Journalism is one of the best career options to have right now, especially among the youth who constitutes a major percentage of our country’s population. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power embodied by journalism. There is a lot of scope and options in this field to pursue a career whether in the print, electronic or digital medium.

A journalist should be ethical and unbiased in giving out and reporting the news in newspapers, magazines, television, and radio alike. This ought to be his/her first priority irrespective of the religion and caste one belongs to. There is a  wide range of career opportunities in journalism and mass communication which can be broadly classified under fieldwork and desk work. Some of them are listed and explained below:

• Reporter

A reporter’s job is to cover news stories of local, regional, state, national, and international events and matters giving out varied viewpoints on the issues from the public and the establishment perspective. Much of their time is spent in the field conducting interviews and investigating for the news stories to be published.

• Columnist

Columnists are appointed by newspaper organizations to write articles on a current hot topic, or trending issues to put forward their views on the subject matter.

• Digital media practitioner

Here, one has to be active on the digital mediums and the various digital media formats like the internet(web, blogging) and apps to break news and stories for it to be mass-consumed at a fast pace. It also involves graphic designing and editing for the news portals of different news portals.

• Social media marketing

A social media practitioner works for a brand or media organization to improve communication and interaction with the users in order to build a reputation and gain credibility, influence, and direct traffic to their content.

• Content writing

A content writer should have the ability to write and edit content for the web typically for the digital marketing process. There are millions of websites, each has a different purpose. So, to attract business a specific type of content is required which is relevant.

• Public Relations

The public relations officer creates, maintains, and intends to safeguard the brand’s/company’s/organization’s reputation and build image and awareness with the public, clients, media, govt, and various other stakeholders.

• Advertising

Advertising and journalism are co-related be it, the print media, electronic or digital medium. Media companies can sell portions/slots in their newspaper to advertisers for sales and revenue generation depending on the readership and target audience

• Photography

As they say, a picture tells a thousand words. For every news story published, an article was written, and a picture with a caption to go with it enhances the overall story and gives it an edge in order to grab the reader’s attention.

• Freelance

Freelance is also called stingers, they operate on their own news reporting, and coverage independently, and get paid for their content. They are self-employed and find, develop, and investigate stories that are sold to news agencies of TV, and newspapers via their sources.

• Correspondents

Correspondents are part of reporting only that they are based and centered in specific locations for stories, and events occurring there. They are on the scene, live in locations, can be from remote areas, and often from foreign countries.

• Editor

An editor of a newspaper organization is the head of the hierarchy who plans and supervises the content to be published. He/She has the final say in what is to be printed. Reporters are hired and assigned to cover news stories (in a quick pace environment) and are edited by looking into the grammatical syntax, proofreading, errors, accuracy, and fairness in a newsroom.

• Sub-editor

Sub-editors give the final shape to the story submitted, and act almost like a gatekeeper, editing objectively by keeping the policy of the newspaper in mind.

• Assistant Editor

Assistant editors or Associate editors are responsible and are assigned/associated with particular subjects like education, health, international news, etc.

• Graphic Designing

Graphic designing is for attracting readers to your content and telling complex things in a simple way via design, editing, charts, image, symbols, words, text, typography, photography, etc. It is a part of the visual communication process to express and be aesthetic. The intention is to communicate ideas, and information and captivate the customers.

• Illustrator

Illustrator’s job is to enhance the writing content and provide a visual representation. It is artistic and aesthetic and goes a long way in grabbing eyeballs. Illustrations have been used in advertisements, brochures, pamphlets, magazines, graphic novels, and so on.

• Online/Citizen/Convergence journalism

Citizen journalism is also known as public journalism. It is the collection and dissemination/distribution of news and information through digital media like the internet where the public citizens play an active role in reporting and analyzing. The Internet has broadened the horizons and this powerful mass communication tool enables for this nature of journalism. It is an alternate and activist form of news coverage outside your regular media institutions occasionally finding the shortcomings in professional journalism and seeking truth and justice.

• Sports journalist

Sports journalism focuses on covering news, and events of various sports happening around the world. For example, Cricket, Football, Tennis, etc, and writing articles, reports, and analyzing for the sports section in the newspaper or TV news channels. There are special sports correspondents assigned for different sports for different channels to cover a global event.

• Mobile journalism

Mobile journalism is a new trend in journalism where reporters use portable electronic devices to cover and gather news such as mobile phones, tablets, cam recorders, and digital cameras for digital storytelling. Mobile journalism is also referred to as mojo and can be done by a freelance or staff reporter.

Some of the advantages of mojo are that it is easy to shoot, record, edit, and publish the news without the hassle of carrying large-scale equipment, and wires in OB vans. From shooting to broadcast everything is done in one place. Also, it is affordable and easy to access for a journalist who is starting new in this field. Just using a smartphone one is empowered to report and deliver news that can be trusted.