JOURNALISM

If u get dream of making a qualitative change in the people's life,bringing into light the darkside of the society,have the patience to get along with politicians,bureaucrats,criminals and a myriad of persond desperate to get some free publicity.And if you are also ready to rush to work at odd hours,do night shifts;Journalism is one of the best carrers to pursue.

Eligibility:Although some universities teach Journalism at the undergraduate level.the subject is vastly taught at the post-graduate level in our country.Graduates of any stream are eligilble for the netrance exam.ajournalism degree or a diploma isn't strictly necessary although some organizations prefer it.There is no substitute for practical training.However a post graduate degree or diploma in Journalism or Mass communication is necessary,if you wish to join the Indian Information Service or the different State government information services,later in your carrer.It can also help you to shift to a teaching career in Journalism schools.

Course content:Students of Journalism are tutored extensively on different writing styles in reporting-news,features,reviews etc.Report writing has its own language;some words and phrases are extensively used some are less used and some are never used at all.Further,paragraphing writing an introduction for a lead story or an anchor,script writing are generally a part of actual news hunting in these courses-how to cultivate sources,how to get a quote out of a difficult politician,official or bureaucrat etc. A month or two of internship with a newspaper or television house is compulsory and now forms an important part of the practical training.

Nature:Reporters can work for either print or electronics media.while the print has several sub categories like newspapers,magazines and news agencies,the latter includes radio,tv and internet portals like Tehelka.com. In a newspaper house,freshers usually join as trainees at the news desk or the editing desk.After a couple of years,they get transferred to reporting.However exceptions to this rule are common and some people join straightway as trainee reporter also. The hierarchy for reporters in most of the newspaper houses is roughly a sfollows-trainee,staff reporter,senior reporter/correspondent,chief reporter and special representative/correspondent.

Working for a news agency is slightly different because of the tougher deadlines.The ABC of the news agency reporting is accuracy,brevity and clarity.The format of writing is very staright forward to the point and does not allow any scope for speculation or analysis within the news story.Agencies like PTI and UNI are 24 hours open and their offices are not closed even on Republic day or Independence day or Holi which are rare holidays for the newspapers. Reporting for TV involves more leg work than print.It also requires more close cooperation with the cameraman and therefore,it helps to know a little bit of camera work and lightening.Here the distinction between reporting,camera work and desk work many a time gets blurred and the reporter does all the work.The reporting section of a TV news magazine is headed by a news coordinator who has several senior staff reporters functioning under him.

Emoluments:It is pertinent to say here that the salaries vary between different organizations and between different media also.Generally the salaries are low in print media compared to the electronic media but this is not a law.Payment for a trainee reporter ranges from around Rs.4000 to Rs.9000 across the media and the special correspondent may even get Rs.one lakh per month. In an agency the salary scale according to the Wage Board is Rs.7,500 to Rs.8,500 for a trainee until confirmation,Rs.10,000 foe a staff reporter and between Rs.18,000 to Rs.32,000 for a special correspondent. Hardwork,the willingness and the capacity to learn,teamwork and other human skills are important for growth in this field.

INTERNET MEDIA OF THE FUTURE: BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE SKILLED JOURNALISTS.

India is today witnessing a boom in the Internet media. Most of the media houses has already started the online education and the E-Papers- the Times Of India, the HT, India Today, The Week, Nai Dunia, Bhaskar and Jagran etc. the day is not far away when all the media houses- whether in print or television will have their presence on the internet. There is no substitute of Internet to reach to the readers spread all over the world who are interested to read the newspaper and magazines published from anywhere in India or the world. India is among the top ten countries of the world in the use of internet and I m sure that in the coming years India will have the largest population of the internet users, and the largest number of newspapers and magazines on the internet. Indeed, Internet has become part of our daily lives and emerging as the media of the future. In Madhya Pradesh the first Internet newspaper is Nai Dunia and the first Internet newsmagazine is Metromirrer.com. With the boom in electronic media, the Internet media has already established as the most powerful media. The uniqueness of the Internet media is that it has all the power of print media and versatility of the television detailed reports, research and analysis with audio and video presentation and live web cast is also possible with the Internet media. The pioneers in the Internet media-Tehelka.com exposed the bribery in the in the armed forces dealings and has proved the importance of this media.

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE ASPIRING SKILLED WEB-JOURNALISTS

Today the skilled web-journalists have very bright future. Infect, the demand for skilled web journalists is increasing everyday with the launch of the existing and established newspapers and magazine. I would like to suggest to the aspiring web journalists to acquire the following skills, which are essential for bright journalists career and overall success.

I do hope all the aspiring young journalists will prepare themselves as the versatile technologies oriented global journalist ready to face the challenges of the 21st century media world.

Shiv Harsh Suhalka
Editor in chief, METROMIRROR.COM
Email editormetromirror@rediffmail.com
Ph : 9893096880/0755-2562882