Study Paper

It's been a long time since I posted a blog entry. Was busy with studies and work. I have to work on a study paper as part of my course curriculum. I have already submitted a synopsis for the study paper. I don't understand why the lecturers need to be so fussy about doing things their way. Normally, I don't mind it much, but this time I was forced to choose between the preferences of two contradicting lecturers. One of the lecturers mentioned that the study paper needs to be related to journalism or public relations. So I opted for a study paper topic that leans more towards public relations than journalism. And that was the beginning of my troubles.

I had already chosen the topic that I wanted to work on, and asked my Newspaper Management lecturer how to modify it, to suit the course requirements. He suggested a modification that had more of a public relations touch to it, than journalism. But I accepted his recommendation and wrote a study paper synopsis. I showed it to him and he he seemed to appreciate it a lot. But imagine my shock, when, a day before the submission date, the person who lectures us on Reporting told me that my study paper topic had nothing to do with journalism and I must select some other topic!!

There are occasions in life when one has to stick to his decisions, even if they appear to be wrong. And I found myself in a similar situation. The last date for submission had neared and I had no time to work on a fresh study paper topic or synopsis. I had to take a call and I decided to go with what my Newspaper Management lecturer suggested, even if it meant displeasing the other person.

More to follow regarding the study paper...

Finally, a lecture on Editing?

Journalism Lectures, Day-8

Finally, I attended a lecture on the topic of Editing! The lecturer has been working with "The Statesman" for more than 30 years now! Started off his career with the newspaper in the capacity of a sub-editor.

Like most of the other lecturers at the institute, he's tremendously energetic. Anyone belonging to the Indian Media has to be full of energy and vibrancy, though not necessarily intelligent and well informed.;-)(There! I blew my chances of getting an internship! LoL)

On a more serious note, the class room lectures on Journalism are so different from what I have gone through doing my school and college days. There's so much to learn and enjoy. A real pity that I have to rush off to work, right after the lecture hours end. Don't get much time to interact with my classmates and lecturers at the institute.

The lecturer for today, talked about "newsworthiness". He provided a not- too-dissimilar version of "what is News" from what the lecturer on Reporting had provided.

A classmate was disgruntled with the state of affairs of the Indian Media. She talked about principles, ethics and morals associated with the noble profession of journalism.

"Why does the Abhi-Ash wedding appear on the front page of a national daily?", she inquired.

"Because, that's what the Indian readers wanted to read about! That's what they were keenly interested in, at that point in time", answered the lecturer.

But my classmate wasn't convinced. "Then the Print Media is all about popularism and making lots of money. A business, not a mission." she argued.

"Times have changed and we must learn to adapt to the changing circumstances.", the lecturer continued.

"Yes, times have changed. But at what cost?", the girl grumbled.

"We'll discuss how to balance the principles, ethics and morals side of journalism with the business aspect of it, in my next class", the lecturer assured us and took his leave.

I rushed off too; was getting late for work!

Baby steps towards learning Journalism

4 Lecture hours in Journalism

So far, I have attended 4 lecture hours and find myself, inextricably drawn towards a career in Journalism. The faculty members at the institute include industry professionals. They promise that learning journalism at the institute will be a fun activity for us. One of them being the Chief-Editor of a vernacular daily.

My course curriculum includes topics like:

1) Indian Press laws, History of Journalism;
2) Writing;
3) Reporting;
4) Editing;
5) Newspaper Management & Mass Communication.

The Chief-Editor of the vernacular daily is instructing us on various aspects related to Reporting.

So let me see if I can recollect the factors that determine the "newsworthiness" of a story filed by a reporter.

They are:

1)Impact;
2)Proximity;
3)Timeliness;
4)Prominence;
5)Conflict;
6)Relevance, Usefulness & Interest.

Ah!! Yes, I do remember them:-)

Some books on Journalism that we have been told to follow include:

1)News Reporting & Editing- K.M. Srivastava
2)Interpretative Reporting- Curtis D. MacDougall
3)The Indian Reporter's Guide- Richard Critchfield

Tomorrow's blog will cover details about Day-5. A new lecturer. The subject to be taught is Editing- the most uninteresting part of Journalism, or so I have been told.

By the way, can you suggest some books that I could use as reference material? Please leave a comment on my blog and let me know.

Thanks in advance.