Beginners' Guide To Journalism & Mass Communication

Effective guide to write well, influence people and remain in news

Barun Roy

• Publisher: V&S Publishers
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9789350572191
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Journalism
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Most books on journalism today are either too complex to comprehend or too superficial. Barun Roy has really done a remarkably good job to fill a long-felt vacuum. This guide introduces basic tools of the applied journalism in simple language. It provides step-by-step instructions to develop skills in the field. Any person interested in journalism, mass communication and in public relations will find this book very interesting, informative and useful. It could even motivate you to contribute articles and features to newspapers and magazines as a freelance writer. Some salient features of the book: *What is journalism? *News Gathering. *News Lead. *Putting the Story together. *Writing in Newspaper Style. *Colourful News Feature. *Headline Story. *Journalism as a Career. #v&spublishers

Frequently Asked Questions

A. Electronic Journalism

1. How is the job market in Electronic Journalism?

Answer: We frequently turn to television, radio and their websites for news and information. Whether the economy is good or bad, news, which is a vital element of our daily lives, will always be in demand.

And just like journalists of the print media, journalists from the electronic media also fill this demand. From reporters, photographers and producers to managers and anchors, their job is to transmit the ‘actuality’ of the sights and sounds of events as they happen.

In 2003, an estimated 80,000 people were working in different news and news related programmes at commercial TV and radio stations in the nation. This number is estimated to grow further to at least 1,50,000 in the coming years. Hence definitely there is no dearth of jobs in the Electronic Media.

2. Where do the ‘Electronic Journalists’ work?

Answer: ‘Electronic Journalists’ typically work at the following places:

• Commercial TV stations provide the maximum number of jobs. News staffers typically range from 10-20 people in small regional and local channels while national channels have a staff of at least 250-300. A few employ still more.
• Commercial radio stations early in the 21st century were sadly losing newsrooms and jobs to industry consolidation and technology. However, in the last years, the coming up of new FM channels have boosted the audience confidence on the radio and in turn strengthened the field. In our country, most of the villagers still prefer radio, because of its portability and cost. Hence, job opportunities in both the commercial radio stations and public radio stations are immense and increasing rapidly.
• Public television, which in ournation is known as ‘Doordarshan’, offers alternatives to regular commercial fare. Doordarshan also offers solid content in its programmes and has more than 30 regional channels under its aegis which it manages itself, including the now famous Doordarshan offshoots - DD Sports and DD News.
• Public radio stations under the AIR (All India Radio) definitely are the largest employers of radio journalists in the nation.
• Networks, various 24-hour news broadcast multilingual channels, employ several thousand news people.
• Local cable systems in a number of larger cities, maintain news operations with staff to cover ‘hyper-local’ news, which essentially takes place within the communities covered by the local cable station.
• The Web includes sites maintained by most TV and many radio stations. Keeping a site up-to-date is usually the job of a news producer.

The following are related fields where an electronic journalist might find work:

• Wire services such as the Press Trust of India, Associated Press and Reuters employ hundreds of journalists to provide news to broadcast stations and newspapers.
• News feed services provides stations with specialised audio and video on news, sports, weather, business, traffic and other audience interest areas.
• Syndication services sell stations news programme inserts on such topics as health, law, personal finances, consumer awareness, sports and entertainment. Like news feed services, they need specialised journalists.
• Corporate television is a growing field utilising specialists trained in news. Its varied projects include the production of videos and programmes for such uses as sales and staff training. Large businesses send programmes they produce to workers on the job within the same buildings or by communication satellite to locations anywhere in the world.
• Public relations help industries, organisations and government tell their stories to the public. PR often seeks employees who are experienced in broadcast news.

3. What are the various opportunities in Electronic Journalism?

Answer: An electronic journalist’s first job will probably be more than one. He/she may report, shoot video, produce the TV package and do a Web version all on the same story. Multiple duty assignments, common in small stations, are today a trend in stations of all sizes. Versatility and flexibility are indeed keys to getting a job and developing journalistic talents. The more things you can do, the better.

