Entry Level Qualification 

12

Career Fields 

Mass Media, Journalism & Entertainment

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

No Entrance Exam

About Career 

1. As a Journalist (Electronic Media), your primary job responsibility will be to research, investigate and present news, current affairs, and other relevant content for the television and the internet. You may cover various local, national and international events, as and when your job demands. Also, you will be required to collect evidence and also gather accounts from different people to know a story from all possible angles and to tell the stories in a compelling manner after combining all the facts with appropriate audio and/or visuals.

2. Usually, each journalist is assigned a “Beat” (political beat, religious beat, etc.), and accordingly, they have to find new stories/news that is relevant to their beat. A beat can be understood as a territory or a domain assigned to a reporter. Once a news/story is decided upon, you have to research on it thoroughly and also schedule interviews with the people who are in any way involved with it.

Key roles and responsibilities:

1. Reading articles, blogs, etc., and researching for news/stories on the Internet and generating innovative ideas to present them.

2. Researching, verifying, and assembling evidence and all crucial information associated with a particular piece of news/story using multiple resources like the Internet, databases, archives, etc.

3. Identifying potential interviewees, briefing them, preparing interview questions for them and administering both live and recorded interviews.

4. Choosing the appropriate locations, images and sound effects for specific news/stories and executing editorial power while deciding how a story should be approached.

5. Offering productive directorial input and advising/assisting crew members on what to film a story and how to film/record it.

6. Writing scripts for news reports, bulletins, and headlines.

7. Preparing and presenting ‘on air’ material for both live and pre-recorded pieces/interviews.

8. Determining the running order for bulletins and making changes during broadcast if necessary.

9. Collaborating with editor/s to organize and assemble a completed piece/story.

10. Abiding by and complying with the media law in the country as well as the codes of conduct of the media industry.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies - Class 11-12 English or any other language along with any other subject as per scheme of studies - Bachelor’s degree in English/Any Other Language/Any other subject - Master’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or similar courses or join as a Trainee

After completing your Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies, you can complete Class 11-12 English or any other language along with any other subject as per scheme of studies. Then, you can pursue your graduation with a Bachelor’s degree in English or any other language and follow it up with a Master’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or any other such similar media/journalism related courses. You can do a Bachelor degree in any other subject as well. After your Bachelor degree in a language / any other subject, you may also join as a Trainee Reporter or Journalist with a media company.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies - Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies - Bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or similar courses - Master’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or similar courses Or you may join as a Trainee Reporter/Journalist

After completing your Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies, you can complete Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies. Then, you can pursue your graduation with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or any other such similar course. For further studies, you can go for a Master’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or any other such similar media/journalism related courses. After your Bachelor's degree, you may join as a Trainee Reporter/Journalist with any media company.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies - Class 11-12 Arts/Humanities and English along with any other subject as per scheme of studies - Bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or similar courses - Master’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or similar courses - MBA in Media Management.

After completing your Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies, you can complete Class 11-12 Arts/Humanities and English along with any other subject as per scheme of studies. Then, you can pursue your graduation with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or any other such similar course, followed by a Master’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or any other such similar media/journalism related courses.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies - Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies - Bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or similar courses - Master’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or similar courses - Ph.D. in Journalism/Mass Communication/Journalism & Mass Communication/Media Studies.

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After completing your Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies, you can complete Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies. Then, you can pursue your graduation with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication/Mass Media or any other such similar course, followed by a Master’s degree in the same fields. For further studies, you can opt for a Ph.D. in Journalism/Mass Communication/Journalism & Mass Communication/Media Studies.

Required Qualification & Competencies 

Undergraduate studies after school:

To build a career in Journalism, you can complete your graduation with a Bachelor’s degree in English / Journalism / Mass Communication / Mass Media/ any other language. Then you can take up internship programs in media companies/firms.

Post Graduate studies:

For postgraduate level studies in this field, you can opt to study Journalism / Mass Communication / Mass Media or any other such similar media / journalism related courses after your graduation in English /Journalism / Mass Communication / Mass Media/ any other subject.

Doctoral Studies:

If you wish to study further, you can go for a Ph.D. degree either in Journalism, or Mass Communication, or Journalism & Mass Communication, or in Media Studies.

