The availability & easy usability of digital media channels has changed the conventional methods of news gathering, investigations, crowdsourcing and audience engagement. This has helped them to collect more authentic material on news stories and enable them to connect with a wider range of voices that are able to give their own inputs and insights on the subject.

Social media also helps journalists to reach to the relevant people related to a story quickly, as people usually tweet or post about things they have seen. This can be a significant benefit of social media for journalism. Social media also acts as a parallel & effective channel of news distribution beside conventional media channels. The importance of the use of social media for online news publishers can be estimated by the fact that in India on average 20-25% web traffic comes from social media channels (mainly Facebook & Twitter).

Social media has also strengthen “citizen journalism” where people now can easily break stories related to incidents, events using own social handles on a real time basis, for instance, when the train de-railed in Bihar, many locals even broadcasted the accident scene live using Facebook.

The changing pattern of new consumption and the desire for instant updates has encouraged journalists to step into their roles in situations like this, live-tweeting from the scene and updating readers with vital information on the events. Now days some news anchors take audience questions through social media during the live show, this help to establish better connect with the show audience.

Indian media houses like NDTV have launched shows with reporting solely from mobile phones while the recent entrant THE QUINT brands itself as a “mobile-first” news platform.

Social media is all set to take journalism into new horizon & we are keeping a close eye on the segment for more updates.

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Public relations (PR) is the method with which organizations, companies and individuals communicate with their target audience including customers, general public, media, agencies & other stakeholders. A PR specialist communicates with the target audience directly or indirectly through media channels with the objective to create and maintain a positive image. Examples newsletters, press releases, public appearances, story mentions, news features etc. as well as through digital media. Remember PR is not advertising.

PR is the Persuasion Business. PR people are storytellers. They create narratives to advance their agenda.  PR can be used to boost or build reputations through the efficient use of conventional media, digital media.

A PR specialist uses the organizational USPs and translates them to positive & impactful stories. During crisis, role of PR is to formulate the best response and mitigate the damage.

Popular PR Activities

• Write and distribute press releases

• Speech, business pitch & response writing

• Conceptualization & Execution of PR events related to public outreach and media relations

• Conduct market research related to branding, product positioning etc

• Enhance organizational networking through events & activities

• Managing development & flow of internal & external communication

• Formulation of PR strategies

• Social media promotions and handling negative sentiments.

Requirement to work in PR

To be a PR specialist requires a degree in communications or journalism. Excellent writing & verbal communication & strong networking skills are mandatory for this role. A PR specialist should be a quick analyzer of any situation / sentiments & should be able to respond to it in no time. PR professionals usually work from backend & keep the formal management of the company at the front.

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With so many options, choosing the right journalism college is not an easy task. A bad college selection can make the career growth slow & frustrating

Below are some important points to consider before choosing a Journalism College

1)  Infrastructure – Journalism is not a theory based domain rather it needs lots of practical learning & training to get the in-depth knowledge & exposure of e field. Therefore, the first & most important point to consider is the “infrastructure” related to the particular course. Make sure the institution should have studios, equipments & other resources for practical learning.

2) Industry Tie-ups – On campus learning is not just sufficient. To sense real studio / reporting environment, it is necessary to witness that environment. This can be possible only if the institution has some collaboration / tie-up with media house(s) for internship / regular visits for their students.

3) Faculty – In journalism a faculty acts as mentor not just during the college but throughout the career. Hence, faculty should be experienced enough to guide the students. Veterans from media industry, senor journalists as visiting faculty has really help the students to gain better exposure & confidence

4) Placement – Post course job opportunities is also one of the important factor to explore. Get details about the recruiters of the previous batches, packages offered to them along with roles. Doesn’t go with the story given by the institution blindly rather try to connect with some college alumni & find out real placement scenario.

5) Brand Value – Institution’s brand name is the crucial driving force behind the initial career growth. Top recruiters prefer students from renowned institutes only. So, try to avoid lesser known & new institutes.

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Today information is among basic necessities for human. In real time, information related to any incident flows from one part of the world to another, all thanks to the technological development & advanced mode of mass communication.

