Mass media play a vital role in our lives. The world is today witnessing a revolution in the field of communication, with convergence and integration of communication technologies contributing significantly to the expansion of mass media. Information is being delivered 'live' and directly to the consumer from various platforms. As a result, the demand for training people to meet the new challenges, and the need to understand the media, its reach, access and impact, has increased manifold. 

Over the decades, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication has created a niche for itself in the field of mass communication education, research and training and is today recognised as a  "Centre of Excellence".  It is playing a pivotal role by organising suitable training courses to meet the demand for  trained and skilled manpower in today's dynamic media scenario. It provides knowledge and skills to  communicators in a variety of disciplines including print journalism, radio and  television journalism, photo journalism, development communication, communication research, advertising and public relations. 

The Institute has, to its credit, highly acclaimed and experienced faculty members drawn from various streams of media. Visiting faculty, including media stalwarts and industry leaders,  too contribute to enrich the quality of the courses offered to the students. Many of the Institute's alumni have risen to high positions in the country's top media houses.

The Institute was established in response to a perceived need to evolve a methodology and a mechanism to make efficient and effective use of communication resources as part of the country's overall development strategy. The blueprint for the Institute was drawn up by a team of internationally renowned mass communication specialists, representatives of UNESCO and of the media in the country. The team was headed by Dr. Wilbur Schramm, a well known authority on communication. It recommended:

'A Centre for Advanced Study in Mass Communication... with responsibilities for consultation, training, and research and development, particularly in the use of mass communication in support of national economic and social development.'

The Indian Institute of Mass Communication made a humble beginning on August 17, 1965, as a department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, with a small staff, including two consultants from UNESCO. Later, it was registered as an autonomous organisation under the Societies Registration Act (1860) on January 22, 1966.

The principal objectives of the Institute, as set out in its Memorandum of Association, are:

• to organise training and research in the use and development of media of mass communication, with special reference to the requirements of socio-economic growth in the country.
• to provide training to the information and publicity personnel of Central and State Governments; to make available facilities for training and research to meet the information and publicity needs of the public and private sector industries.
• to arrange lectures, seminars and symposia on problems connected with mass communication, information and publicity in collaboration with universities, educational and research institutions as well as trade and industry.
• to organise refresher courses, summer schools and the like and to invite mass communication experts and research scholars from within the country and abroad for delivering lectures and/or developing research.

In the spirit of these objectives, the Institute conducts training and teaching programmes, develops a framework of research and contributes to the creation of an information infrastructure suitable not only for India but for all developing countries. It provides its expertise and consultancy services to other institutions in the country and collaborates with those abroad.