Andhra Pradesh

Make a career out of news

Vidya K.S.

Journalism involves collecting, analysing, and presenting information. With boom in media industry, it is fast growing in demand.

WIDE SCOPE: With boom in print and electronic media, the craze for journalism is on the rise. Photo: T. VIJAYA KUMAR

Journalism is the fundamental arm of a civilised society - the oil that makes the machinery of democracy go round," Andrew Olle, late Australian journalist, said.

Journalists bring you information from every corner of the world. Amidst war, terror, death and destruction they strive to inform the masses on the most important happenings that shape the world they are living in.

Journalism is the discipline of collecting analysing, verifying and presenting information regarding current events, trends, issues and people. With the booming media industry-newspapers, T.V. channels, websites and much more journalism is fast becoming a lucrative and interesting profession for many students.

"In the past five years, with the number of T.V. channels going up, job opportunities in the media industry have soared," says D.V.R. Murthy, Head of Department, Journalism and Mass Communication in Andhra University.

Persistence, determination, good communication skills both verbal and writing, general knowledge on current events and `nose for news' are some qualities that are a must for a good journalist. Journalists must be enthusiastic, as they need to work with speed and efficiency under pressure.

Students who have completed their +2 or Intermediate can apply for undergraduate programmes in mass media or journalism and communication. Most universities in India such as Delhi University, Bombay University, Osmania University, Andhra University, Pune University, University of Madras, Bangalore University and University of Calcutta offer courses in journalism and communication.

Some of the best colleges to pursue undergraduate courses in journalism include St. Xavier's College Mumbai, Christs College Bangalore, Lady Shriram College Delhi, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication Pune and Manipal Institute of Communication Karnataka. Admission to undergraduate courses is through +2 or Intermediate marks but some colleges hold entrance examinations and interviews. Journalism course subjects comprise of history of media, development communication, media theory, print and electronic media. As a part of the course students also intern at media organisations to gain hands on working experience.

After graduation, students can pursue either M.A in journalism courses or post-graduate diploma programmes in journalism. "Post-graduate diploma programmes train students in the professional skills required for journalism while M.A. programmes stress on theory and analysis of the media," says Prof. Murthy. There are many post-graduate diploma programmes that train students in specific areas such as broadcast and T.V. journalism, radio, new media (on-line journalism which involves designing, editing and updating news websites), content creation and management, cinema, development communication and communication research. Infrastructure, facilities, faculty and practical exposure offered by colleges must be considered before admission.

Best institutes

The best colleges in the country to pursue post-graduation are Indian Institute of Mass Communication New Delhi, Asian College of Journalism Chennai, Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication Pune, Jamia Millia Islamia University New Delhi, School of Convergence New Delhi, Manipal Institute of Communication Karnataka, Sophia College Polytechnic Mumbai, Manorama School of Communication Kerala, Central University Hyderabad and Osmania University Hyderabad, which started the first journalism department in the country. Admission to most post-graduate programmes in journalism is through entrance examinations and interview. Entrance exams test general knowledge, English language and comprehension, logic and analytical abilities. Advertisements regarding admission and entrance examinations appear in the newspapers between the months of April to June.

Opportunities

The best colleges offer jobs to students at the best media organisations in the country through placements at the end of the course. There is no dearth of job opportunities in the media industry as students can get jobs in newspapers, magazines, news channels, production and news websites. Those who are more creatively inclined can also get into filmmaking, advertising, public relations, event management and script writing.

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