How to Become a Journalist (Journalism Specialisation & Job Roles)
Planning a career in the field of journalism? Learn how to become a journalist on this page. Explore popular specialisations, entrance exams and job profiles on this page.
How to Become a Journalist? - The Journalism industry includes some of the most influential job roles. Journalists report and inform of issues that concern the citizens, communities, societies and governments. Journalism and journalists are the watchdogs of democracy and play a vital role in forming an aware and intelligent society. Earlier, journalism was limited to print, radio and television, but ever since the internet has boomed and with its constant evolution, the job opportunities for journalism students have increased and keep on increasing. In this article, we will discuss how to become a journalist, a journalism career, journalism courses, popular entrance exams, famous journalists in our country and more. Learn more in the article below.
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Scope of Journalism in India
- Popular Journalism Specialisations
- Journalism Courses Eligibility Criteria
- Popular Journalism Entrance Exams
- Role Of A Journalist
- Top Journalists in India
- Job Profiles In Journalism
Popular Journalism Specialisations
Some of the major specialisation areas under Journalism courses are given below:
| Journalism Specialisation | Description |
|---|---|
| Political Journalism | Political journalism is a popular domain on every media platform, from print to radio to digital. It's a type of journalism that focuses on all areas of national and international politics. The goal of this field is to offer voters information that will allow them to form an opinion on government issues that will likely affect them. |
| Sports Journalism |
A career as a sports journalist is the ideal combination of a journalism vocation with a passion for sports. As a sports journalist, you'll be responsible for sports coverage, sports investigative journalism, game statistics reporting, interviewing coaches and players, and game commentary, among other things. Sports fans interested in pursuing a career in journalism will find plenty of chances in this profession. |
| Investigative Journalism |
Investigative journalism entails the discovery of information that has been hidden, either intentionally or accidentally, behind a jumble of facts and situations, as well as the study and public disclosure of all relevant facts. |
| Photojournalism |
Photojournalism is a type of journalism that uses photos to tell a story. It involves gathering, editing, and presenting news stories for publication or broadcast. It is generally widely accepted that it exclusively refers to still photos and, in certain circumstances, video utilised in broadcast journalism. |
| Entertainment Journalism |
Every area of the entertainment industry is covered by entertainment journalism. Entertainment journalism spans anything from celebrity coverage to fashion news to cinema critics to music and even video game reviews. As an entertainment journalist, you can work for newspapers, magazines, online publications, radio and television newsrooms, public relations firms, television and film production companies, and so on. |
Apart from the specialisations mentioned above. There are many other areas in the field of journalism that you can specialise in: Travel Journalism, Data Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, News Reporting and Writing, Watchdog Journalism, Digital and Interactive-Media Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising, Science and Environmental Journalism, Enterprise Journalism and more.
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Journalism Courses Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria for journalism courses may vary from institute to institute. However, it remains the same for the most part. Some common eligibility requirements are listed below.
- Students from any major (Arts, Commerce, or Science) can enrol in a journalism programme.
- Candidates who have completed their 10+2 from a recognised institute with a minimum aggregate of 50% would be regarded as qualified to apply for admissions to most colleges/universities that offer journalism as a course.
- Apart from the aforementioned requirements, several universities stipulate that candidates would be considered for admission if they score at least 75% in English/Hindi, depending on the medium in which they wish to pursue the course.
- Candidates must have earned their graduation degree with passing grades in order to continue their journalism studies at the postgraduate level.
Popular Journalism Entrance Exams
Candidates can secure admission in Journalism courses either on the basis of merit or through an entrance test. However, these days, most of the popular Journalism colleges conduct an entrance exam to shortlist candidates for admission. These entrance tests are often followed by a personal interview round, which students need to clear in order to secure admission in the course of their choice. Typically, a Journalism entrance test consists of three to four sections that test the candidate’s comprehension, logical reasoning, general awareness and media aptitude. Some popular Journalism entrance exams that candidates should consider giving are:
Before preparing for the Global Media Common Entrance Test (GMCET) candidates must know that the GMCET is easy to crack. The difficulty level of the question paper is easy to moderate level so they need to just clear the basics and not stress too much about the preparation and the resources as candidates can easily find various resources to prepare from, there are books, e-books, various educational portals, YouTube channels, and more through which they can prepare. Candidates can also rely on newspapers, current affairs magazines, and general awareness books to prepare for the GMCET examination.
Students should start preparing for XET at least four months before exams. It takes time to prepare for XIC entrance test. So, students are advised to start with syllabus early. Also, they are advised to focus on current events for General Awareness section and solving reasoning questions quickly to save time.
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Role Of A Journalist
Journalists produce stories on everything from social, political, environmental and business issues to sports and entertainment. They write reports and also work on related stories. They not only make people aware through their reports but also play an important role in forming public opinion. However, becoming a successful journalist takes a lot of hard work and building your network. To write a story, reporters must develop story ideas, verify facts, thoroughly research the topic, investigate the matter, and conduct interviews. Also, the job of a journalist differs depending on his/her specialisation. Sometimes journalists also use a news release to write news on a specific event.
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Top Journalists in India
There are many famous journalists in India who are known for their dedication, work and grit. These journalists have worked hard to make their presence felt among the audience. Aspiring journalists have a lot to learn from them, as these veterans have decades of experience in the field of media. Given below is the list of the top 10 journalists of India:
| Famous Journalists of India | ||
|---|---|---|
| Barkha Dutt | Rajdeep Sardesai | Vinod Dua |
| Rajat Sharma | Ravish Kumar | Arnab Goswami |
| Vikram Chandra | Rajeev Masand | Sucheta Dalal |
| Rahul Kanwal | -- | -- |
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Job Profiles In Journalism
Popular media companies that hire Journalism graduates are – The Times of India, Hindustan Times, India Today, The Pioneer, The Hindu, Malayalam Manorama, Outlook, Zee Network and the likes. Any aspirant wanting to join the field of Journalism needs to have a nose for news. Some of the popular job profiles that candidates can hope to join in the Journalism field are:
- Reporters: In such a job profile, one needs to research all possible story topics as well as angles and thereafter interview people to gather the required information. Once all the required information is received, reporters either write scripts for radio and television broadcasts or news stories for print or online publication.
- Desk Writers: This is usually an entry-level job in a journalistic setup. Desk writers are tasked with the responsibility of providing editorial content like news reports, reviews as well and features. The difference between the job profile of a reporter and a desk writer is that a reporter has to travel to collect information for a story/ news piece, but a desk writer’s job is office-based.
- Editors: In this job profile, one needs to acquire news insights and thereafter assign stories to reporters as well as desk writers. After the story has been filed by the person concerned, an editor goes through the entire content piece and edits it to meet the organisation's standards.
- Technical Writer: In such a job profile, an individual has to collate, compile and compose clear as well as coherent technical information. A technical writer is expected to write on highly specialised fields like commercial products and services, industrial products and services, as well as write instruction manuals for users.
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