There are innumerable events happening across the world each day – political, cultural, social, religious and natural disasters to name a few. We come to know about them sitting at home. Mass communication provides this information to a large crowd simultaneously. A journalist collects all this information and presents it to the mass audience.
Journalism includes investigating, analyzing and reporting local, national and global events. A career in journalism is a prestigious profession and the opportunities are endless.
For all those wishing to pursue journalism as a career, here’s a detailed guide.
Skills required for students wishing to pursue journalism as a career:
- This career is best suited for students who are detail oriented and enjoy research.
- A career in journalism requires a strong sense of social perceptiveness and a constant awareness of current events.
- News can happen at any time. Although journalists work full time, work hours are not always consistent.
- Get involved with campus newspaper & magazine, news studio, or radio station. This presents opportunities to write articles, interact with people and sharpen their communication skills before joining the job force.
- Multimedia storytelling skills. Producing slideshows with sound, shooting and editing video and photos, writing for the web.
- Data and statistical skills for storytelling. Collecting, editing, analyzing and interpreting data to produce compelling interactive maps and graphics.
- Audience development skills (formerly known as marketing and circulation) such as managing online communities, interpreting data on audience behavior, crowdsourcing for information and interacting with the audience.
- Open Mindedness
Having an open mind allows anyone to fully grasp the reality of a situation. This helps in viewing the same topic from different viewpoints. The ability to talk to people and take their opinion into consideration is one of the most essential skills for journalism as a career. All this ultimately sums up to producing a news piece that illustrates an unbiased story.
- Persistence
Consistently reporting stories and writing articles is a tough task. Often the reporter reaches a point where he can no more think of new stories. It takes a lot of persistence to be a journalist.
- Research Skills
As the situation demands, a journalist’s task is to produce in-depth or overview stories. In both these cases statistics, citations, industry opinions and a strong storyline are needed. This asks for immense research skills.
The quote goes: “Good journalism has questions, but great journalists get answers.”
- Storytelling
If you’re looking for journalism as a career, start working upon the skill of storytelling. Their ability to provide the readers with an intriguing pieces irrespective of the topics at hand is an unmatched skill.
- Quick and Effective
In today’s age, the speed of a news piece reaching the public is reduced to a few nano-seconds. Blame or credit this to social media, the journalist has to have his eye on social media 24/7. Bringing out the story first is as important as writing a detailed piece about it later.
Categories of Journalists
Categories
- Agricultural Journalism
Careers in the food and wine industry, environment welfare and conservation bodies, and resource organizations. - Arts Journalism
Focus is on various forms of art that includes literature, film, dance, music, drama, and many more. - Business Journalism
Business journalist covers business news nationally and internationally. This includes launching new products, mergers & acquisitions of companies, economic ups and downs, performance of companies, comparison, fund raising and shut downs to name a few. - Celebrity Journalism
A celeb journalist reports the private and professional gossips and developments in the lives of celebrities. Interviewing professionals from music, sports, politics, arts and films is also a part of this profession. - Civic Journalism
This branch of the industry makes use of the democratic right, i.e., freedom of speech. Here, the citizens speak out their problems and give opinions. This information is used by the journalists to create new stories and present it to the world. - Community Journalism
Stories, news, and information specific to a certain town, vicinity or area are sorted under this category. - Crime Journalism
Although risky, this field interests the audience immensely. It consists of violence, greed and corruption to name a few. A crime journalist often risks his life to go into the intricate details of the story.
- Cultural Journalism
Culture has been an important medium for peace and understanding on international levels. This field is all about creating awareness of one’s culture, background, and about the diverse groups in which one stays.
- Cyber Journalism
This field is also known as online journalism. In simple words, this is a collaboration of most other forms of journalism — the only difference being the medium. They aim at extending the reach of the information to a global level, while making the data appealing and engrossing. - Defense Journalism
As the term explains, this is all about what is happening with the country’s military forces. It includes the latest updates on various defense equipment that have been introduced by the Army, Navy, and the Air Force. These reports are useful in violent situations. It makes the citizens aware of the basics of national defense. - Education Journalism
This branch includes articles and reports on the developments taking place in the educational sector. - Environmental Journalism
An environment journalists reports stories about the environment, its policies and events held by various organizations.
