NEW DELHI: As the regional language media continues to register a small but steady growth in circulation, plans are afoot at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), a premier media training institute, to offer journalism courses in provincial languages.
IIMC’s branch in Dhenkanal (Odisha) is the only campus where training is imparted in Odiya apart from English.
To begin with, the institute is considering offering journalism courses in Malayalam and Marathi at its campuses in Kottayam in Kerala, and Amravati in Maharashtra.
“The future lies in regional languages, and we are considering the possibilities of offering courses in regional languages,” KG Suresh, who recently took over as the director general of the IIMC in Delhi, said.
Data released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), non-profit body for measuring and auditing newspaper and magazine circulation in the country, reveals that print circulation of its member publications grew by 5.04% between 2008 and 2015. While English and Hindi publications grew by 17.6% and 37.8 %, Bengali, Malayalam and Marathi publications grew between 5 t o 9% between June and December 2015.