Keeping in mind that the same person may serve as two or more of the following, here are some of the people or positions:

Anchor (also known as newscaster): An anchor is an on-air coordinator of a news programme. Also a host and reporter, the anchor reads news stories, introduces reports by others and may interview news sources live. An anchor weaves the programme together for listeners and viewers. News, sports and weather anchors meanwhile interact with him/her as a team. An anchor may also serve as a programme’s managing editor or producer, and may report from the scene of news events.

Reporter: A reporter covers news stories, usually on camera or tape and from the scene or the newsroom. Reporters develop sources and interview newsmakers. They also gather information from wire services, periodicals and computerised databases. Once information has been gathered, they narrate the story in words, sound and video inputs. They often report live from the news scene without any pre-prepared script or even notes. Many reporters also do some anchoring. This goes on to prove that most anchors come up from the ranks of reporters.

Photographer (photojournalism cameraperson): These professionals are operators of electronic cameras used in video reporting of news. They may also do some reporting, especially in smaller operations. Aphotographer/cameraperson also edits or helps edit tape or digital video-audio at many stations. As cameras become more compact and easier to use, stations are increasingly using ‘one-person bands’ which means that the same person shoots and reports the story, combining journalistic and photographic skills.

Assignment Editor: The Assignment Editor is essentially a coordinator who keeps a track of scheduled and unscheduled news events and assigns beats and duties to reporters and photographers to cover them. He/she also monitors police radio broadcasts and takes phone calls from news sources. An assignment editor often has to make quick decisions under time pressure. In some smaller stations, an assignment editor is also supposed to maintain field contact with reporters and photojournalists through two-way radio and/or phone. He/she is the focal point in scheduling and overseeing satellite feeds of news stories. Definitely this job is tough and may be a steppingstone to newsroom management. It is most often a television position, though some large radio stations also have assignment editors.

News Producer: A News Producer is a ‘behind-the-scenes’ journalist who brings together live and taped actualities of events, along with graphics and background information, into a news story, and coordinates stories into news programmes. He/she often writes news stories and lead-ins to them. He/she may also edit tapes, prepare graphics and adapt stories to the station’s web site. News producers are definitely creators, decision-makers and often managers who must be expert in many aspects of TV news. They are also prime prospects for higher management positions.

Executive Producer: The Executive Producer is an overall supervisor of news producers and coordinator of production elements of news programmes. Often a chief producer of principal news programme, an executive producer works with news director on matters of programme format and content, production financial budget and personnel performance. Executive news producers often move up to become news directors.

Writer: Writers essentially are journalists who writes news copy from information gathered from news teletype services, network feeds, field reports, interviews, recordings, and other sources. In typical TV or radio operations, most writing is done by producers, reporters and anchors rather than by separate writers as such.

Tape Editor: A Tape Editor is the one who selects and assembles the portions of audio or video tape or digital recording that best tell a news story. Editing is also done by photographers, producers and reporters.

Multimedia Producer: Multimedia Producers are in charge of the station’s website, keeping it up to date on local news, weather and sports, plus depth coverage perhaps not included in the limited time allotted to the news programmes. Some stations do little of this. Others meanwhile do a lot.

News Director: The News Director is a person in charge of a TV or radio news operation. This person who is essentially a ‘journalist-manager’ sets policies and makes decisions on news coverage and presentation. He also recruits and trains personnel, manages newsroom finances and works with managers of other departments at the station. News directors in radio and small television stations often also do reporting, producing or anchoring.

Sportscasters and weathercasters: Sportscasters and weathercasters are part of the news operation at most TV stations and many radio stations. Most stations though usually hire specialists. TV weathercasters are meteorologists more often than journalists, and sportscasters must be expert in sports.

Other news job titles include chief photographer, graphics specialist, assignment desk assistants, assistant and associate producers, special projects producer, newscast director and managing news editor. The position of managing news editor is found mainly in large operations and may range from a programme’s chief editor to a news director’s second-in-command for news matters.