- Fashion Journalism
Their main job is to keep a track of the latest trends in the fashion world. Interviewing models, designers and covering fashion shows is a part of their work. - Financial Journalism
Financial journalism tops the list as the whole world revolves around numbers. It is related to all the facts and figures of the financial changes taking place. It will include up-to-date news of the stock markets, financial information of companies and changes in any financial rules and regulations. - Food Journalism
Food writing is not only about different recipes or reviews of restaurants but it includes history and culture of various cuisines. Roaming all over the world and trying all types of cuisines encourage a lot of “foody” journalists to select this beat. - Lifestyle Journalism
Lifestyle journalists study the stages of development of lifestyle, economic influences on society, fashion, and trends. - Medical Journalism
Health and science-related subjects fall under this category. It plays a crucial role in spreading awareness among professionals and general masses alike.
- Motoring Journalism
As a motoring journalist, main job involves writing descriptive articles about latest updates in the automobile field. Newspapers and magazines keep a section for these articles.
- Political Journalism
This branch covers subjects pertaining to political science. One needs to carefully study and observe political figures, bodies, campaigns, events, and report the same in an impartial fashion. Though this is one of the most interactive and interesting fields, political journalists are often criticized for being highly opinionated.
- Scientific Journalism
This requires basic understanding of the subject with a good level of writing skills. Journalists need to ensure that the information is broken down into simple words without compromising on its precision. Writers in this field mostly work on science journals, subscriptions and informative features. - Sports Journalism
Sports journalism includes covering a sports event, sportsperson, or an entire series. As a sports journalist, one enjoys several added advantages. Not only do you have your own set of audience who follow the sport, but you also get to be physically present at most of these events! - Trade Journalism
This branch reports on different trade markets and analyzes the changes and developments. The focus is on the commodity market as well as the financial market. A trade journalist needs to have a good understanding about the economic cycles that affect the business and trade of the world. - Travel Journalism
With a chance to roam all around the globe, this is truly a great career alternative! One must truly enjoy traveling, and have a passion for experiencing different cultures to excel in this field. The travel journalist is required to compile information regarding a particular destination. This includes detailed description of the place, its tourist attractions, accommodation facilities, eateries, and other similar details. - Video Game Journalism
It primarily comprises reviews and comparisons between upcoming games, their sequels and gaming consoles. To be a video game journalist, genuine interest and passion for gaming are the main skills required.
- Wildlife Journalist
Environmental journalists write about environmental topics for example, they cover energy, environmental policy, Animal and water issues, climate change, environmental justice, or new technologies and industry news. It requires skills and innovation in wildlife journalism to develop news in such a way that people relate to it.
- Photojournalism Career
Photojournalism is the practice of creating a visual representation of a newsworthy event with several dynamic photographs. In order to these types of shots, a photojournalist must have excellent timing and be ready for anything. Skills required for photojournalism includes kills and competencies in various areas, including: Great Photography & editing, ability to work in volatile situations, fearlessness, creative.
- Technology Journalist
Technology journalism covers a wide range of subjects, including: Cutting-edge technology developments, News about the tech business, such as companies merging, Technology law and politics, such as censorship or internet monitoring laws, Reviews of new products, Tech culture, Technology tips and advice.
Choosing journalism as a career has its own pros and cons. If you’re among the adventurous lot that prefers staying away from the stagnancy, we say journalism is the best career for you.
At LJ Institute of Media & Communications we have a special course of Journalism where the students are taught the nitty-gritty’s of this field. We arrange guest lectures wherein the students interact with leading journalists and get to intern at the best firms in Gujarat and India.
If you’re planning to choose journalism as a career, get enrolled for LJ Institute of Media and Communications PGDMC course.
