As the 21st century rolls on, every sector is seeing some form of metamorphosis due to technological advancements and varying demands. Journalism is no exception and is probably one of few fields to see a radical transformation. Currently, candidates have to focus on a whole new skill-set on top of the fundamentals and simply cannot afford an alternative to the best colleges for journalism. Only here can you learn the key skills that you require to become a top journalist and fit in the demands that the current market has now.
Here is a list of the top 5 skills that you must develop during your course. The best institutes will help you with it and prepare you to become an in-demand journalist. Take note to reach your full potential and take advantage of the changing times.
- Knowledge in all and master of one
In the age of the internet, there is really no excuse for the lack of knowledge. As competition grows by the day, media houses now prefer candidates with a diverse knowledge. Your expertise may lay in finance or politics, but this doesn’t mean you can’t take up a sports or concert coverage if the need arises. There are so many things happening right now and so much to report, firms might call you to pen down an article that is beyond your comfort zone. This is one of the top skills that you acquire in journalism courses from the best university for journalism in Delhi – to diversify and adapt according to the situation.
- Building a community on online platforms
Journalism cannot end with reporting an incident in the current century. You must be socially active and should know how to do it. Apart from the basic skills of networking, you should be active in social media, give the community what they want there and continue to interact with your readers on a daily basis. You can start sending out your articles during your course and build a solid community by the time you pass out. Having a solid number of followers will help your portfolio and will be a massive star in your CV. Remember, building a helpful community and maintaining it is a skill and you have to acquire it.
- Technical knowledge in programming and editing
As the paradigm of continuous balance between print and online journalism continues, brands now prefer candidates with the basic technical knowledge of programming and image/video editing. The best IP university colleges for journalism will work on your writing and reporting skills and teach you basic HTML, Photoshop, Python and all other necessary software. With these technical skills, you come as a package who can easily shift between online and offline journalism and can fit into the firm’s demand. You may not be capable of designing a whole website, but you should be able to post an article online.
- Business and Entrepreneurial Oriented mindset
Today’s journalism continues to involve the task where you are required to sniff out new stories, but it also asks you to perform market research, evaluate your competitors and think of ways to generate revenue for your firm. With so many brands and content out there, thinking out of the box is one skill that your recruiter will value and you can achieve this by having a business-oriented and entrepreneurial mindset. You should be able to identify and cover a new topic that the readers will share and shelf ideas that are unlikely to sell. You should be capable of adapting with the market needs, just like an entrepreneur does with his/her startup.
- Excellent and quick research skills
People can now identify a baseless article from far away and will stay away from your brand if you can’t present facts. Similarly, stories now travel in a matter of minutes and you should be ready with your report within an hour of an incident. This calls for excellent skills in research that should be quick and authentic and your story should be there even before people start searching for it. Top IP university institutes like Lingaya’s Lalita Devi Institute of Management & Sciences, based in South Delhi, focus on this very skill among their students to frame well-researched articles in a very short time. As a top journalist, you must present the hard-facts through your story before someone else picks it up and does it better.
Every skill that you should be having now is a modification of the basic journalism skills. The changing times have certainly brought forward fresh demands and the increasing competition both among brands and in the number of candidates applying requires you to stand apart. So, work on these key skills, let the best journalism institutes help you and become a top journalist in a matter of few years. As with any sector, the extra skills will always be your friend in the path to success.