4. What are the salaries and emoluments like in this field?

Well, to be truthful, salaries range from excellent to poor. For the rank and file, salaries lag other fields that normally require a college degree. Annual salaries for anchors and news directors at network affiliated TV stations in the 25 largest cities of nation typically go six digits monthly. But in some small TV stations and in the majority of radio stations, most broadcast news people earn less than their counterparts at newspapers and in other professional positions.

This is normally because an oversupply of job-seeking beginners helps hold salaries down. Expect low pay for a year or two as you gain experience and develop your talents. Then, you should be ready for a substantial salary increase at your station or, more likely, in a move to a larger station.

News directors on an average receive higher salaries than rank and file anchors at most TV stations in small and medium cities.

Producers generally average a little more than reporters in small and medium stations. But the ceiling is higher for those reporters who move up to major stations.

Salaries for most news staff normally run two to three times as high in major TV and radio stations as in small ones.

Generally advancement in salary as one moves up the career ladder is greatest for anchors, reporters and news directors. Least gain comes for producers, assignment editors and other rank and file who work behind the scenes in the newsroom. This is based on my personal experience and may not be a rule in most cases though.

5. What are the pros and cons of Electronic Journalism?

All television and radio journalists like their work at least this is what they claim. However, according to a survey carried in 1990s by Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) in the United States, three-fourths of the nearly 2,200 media professionals who took part in the survey stated they were at least moderately satisfied with their jobs. The remaining were only moderately dissatisfied. Job satisfaction levels were about the same for television and radio.

But the survey also revealed that the majority of the people working in broadcast news had considered quitting the field at some point of time. When asked ‘why’ they stated the following reasons: stress (from deadlines and other pressures), disturbed family life (the hours can be terrible) and disenchantment with the field (news operations vary widely in quality).

However, when asked what made them like their work, the answer was - It’s often exciting. You’re in the middle of what’s happening. What you do in your job can make a difference in the world around you. It’s satisfying to know you’re perhaps communicating something important to thousands of people and that you’ve done a good job of it! If you’re on the air, your face and voice will become familiar to your viewers, which may hold appeal for you. Talented and enterprising colleagues also make the job more attractive. Finally, if you move up to a big-time position either on the air or in management, your salary will be very attractive, most probably in six figures.

But then again many radio and television journalists are underpaid. There’s a widening gap between the salaries of anchors and news directors and those of the majority of staff. In small and middle markets, the basic news handlers i.e., reporters, photographers and producers have lost ground to the cost of living in recent years. This is due in part to an immense deluge ofjob applicants. Stations exploit these eager newcomers who are willing to work at minimal salaries to start their careers.

As in other different career options, job security is lesser compared to the old days of local ownership, when stations were not supposed to act as profit machines for corporate owners accountable to stockholders. In recent years, budgetary layoffs and the elimination of whole news departments in extreme cases have become more common.

TV and radio journalists often reported job-related health problems. Stress and fatigue can result from the damaging pressure of taskmasters who are under corporate orders to extract more output with the same or less staff. Again, profits reign supreme, over and above the well being of people whose hard work generates these profits.

Irregular and odd working hours are a norm with broadcast new...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Preface
• Preface
• Contents
• News, Views and You
• Different Kinds of Newspapers
• Different Kinds of Periodicals
• Films, Television and Radio as Instruments of Mass Communication
• Radio in India
• Television in India
• Internet as an Instrument of Mass Communication
• Introduction to Blogging
• Introduction to Freelance Journalism
• Freedom of the Press
• News Gathering
• The News Lead
• Putting the Story Together
• Writing in Newspaper Style
• Covering News
• Colourful News Features
• Describing a Personality
• The Art of Making Columns
• Planning an Editorial Page
• Editorials - Voice of the Newspaper
• Presenting Sports Action
• Copyreading and Proofreading for Accuracy
• Headlining a Story
• Planning Interesting Pages
• Pictures for the Paper
• Advertising
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Journalism as a Career
• Glossary
• Important Newspaper from Around the World
• Bibliography