Smart Skills
be a News maker
Usha Albuquerque

Do you dream about becoming a Barkha Dutt, or Vir Sanghavi? Do you wish you could interview Aishwarya Rai where she talks to you about her heady ascent to stardom and her impending marriage? Or do you feel strongly about poverty, and corruption and see yourself investigating the biggest scandal of the decade?

Journalism is a career that is today larger than life, and due to the enormous influence it exerts on the lives of people, is also referred to as the Fourth Estate. The growing awareness that knowledge is power has also made it attractive to young people. Journalism is concerned with the gathering, processing and presentation of news in the form we finally receive it. Good journalism informs, analyses and shapes opinions.

Today, a large number of accredited journalists, together with countless stringers, critics, commentators, and others seek out, report on and publicise occurrences of consequence happening in the world around us. Their stories are carried by numerous newspapers, magazines and periodicals, besides radio and television networks. Some of these cover a general mix of political, financial, social, environmental and sports news. Others focus on the specific needs of professional or special interest groups.

Areas of work

Various elements go into the publication of a newspaper or periodical. It is a complete task that requires close co-ordination of a number of inter-related disciplines. These range from research, writing, editing and proof-reading to photography, sketching, layout and production. The division of duties varies slightly between the two and depends also on size and editorial organisation.

But in general, if you are working for a newspaper or magazine you can take up the following roles:

Reporting implies coverage of any kind of event to get a story. Wherever possible, reporters research the background of a subject before beginning investigations. They attend press conferences, conduct interviews, and visit sites of major occurrence to gain first-hand experience for their report.

News/features editing is usually a task assigned to journalists with good organising skills. This is primarily a desk job that involves little or no reporting. News and features editors control reporting staff, allocate assignments and attend editorial conferences.

Sub-editing is detailed copy-editing. Sub editors are required to re-write stories to fit the assigned space, spruce up introductions and language, proof copy for spelling and punctuation, and sometimes give the story a ‘slant’ or focus of interest.

Feature writing is more descriptive and detailed than news reporting and can cover any topic of general interest.

Photo journalists accompany reporters on assignments to take pictures that support a news story, feature or interview.

With some years of experience you can also become a columnist, writing special features for different publications.

Those with creative skills can do sketches / cartoons that range from cartography, graphics and illustrations that enhance a story to caricatures and cartoons that comment on public figures or events.

More than any academic qualification a journalist needs to have a strong flair for writing and command over language with an ability to express ideas clearly and concisely.

Skill set

You should also be open minded, and unbiased, curious and interested in a wide range of interest areas, and have a general awareness of the world around and current issues. For a reporter, it is also important to have an instinct for the story’s appeal to people, an ability to sum up situations and people quickly, be resourceful and resilient, have stamina and courage and be willing to work hard at irregular hours and on holidays.

Eligibility

Entry into journalism is through training in journalism, which could be a diploma or degree course in journalism or mass communication. Generally, journalism is offered as a postgraduate level course, for which the basic eligibility is a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Journalism is also offered as an undergraduate degree course by some universities, or as part of a wider programme in mass communication studies, for which candidates should have cleared the plus two level examination with any subject.

It is not necessary to be a graduate in English, as is normally assumed. A broad- based education in social sciences is more helpful, along with an ability to use language effectively. Moreover, separate courses in journalism are offered in English, Hindi, and regional languages too. A knowledge of typing and computer literacy is essential today, as most editing and subbing is increasingly being done on computer terminals.

Course clues

Courses in journalism at the graduate and under-graduate levels are offered by various institutions around the country. These are usually conducted in English or Hindi. Those offering the postgraduate diploma programmes in journalism include the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, and its branches in Dhenkanal, Orissa, and others coming up in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

Other prominent institutes include the Times School of Journalism, New Delhi, where the nine-month course in journalism includes an internship of six weeks, with the Times of India and Economic Times; the Asian College of Journalism, Bangalore, which provides practical training in reporting, editing and page-making, and the Xavier’s Institute of Communication, Mumbai.

The duration of most of these courses is one year and selection is on the basis of an all-India written exam and interview.

Graduate courses in Hindi and English journalism and mass media are offered by colleges of Delhi University, Bangalore University, Goa University, Punjab University and Manipur University.

Placement prospects

There are a number of separate areas in which journalists work. These include:

Newspapers, including dailies, weeklies and tabloids which carry various types of news, comments and analyses of current events.

News agencies and bureaux which are centralised organisations where news from different places is received and then syndicated to other sections of the press.

Periodicals, publications that are printed at certain set intervals and contain more in-depth coverage of news and information. Most periodicals either feature news and current affairs or are focused at special interest groups such as professionals, women and children, art, computers, sports, theatre and film and so on.

Electronic media: It combines the collection of information and visual footage and includes its recording, scripting, editing and presentation for broadcast on radio and television. The Internet and website publishing is another area for writers which holds out much promise as more and more corporates are beginning to set up their own websites, and require communication to be conducted through cyber space.

New publications appear on the newsstands each year. The number of vernacular papers is also growing, creating a larger demand for writers with an ability to grasp situations and translate them into words in the shortest possible time. With the entry of the foreign media and wire services, there is also the increased scope particularly for business and financial journalists.

So, if you have what it takes to interview Aishwarya Rai, as also a beggar on the street, then head straight for a journalism school.

The writer is a noted career expert