Competencies Required 

Occupational Interests

1. Artistic: You should have an interest in Artistic Occupations. Artistic occupations mostly involve working with creative ideas, art, and designs. These occupations involve abstract or conceptual thinking, and creative self-expression and often do not follow any set processes or rules for getting things done.

2. Enterprising: You should have an interest in Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiative, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision-making, risk-taking, and action orientation.

3. Investigative: You should have an interest in Investigative Occupations. Investigative occupations involve working with ideas and quite a lot of thinking, often abstract or conceptual thinking. These involve learning about facts and figures; involve the use of data analysis, assessment of situations, decision making, and problem-solving.

Personality traits

1. You are always or mostly organized in your day-to-day life and activities.

2. You are always or mostly careful about your actions and behavior.

3. You are always calm or generally remain calm in most situations.

4. You always prefer to experience new things and have new experiences or you mostly do.

5. You can always act independently or could do so in most situations.

Skills

1. Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.

2. Critical Thinking: Skills in the analysis of complex situations, using logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.

3. Problem Solving: Skills in analysis and understanding of problems, evaluating various options to solve the problems and using the best option to solve the problems.

4. Reading Comprehension: Skills in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

5. Time Management: Skills in prioritizing work, managing time effectively.

6. Social Media: Skills in using various social media such as Facebook, Twitterand Instagram for professional work.

7. Judgment and Decision Making: Skills in considering the pros and cons of various decision alternatives; considering costs and benefits; taking appropriate and suitable decisions.

Knowledge

1. English Language: Knowledge about English grammar, words, spelling, sentence construction, using English to communicate with others, reading in English, etc.

2. Communications and Media: Knowledge of how different media such as print, television, radio,and social media works; how to produce content such as news, articles, audio-visual programs, etc. for different media. This includes various ways to inform and entertain people via print, audio, audio-visual and online media.

3. Politics & Governance: Knowledge about different political ideologies, political systems,and processes, governance standards and processes, constitutions, etc.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

1. After completing your graduation in Journalism/Mass Communication / Mass Media / English / any other language, you can apply for internships in media companies. This will give you an extra edge in the competitive job market. You can also apply for entry-level jobs in media companies such as Reporters, Editorial Assistants, Copy Editor, Communications Coordinator, etc.

2 .After a few years in the industry, you can bag job positions in the Journalism / Media industry such as News Anchors, Weathercasters, Sportscasters, News Correspondents, Commentators, and Columnists, to name a few.

Work Environment

As a Journalist (Electronic Media), your working environment will be diverse and varied (could be anything - from a crime scene to a natural disaster to a press conference/live performances, etc). You will have to spend a lot of time outdoors covering the latest stories, reporting live incidents/events, interviewing people (both in outdoor locations and within the set). Your working hours can be irregular, long, and hectic. Traveling will be a part-and-parcel of your job. Also, you may often have to put in extra time and effort to complete last minute assignments.

Specialisation Tracks In This Career

1. Television Anchor / Television Presenter

Television Anchors present various types of television shows to the audience, both recorded shows and live shows. Depending on an Anchor's expertise, interest and experience, she could be presenting various types of television shows - news bulletin (Anchors presenting news in earlier days used to be called Newsreader), news based shows (such as debates, talk shows, shows with live audience, etc.), entertainment shows, educational shows, travel shows, cooking shows, music based shows, sports shows, documentary based shows, and numerous other types of television shows.

2. Editor (Television)

The job of the Television show editors is to edit audio-visual clips of recorded shows and live shows and make the final clips ready for broadcast or for the use by Television Anchors (if the shows are presented by Anchors). Typically, the Editors get the source audio-visual files from Television Reporters and Sub-Editors or get live feed coming from the various camera during a live show. They edit the files then, add text and other visuals if required and broadcast or keep ready for broadcasting later. An Editor may start his career as a Sub-Editor or a Television Reporter and then work his way up. The top of the hierarchy is the Managing Editor of Chief Editor or Editor-in-Chief.

