By Purushottam Nayak

Bhubaneswar: A ten-day online course on journalism has made participants from various parts of India to understand media and learn how to use its various forms to serve society.

The course “provided me, a beginner, ample knowledge about the media and the techniques used in report writing,” said Sruthi Sukeshan, a higher secondary school teacher from Chennai, one of the 27 participants.

Ashu Peter Mattoo from Jammu said he got “a lifetime opportunity” to attend a course that changed his “entire perspective towards writing skills.”

The June 21-30 program was organized by the National Institute of Social Communications, Research and Training (NISCORT), the media training wing of the Indian Catholic bishops.

The primary objective of course “was to impart journalistic skills to the trainee. The focus was to equip participants with all aspects of journalism,” said NISCORT director Father Robinson Rodrigues.

He told Matters India that the course dealt with introduction to journalism, basic writing skills, paragraph writing, news writing and reporting, news editing, article and essay writing, feature writing, creative heading composition, interview reporting, writing letters to the editor, and reporting press conferences.

It also alerted the participants about sloppy journalism and fake news, Father Robins explained.

The Church-based institution highlighted the significance of online courses during the coronavirus pandemic and provided the participants an opportunity to understand how they can use journalism to serve society, the Delhi archdiocesan priest said.

Sumit Dhanraj, communication and media trainer at NISCORT and the main resource person, said he found the participants energetic and enthusiastic to learn writing skills during the training program.

The participants are already engaged in education, social development, religious and secular line.

Sukeshan, who teaches English in Chennai’s Good Shepherd School, found the online course effective and informative. “The course also helped me to enhance my writing skills through the perpetual and systematic way of doing the assignments,” she added.

Sister Helen Robancy from Tamil Nadu expressed happiness that journalism, once considered the field of the elite, is now open to common people.

“The course enhanced me to improve my writing skills,” said the nun who contributes news and articles to Indian and overseas Church publications.

The NISCORT course “motivated me to write on various topics for newspapers,” she added.

Neetu Chauhan from Punjab said the course boosted her confidence and writing skills. “I also learnt many things from the assignments and sharing of other participant,” said the 32-year-old teacher in Discovery World convent School , Ferozepur, Punjab.

Sister Sneha Gill, another participant, said the program presented journalism in a capsule form. “We had to read lots of articles, journals and newspapers as part of our assignments,” the former member of the Delhi government’s minority commission told Matters India.

The Presentation nun was among 13 participants sponsored by the National Dalit Christian Watch.

She said 99 percent of the participants from the Watch attended the NISCORT program and submitted their assignments on time.

Father Robinson commended Dhanraj’s commitment and dedication to train new comers in a professional way.