Mass communication is not limited to journalism !!

Mass communication simply refers to the act of communicating with a mass of people! But people often confuse mass communication with journalism. The fact is that both are closely related but there are still a number of differences between the two concepts.

There are multiple fields of Mass communication and Journalism is one such field. Mass communication is a wide concept involving the delivery any type of message whereas journalism is specifically about delivering the news and information of the world to the people. Journalism takes support of print media and digital media to do so.

If you also were under the impression that mass communication careers revolve around being journalists and reporters and carrying mikes in your hand to deliver news and events of the world, here’s a list of some of the other fields of mass communication that you can take up as professions.

·         Advertising: If you think about it, advertising also involves reaching out to mass. The motive here is different but the concept remains same- making public aware of something- here, products and services. So give the creative side of your brain a chance and try making ads!

·         Public Relations: It is not as straightforward as advertising, but on the same lines, works around promoting a product or an organization. Unlike advertising, PR is an earned media and here you have to convince the reporters and editors that you’re good. A positive media attention is what’s required.

·         Social media: In the era of internet, what could be better than digital as a tool to reach out to audience? Facebook and Twitter have become the parts and parcels of our daily lives. So if you’re technologically savvy and are comfortable enough to interact with audiences, profiles like social media strategist would do a lot of good to you!

So even if you’re not good with news and information, there’s a lot that you can do with a mass communication degree.

How to get connected with masses?? Four Factors and An Example !!

We all know that mass communication is all about delivering a piece of news or information to the mass, and we all understand the importance of mass media in the today's world. There is not  a day without the awareness of what's happening in different parts of the world and we cannot imagine a day when media fails to update us.

How Maggi Got Connected, Disconnected and ....Connected !!

Communication is the essence of the media and the mass communicationcolleges in India teach the students different forms of communication which are used to reach out to the audience.

Here's a list of some of the conventional forms of simple communication and the ways in which media is using all of them.

·         Verbal communication: A verbal communication involves words, sound and language. It is used as a powerful component of mass media because public speaking always drives audience. The journalists and reporters are the examples of people who use verbal communication to deliver information.

·         Written communication: This is the traditional form of mass communication and it is evident from the popularity of newspapers since we-don't-remember when. A number of people still make masscommunication careers in the print media. The requirement of article writers for newspapers would never fade!

·         Visual communication: It is said that a visual memory lasts longest, way longer than the other kinds of memories created and hence, it is an excellent form of communication to transfer news. The pictures of a bus accident or the after-effects of a bomb blast are often combined with the verbal and written forms of communication to make the news understood better.

·         Non verbal communication: It is not typically used singly as a form of information in mass media, but generally is combined with other forms to give an added effect. It includes body language, signs, postures etc.

Importance of Being Inspiring and Selfless Journalist

With the rise of alternative careers in today’s world, we see a lot of youngsters exploring new horizons and trying their hands at new things. Nowadays we see a lot of new comers opting for careers like designing or dancing, which until about a decade back was considered a hobby and not a full time career. One of the most promising career for today’s youth seems to be mass communication careers, with its risks, its demands and dynamic nature, we have a lot of young people opting for it and the thrills and danger it brings with it. Now, how exactly did his occupation become so popular, the answer lies in the number of inspiring and selfless journalist and reporters out there, who work their hearts out to bring to us pure unadulterated sensible news, one of them is our dear fiery Barkha Dutt, let us study a little about her.

Born to an Air India Official father and a journalist mother, Barkha Dutt had quite the perfect environment to grow. Right from her childhood she had a sense of what danger meant or what risk meant privy to her parent’s professions. After graduating from St. Stephens College in Delhi with an English literature degree, she went on to pursue a Master’s degree in mass communications from Jamia Milia Islamia. Thereafter she joined NDTV and started her journalism career here and then rose to head its English wing. Dutt gained prominence for her reportage of the Kargil War. Dutt has won many national and international awards, including the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour for her coverage of the tsunami that lashed India in 2004. She has twice been named on the list of 100 "Global Leaders of Tomorrow" compiled by the World Economic Forum In 2005.

If you too aspire to be someone like her and be an inspiration for many of your fellow citizens, give oil to your passion by joining any of the Top journalism colleges in India and keep the fire burning!

India’s first four women journalists: The Lost gems of our country

The British Raj saw major dramatic transformation of the Indian society with the modernisation of the Indian Society for the better, With the English breakfast of bread and butter and the popularity of clothing like the trousers and blazers, India was starting to transform. On major positive change was the education of Women. Though only higher class women were educated first, slowly various option opened up for women, specially writing newsletters and articles. Let us look at India’s first four women journalists:

• VIDYA MUNSHI

Widely considered as the first woman journalist in India, she worked for several newspapers and magazines, including, devoting ten years to Russy Karanjia‘s Blitz. At a time, when the communist party was still illegal in India, she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain. She broke major stories, that received national attention then, which included, a plot by two Canadian pilots who were trying to smuggle gold through the Sunderbans and the the Chinakuri mine disaster in Asansol.

• HOMAI VYARAWALLA

Popularly known as ‘Dalda 13, Vyarawalla was India’s first woman photo journalist. Starting her career in the 1930’s, she photographed some of the most influential Indian politicians including, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Indira Gandhi. She was responsible for capturing the almost all the historic moments during India’s in independence struggle.

• PRATIMA PURI

In 1965, when Doordarshan started airing a 5 minute news bulletin, Pratima Puri became India’s first television news reader. She interviewed Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. She was truly an inspiration for the young women of her age.

• DEVYANI CHAUBAL

She was the most popular women journalists to cover cinema in the country. Chaubal was best known for her fortnightly column, “Frankly Speaking”. She was the first woman to use ‘Hinglish,’ (using Hindi words in her otherwise English language columns) in her writing.

Now, with the best journalism graduate schools, and the best colleges for mass communication in india at your disposal, your aspirations to become one like them seems so much more easy to achieve. