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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.
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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.
1. Communication Skills and Brevity : Internet media news and reports require short but meaningful presentation of the ideas. For this the aspiring web-journalists should have very good vocabulary and the grammar. For Hindi web journalists very good Hindi vocabulary and its correct use to form the short and meaningful sentences is require. To become a successful journalist, you should have good communication skills both spoken and written in both the important languages - English and Hindi. Professionals with dual language skills are always preferred by the all media houses.
2. Technology-Oriented: aspiring web journalists should be technology-oriented, and should be well -versed with the web technology tools and techniques. Media houses prefer versatile web-journalists who are able to design page layout, edit and upload the articles over the net. It would be batter to go through a short duration skill development training course in web technology and journalism and also to undergo internship training with the media houses having online editions. Practical exposure will provide you the required skills and confidence to move ahead with your carrier.
3. knowledge is Power: though "Knowledge is Power" is valid for all professionals, but a journalist or specially a web journalist is require to have knowledge of the various areas, beside his area of specialization. Because today he/she is considered as the global journalist.
Some of the areas which today's new age media houses look for in a web journalists are : business and corporate affairs, international political scene, education, career and success and fashion and trends related issues.
4. Reporter-Interview-Feature Writer Skills: as a web journalist you should preferably have all the skills-reporting, interviewing, and feature writing. If u have all the skills you are more likely to survive in your profession and grow with your organization. Such journalists always get more challenges, more recognition and more rewards.
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
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