Journalist - How to become a Journalist

Journalist is such a professional whose demand graph has risen in the recent past with the same pace as the graph of the world stock markets has fallen. If one is looking for excitement, prestige, glamour and money and much more in a single profession then journalism is one such profession.

With his sincere efforts a journalist can make a qualitative change in the society, bringing into light the shady side of the society which is not much known to the general public. He has the patience to get along with politicians, bureaucrats and criminals to get their view and bring them to the public. If a person has all those virtues that enable to do him all these works at odd hours then Journalism is one of the best careers to pursue. With a lot of freedom given to the media all over the world it is only those professional that can work with full authority and can bring to the forefront any kind of misdeeds happening anywhere in the world. Mean while this is the medium which can help the administration a lot by brining genuine problem of the society in front of the government agencies and on the other side it can put brake to the misuse of the power by government officials by bringing that into people’s knowledge.

Eligibility to become a Journalist

Although anyone who have the instinct of journalism can become a journalist .But to have full hold on the area of work and to get some kind of acknowledgement of one’s work one should have minimum amount of formal education of the field he is working in. So we can say that desirable qualification for becoming a successful journalist is as follows

1. Educational Qualification

1. Pass in Senior Secondary Examination (10+2) or equivalent recognized examination in any stream.
2. Graduation in any stream is the most preferred qualification for joining courses to be a journalist

How to become a Journalist?

To become a journalist one has to follow the below given steps:-

Step 1

1. After doing 10+2 class one has to join diploma course offered by many universities .Aspirants can take admission on the bases of marks in the qualifying exams or by clearing the entrance tests taken by some universities/institutions.
2. Graduates of any stream can opt for post-graduate degree or diploma in Journalism or Mass Communication. Admission to these courses are given by way of common entrances test taken by various university and independent institutions. 

Step 2

In these courses candidates are given thorough knowledge in different writing styles in reporting - news, features, reviews etc. General knowledge is also imparted on paragraphing, writing an introduction for a lead story or an anchor, script writing for radio or television. Students are also prepared for the rough road of actual news hunting in these courses

After successful completion of the course students are required to undergo internship with a newspaper or television house to have firsthand knowledge of real reporting scenes. This training is compulsory and now forms an important part of the practical training. This gives you a fair idea of the real reporting scene.

Step 3

After completing the required course and imparting himself with the necessary practical training students can join the filed in any of the following ways

1. Join a newspaper house.
2. Joining a news agency
3. Joining Govt. Sector in Indian Information Service or the different State Government information services, 

1. In a newspaper house fresh pass outs usually join as trainees at the news desk or the editing desk. After a couple of years, they get transferred to reporting.
2. Some people join straightaway as trainee reporter also.

Journalist Job Description

Journalist job involve looking for news and unearthing the truth behind those news and bring that to the notice of public. Besides their job also include writing articles, features, editorials and analysis of various events that interest general public.

Journalist Salary

On an average one can earn anything between Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 per month along with other benefits after joining a newspaper house however it depends upon various newspaper house and capabilities of the journalists.

Working for a news agency is slightly different because of the tougher deadlines. The ABC of news agency reporting seeks accuracy, brevity and clarity. The formal of writing is very straight forward and to the point and does not allow any scope for speculation or analysis within the news story.
Agencies like Press Trust of India (PTI) and United News of India(UNI) are 24 hours open without any holidays throughout the year

Salary of Journalists joining News Agency

On an average one can earn anything between Rs.20,000 - Rs.25,000 per month along with other benefits after joining a news agency however there is no upper limit of the income in news agency one can earn as much as he could it depends upon one’s capabilities.

3. Joining Government sector
One can join at different levels in the Indian Information Service or the different State Government information services.

Salary of Journalist working  in Government sector

In Government sector an account gets anywhere near Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 per month but to compensate for lower monetary gains government provides with various other emoluments like free housing, medical expenses and above all job security. And the advantage that attracts most towards is that one gets the Authority of being in the government position.

Journalist Career Prospect

Ladder of hierarchy for journalist/reporter is

• Trainee
• Staff reporter correspondent,
• Principal reporter/ senior reporter/ correspondent,
• Chief reporter and special representative/ correspondent.