Why Media means more than Journalism today

A Journalism course at Bennett University opens up many more career opportunities beyond being a news journalist.


There was a time when

media

was associated with only journalism. Readers identified themselves with the bylines of reporters and the names of top editors. Newspapers were the most dominant form of media. Then came television and it jostled for attention and mindspace. Radio, in the absence of hard news, became more a source of entertainment. Things changed dramatically after the advent of the Internet. The media in the last two decades has undergone a complete makeover. Newspapers, radio and television are still important. But it is

digital

media that is driving the growth.

Paradigm shift

The change is good news for students waiting to get into media. They now have more avenues and careers to choose from. An important space that has opened up is Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing. Companies are struggling to find trained manpower to meet their Digital Marketing requirements. Most of these are high paying jobs, where abilities matter more than age or experience. For students aspiring to get into media, this is a good opportunity.

Another career that has opened up in a big way for media students is Digital PR. Public Relations firms are looking for youngsters who can create blogs, podcasts and video stories, that can go up on client websites. They need media students who can create databases and write press releases that can be delivered digitally.

Content making inroads

But the most explosive growth is happening in the field of content creation. This demand is fuelled by web portals, IT companies, e-commerce firms, corporates, government organisations, public sector companies, banks, NGOs, travel companies, hospitals, universities --the list is endless.

Everyone needs content creators to run their websites. This includes media houses. They need media students who can create content as text, audio stories, infographics, podcasts, photo essays and are adept at search engine optimisation. They also need media students to work as social media professionals and for creating content for mobile phones. The range and scope of work is so different from traditional journalism that some of the media houses have come up with a new designation for such media professionals – Digital Content Producers.

You should also not forget OTT platforms, web series and streaming media. They are also looking for media students for the new jobs that streaming services have created.

Popular choice
Another area that is becoming popular is influencers. These young men and women have built a following that runs into millions. Some of the influencers who have made it big are Srishti Shukla (Dance), Bhuvan Bam (comedian), Kritika Khurana (fashion), Ranveer Allahbadia (social media entrepreneur) and Gaurav Taneja (Fitness/gaming). The top influencers have earnings that run into crores. Several journalists have taken to social media and carved out a new career. You too can become an influencer if you learn the skills needed to succeed in digital and social media.
In fact, there was never a better time to get into media. You can still become a print journalist or a television journalist. But the real growth is happening in digital media.

This is one reason that new-age media schools like Bennett University’s Times School of Media, a media school that has been set up by The Times Group, has created a Digital and Mobile First programme. Besides journalism, its BA (Journalism and Mass Communication) programme prepares all students for a host of exciting media careers that will make them future ready.