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By Piyush Pankaj Srivastava
With the advent of high technology, easy access to public information, and entry of big corporates in media, journalism, over the past few decades, has become one of the most sought after professions around the globe. This article gives a good account of “How to Become a Journalist”.
Thoughtful Step
Before you hop on the idea of taking up a career in journalism, you must understand certain points and ask yourself whether you consider yourself suitable for this kind of a career or not.
No option to hard work
Basically, journalism is not a routine 6-7 hours job. A journalist is always on his/her toes to find explosive stories to feed the never-ending demand of their employers and readers/viewers. A journalist is considered good only if he/she is able to surprise readers/viewers with exclusive stories every day.
To be precise, one should keep a distance from a profession like journalism if one is not willing to work hard. If you get an affirmative answer and consider yourselves better than others in writing stories or video presentations then you are free to give wings to the visions for your career.
Multiple Categories
Broadly speaking, a person who writes for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or prepares news to be electronically broadcast is called a journalist, and the profession is known as journalism. It is a noble profession and, as per the mode of presentation, it can be divided into three major categories:
- Print Media (Newspapers, Magazines, etc.)
- Electronic Media (Television channels, FM, Radio, etc.)
- Social Media (Blogs, YouTube channel, etc.)
Specialization Matters
In every category, journalists are recruited as per their specializations which range from social, political, crime, legal, economy, finance, sports, entertainment, etc. A journalist with a specialized qualification often commands a better salary and perks than the general category journalists.
Pragmatic Approach
As is true for other professions, one must take pragmatic steps since the school-age to successfully get into this profession.
Step-1: Become pro-active from School Time
A journalist is supposed to give voice to one’s thoughts and stories by way of text or video presentations. You should start participating in school level writing contests or stage presentations to sharpen your journalistic skills. It will give you a strong foundation and the much-needed confidence to make others read or listen to what you want to express.
Step-2: Acquire a Proper Qualification
With the rising competition, it is advisable that you should go for a proper degree course in Journalism & Mass Media. Though there are numerous examples of such journalists who have never taken any formal education still they were able to earn a good name and fame as journalists.
However, doing a proper degree course in this field will give you proper grooming as just being a good writer or speaker is not enough to succeed today. At the same time, you must focus on your best skill and keep working on that regularly. The main skills you can choose from are writing, editing, reporting (print or electronic), etc. as per your talent.
Step-3: Prepare a Portfolio
When you approach a media house for a job, you may be asked to show your past work for a ready reckoner. Hence, you must prepare a good portfolio before you apply for a job or seek a part-time appointment. As a student, you can keep sending your write-ups on relevant topics to various publication houses. If written well some of your work will surely be able to see the light of the day. At the same time, most of the Degree courses in Journalism require you to do project work in the last semester of your course. You should take the project work very seriously as it will become a major part of your portfolio.
Step-4: Small Beginning
Initially, you will be recruited as a Trainee Sub-editor or Reporter. However, gradually, depending on your hard work and talent, you will be entrusted with more and more responsibilities and you will be able to grow fast and establish yourself as a media person.
Take Away
Truly, this is the dawn of a new era where journalists are a highly respected clan. The parents’ perspective has also gone a sea change and more and more parents are now thinking to send their ward in this field, despite the fact that it is a tough job. Youngsters love to enter into this profession because they find it a glamorous field, as a journalist, they are licensed to meet the top brasses, explore anything on earth, bring facts to the public, and become famous overnight.
If you are passionate about this particular career, ready to work hard and make a name for yourselves then there is no better, more promising career option than this.
About The Author
Piyush P. Srivastava, Blog Writer & Career Consultant
Mr. Piyush Pankaj Srivastava is an SEO Expert. He has over 20 Years of Experience in writing Highly Researched Articles & Blogs.
He has also written many books related to English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability & General Awareness.
He can write effectively on such topics as Education, Travel, Health, Science, and Entertainment.
Mr. Piyush Services include :
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Mr. Piyush is also the Founder Director of the Success Bureau, Mumbai ( India’s premier E-Learning Portal ).
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