US Academic Program selection
India member selected
Mausumi Bhattacharyya, a West Bengal media academic and board-member of IAWRT India, has been selected in the US government, Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) for Scholars, within the Journalism and Media Program.
The academic program for mid-career non-American scholars is comprised of a six week program focusing on media operation, teaching, and technological change.
Dr, Bhattacharyya is currently an Associate Professor in the Centre for Journalism & Mass Communication at Visva-Bharati University, one of India’s major government funded autonomous universities, which is located in Santiniketan, West Bengal.
She says “The program will revolve around four main themes – media, ethics, and society, legal frameworks for media freedoms, roles and responsibilities of journalism in a democracy and changing media business models in an era of technological change. Ohio University will host the program from June 30 – August 12, 2016.”
“As a participant, I will get the opportunity to observe local, national, and international news organizations across Cleveland, Ohio; San Francisco, California; Atlanta, Georgia; and Washington, D.C. I will be able to discuss topics with working journalists and participate in exercises and projects. I will also be able to attend the prestigious Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) annual conference too as part of the fellowship.”
Dr. Bhattacharyya, is also a recipient of a 2015 IAWRT/FOKUS scholarship for her post doctoral research work Mobile Phone: a new tool to empower rural women with special emphasis on Bolpur-Santiniketan. The study seeks to explore changes in the livelihoods of women living in an underprivileged area, through the usage of mobile phones.
It will also seek to explore a broader perspective for communication studies related to communication through mobile phone across India, as well as some of South-East Asia.
