What To Expect In Journalism — A Reality Check
A journalist with Economic Times expresses writes on what journalism students must expect as they take that step forward from college to professional life:
A few years back, journalists were people who had studied English Literature or had to failed to become engineers or doctors. Today several colleges have graduate and post graduate courses in journalism, and students are investing in them. But a lot of us enter journalism with all the wrong notions. Here is a checklist on what to keep in mind while choosing to be a journalist:Comments are open to this article.
(1) If getting into journalism means changing the world, trust me, you would be disappointed. If you check out the newspapers or television channels carefully, you would notice, we are not doing BBC style journalism. A lot of it is plain entertainment. We can get into a debate of whether it needs to be there or not. But you wouldn't be getting into a position of deciding that very soon. So understand clearly that as long as you are working for a newspaper or a television channel you would be under immense pressure to produce stories on an everyday basis. So changing the world can take a backstage for a long time.
(2) If being a news anchor or a television journalist is your idea of journalism, change it. Journalism is not about glamour and high visibility alone. It is about deadlines, about breaking stories, picking out trends and, most importantly, doing that every day. It could be unlike the West where journalists get to work on their stories for months.
(3) Journalism would also be your way of earning a livelihood and one needs to have a passion for it. It is not a difficult thing to get admission in any of the journalism courses. Maybe even finding a job is getting easier by the day. But sticking to this profession for the next 10 years, and I am just saying 10, would be difficult if don’t have passion.
(4) Strong networking skills are one of the most important things you need to be a journalist. It is not your knowledge of English or any other language alone that can make you successful.
(5) The salaries can be very bad in the beginning. They are getting better now but don't even think of comparing it with any of your friends with a management degree.
(6) Here’s a purely personal opinion, and an appeal to all those who treat journalism as a stop gap arrangement for their CAT or GMAT or GRE or IAS preparations: give this profession some respect.
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I agree with the author. For better or for worse, things have changed, and journalism is not what it used to be. While journalism is more financially viable these days, the money keeps compromising the quality of journalism.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with point no. 6, and we can't discourage anyone from being a journalist for a year or 50. But like you said, it's your personal opinion.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhy i don't want to be a journalist
ReplyDeleteThe write-up is interesting to read except that journalism today is a very different profession. I was reading a PTI story in which a Chaiwalla, who was a story teller and a short story writer also has to his credit several books on contemporary issues of post independent India admiting very boldly why he didn’t want to be a journalist. When I told my wife why he didnot want to be a journalist her opinion was “its because of the present day journalists”. Well his answer was “ I don’t want to become a journalist because I have to write a car has five wheels if my editor wants me to write or if I have survive in the organisation and get the annual pay hike compromising everything for which I am proud of. My mind, brain and freedom.
What is wrong if after compromising you get the desired position and perk. Carry on its the demand of the time. Aap pichhe chhut jayenge.
ReplyDeleteTo move ahead be with the time.
Thanks
The idea / opinion given here is a bare fact of the time. And, this is not because Editors want their journalists to do so, but because of the trend moving in the market. In the fiercely priced growing economy like India, most of the things are decided by the market forces, and journalism is no different. That is you are here to and to sell only that item, which a consumer wants him to be offered. Of course, you may offer some other things / items along with that so as to take a note of his / her likes and dislikes. But, mind it; you can’t impose anything on to your viewers / listeners / readers as they have many options lying with them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a general phenomenon of any economy that it grows in stages, and I don’t think that the stage has come yet for an Indian journalist in India to impact the masses through his / her sensational revelations based on an indepth month-long research. Every news channel / news paper is having its defined arena in which it has to practice, and can increase its reach and depth gradually. It can’t step out suddenly, as it can loose its identity even among its beloved ones. So better to stick to the principle of stepping-stone as this is the right path to expect and for the revolutionary change for which this journalism is known world over particularly in the West (the BBC kind of journalism). All the best to generations to come in this profession.
The idea / opinion given here is a bare fact of the time. And, this is not because Editors want their journalists to do so, but because of the trend moving in the market. In the fiercely priced growing economy like India, most of the things are decided by the market forces, and journalism is no different. That is you are here to and to sell only that item, which a consumer wants him to be offered. Of course, you may offer some other things / items along with that so as to take a note of his / her likes and dislikes. But, mind it; you can’t impose anything on to your viewers / listeners / readers as they have many options lying with them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a general phenomenon of any economy that it grows in stages, and I don’t think, the stage has come yet for an Indian journalist in India to impact the masses through his / her sensational revelations based on an indepth month-long research. Every news channel / news paper is having its defined arena in which it has to practice, and can increase its reach and depth gradually. It can’t step out suddenly, as it can loose its identity even among its beloved ones. So better to stick to the principle of stepping-stone as this is the right path to expect and hope for the revolutionary change for which this journalism is known world over particularly in the West (the BBC kind of journalism).
All the best to generations to come in this profession