3 .Television Reporter / Television Journalist

Television Reporters / Journalists work for various television channels, mostly news channels. They either collect information from the spot where an event or situation is happening or has happened or they source news from the various news feed coming from newswire agencies such as Reuters, Bloomberg, and ANI. When they are on the spot, they have a Photographer or Photographers (also referred to as Cameraperson) with them. They also cover press conferences, interviews, sports events, etc. Their primary job involves collecting news from the spot. Post their collection from the spot or from the news feed, they compose the audio-visual file and pass it on to the Editors or they may edit themselves and keep ready for broadcast. They often have to report live events (such as a sports event or press conference) or situation arising out of an accident, a natural calamity, etc.

4. News Analyst (Television)

News Analysts go beyond the news. They primarily do three things: one, they check various audi-visual news clips reported by reporters for veracity and authenticity; two, they make sure that news stories and feature stories have correct and relevant data and information as well as images or videos which are not in violation of any laws or ethics; and three, they themselves analyse various news feed from newswire agencies and develop audio-visual or print reports which then could be read by various Reporters, Sub-Editors, and Editors. Their reports are often used by the Journalists to compose audio-visual stories or to add relevant information to their stories.

5. Web Journalist

Web Journalists compose and write news or feature stories for web or online media (such as online newspapers, news apps, etc.) by covering local/state/national/international news or events. They may collect information from the spot where an event, incident, or situation is happening or has happened. They also collect information from newswire agencies such as ANI, Reuters, and Bloomberg and other websites. Post their collection, they compile the information and compose news or feature stories for publication on online media. Web Journalists may cover various live events too such as a press conference, a sports event, an award function, etc.

6. Camera Person / Photographers (Television)

Camera Person / Photographers (Television) cover the spot where an event, incident, or situation is happening or has happened to shoot videos. Their videos are used in composing and creating television shows (audio-visual files) or news broadcasts. Typically, Camera Person / Photographers are accompanied by Television Reporter/Journalists. Camera Personnel / Photographers cover all types of events, incidents, and situations starting from a press conference, an interview, natural calamities, major accidents, and a criminal case to sports events, entertainment events, religious events, and political rallies. They cover live events or situations also whereby videos shot by them are broadcast live.

Career Growth

1. In Journalism, you will usually begin your career as a Trainee Journalist, and then in about 2-3 years’ time, you can upgrade to a Staff Reporter. Then in about 5-6 years’ time, you can become a principal reporter.

2. As you continue to gain experience in the field, you can get promoted to the level of a Senior Reporter and then to a Correspondent. In about 10-12 years’ time, you can become a Chief Reporter and then further get promoted to the level of a Special Representative.

Salary Offered  

1. In entry-level jobs, you can expect a monthly salary package of around Rs. 16,000 - 20,000.

2. As you gain about 6-10 years of experience and move on to mid-level roles in the field, your average monthly salary will be somewhere around Rs. 20,000 - 40,000.

3. For senior-level job positions (with 12-20 years of experience), the salary package is much higher and ranges anywhere between Rs. 50,000 - 200,000 or more per month.

4. Once you’ve gained enough industry experience and established yourself as a credible Journalist, you can earn nearly Rs. 5, 00,000 - Rs. 15, 00,000 per month or even more.

Monthly Earning In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience

3. Mid-Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also in the near future, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and in some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job)

Famous Personalities 

Not Available 

Work Activities 

1. Creative thinking: Developing new ideas, concepts, innovative solutions to problems, newer ways of getting things done, designing products and services, creating work of art and craft, etc.

2. Communicating with co-workers and others: Communicating with people in writing, verbally or otherwise inside your workplace and various other people who have professional relationships with your place of work including vendors, government officials, etc. or with people at large.

3. Getting Information and learning: Observing, hearing, reading, using computers, or otherwise obtaining information and learning from it.

4. Identifying objects, actions, and events: Identifying various characteristics of objects; observing and understanding actions and events; understanding changes in actions and events.

5. Developing and maintaining inter-personal relationships: Developing professional relationships with co-workers and others outside organizations and maintaining good relationships.

6. Organizing, planning and prioritizing tasks: Planning and organizing tasks in order to achieve work goals; prioritizing tasks to achieve goals and making the best use of the time available.

7. Decision making and problem-solving: Analysis of data and information; evaluation of alternative decisions and results of decisions; taking the right decisions and solving problems.

8. Scheduling tasks: Scheduling project timelines, tasks and activities.

9. Using computers for work: Using computers for day-to-day office work; using computer software for various applications in day-to-day professional work; entering data and processing information; for writing.