Maadhyam is an annual media festival of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Parul University. As famous as Gujarat’s Largest Media Festival, it’s not just a competition; it’s more like a learning and networking opportunity for future journalists, filmmakers, photographers, designers, writers, broadcasters, and performers. The theme for season 5, Biggest Stage, Brightest Stories, truly showcased the efforts and vision of the Faculty of Liberal Arts.
Dr. Devanshu Patel, President of Parul University, introduced the theme in his address to the participants as a pledge for opportunities beyond competition and towards real learning and industry interaction.
The rawness of Maadhyam Season 5!
The festival was divided into two parts. Pre-Maadhyam, 31st August to 3rd September 2026, comprised seven workshops by industry professionals in the fields of print journalism, broadcast journalism, photography, radio, PR and branding, advertising, and cinematography. The main festival was planned for the period of 7th Sept. 2026 to 12th Sept. 2026, comprising 13 competitive events in 6 days and more than 80,000 rupees as prize money. Alongside the competitions, the PU Talks and Samvaad sessions brought senior media professionals from television, print, digital, and broadcasting into direct conversation with students. The inauguration on 7 September at the Central Auditorium was led by the Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Dr. Rajinder Kaur, with RJ Devanggana as chief guest.
The industry in the room
The strongest feature of Maadhyam is who it puts in front of students. Season 5’s speakers and judges were not generic motivational guests; they were people currently running newsrooms and beats. Among the PU Talks and Samvaad speakers:
- Priyanshi Sharma, co-founder of the independent newsroom Peek TV and a former principal anchor at NDTV, on building credible journalism in the social-media era.
- Somit Sen, Senior Editor at The Times of India, on how a legacy newsroom reinvents itself without losing its basics.
- Sandhya Panchal, News Editor at News18 Gujarati, on the journalism that happens beyond the camera.
- Heem Brahmbhatt, Senior Anchor and News Producer at ABP Asmita, on ground reporting and anchoring with warmth rather than as a teleprompter reader.
- Vikrant Gupta, Senior Managing Editor and Head of Sports at Sports Tak and Aaj Tak, on attention, responsibility, and the self in a digital age.
The pre-festival workshops were led by equally current practitioners: Anamni Gupta, Deputy Copy Editor at The Indian Express; Pinak Shukla, a channel head with a career spanning Aaj Tak and TV9; the photo-artist Prof. Shiv Narayan Joshi; radio professional Parima Jain; PR strategist Umang Pardasani; advertising creative director Jitesh P.; and cinematographer Santosh Thundiyil. The competitions were judged by working journalists and specialists, including Gopi Maniar of India Today and TV9, investigative journalist Prashant Rupera, sports journalist Chandresh Narayanan, and news anchor Rahesha Sehgal. For communication enthusiasts & media professionals, it was truly a great way of sharing knowledge & opportunities!
Thirteen events, one through-line
The competitive events were built to test every discipline a media graduate needs, not just reporting. They ran from the flagship Journalist of the Year championship and PU Wants To Know live reporting, through The Last Lead investigative journalism and The Reporter’s Dugout sports journalism, to the Scene to Screen short film, Lens and Lines mobile photography, Breaking Views debate, M-Ad poster and ad-film making, Kahani Mania story writing, Vyang Chitra editorial cartooning, Kem Chho PU radio jockeying, Mic Drop stand-up and mimicry, and Walk the Talk styled expression. Participation was genuinely national in character, with Lens and Lines alone drawing 128 participants and Walk the Talk 111, and every workshop drawing more than 80 attendees.
For future journalists & mass communication enthusiasts!
This kind of media festival is an indicator for anyone considering journalism or mass communication school. It demonstrates a department that has genuine industry access, has the facilities to run broadcast, print, photography, radio, and film events, and has a teaching philosophy that sees practical exposure of the student as the central focus of a degree, not an adjunct. If you want to be a good storyteller, take the slow path to accuracy, fact-check, know both sides of the story, and don’t panic in a crisis. And if you wish to make a career out of it, discover the Faculty of Liberal Arts’ BA & MA in Mass Communication & Journalism courses and get to work with the top dignitaries of Indian Media.
