students in present and future?
The primary challenges are to be equipped with depth knowledge and competing professional skills according to need of the contemporary world. 
3. What is the significance or importance of Media related Studies?
It is very important to understand what is happening in the world and face the challenges encountered in the practical life.

Puran Bista
White House College

It has been a decade only since I started teaching media. Prior to that, I was teaching English literature as I also hold a Masters degree in English. Teaching media as a working journalist is very exciting. Besides theoretical parts, you directly deal with the day-to-day issues that surface every day in local newspapers. Unlike literature, you are also into various subjects which make us learn more about subjects than than literature. As far as my knowledge about the media studies is concerned, media is very diverse subjects or it is called study of interdisciplinary subjects. Every want-to-be journalist should be aware of it and choose an area of his or her interest right from the beginning or before s/he joins the mainstream media. Writing is the right mantra, and there is no option but to read and write more and more.... How he or she expresses his or her ideas is more important than how s/he impresses readers or colleagues as journalists -- working for both print and electronic media -- have to communicate with large, diverse and heterogeneous audiences.
For a beginner joining print media is the right choice because whoever intends to join media -- be it electronic or print -- has to write. One should not join electronic media, especially television, unless s/he gains some basic skill in writing. The reason: s/he has to write and writing before reading the text makes us more perfect, though there is nothing called 'perfect' in media. We work collectively in media, and no one is perfect as such, nor any body knows everything. We should know the subject before we write and cover any events accordingly. Use of idiomatic phrases gives clarity, makes the story concise and determines his or her future career as well.
Ethics and code of conduct are two faces of the same coin. Code of conduct is prescriptive and general. However, ethics are specific and implied to individuals. Growth of a journalist depends on how s/he understands ethics which are moral values of every reporter, editor or subeditor. And strength of a journalist is assessed on the basis of his or her ethics.
Every country vies for economic development. In fact, economic growth precedes politics though it is contrary in our context. So, the subject, economy, is very important. Besides, economy determines quality of life, education, and is the yardstick of a country's growth, even though other subjects such as science and technology, art, literature, fashion, environment and a horde of social issues are equally important. However, all what I have suggested is not the right choice. A student's interests matter much more than my suggestion. Media have become an inextricable or inalienable part of our daily life. That no society can be imagined sans media has been the truth even Mahatma Gandhi had realized and edited newspapers to communicate with his fellow-country men. Understanding or reading it obviously makes one well-informed, that is to lead a good life in our society. And finally, media have no boundary.