Journalism/ Mass Communication : Job Prospects & Career Options

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Job Prospects

They can find employment with newspapers, periodicals and magazines, central information service, press information bureau, websites, AIR and TV channels like Doordarshan, ZEE TV, Star TV etc. At the same time they can do freelancing. One can also take up this career as a part time employment along with any other field of work.

Career Options in Journalism

Journalists can work as editors, reporters, columnists, correspondents, staff or freelance writer, photojournalists, proofreaders, news analysts etc. in print (newspapers and magazines) and electronic (Radio, Television and Web) media.

Editing | Writing | Reporting | Photography | Others

Editing

Editor: In the editing field there are various positions :

Chief Editor/Resident Editor: Chief /resident editor is in charge of the over-all functions of the publication. His primary responsibility is to supervise the functions of collection, selection and presentation of news. He reads and corrects copy for publication, decide on the editorial policy and the content of publications. Resident editor is in charge of a particular edition (Eg: Chennai edition, Mumbai edition etc.).

Personal attributes: He should have excellent journalistic vision- awareness of the major or minor political and current affairs, communication skills, leadership quality and long term experience as an editor.

Sub Editor: They assist chief editor in selecting & sorting the contents. Their job involves re-writing stories to fit the space assigned, improve the language, insert punctuation etc. They also give headlines and help in page layout. There are number of sub editors for each news paper. The chief sub editor is in charge of the team of sub editors- he assigns work and coordinates and supervises them. He act as a link between the chief editor and sub editors.

News /Feature Editor: He is the right-hand man of the chief editor. He decides on the news to be published in the newspaper each day. He collect news, controls the network of correspondents, reporting staff and other news sources, allocate assignments and attend editorial conferences.

Associate Editor: He directs the preparation of a section of a newspaper, magazine or a television or radio segment. He prepares news, feature articles and critical reviews, and plans the layout of the publication, assigns reporting staff and photographers to obtain coverage of matters of news or interest related to his section.

Personal attributes: Editors must have the ability to write & edit articles, take speedy decisions, a questioning mentality and an awareness of current affairs.

Job Prospectus: They can find job with newspaper groups, publishers of magazines and journals, Indian Information Service of the Government, websites etc.

Proofreader: A proofreader compare proofs and edited copy (Written, typed or printed material) to ensure that the final text is complete and accurate, and that the spelling and punctuation are correct before final printing. They mark proofs for corrections, check revised proofs to ensure that the corrections have been made. They must have sound knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar, should be able to pay particular attention to detail and retain concentration for a long period.

Reporting

Reporter: He is the one who reports events as and when it occurs. The reporter is said to be the eyes & ears of the newspaper. Reporter attend press conferences, conduct interviews, visit sites of major occurrence and gather first hand report and present them in an unbiased manner. Their job involves a lot of traveling. A Chief reporter is in charge of the team of reporters, and assigns work to the reporters. Main newspapers employ reporters in all major cities.

Personal attributes: Reporter should have an analytic approach, perseverance, cool temperament, writing skill and self-confidence. He should have good contacts with various news resources and an ability to sense news.

Correspondent/Special Reporters: They are reporters for special purposes and their task involves reporting on a particular topic like politics, foreign affairs, sports, finance etc. They often report on news covering their area of expertise from a place where the particular event is happening. Their aim is to interpret or explain news, and comment on the events, trends and causes behind it. Special correspondent must choose the concerned field in which he has special interest to make a success out of it. Usually one must have sufficient experience as a reporter to become a special correspondent.

Writing

Writer: A writer chooses themes or subjects for written work, conduct research into the subject, assemble background material and obtain other necessary data. Writers may specialise in- Journalism, fiction writing; children's books, educational textbook writing, historical writing and transferring oral histories into written form, humour or comedy writing and so on. In journalism, writers can be feature writers, leader writers, writers for multimedia and web and so on.

Feature writer: Feature writers writes detailed stories or presents commentaries on specific news topics. They research and analyse facts and draw conclusions on a particular topic. They can cover any topic of public interest like interviews, organising data and evidence, feature story leads etc. Feature writing is more descriptive and detailed than news reporting.

Leader Writer: He gives ideas on news topics in the editorial columns of newspapers or magazines and discusses prospects of improvement with trainee writers.

Writing for Multimedia and the Web: Writers are required in multimedia and the worldwide Web for writing news and other articles. They must have a skill for writing precise text adaptive to the environment. If you can communicate your ideas through graphics, animation etc it is an added advantage in this field.

Columnist: They are writers who contribute regularly to a publication. Usually one column on general or a specific topic is devoted to the writer. They writes a regular segment within their particular interest category, e.g. gardening, fashion, politics, films. The columnist usually projects a point of view, and could either be a commentator or a critic. They review developments in special areas they write on & may contribute to a number of news papers at the same time.

Critic: A critic needs to be well read, have adequate knowledge and experience in his respective field. One can be a critic in various fields like film, art, drama etc. Only persons having good knowledge about the particular subject/art can authoritatively write about the subject.

Photography

Photo Journalist or News Photographer: They are the visual reporters. Photo journalists accompany reporters on assignments to take pictures that support a news story, feature or interview. They must know what makes a good news picture; be able to write accurate captions, work well with reporters, be quick and often work under difficult conditions. They must have good knowledge about technical aspects of photography like lighting, speed etc. to take photographs apt for the particular situation.

Others

Fashion Journalist: He is an overall in-charge of a fashion magazine. It is through him that the general public gets to know the latest fashion trends. He should have excellent taste for fashion and keeps himself abreast with latest fashion news, consumer reaction to new collections, fashion shows, current and future trends in colour, design and fabric. Today fashion journalist has a bright scope for employment as there is a need for exclusive articles and programmes with the development of fashion industry.

Cartoonists and illustrators make a social or political comment on public figures or events in the form of a cartoon that is funny as well as witty. A cartoon is one man's view of the world.

Other departments included in the publication of a newspaper or periodical are : production, advertising, legal affairs department, circulation and public relations.