Kozhikode: Big strides by Newseum
Many of the electronic tools were milestone inventions in the communication history.
Kozhikode: 'Newseum' is a museum of news and communication established by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Calicut, with state plan assistance in July 2016.
It shows the history of news and electronic and non-electronic tools in the field of journalism and communication and helps the students and the public to understand how journalism was in the past.
Many of the electronic tools were milestone inventions in the communication history. The exhibition shows the first phase tools which were used for preparing, printing and distributing news. Many tools, including teleprompter, cameras, virtual control programme interface (VCP), video cassette recorder (VCR), first model Macintosh desktop computers by Apple, recording machines, video cameras, floppy disks and research analysis software SPSS are displayed in the Newseum.
"We have been keeping the technological tools available since 1978. The university had decided to abandon the useless electronic tools as e-waste.
Then we decided to keep the tools for understanding the historical relevance of technological innovation" said Dr. N Muhammadali, head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.
"The department has decided to expand the Newseum with the fund allotted by the authority. We have submitted a plan to build a media museum in the department," he added.
The Newseum received special appreciation from the NAAC team of UGC during their visit in July 2016.
The journalism department has also collected discarded electronic pieces and tools from other departments for the Newseum.