Meaning of Mass Communication

In simple words, “mass communication” is a way to spread information among a larger set of people (local, national or international levels). Mass communication covers areas like reporting, writing, editing, photographing, broadcasting.

Career Prospects

Mass Communication offers career opportunities in news media and publishing, advertising, public relations and research institutes.

Following are the various job profiles offered to graduates in mass communication:

• Journalist/News reporter

• Fashion Photographer

• TV Correspondent

• Producer

• Video Editing

• Designer

• Radio Jockey/ RJ

• Public Relations Officer

• Content Writer

• Communication Officer

Job Market

With the expansion of the industry, there will never be a dearth of job opportunities for mass communication graduates. There are many opportunities in News and entertainment category. Technically qualified professionals can work for TV channels, production houses, mobile focused news channels etc.

Following are few of the popular recruiters for mass communication graduates

• Times of India Group

• Hindustan Times Group

• Indian Express Group

• NDTV Network

• Zee TV Network

• India Today Network

• Network 18 Group

• Jagran Group

• Regional media houses

Beside conventional media, the web media has also emerged as a parallel employer. There are many jobs available for mass communication graduates under this category such as

• Feature Writer

• Blogger

• Social Media Editor

• Subject Matter Expert

• News Editor

• Content Developer

• Creative Designer

• Video Editor

Pay Scale

Journalists, News Anchors, Writers, RJs, Producer, VJs are no less than celebrities today. Big companies pay hefty salary to the experienced professionals. Starting salary for a mass communication professional could be between Rs 12,000 and 25,000 depending on the individual skills.

Tips: Degree is just a gate pass to enter interview room rest depends upon the knowledge & exposure. So, during college, students should go for internship programmes, attend seminars / conferences to get a sense of real business scenario. In the field like mass communication & journalism, remain information updated is mandatory along with solid communication skills.

The post Career in Mass Communication appeared first on Education & Career Advice.

Though challenging, today Journalism as a career offers numerous opportunities in roles like

1. News Reader – As a news reader, the responsibility is to present the news on TV / Radio / Web, conduct interviews / debates on various issues.

   

Requirement: For this role, strong command on any of the language is mandatory with sound knowledge about current issues.

2. Reporter – Reporters are responsible to gather data, process them to some meaningful information, cover events / interviews. This role is mainly on-ground & requires a lot of hard work.

   

Requirement: Strong verbal & writing skills, people management skills, domain knowledge.

3. Columnist – As a columnist, one writes for a particular section in the newspaper or magazine. A columnist generally represents its viewpoint concerning any topic like fashion, politics or films

   

Requirement: Strong verbal & writing skills, domain knowledge

4. Content Writer – The role of content writer is to write quality & error free content for a particular topic / subject. This involves a lot of secondary research & fact findings.

   

Requirement: Sound writing skills, domain knowledge, ability to transform data into information.

5. Proof Reader – Proof Reader’s job is to evaluate and compare proofs with the edited copy. For this job one must possess

   

Requirement: Sound grammatical skills, spelling and punctuation.

6. Subject Matter Expert – This role requires deep insights & thorough knowledge related to a particular domain

   

Requirement: Domain expertise, analytical mindset

7. Feature Writer – A feature writer’s job revolves around writing in-depth stories and observations on specific topics

   

Requirement: Domain expertise, strong command over language

8. Blogger – Blogger is a person who writes researched articles for a blog. Now a days this role has evolved & bloggers are also employed by publishers

   

Requirement: Domain expertise, strong command over language

9. Cartoonist – A cartoonist is a person who represents a situation with the use of cartoon.

   

Requirement: Artistic mindset & skills, knowledge about a particular event / personality

10. Photo Journalist – This role is suitable for the people whose who love clicking pictures by using their imagination

    

Requirement: Knowledge of the technical aspects of photography

Career Scope

Journalism as a career offers handsome pay & a vital opportunity to meet & network with new people, experience & understand new things. Unlike office jobs, it is a very vibrant profession with great growth trajectory. Journalist are mainly employed by news agencies, news publishers, media houses, TV channels, print media, Radio stations, web media companies. Also, journalists can work as freelancers / independent projects to earn extra income.

The post Scope of Journalism | Job Profile | Salary appeared first on Education & Career Advice.