How to Become a Journalist in India

How To Become a Journalist in India

About The Journalism Profession

In today’s world, journalism not only is a religious profession but also a challenging career option. Journalists contribute a rapid growth in the development of the country.

The main purpose of the journalism profession is to educate, inform, and enlighten people on several issues surrounding them. Journalists are the professionally trained candidates and their role is to investigate

And then report trends, recent events such as political issues, etc. They convey their information to the people through television, magazines, newspapers, social media, and many more.

The other activities of this profession include interviewing the sources of any incident, doing proper research to uncover the reality behind any news, attending big events to cover, interviewing celebrities or famous personalities, etc.

Apart from this part, they have other responsibilities such as making important notes of everything, recording important audios, reading a significant press release, and liaising with the photographers, editors, designers, and sub-editors.

Lastly, they need to verify all the facts and the statements before publishing anything.

Types Of Journalists

There are multiple job profiles are there in the field of journalism. A few of them are:

• Photo Journalist
  The role of this journalist is to take photographs of any particular place that is needed for the news and do videos of any incidents or places of the incidents.
  
  They also take images in an ethical manner and edit videos and photographs to publish them.
  
  
• Social Media Journalist
  This type of journalist always gathers information on current news of the world. Then, they publish those reports for the readers on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
  
  
• Agricultural Journalist
  As the name suggests, anyone can determine that this type of journalist mainly covers the news regarding agricultural incidents like farming.
  
  
• Civic Journalist
  This type of journalist mainly focuses on the ongoing protests that sometimes occur in any place. The citizens are being interviewed by these reporters.
  
  They mainly ask them about current political issues and obstacles they are facing in their daily lives.
  
  
• Editor Journalist
  The editor mainly works in several places such as online media, magazines, and newspapers. The role of the editor is to work with the news or content writers and edit them as per the needs to publish them.
  
  
• Copywriters
  They take the responsibility to generate words, audio scripts, or slogans that will go with the visuals of advertising. At first, they listen to the client’s advertising idea, and then they generate original ideas to grab the attention of the audience.

The Steps To Build A Career In Journalism

Journalism has a large field in which several roles are there which cover almost every current event in our modern world. If you are willing to make journalism career , you have to follow simple steps.

But before that, you need to know about the skills that are required for this profession. The skills are:

• You need to have a super grip over languages.
• You must have an investigative and super inquisitive mind.
• You always have to be alert to your surrounding situation.
• You need to be a very confident, enthusiastic person.
• You have to prepare yourself for the challenges as well as the difficult situations.
• Your communication skill must be very good.
• You need to have an eye to differentiate between the reel and the real incident.
• You must have a willingness to work with a team.
• Lastly, you must have good knowledge about everything that is happening around the world.

Now, let’s talk about how to become a journalist in India things you need to follow to become a successful journalist in the future. The steps are given below:

• Bachelor’s Degree In Journalism
  The first step to start your journey to become a journalist is that you need to complete your bachelor’s degree in Journalism subject from a recognized University.
  
  In this course, you will get to know about the basic details of this industry like how they work, their responsibilities, types of journalists, types of equipment that are generally used to cover any news, etc.
  
  Besides this, the course will cover various journalism skills such as researching, media ethics, interviewing, writing compelling different copies, etc.
  
  
• Choose Your Preferred Area
  You need to understand your expertise area in the field of this profession. It is very important to know what subject you have to choose before pursuing your career in Journalism.
  
  So, it is recommended to choose subjects like Social Science, English, Humanities, etc. These subjects will help you to enhance your inbuilt skills day by day.
  
  You can start working in the student media to make a portfolio of your work so that later you can represent your abilities as an established reporter.
  
  
• Working As An Intern
  You can work as an intern in any news channel or any organization. This provides the help to enhance the knowledge. You will learn some basic stuff regarding new reporting from your professional organization Which will be beneficial for your future.
   
  When your experiences will be added to your resume then the employer will see that you not only have gained knowledge about journalism but also apply them in the professional newsroom with a strong deadline.
  
  In this way, you can impress the hierarchy in your office.
  
  
• Start Searching For Jobs
  Apart from the internship, you can start finding entry-level jobs which match your expertise level. So, these jobs will provide benefits to you as you can add your experiences to your resume in the future.
  
  
• Start Advancing Your Career
  You can start finding your dream job after completing everything starting from schooling to gaining experience from different organizations.
  
  Now, it is the time to decide on which field you want to work on. You can be an editor, a reporter, or a columnist as per your preferences. 

Top Colleges

Journalism is considered to be one of the most promising sectors that generally catches the attention of the young generation. It has a very different working style which increases the competition in the field of journalism.
 
If you aspire to be a journalist in the future then you need to take proper guidance. For this reason, you have to find the best journalism colleges for you so that you can gain proper knowledge about the sector.

With the help of the organizations or colleges, you can learn new things which you can apply later when you will become established in this sector.
 
In colleges, there will be teachers who will answer all of your questions and will guide you properly so that you can get a clear idea about this profession. It will offer scope to know about your expertise area.

