Television Broadcasting- The Modern Avatar of Journalism
The recently developed economic status of India has brought about a sea of change in the Indian Electronic media. Gone are those days when Doordarshan was the only source of news other than the print media. Satellite Television better known as cable TV has revolutionized the Indian electronic media. Now, you have the convenience of watching news 24 x 7 on various news channels, which are also providing debates and chat shows. News networks have increased threefold in the past few years. Journalists have a wide range of job opportunities, unlike years where print media dominated the scene. At present broadcast journalism is much in demand.
There are basically two sections in the information-broadcasting arena. They are:
- Production House Team - Expert producers & reporters of popular news channels like N.D.T.V. quote that a production team comprising of associate producers, production assistants and producers are mainly assigned the work of making news articles and writings more presentable and approachable to the readers. These producers have to imagine a live news desk.
- Editorial Team - These are further divided into output and input editors. An output editor allocates work to the reporters and the input editor collects reports and news articles to script them accordingly for the news bulletin. A sub-editor further improves the scripts and makes it ready for the news desk.
Variety Is the Spice of Life
- Hardcore news- Major topics like politics, international affairs, crime beat, etc.
- Business news- Local and international trade affairs.
- Sports news- Games, aerobics, sports education and training fill this column. The latest sporting action and events are also covered.
- Heath and educational topics are also included.
What do you need to be a TV Journalist?
You can choose the field according to your talent and caliber. Specialization in that particular field, assessing your performance and knowledge is essential. The broadcast media is an emerging industry, majority of the students are from art background. Practical in-house training is very essential for amateur journalists. Hardcore ambition and drive to become one is all that really matters.
Lots of universities are providing courses in mass communication & journalism for aspiring journalists and editors. It is a dynamic and growing industry. Just 2/3 years of hard work can help one to become an accomplished professional as a programmer or high-level reporter. Anchoring a show can be done according to individual ability.
For example, if an amateur journalist's ideas are good and worth considering, then the senior gives him the liberty to cover it in his own way. Salaries and compensation differs from channel to channel, starting with 10,000 Rupees as a reporter and ending with 20,000 Rupees or more. Postgraduate students with significant degrees in their belt of academic achievements can be paid proficiently. But good consistent performance sans any postgraduate degrees may also become a ladder to high-level salaries.
Bachelor of Mass media by the University of Mumbai has a very good course curriculum. Though the main emphasis is on the print media, it provides aspiring journalists with valuable on-field experience. Numerous universities and private institutes all over the country offer postgraduate courses. Broadcast journalism by the Chennai Asian college of Journalism rewards a BBC certificate in Television Journalism on the completion of the course. Some of the best institutes in India are:
- Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune- offers different courses in media broadcasting including radio communication, television production, etc.
- Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi- offers many courses in broadcasting journalism.
- Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal- offers courses in media broadcasting journalism and production.
These are the places where you can shape your Mass Communication career the way you desire.
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