In the era of communication and technology today, people around the clock want to keep up with the latest changes and developments around them.
What is journalism?
Journalism is the role is to disseminate information about every relevant event in the world. Newspapers, radio, television and, more recently, the new media internet have revolutionized the way news is broadcasting. In this practice, journalists have a very important role to play.
Today a career journalism stands for not only a prestigious profession, but also a challenging career option. Journalists have a key role to play in any nation’s growth. Journalism’s core purpose is to inform, educate and educate the masses about different issues that revolve around them.
Since the new world has repeatedly verified the saying that the pen and camera are more powerful than the sword, numerous opportunities have been created around the globe for journalists. Simple reporting of events is no longer adequate. Today, there is a need for more specialization and professionalism in journalistic practices.
Eligibility, criteria and skills for the course
Educational qualifications: The minimum eligibility for the course is a bachelor’s degree in journalism, generally set at 10 + 2 certificates and a graduate degree in journalism is required for postgraduate courses.
Some institutes and private educational players also offer one-year journalism certificate courses for which 10 + 2 is eligible.
There are also courses in journalism specialized areas such as sports, television, photography, press law, etc. The fact that no course or training can claim to make someone a qualified journalist should be kept in mind.
Only the technical aspects can be educated by the courses. In addition to being able to write and produce news stories in the correct, concise and appealing style, one must have a nose for news for this profession.
Personal attributes: One should have a curious mind, power, the ability to present information accurately, concisely and effectively. He / she should also be able to arrange and express thoughts in both written and oral forms of communication. In addition, during interviews with the public and celebrities, a journalist must be diplomatic, confident and structured.
Journalists must have the ability to filter from the irrelevant relevant facts. Also crucial in this profession is the ability to accept criticism and willingness to do significant rewriting.
Journalism is divided largely into two categories: Print and Electronic. Print media journalism jobs revolve around newspapers, newspapers, magazines, digests, and news agencies. On the other hand, journalism consists of television, radio and the new media-internet through the electronic medium.
Career options in the print media
Reporter: As a reporter for a newspaper, magazine, news agency, radio or TV channel, reporting with speed, clarity and accuracy will be your job. In this role, the intellect to distinguish a story and objectivity is going to be very important.
Special reporter: To be a reporter for a specific purpose, you need to have thorough knowledge in a particular field such as politics and sports etc. You also need to have the ability to read between the lines and explain the news based on your understanding.
Feature writer: The job of a feature writer is to write in – depth stories and comments on specific topics.
Proof reader: The task of Proof Reader is to evaluate and compare evidence with the copy edited. It is necessary to have grammar, spelling and punctuation skills for this job.
Columnist: As a columnist, one writes in the newspaper or magazine for a specific segment. Your column would highlight your point of view on any subject under the sun, such as fashion, politics, or movies, etc.
Photo journalist: In order to become a successful photojournalists or in simple words, a visual reporter must be quick to take photographs that represent a news story and be willing to work under difficult conditions. In addition, he / she should have the ability to write adequate captions and knowledge of photography technical aspects.
Cartoonist: In order to be recognized as a cartoonist, you have to be artistic and humorous. In a satirical way, a cartoonist comments on public personalities and other events.
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Journalism career options in media
Researchers: The work of researchers revolves around doing the channel or site research work. You need to be creative and inquisitive to be a researcher.
Broadcast Reporters: There must be good communication and presentation skills for a broadcast reporter coupled with a news nose.
Presenters: good communication skills, command over speech, diction and language, general knowledge, intelligence and composing ability in stressful conditions are essential to this job. Additionally, to convey the right tone of the news, the presenter must also have a word control and a good quality of face expression.
Job prospects in Journalism
A professional mass communication course opens doors to a film & TV career, publishing, public relations, journalism, editing, direction, filmmaking, scriptwriting, production, etc. Mass Communication, in nutshell, expands a person’s horizon of career options. A mass communication professional may choose a job depending on personal interest and inclination. Attractive and highly paid jobs are available to talented and trained individuals as a journalist, actor, director, editor, screenwriter, RJ, producer, VJ.
Salary package after the course
While candidates from IIMC, MCRC Jamia, Symbiosis College and many other institutes are attractively placed after their classes and beautiful wages, students from not – so-known institutes have to work hard to get placed.
The starting salary could be between Rs 12,000 and 25,000 for a mass communication professional. A professional can expect higher salary in the range of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000 per month after five years of work experience.
Scholarships and fundings for the course in India
IIMC offers candidate scholarships in each branch, i.e. print media English and Hindi and Electronic Media, which is nearly half the fees–for the first two tops. At the Institute, several other memorial scholarships are based on merit.
Other institutes of mass communication also provide freeships and scholarships based on merit. Education loans are available from nationalized banks like Allahabad Bank and Punjab National Bank where a student can borrow at low interest rates up to Rs 7.5 lakhs.
Fees for studying the course
Mass communication courses are expensive because there are quite high tuition fees and fees and expenses for projects, internships and field work. Most of the institutes that offer graduate courses charge Rs 60,000 to Rs 2, 00,000 per year anywhere. It means you’re going to have to pay almost three lakhs for a three-year course.
Similarly, for one year, a PG diploma course from the Indian Mass Communication Institute may cost between Rs 40,000 and Rs 1,00,000. PG course at Jamia Millia Islamia in Mass Communication from MCRC can cost about one lakh for two years.
Tips for getting hired
A candidate is required to have certain skills or interests that help him get a job in addition to pursuing a course from a mass communication institute. Candidates interested in news media should have keen interest and sound news and current affairs knowledge.
Global perspective on different issues helps candidates to acquire a reporter or journalist position. Similarly, those interested in electronic media need to have practical video editing knowledge. Most institutes of mass media training offer internship programs with news channels or entertainment channels that help candidates get a job after completing the course.
Top companies to get placed
- Hindustan Times Group of Publication
- NDTV Network
- Zee TV Network
- Times of India Publication Group
- Viacom
- BBC
- TV 18 Group
- Big Entertainment and numerous others.
Top institutes to study this course
- Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune-411004
- AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-110025
- Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi-110067
- Asian College of Journalism, Chennai
- Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal
Mass Communication is not limited to journalism alone. To a great extent mass media is a modern reality which covers all aspects of human life. Moreover, a great change can be observed in the concept of people working in mass media. Careers in Mass Communication are not only high paying but also bring in a great deal of job satisfaction and expression of creativity.