Monday, October 9, 2000		Article

Mouse getting mightier than the sword
by Sumesh Raizada

Pen is mightier than the sword, is an old saying that holds true even today. In the present world, where computers are ubiquitous in newspaper offices as well, the power of pen has merged with the power of computers.

The pen in the idiom refers to communicating the right thing in the right perspective through writing, voice or visuals. In a common man’s language, it is called news. The people who report it are called journalists.

So, a journalist is a person, who brings to light not just news but also presents it’s correct meaning and interpretation. This is certainly a highly specialised job and requires an outgoing and multi-faced personality with guts. The job of a journalist is thus tough. Because anything, happening in the world is his cup of tea so a journalist should be aware of it.

For the purpose of understanding this career, we have divided it in four parts:

Education: Journalism is one career where education plays a vital role. Throughout your career as a journalist, you should be prepared to study and learn something new, everyday. So, literally as a journalist, education never ends. However, the most basic and important educational requirement is good general knowledge and excellent command over languages. Since, this is a specialised course, so you need proper education in the field of journalism, like a bachelor’s degree in journalism or a master’s degree. Even a diploma in journalism from a good and reputed institute may serve the purpose. A formal education in journalism is the key to shape up your career as a journalist. These course are being offered by many universities and vocational colleges approved by the Government of India. They normally cover all aspects of journalism, including the practical aspects, where a person learns the art of reporting and writing. These courses are available in most of the universities through regular studies or through distance learning. Even Indira Gandhi National Open University offers a course on journalism. So, as a first step, formal education in journalism is thus necessary (though not compulsory) for pursuing a career in journalism.

As a second step, a person should have excellent command over the language in which he would write as a professional journalist. Normally excellent command on English as well as Hindi is considered a good combination for pursuing journalism.

Third, for excelling in this field a person should be well versed in computers. Today computers play a major role in the field of journalism. It is worth mentioning here that now the whole concept and idea of journalism as well as journalist has changed. Earlier, the word journalist used to create an impression of a khadi kurta pyjama clad —person with a bag slung over his shoulder.

Now, the image has undergone a transformation. This day, he is viewed as a person in proper professional attire with a laptop in hand. So, precisely the role of computer in his career is tremendous. From writing an error-free report to making a sound presentation, everything is nowadays being done on computers. Moreover, software like Pagemaker, Quark Express, Word and Adobe, are increasingly being used in newspaper offices and have made computers indispensable. Since the Internet is the future, thus its knowledge is also very essential for this career.

Career options: There was a time, when a journalist was a person quintessentially working for a newspaper or a magazine. But today, journalists are associated with newspapers, radios, TV and now Web sites. With liberalisation of the Indian economy during the past decade many new newspapers, magazines, TV channels, radio stations and Web sites have come up. So the world of media has now fully grown from print media to electronic media. Thus, from the point of view of career also, there are several choices available for probable journalists. Some people feel with the electronic media getting popular, print media is passé. But at the same time, other people feel that the print media is still the most popular and will continue to remain so, though the electronic media is getting popular day by day. Precisely, both media are haute and offer good career opportunities.

It is solely up to the person to decide, in which media he /she would be interested in. The print media, including newspapers and magazines, involve more in-depth investigation into the matters and are thus considered to be more informative and deep. The electronic media is instant and does not go deep inside the news. Now, if you think that you would be more interested in investigative journalism, then a career with a good newspaper or a magazine would give you job satisfaction as well as remuneration.

Some magazines are known for their investigative journalism in India and thus for investigative journalists it may suit better. Those who want to take the fast track, with not much focus on specialisation in any particular field, electronic media may be a good career option. It should not be implied that the electronic media does not have investigative journalism, but the ratio of investigative stories to the normal one is less.

In order to choose between the print media and electronic media, you must know yourself better. If you have a good command on your speech and have the capability to speak extempore and have a photogenic face, then the electronic media may have good opportunities for you. But at the same time, if you think you have the capability of creating magic with words, then the print media and Web sites may suit you better. Today the Internet has broken all barriers of borders and boundaries. There are several Web sites, including the Web sites of popular newspapers and magazines in the world, who invite writers from all over the world. There are thousands of news wires and news portals, which provide ample job opportunities. If you are ready to demonstrate your writing skills, the world is waiting for you.

As per a study, the demand for the journalists is likely to grow exponentially in the near future with the coming up of more TV channels and also opening up of FM channels on radio, there will be dearth of good quality journalists.

Working conditions: Since the job profile of a journalist is vast, thus the working conditions cannot be exactly defined. All that can be said in general is that this job is not easy and the working conditions are tough. If a person has a job at desk, then the working conditions are relatively easier. But this job involves a lot of concentration and paper work. At times, it is quite monotonous also. Thus, the working hours for the journalists working on the desk are 6-8 hours, depending upon the organisation. In case of reporting, the working conditions are very tough. A reporter has to be on his toes always. There are no set working hours for reporters and at times it goes beyond 10 hours. Moreover, the job conditions are also tough as no matter what happens, be it rain or scorching heat, a reporter should always be on the spot before the news passes into history. But, the hardships have a positive side also. As there is a lot of recognition in reporting, the chance of going up are also bright. So, despite the working conditions being tough, there is fun, adventure and above all, a sense of fulfilment.

Remuneration: Remuneration wise, journalism has a lot to offer for the deserving candidates. The remuneration in the form of salaries are one of the best in the industry and for right candidate, it is not a limiting factor.

Besides doing a job, accomplished writers may also prefer to do freelance journalism, which is turning out to be a lucrative form of self-employment these days.

Moreover, with the Internet becoming popular and coming up of new sites every day, the need for journalists is rising and the remuneration are also rising in the same proportion.

So, no matter how you look at it, remunerations are and directly proportional to a person’s capabilities.