• The Indian political scene
• The Constitution of India
• Indian legal system
• Indian defence politics
• Science and technology in India
• Arts and culture in India
• Advertising and marketing
• Public relations
• Indian foreign policy
• Newspaper management
• Materials management
• Newspaper production
• Computers for research
• Newspaper circulation
• Specialised mangazines
• Reporting sports
• Film & TV in India
• Gender issues
• Developmental issues
• Indian and Indo-Anglican Literature
• Indian economic policies
• Indian industry
• World trade
• Poverty in India
• Ecology and environment

The criterion for selecting background module topics is their importance at the local, state, national or international level. Each of the selected topics would be considered a module and will be the focus of lectures.

JOURNALISM MODULE
The Journalism module consists of 90-minute daily sessions
during the first trimester. The modules will cover topics that are related to the mass media and in particular, to print journalism. Typical topics in this module are law and the journalist, theory of mass communication, history of the Indian press, history of Malayalam journalism, international press systems and the vernacular media.

PRINT MODULE
The Print module classes are held in 90-minute sessions daily
mainly during the first trimester and they deal with matters that are germane to the print medium. Some of the topics to be covered are various forms of reporting, writing leads, structuring a story, effective editing, using quotes, attribution, photo editing and writing captions, and page design and layout.

PRACTICALS
There will be daily practical sessions of 90 minutes each, during the first trimester. Practicals include exercises to improve the student’s news gathering, interviewing, editing, writing and related skills, through practical work in the classroom and field assignments.

Topics in Print Module

• What is news?
• Categories of news
• News sources
• Construction of a news story
• Sub-editor’s role
• Editing
• Intro/lead writing
• Headlines
• Captions
• Follow-up reporting
• Localising the news
• Reporting what and how
• Reporting crime and disasters
• Honing writing skills
• Using art and graphics

SPECIALISED JOURNALISM
The Specialised Journalism module consists of 90-minute daily sessions during the second trimester and explores individual journalism topics in detail. Different forms of reporting (crime, sports, business, economics, science) writing editorials, profiles, backgrounders, third edits and middles will be covered in a way that would give the students an understanding of what each involves, so that they can make an informed choice as to the area or areas in which to specialise.

ADVANCED JOURNALISM
The Advanced Journalism module is conducted in 90-minute daily sessions during the third trimester and provides additional exposure to specialised reporting and editing. This module is intended to help the student get personalised instruction in the work he / she is doing for the lab paper.

Topics for Advanced / Specialised Journalism Modules
Political reporting
Legal reporting
Legislative reporting
Investigative reporting
Inteviewing
Editing running stories
Science writing
Business and finance reporting
Sports writing
Writing editorials
Middles and light articles
Development journalism
Understanding foreign news
Covering election campaign
Editing magazines
Rural reporting
Writing news for television
Farm news
Book / Movie reviews

LANGUAGE TRAINING
During the third trimester, students are given training in spoken Hindi and English in 90-minute twice-a-week sessions. The course is intended to enable the student to converse fluently in Hindi and English, thus improving his / her employability.

LAB PAPER
The lab papers - The Fourth Estate in English and Jalakom in Malayalam are the core of the course because they provide a medium for students to put into practice what they have been taught in the classroom. Lab paper production will begin with dummy issues towards the end of the first trimester and the first regular issue will be published in the beginning of the second trimester.

INTERNSHIP
Students are required to serve a three-week internship intended to expose them to the real world of a newspaper office so they can see and contrast actual practice with classroom instruction. Internships for students will be arranged by MASCOM but a student may arrange internship for himself / herself at any established newspaper house, subject to the approval of the Director.

All expenses towards boarding and lodging during the period of internship will have to be borne by the student. A stipend will not be paid for the internship.

FIELD TRIPS
During the present academic year 2009-2010 , MASCOM students went on a series of field visits to sharpen their skills in spotting and developing news/reports. An overnight visit was arranged to Kollam to expose them to the history, art, architecture and industrial undertakings in this thriving commercial hub of South Kerala.

The places visited included Tangasserri, the Matha Amrithananda Mayi Madom in Amrithapuri, Kerala Ceramics in Kundara, Kerala Minerals and Metals in Chavara and some of the rehabilitation projects in tsunami-hit areas in Arattupuzha.

The second visit was to Thiruvananthapuram and its focus was to enable the students to visit institutions of repute. They toured to Kerala Legislative Assembly and its library and museum, the Centre for Development Studies, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and ISRO museum, Technopark and the Sripadmanabhaswami Temple. They also spent some time in assessing its potential as a major tourist attraction.

The students also attended a two-day nature awareness camp at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady, the Naval Day exhibition in Kochi, the National Kite-flying competition at Munambam near Kochi, a three-day film appreciation workshop at St Joseph College of Communication in Changnassery, a national seminar on “Tribal performing arts” at St Stephen’s College Uzhavoor, and a seminar on “De-centralisation and Rural Development” at TMAM Research and Orientation Centre in Kottayam.

In addition, visits were also made to an integrated agriculture farm at Chakkupallam near Kumily, the tomb of St. Alphonsa in Bharananganam, the Malankara Dam and an agricultural exhibition organised by Karshakasree in Muvattupuzha.

PROJECT WORK
Each student is required to prepare independently an academic dissertation on a topic related to any aspect of journalism or mass media. The selected topic and the project guide shall be approved by the faculty and the dissertation shall meet strict academic standards and practices. In addition, each student shall submit an investigative report on a topic cleared by the faculty. The report must be prepared to appear as a series in a newspaper or as a lengthy magazine article.

EVALUATION CRITERIA
The evaluation for award of Postgraduate Diploma is as follows: 

Each student must obtain a minimum of 50% in each of the prescribed subjects and an overall aggregate of 50% to qualify for the Diploma, based on the marks secured in the overall aggregate, the diploma will be awarded with Distinction or First Class or Pass. Grading is decided on the basis of internal assessment and written examination with 70% of the total for internal assessment and balance 30% for assignments. A student failing to secure 50% marks in the individual or overall assessment may offer make-up assignments as determined by the faculty to raise
his/her marks. A minimum of 85% attendance is required for a
student to become eligible for the Diploma.