ADITHI SHARMA | NT KURIOCITY
As part of an effort to connect classroom learning with real-world journalism, second year students of Murgaon Education Society’s Vasant Joshi College of Arts & Commerce, Zuarinagar, visited The Navhind Times office in Panaji on March 18. Organised by the Department of English in collaboration with the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), the visit aimed to give B.A. Semester IV students from the ‘News Reporting and Editing’ minor paper, a better understanding of how journalism and media works.
At the Navhind Bhavan in Panaji, the students visited the offices of the English daily, The Navhind Times and the Marathi paper, Navprabha. This visit gave students a first-hand experience of journalism. They interacted with editors, reporters, and staff, learning about their roles and challenges. For Sharon Bose, one of the visiting students, the dedication of the newspaper team was the most impressive part. “The way they explained everything, their commitment—it was truly inspiring. Very few people put in so much effort,” she said.
Another student, Milosha D’Souza, shared her thoughts on improving news reporting. “Good visuals make news more interesting and easier to understand,” she suggested.
For the lecturers, the visit was a way to make learning more practical. Priscilla David, one of the coordinators, spoke about the importance of such visits. “When we teach, we explain roles of senior editors and how news is reported. But hearing directly from the professionals helped the students appreciate the amount of effort involved,” she said. Her colleague, Michelle D’Mello, agreed. “Now, the students really understand the challenges of journalism, from gathering news to fact-checking and final publication,” she added.
Talking about the relevance of traditional newspapers in today’s digital world, where news is instantly available online, David pointed out the unique experience of reading print media, comparing newspapers to books, saying that “reading a physical copy feels different from reading online.” The group also talked about the issue of trust in journalism. They agreed that social media news is often unreliable or misleading. “Newspapers go through proper checks and verification, unlike many online sources,” noted Bose.
“Most students today do not read newspapers regularly,” D’Mello pointed out. “Social media, especially Instagram, has become their main source of news.”
The visit to The Navhind Times helped students see journalism in action and encouraged them to think about it as a future option.
