Are you passionate about storytelling, interviewing, communicating, writing, investigating, researching
about current and world affairs? Then journalism and mass communication is undoubtedly one of the most highly sought-after career options that you can choose after 12th.
Mass communication and journalism courses in India
are considered as a good career option for its influential role in society. It also requires specialised knowledge and skill sets.
In this blog post, we will go through the various important aspects to consider when choosing a career in journalism after 10+2.
The Benefits of Studying Journalism Courses After 12th
A bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication in India done after 12th will provide you with a solid foundation and enhance your employability chances in this dynamic world of media and communication.
A journalism course will not only prepare you with a number of benefits but also pack you up with abilities, such as:
- How to choose an engaging narrative,
- How to conduct an interview,
- How to create awareness,
- How to raise important questions, and
- How to present current affairs in a unique and thorough manner.
Now, let’s look at some of the benefits, before enrolling and making a career in this fascinating world of journalism and mass communication.
- Foster a Well-Informed Society: As a journalist you will have the power to inform, educate, bring change, create awareness, and make people especially those in leadership roles accountable for their words and actions.
Networking Opportunities: You will get to meet many new people from all walks of life and work with them to hear their stories and get a new perspective. Some professional connections may also lead to greater opportunities down the road! - Communication: As a journalist, your entire work will revolve around informing and educating the general public, which requires excellent communication and writing skills. To stand out from the crowd, you will need to keep practicing and learn to adapt depending on the situation, the medium, and the audience.
- Challenging and Thrilling Atmosphere: You get to work in the center of action and cover exciting events locally as well as internationally, and lead a successful social life. Thus it is the most sought-after career option among the younger generation.
- Enhances Creativity: Just by networking and being around different cultures, your artistic freedom, creativity, and aesthetics begin to thrive. It not only improves your creativity but also provides a unique perspective on the world around you.
- Surrounded by passionate, informed and intelligent people: Through journalism you get to meet and interact with many intelligent and hardworking people who are self-inspired, self-motivated, open-minded and passionate individuals.
- Stay Updated With Current Affairs: You will be well-informed, and have access to information, cutting-edge tools, technologies, entertainment events, etc. in order to circulate information to a wider audience.
- Ample Work Opportunities: Students searching for journalism courses after 12th can be rest assured as there are ample work opportunities and roles for students to explore.
- Competitive Salaries: A journalist or media person holds extremely good jobs and receives a sizable income. Newbies who just completed their journalism courses after 12th can start off with freelancing to gain experience and advance quickly in the industry.
- Extensive Career Possibilities: The researching, writing, editing, proofreading and communication skills you develop as part of your journalism major are transferable to several industries, like digital media, marketing, communications and more.
- Choose Your Niche Industry: You can choose your own niche industry and work in roles ranging anywhere from News Anchor, Specialist Writers, Video Editors, Photographers/Videographers, Photojournalists, Investigative Journalists, to Freelance Journalists. Along with these, journalists are also thriving in Public Relations, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing creating information innovatively and uniquely spreading awareness.
Skills Required to Become a Journalist
In the words of Henry Anatole Grunwald, “Journalism can never be silent. It must speak and speak immediately.” By pursuing journalism and mass communication courses after 12th equips aspiring individuals with a unique blend of communication, knowledge and instils all the relevant skills required to become a multimedia journalist.
- Communication Skills – To improve your communication skills you would need to first know your audience, be an active listener, and be good at interpreting nonverbal cues. Be open to feedback and practice by being adaptable and flexible
- Perfection – Focusing on one task at a time, will ensure minimal to no errors while working as a journalist. Be clear of what is expected when doing projects and assignments.
- Error-Proof Work – Use tools to avoid mistakes and outline a workflow with lists or agendas that clearly defines all your daily tasks and responsibilities.
- Persistence – As a journalist, you will learn to be persistent, that is doing something again and again until it works. You will also learn to keep moving, finding alternative approaches, and using creative lateral thinking methods.
- Research Skills – Start by identifying and evaluating the data. Depending upon the topic, ask relevant questions, get multiple perspectives, and assess the relevance of the subject matter to your reading audience.
- Digital Literacy – Use tools and digital platforms effectively, critically evaluating fake news and avoiding online scams. As a journalist, increasing your digital literacy skills can enhance your job prospects, improve your productivity and communication.
- Logical Reasoning and Objectivity – To maintain objectivity and logical reasoning in journalism, as journalists you will have to learn to portray issues and events in a neutral and unbiased manner. Regardless of your opinion or personal beliefs.
- Investigative Reporting – Fact-check everything, always allow the person being investigated a fair chance to respond, avoid vague words and personal comments and opinion to cloud your judgement.
- Problem-Solving Skills – Identifying the problem will help you establish the purpose and direction of your story. Avoid wasting time and resources over researching or fixating on irrelevant misleading information. Brainstorm solutions by evaluating different sources, perspectives, and approaches.
