A British woman has told one newspaper about her decision to leave the world of journalism for the varied and challenging lifestyle of teaching English – a move which those on TEFL courses may understand. After the death of her aunt Reda in January 2009, Jennifer Coles told the Guardian that she felt compelled to re-think her career options.

Bearing in mind her aunt’s rewarding career as a teacher, the English graduate decided to apply for a course that would equip her with the skills she needed to follow the same route. An earlier trip to Uganda, where she helped to build a school, as well as a "career brainstorming session" with her mother helped Ms Coles to decide that teaching was the right path for her.

"I was amazed by the difference she had made to their lives. I felt inspired and began wondering if a teaching career would be a better option for me," she explained.Meanwhile, those who would like their qualifications to take them to more exotic climes may like to try a TEFL course.

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As newspaper companies continue to file for bankruptcy, media professionals are looking for ways to reinvent the newspaper business. Jeff Jarvis, the director of the Interactive Journalism program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, blogs about the future of newspapers and in December, offered his advice for the industry. He points out that many newspapers are going into bankruptcy and leaning on their debt, when they should be taking this as an opportunity to reinvent themselves and rely on entrepreneurship.

Currently, newspaper companies are restructuring their debts instead of replacing management who had failed to make strategic decisions to remain profitable. “If these companies took just one or two papers each among their 66 to experiment with new models, to radically rethink and resize them, and to learn instead of demolishing their old institutions brick by brick, they and their still-dying industry would be much better off, ”said Jarvis in a 2009 Faster Times article.

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Succumbing to pressure from Hindutava affiliated groups, the Mangalore University shunted out a journalism lecturer on the charge of being controversial. ABVP had backed a protest by some students of the Mass Communication department demanding Umeshchandra's ouster. He has been stripped of his lecturer's post.

The decision was taken at a meeting presided by University acting vice-chancellor K K Achar. Mangalore Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel of the BJP  had  asked the University authorities to order a probe into allegations that Umeshchandra was making anti-Brahmin remarks.

ABVP has alleged that Umeshchandra often attacked Sangh Parivar organisations and expressed extreme Dalit views. Umeshchandra said students had been misled by political forces. "I hold no grudge against them since they have been misled by some political forces" he said.Hindutava outfits which are active in the coastal belt had earlier targeted Pattabiram Somayaji, lecturer of English , for attacking those indulging in moral policing in the region. Somayaji  is a member of f the Karnataka Koumu Souharda Vedike (Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum). ABVP students had demanded action against him for taking on Hindutava organisation.

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Islamabad: Pakistani journalists nominated as best reporters for covering human rights issues during the year 2009, will be awarded prizes for excellence in reporting in a ceremony to be held here today (January 28). Journalists of Islamabad and Rawalpindi representing print and electronic media organizations, members of journalists unions, media experts and students will be participating in the award ceremony hosted by Intermedia and the Asia Foundation. Federal Minister for Human Rights will be the chief guest and distribute prizes to five Pakistani journalists for excellence in reporting on human rights issues.

Wits University's Investigative Journalism Workshop, in conjunction with the Valley Trust, is calling for entries for the fourth Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism, which closes on Friday 19 February 2010.Reputedly, South Africa's biggest journalism award, the award is named after Taco Kuiper.

A successful publisher who shortly before his death in 2004 set up the Valley Trust to promote investigative journalism. It offers a first prize of R200 000 and a second prize of R100 000 to the most outstanding investigative journalism in South African print and broadcast media during the previous year.

Last year's winners were the reporting team from the Mail & Guardian for their continuing investigation into the arms deal. Second prize was shared by Carte Blanche for a film about corruption in the Hammanskraal police and City Press for its investigation into a hospital tender in Soweto.

The $30 million building, which opened for the first day of classes, is in line with the journalism school’s goals — training a generation of tech-savvy journalists, who many hope will save the struggling industry.

“The project started being conceptualized fifteen years ago, just as the industry was starting to change,” said Matthew Sheehan, the journalism school’s assistant to the dean for web strategies. “We needed more classrooms, more seminar rooms and more offices, but we also wanted to build a space that would equip students with the tools necessary to compete in the industry.”

This new set of tools includes a class set of new iPod Touch devices and laptops to use in classes on mobile reporting.

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For a "let's look on the bright side" moment, here are several items I've noticed in the last two days that have nothing in common except illustrating what journalism can do. Having been complaining about many things on many fronts recently, I wanted to distribute some compliments.

"Bail Burden" special on NPR. Late yesterday afternoon I was trapped in traffic, but I barely noticed while listening to an absolutely riveting 20-minute (!) segment on All Things Considered, by Laura Sullivan, about abuses in the bail-bond system.

This is an issue I had never spent one minute thinking about before, let alone 20. I will certainly think about it from now on. It's the first of a three-part series; based on part one, it's a combination of reporting and analysis applied in a very effective way. If there is any justice in the world (separate question), it will make a difference in law and policy.

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One of the biggest obstacles newspapers have faced on the internet is the micropayment problem. Online, readers don't want to mess around too much with their credit card. They don't feel good about it, and rightly so. Besides, they are not keen on filling in a complex form to read a short news story.

Payment has to be simple and elegant. Click and run, and don't think about it. Apple can offer that: there are more than 100 million iTunes accounts with credit cards already. If the transactions are batched so that the fixed cost is amortised across multiple articles, iTunes can offer readers a simple and elegant way to pay, and readers like that.

The iTunes store, launched in 2003, turned Apple into the most important platform for legal music downloads, transforming the terms of trade for another grumbling content industry. It has sold over 8.5 billion songs to date and is the number one music retailer in the world.

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EVELYN Hone College journalism lecturer Mutentwa Makomani has bemoaned the media’s limited coverage of culture and arts in the country And Post journalist Terence Miselo says programmes such as Born and Bred, and Local Rhythms Countdown are some of the ways in which the media promotes arts.

The duo was speaking during a Yezi Arts-sponsored Art in Perspective programme with the theme 'The role of media in promoting arts' on Radio Phoenix on Monday. Makomani said culture and arts play a critical role in the development of any country.

“Media traditionally has been bent towards Politics.” said Makomani Makomani said efforts have been made by the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Authority (TEVETA) to mainstream the journalism curriculum where journalism students are specialized in gender, health, politics health, culture and agriculture, but a lack of lecturers in training institutions is hampering the process.

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Led by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a majority of students of the Mangalore University’s postgraduate programme in Journalism and Communication boycotted classes and staged a protest in the campus on Monday, demanding the suspension or transfer of M.P. Umeshchandra, professor in journalism.

Students met in-charge Vice-Chancellor K.K. Achari and demanded immediate action against Mr. Umeshchandra. However, Mr. Achari cited procedural issues and asked for a week’s time. Mr. Achari told The Hindu that Mr. Umeshchandra must be given a “fair chance to defend himself”. However, the ABVP has decided to intensify the stir and has called for a university bandh on January 20.

A section of students alleged that being a Dalit, Mr. Umeshchandra was expressing “extreme Dalit views” in class, was “anti-Brahmin” and “anti-Hindu”. They said that Mr. Umeshchandra often attacked Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh, the ABVP and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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