MEDIA STUDIES AND THE CHANGING MEDIA LANDSCAPE…..

Each day, each development is becoming the new old, urging marketers, media producers, consumers and practically everyone to stay connected, updated and literally “online”. Also, communication permeates through all sectors serving as a backbone, an indispensable factor that could make or break opportune circumstances. Marketers use media technology help to build relationships as they look beyond mere advertising and promotions.
Media studies, as a standalone discipline for decades, needs to keep abreast with the changing media landscape. There is a constant need for media professionals who understand the dynamics of such relationship-building using media interface thereby driving the business. Media learners need to gain a fundamental yet key understanding of how media works and its key stakeholders that chisels media production. The key concern that sets the agenda for honing media skills is bridging the gap between theoretical understanding and practical application.
Pablo Picasso rightly said “Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.” A sense of critical inquiry is another fundamental concern that brings about independent and logical thinking. Given the advancement in media production and an unending thirst for quality content, a media graduate has the potential to evolve as a media entrepreneur with the right business acumen. For this, the right mix of theory, practice and critical inquiry is crucial. Media plurality and convergence offers complex real world situations that demands multidisciplinary learning. The course that one chooses must, therefore, instill the ability to draw varied insights. Media course must offer the scope to specialize in a vertical and the flexibility to opt out of the vertical. “Jack of all and a Master of One” is the order of the day that dictates how a media professional could bring about prospects of a one-stop shop.