- Ethical Journalism Skills – To minimize potential biases while reporting journalists are encouraged to present their findings without exaggerating or distorting the message. They are asked to adopt a strict standard of fairness and maintain a degree of detachment from the religions, political groups, or countries associated with them.
- Journalism Scope – It provides learners with the knowledge and skills to become successful communicators and work in various roles like management positions in public relations, marketing, advertising, and corporate communications, as well as roles in broadcast media, political journalism, sports, investigating journalism, consulting, and other related fields.
Bachelors in Journalism Courses After 12th
AAFT School of Journalism and Mass Communication inspires youngsters to become world-class leaders of tomorrow. AAFT provides aspiring journalists with hands-on experience through live projects, latest tools and techniques, and opportunity to learn directly from renowned national and international journalists through master classes, workshops and webinars.
Well-known news anchors like Ajay Kumar, Naghma Sahar, Amish Devgan, Chitra Tripathi, RJ Raunak, among others make regular appearances to keep the students of AAFT School of Journalism abreast with the latest developments in the fields of entertainment, culture, business, and politics.
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| B.A. in Journalism | This is a 3-year program designed by professionals in the field to give anyone who wants to work in the Journalism and Mass Communication industry the skills they need. |
| Bachelor in Journalism | The programme entails a 3-year-long degree. It extensively covers the various aspects of the mass media industry like researching, reporting, arranging, writing, editing, and presenting information. |
| Bachelor in Journalism and Mass Communication | This course comes with a specialisation in sports journalism. You will learn how to summarise, analyse, investigate and cover sports events across the nation and the world. |
| B.A. in Mass Media | Mass media courses cover a broad array of subjects from sociology, psychology, technology, advertising, political science, to media laws and ethics, and more… |
| B.A. in Journalism and Communication Studies | This course comes with a specialisation in digital media. |
| B.A. in Scriptwriting | This course teaches the art and craft of writing scripts for films, ads, video games. A good option to choose for all those with a creative and artistic bent of mind. |
| B.Sc in Mass Communication, Journalism and Advertising | In this course, students will learn news writing, storytelling, reporting, creating advertisements, feature writing, cinematography, photojournalism, and editorial skills. |
| B.Sc in Mass Communication and Journalism | A three-year course which covers in-depth analysis, investigating and reporting current affairs, recent issues, trending topics, and stories around the world to a vast audience through mediums like TV, newspapers, magazines, web, social media platforms, etc. |
| Bachelor in Media Science | This course has gained popularity over the years and covers topics like advertisement, public relations, event management, social media, and more… |
Masters in Journalism Courses After 12th
The course has a plethora of opportunities in terms of knowledge. A great way to expand your career prospects. As it has the right balance of advanced theories in communication, language skills, television production, computer application in media, reporting and anchoring. Come hone your journalistic skills with this 2- year course. Learn the skills to excel in TV journalism. Build a fun-filled career and gain entry into the world of news anchoring. Do check out AAFT’s M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication (MJMC)
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| M.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication | This is a 2-year program with options to specialize in digital media as well as sports journalism. AAFT curriculum is 85% practical-based to ensure that students learn concepts and how to apply them in practice. |
Diploma Courses in Journalism After 12th
Students who have passed or will appear for higher secondary (10+2) from any CBSE/ICSE/IGCSE/IB or State Board, can apply for admission to the courses offered at AAFT. This is a job-oriented course that provides ample employment opportunities such as a journalist, radio production and jockey, news anchor, proofreader, editor, columnist, content writer, social media executive, translator, photojournalist, critic, cartoonist, etc to name a few. You may get the opportunity to craft a variety of written materials on hot, trending topics. Asked to attend events, contribute press releases, blog posts, opinion-editorial, interviewing, proofreading, editing, etc. Therefore, master the art of good journalism by pursuing a diploma in journalism through AAFT.
| Course | Description |
|---|---|
| Diploma in Journalism | This is a year-long course that covers the fundamentals in journalism and mass communication. Anyone can join this diploma course in journalism after 12th. |
| Diploma in Creative Multimedia and Journalism | A diploma programme that blends various creative media that familiarizes students with the overall processes. |
| Diploma in Creative Media Production (Broadcast Journalism) | This program covers ways to research, investigate and broadcast news and current affairs via television, radio and the world wide web. |
| Diploma in Documentary Photography | In this course, you will learn ways to click wide-angle photographs to close-up snapshots that tell a story with intention and empathy. |
| Diploma in Photojournalism | This course covers the concept of learning ways to use images or photographs to tell a news story. Check out AAFT’s Diploma course in Still Photography for more details. |
Conclusion
To summarise this article, we explored the benefits of studying journalism, learned about the skills to master in order to become a world-renowned journalist and the different diplomas and advanced courses that are available for you to pursue.
Therefore, if your goal is to truly master journalism and mass communication. If you are truly interested in making a career in journalism? Then look no further, choose AAFT. We provide journalism degree courses that allow students to gain in-depth technical knowledge of critical aspects of news reporting, sports journalism, writing, interviews, event planning, advertising, digital media, etc. Gain a significant edge and apply to our award-winning journalism program today!