CAREER FOCUS

MEDIA STUDIES
By: Sonam Pelmo

Journalism has been described as “the first rough draft of history”. The custom of recording events is an ancient as the development of language. The information revolution has added to the stature of the Press by bringing the world closer, increasing the variety, sophistication and reach of communication media and making the immediate access to news an integral part of modern living.

A growing awareness that knowledge is power has also given an impetus to the regional and vernacular press to expand and strengthen their scope. There are many types of journalists, from the local beat newspaper reporter to the foreign correspondent, the magazine feature writer to the freelance book reviewer, and many more. It is difficult to pin down the daily routine of an average journalist. Journalists interview sources and review records to assemble, collect, report information and explore the implication of the facts. Journalism informs, educates, chastises. The uncertainty of the daily routine makes it difficult to incorporate family, hobbies and any regularly scheduled plans but those who detest the predictability of nine-to-five jobs are attracted to journalism because today is the carbon copy of the day before. Long hours and chronic deadline pressure can be significantly negative factors. When the editor calls you in on breaking story, you have to be prepared to drop everything. When you are on deadline, you can get crazed trying to write a complicated story in half the time you need. Some journalists complain about being under the thumb of Napoleonic editors who control every word of yours based on their own taste, the editors are more often simply perfectionist.

Today, a large number of accredited journalists, together with countless stringers, critics and commentators seek out, report on and publicize occurrences of consequence. Their stories are carried by over 30,000 newspaper and periodicals besides radio and television networks. Some cover general mix of political, financial, social, environmental and sporting news. Others focus on the specific needs of professional or special interest groups. The opportunity for your writing reach a large audience is tempting indeed, and many find the initial low pay, uncertain and occasionally dangerous condition and chaotic schedule a fair tradeoff to be allowed to do what they do. In fact, many seem drawn by the excitement, interest and challenge of these very conditions.

Though talent and good work in young journalists are recognized and appreciated, experience counts for a great deal in this profession. In any sphere, good journalism informs, analyses and shapes opinion. Due to the enormous influence it exerts on the lives of people, journalism is also referred to as the Fourth Estate.
Qualification Required: Courses in journalism at graduate and post graduate levels are offered by various institutions. These are usually in English or Hindi. Some of the Post graduate courses are part of a wider programme in Mass communication. The qualification varies with institutions. Generally graduation in any discipline is the minimum qualification for entry in post graduate course, while 10+2 or equivalent is required for B.A.in journalism. If an individual have interest as well as command over the language then to purse in this field will be a good choice.

Personal Attributes: A flair for writing, unbiased approach, curiosity, tact, resilience, open mindedness, stamina, courage, ability to express ideas concisely and lucidly, wide ranging interest, sensibility to atmosphere, resourcefulness, willingness to work hard at odd hours ,initiative, persistence and ability to sum up people and situation quickly.

Academic Programme; This include all aspects of communication and print and electronic journalism. Many courses include some period of internship with a publication. The majority of courses offer postgraduate diploma in journalism but at few universities, training in journalism is available at graduate and postgraduate levels.

Main Areas of Work: There are numbers of separate areas in which journalists work. Some of these are:
The Print Media: NEWSPAPER; which include broadsheets, like the morning dailies and tabloids, like the evening or weekly papers. These usually carry various types of news, comments and analysis of current events.
News Agencies And Bureaux: They are like centralized clearing houses where news from different places are received and then syndicated to other sections of the Press.

Magazines: These could contain in-depth coverage and analysis of regular news or information that is of special interest to certain groups like professionals: stock-market investors; women; children; theatre; film or sports fans.

Others print media are journals, periodicals and digests which are mostly bi-monthly publication.
The Electronic Media; Combines the collection of information and visual footage, This involves radio, television and internet.

Radio: Involves investigating, scripting, recording and presenting material for radio.
Television; Which can also mean live coverage of an event via satellite.

Internet; This is one area which is emerging up in a big way. Almost every big newspaper, magazine and all major companies today have their own website, which require the services of trained journalists. This area in particular is witnessing a major boom today.

The Work; Journalism is concerned with the communication of information through various media and involves the collection and dissemination of news through writing, speech or visuals. The gathering, processing and presentation of news in the form we receive is a complete task that requires close coordination of a number of interrelated disciplines. These range from research, writing, editing and proof-reading to photography, sketching, layout and production. All these aspects are covered by the broad term ‘journalism.

Specialized Areas;’ One of the emerging areas of work for journalists and those with a flair for writing is the field of information technology as CD-Rom writers. Here the form of writing is different as it deals with creating an interactive, on-linear flow of information.

Website publishing is another area for writers, even though this is a fairly new field. It holds out much promise as more and more corporate are beginning to set up their own websites and require communication to be conducted through cyber space.

There is also the traditional area of writing books. With the knowledge and experience in editing and presentation of material, many journalists have taken to writing non-fiction and fiction

She is a Career Counselor at TCV Chauntra.