Choosing the right colleges for you can be difficult. So, we will provide some options to you so that you can make your decision. Some Top colleges are:

• Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune
• Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, Bangalore
• School of Communication, Manipal
• Kamala Nehru College, New Delhi
• Garden City University, Bangalore
• Asian College of Journalism, Chennai
• Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai
• Film and Television Institute of India, Pune
• Annapurna International School of Film and Media, Hyderabad
• Whistling Woods International, Mumbai
• National School of Drama, New Delhi
• Madras Christian College, Chennai
• National Institute of Mass Communication and Journalism, Ahmedabad
• St. Joseph College of Communication, Kerala
• Amity University, Gwalior

Eligibility Criteria

You have to study hard so that you can be eligible to apply for the journalism course. Certain eligibility criteria are there to hire the best students or candidates for the profession.

Journalism and Mass Communication both are offered in journalism. To know more about it, click here. Now we will be listing all the eligibility criteria on how to become a journalist. What to study to become a journalist .

 1. UG Level Eligibility Criteria

• The candidate needs to pass their higher secondary education examination from a recognized board.
   
• General category candidates need to score 50% while Reserved Category candidates need to score at least 45% in their 12th examination.
  
  
• SC/ST and other Reserved Category candidates generally get a 5% relaxation of marks.
  
  
• They must have English as one of the subjects in class 12.
  
  

2. PG Level Eligibility Criteria

• Candidates must score at least 45% marks for PG Diploma Courses. Colleges usually conduct an entrance exam for the candidates along with a personal interview.
  
  
• Candidates must score in their under-graduation level at least 55% marks for masters. Some colleges take an entrance exam to select the candidates.

Entrance Exam Details

Colleges and Universities usually conduct various entrance exams to select the candidates. University-level questions generally come in this type of examination.

Students have to score above the cut-off marks to get selected for those colleges or universities. Some of the entrance exams for the admission of the students are:

• IIMC Entrance Exam

NTA (National Testing Agency) usually conducts this entrance examination online. They offer the eligible candidates to take admission to the post-graduation diploma programs in various specializations of the journalism course across their six campuses.

The application form was already released on the 2nd week of May and the last date to submit the application form is the 2nd week of June. The exam will be held in June or July 2022.

• Mudra Institute of Communication (MICAT)

MICAT is conducted by Ahmedabad to screen all the eligible students for the admission. This examination is generally held two times a year.

 Students get the admission to the 36 PGDM and 180 PGDM-C vacancies at the Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad. This exam has already been held in January 2022. 

• JET (Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute)

FTII JET examination is conducted by the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute to select the eligible candidates for admission. After passing the examinations, students are offered to take admission in either SRFTI or FTII, Pune.

The online application portal has already opened in the month of May 2022. You should apply fast as the closing date of online form submission is the 3rd week of June 2022. In the first week of July,

The examination will be held and you can download the admit card from the 4th week of June.

• SET (The Symbiosis Entrance Test)

It is a famous entrance exam that is mainly held to take admission in the Symbiosis Centre for Mass Communication. The registration of this examination has already begun on 25th January 2022.

The closing date of application submission is 15th June 2022. You can get your admit card on 22nd June. The examination will be held on the 3rd July 2022.

If we talk about the Master’s Degree in Journalism, universities take different exams for that. They take the examination to test students’ abilities in the following areas:

1. General English
2. Logical Reasoning
3. Current Affairs
4. Reading Comprehensions
5. Media and Communication
6. Verbal Reasoning

Salary of the Journalist

A Journalist can work as a full-time normal employee in any organization. They also can work as a freelancer if they wish. A freelancer mainly receives money per story they cover. So, journalism salary in India depends on a few things such as experience, expertise, organization, location, etc. 

Now, we will be discussing some common career paths in Journalism along with their average salary.

• A journalist can earn up to $48,643 annually.
  
  
• The average annual income of an Editor is $53,462 per year.
  
  
• The average annual salary of a Reporter is $43,732 per annum.
  
  
• The Copywriter can earn up to $ 52,957 annually.
  
  
• The yearly income of a photojournalist is $39,739.
  
  
• The Agricultural Journalist’s average salary ranges from $20,000- $60,000 per year.

Expert Advice or Review On Journalism

• Let’s discuss some of the expert advice to become a successful journalist.
   
• According to Alicia Montgomery, who is a senior editor and producer for the NPR’s Morning Edition, Journalism is a very tough business, so you have to love your profession to become successful in this field.
  
  She also said that your newsroom won’t be a comfortable place for you, but you need to stay focused otherwise people will knock you off.
  
  
• ick McCarvel, who is a sports reporter for NBC, said that journalists should not get afraid to ask anything. You must ask for advice, then do your own research and then think about why the person you always look up to is up there.
  
  So, according to him, you need to what others think and how they think. You should learn from others to become a successful journalist.
  
  
• Charanna Alexander (Wedding and Lifestyle Reporter in New York) said that candidates need to read and write every day so that they can own their voice. She also asked the candidates to write whatever feel right with integrity.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can any Journalist do freelancing?

Yes, a journalist can gather information about some story and sell them to any newspapers or news agencies, or television channels.

2. Is it really easy to become a journalist?

This depends entirely on your perspective. If you are confident enough it will be easy for you to make a great career in this field.

3. Can I become a journalist without having experience?

You must acquire some knowledge to become a successful journalist. You won’t become a professional journalist with zero experience.