(NOTE: This blog posting is an attempt to answer the question about why I chose journalism as my career.)
Standing in the campus of Indian Institute of mass Communication or IIMC, I feel a sense of pride and honour. Just the acknowledgement that I am a student of one of the most prestigious mass communication institute in the country brings a smile on my face. I would not say that I always wanted to become a journalist. But yes I always wanted to become someone who had the power to bring about a change. And by change I do not mean overthrowing the government or changing entirely the working of the democratic setup. Change for me implies change in attitude, behaviour and efforts to solve the problems that we face everyday. Change for me is to Stop Complaining and Start Working. Change for me is to raise my voice against things which I feel are not good for the society.
But the big question was how to bring about this change. The answer, I figured, was to become a journalist. A journalist for me was someone who could motivate and inspire people through his stories. I myself was moved by various stories especially the ones which talked about degrading environment and reducing wildlife. Reading newspapers and watching news channels was not only informative but also fascinating. I was amazed by the fact that there was so much happening around me which I would never have known about had there been no news coverage. To me journalism appeared to be the only alternative available to do what I wanted to. It was then that I decided to become a journalist and joined IIMC to fulfill my dream.
Once in IIMC I knew my life was going to change. But honestly I didn’t expect any drastic change in the image I had of the media industry. However, as my days in IIMC progressed I could see the rosy picture; I had in mind of a journalist, breaking bit by bit. Journalism I realized is not only about reporting. It’s not as simple and sweet as it appears. Reporting an event or incident is just one small aspect. What goes behind making a two minute news story is a lot of hard work, thinking and creativity. Everything has to be just perfect then be it the opening shot the closing PTC or the choice of clothes.
Earlier I used to severely criticize a news item if I didn’t like it. But now I realize it’s very easy to criticize but very difficult to actually do a story. There is a particular way to cover a story and every reporter is expected to follow a certain method along with maintaining his own individual style. Media is indeed a platform to raise your voice and put across your opinion. But it takes a lot of experience and hard work to actually motivate people to do something.
You might want people to stop cruelty towards animals. But to put across that point only your thought and imagination is not enough. You should know how to grab your viewer’s attention and this can be done only when you know how to shoot properly, how to edit and most important; how to write the script so that the viewer is actually inspired by your story.
A journalist’s life is all about learning. Today, as I write about when and how I decided to become a journalist, is also a part of this learning experience. Although after coming to IIMC various myths I had about journalism have been broken, I still believe media has the power to change the world and good journalism is the key to it.
