Dr. Kanchan K. Malik (Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad) has been awarded United States federal grant by the U.S. Consulate General, Public Affairs Section in Hyderabad to develop an academic curriculum on Media Ethics in collaboration with Dr. Shakuntala Rao, Professor, Chair & Professor, Department of Communication Studies, State University of New York (SUNY), Plattsburgh, USA.
Dr. Kanchan K Malik will be travelling to the U.S. in June 2016 for drafting of the curriculum with the U.S. professor at SUNY, Plattsburgh. In the second stage the project, Prof. Shakuntala Rao will visit the Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad and work with Dr. Kanchan K Malik to carry out in-depth interviews with journalists in Hyderabad to solicit their feedback, and deliberate on contemporary newsroom practices in India to finalize the curriculum.
The grant will lead up to a two-day workshop with media academics in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha; followed by intensive small-group discussion forums organised in media houses in Hyderabad for brainstorming with practicing journalists on ethics education.
Dr. Kanchan K. Malik obtained her PhD in Communication from the University of Hyderabad (UoH). With a dual Master’s degree in Economics and in Mass Communication from Panjab University, Chandigarh, she worked as a journalist with The Economic Times for two years before settling for a career in academics. She taught post-graduate Journalism and Mass Communication courses as a regular faculty member at Kurukshetra University & GNDU for over 9 years. She has published research papers on media interventions by non-governmental organizations for empowerment at the grassroots level. She was also a consultant on media content development and publications with the Byrraju Foundation. She has worked on the project “Religions, Ethics and Attitudes towards Corruption” as part of the Religions and Development project of the University of Birmingham. Her scholastic interests include, Print Journalism; Community Media; Gender Media and Development; and, Media Laws & Ethics. Her book (with Prof. Vinod Pavarala) published by SAGE Publications (August 2007) is titled Other Voices: the Struggle for Community Radio in India. She is a Faculty Fellow, UNESCO Chair on Community Media, an active member of the Community Radio Forum of India and associate editor of the e-newsletter – CR News brought out by the department in partnership with UNESCO, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia – CEMCA.