Media Education Research Centre
Media Education Research Centre (MERC) established in 1985, offers a two year Post Graduation Programme in Mass Communication & Journalism. The course offers the opportunity to study the media at an advanced level, examining a range of contemporary media issues and hones specialist skills required for meeting the challenges of ever-growing global media. The course is regularly monitored and fine-tuned to meet the demand of a dynamic media industry.
Students at MERC are given internship in 4th semester, with leading national newspapers, television channels and production houses to provide them with a variety of career opportunities. These internships develop the required skills and makes students employable for competitive world of media.
The Centre has produced around more than 800 postgraduates; about 80% of them are working with various media organizations at local, national and international level. The alumni of the Centre are placed in reputed national broadcast journalism organizations like NDTV, CNN-IBN, Headlines Today, Sahara, Zee News, Times Now, Star News; national print media organizations like Times of India, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, The Hindu, Mail Today, Outlook, India Today, Tehelka, and The Week. Infect, the local bureau of most of the national and international media organizations in Kashmir are manned by MERC graduates. The local media and news agencies, particularly the print media, are fully run by the former students of MERC. The presence of MERC professionals in the local media have brought a qualitative change in the content and presentation of media output and their presence in the national media has helped in better coverage of news, views and issues about Kashmir at international levels.
MERCalso has a Bachelor’s courses of Mass Communication and Video Production (MCVP) and Mass Communication and Multimedia Production (MCMP) in its affiliated colleges.
The Centre has also integrated research programmes in Ph.D. Scores of scholars have been awarded Ph.D &M.Phil degrees so far. The ongoing activities of MERC include regular TV & other workshops, and symposia offering students hand-on-training in these areas.
Besides, the Centre publishes a fortnightly lab newspaper MERC Times and a lab Journal Media Times. This provides the students a hands-on-training in reporting, editing and production process of a newspapers and magazines.
The Centre also produces documentary films as part of its course. Some of these films have also bagged national and international film awards.