![Sample our Humanities journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5939/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Humanities.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
This article explores the challenges faced by the media education and curricula development in Pakistan, and how the safety of journalists is apportioned in the courses and curriculum of mass communication in different universities. The study uses a mixed method research, including quantitative approach through surveys from one hundred and fifty media students from different universities of Pakistan, it further uses qualitative in-depth interview method in which fifteen media academics are interviewed. The research reveals that safety of journalists has never been a priority in the curriculum, even if the future journalists are really hungry to be educated and trained to cover any hostile event, pandemics and conflict sensitive reporting, and to cope with post coverage traumas. Safety of journalists has been occasionally discussed in lectures on the demand of students, but can never get a space in the mass communication curriculum. This study lays the foundation of ESCR Model of Journalism Education that deals with ethics and safety in crisis and risks. It further suggests the training of academics themselves; and collaboration of media professionals with the academia to realistically develop a curriculum taking into account what media industry and future journalists actually need to mug up.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Rabia Noor
Rabia Noor is an international award winning broadcast journalist, academician, researcher and video blogger based in Lahore, Pakistan. She has completed her PhD in Communication Studies from University of the Punjab, Lahore. She has presented her paper ‘Female TV Journalists Defying Gendered Newsroom Culture’ in the Academic Conference on International Press Freedom Day 2019 grand event in Addis Ababa organized by UNESCO. She has also participated as opening panel speaker in the first Mobile Journalism Conference 2019 in Asia, held in Bangkok. She has achieved inaugural Jamal Khashoggi Award for Courageous Journalism. She is among the five recipients of the award around the globe and the only Asian journalist who has been recognized internationally for this award. She has also received national ‘Journalism Award 2017’ as a best broadcast journalist working on women empowerment and ILO Award in 2013. She has also participated in the International Visitors Leadership Program 2018 and represented Pakistan in the United States. She has also presented her paper in the International Conference on Safety of Journalists in Oslo, Norway. She has been working with media industry for 17 years. She had worked in a mainstream news channel in Pakistan, ARY News, as a special correspondent and producer for 12 years. She has worked for a news channel Waqt News, as a reporter and a newspaper The Post as an In-charge for Infotainment desk. She has also devised courses for different media schools in Pakistan. She is now working as Assistant Professor in School of Creative Arts, University of Lahore. She is also serving as Section Head of Film Studies in AMCAP.