Yet, the evident need and widespread demand for better media and communication practice has led variously to the introduction of academic programs in universities and colleges and industry training programs in a range of other settings and institutions. Frequently, however, academic courses have been too abstract to be useful and industry training has been largely bereft of ideas. Both have failed to meet the need fully and have been expensive to provide. Today, media practice is increasingly professionalised, the media industries have been affected by globalisation, privatisation and new technology, and the demand for improvement continues to increase. Meanwhile, the institutional delivery of professional education has first expanded and then been augmented by new options.
Individuals now have much greater opportunity to develop their own professional capabilities.
In the light of these changes, this paper argues for a new approach to curriculum that would strengthen the professional education of media and communication practitioners by taking due account of what is to be learned, who is to learn it and the context in which they have to do so.