The paths which once graced their presence, the stories they once told, the memories they once lived, the giggles they once shared, the food they once relished — all this and so much more is just a minuscule view of what alumni from different parts of the country relived when they visited their alma mater again.

The Alumni Meet 2020, on February 8, 2020, held at the IIJNM campus, began with the alumni sharing their experiences and was followed by entertainment and games organized by the students for their alma maters.

Having tasted both sweet and sour fruits of Broadcast and Multimedia Journalism, Anna Issac, Deputy News Editor at the News Minute and a notable alumna of IIJNM informed the students about the power of Digital Journalism. Apart from equipping them with the know-how of social media, Issac also narrated her inspiring journey and left the newbie journalists with food for thought.

Another alumnus, Harish Upadhya who currently works at NewsX, introduced the students to the importance of patience. He said, “Journalism requires dedication, hard work, and patience. A lot of freshers quit midway instead of juggling their way out of the problems. And, this is certainly not what news organizations look for. Journalism is not a piece of cake. Sticking around and working hard without expecting anything is the only way to climb the ladder of success here.”

The field of fact-checking was revealed by alumna Nivedita Niranjankumar who works at BOOMLive. She introduced students to the tools they could use to check the authenticity of the content in the era of fake news. Punita Maheshwari, too, pointed out that this age requires them to be sensitive to what information they put out. Punita, Gender and Sexuality Campaigner at Jhatkaa.org, stated the necessary things they must ask their sources in order to publish an ethical piece of news.

This was not the end of it all. The students geared up for a jam-packed performance for the alumni thereafter. From showing off their knowledge of ragas to reciting mesmerizing poetry and tapping their feet on the beats of their favorite songs, they left no stone unturned.

The event was followed by a dinner with the faculty in the city. IIJNM Alumni Awards were distributed for the best stories in Science and Tech, Political, Development, Business and General categories. Shadma Shaikh won the award for Science and Tech for her story, “The ease of WhatsApp feeds the craze for child porn in India”, the award for Political story went to Harish Upadhyaya for “Who’s winning 2019?” Prabhu M took home the award for Development story – “Inside Aarey: A tale of forest gumption.” Soumya Chatterjee won the award for business for his report “No easy exit as Ola and Uber drivers in India face spiralling debt trap” and the winner for the General category was Nivedita Niranjankumar for her story “I spent 9 days in Kashmir fact-checking the government’s claim of normalcy.”

By Nikita Arora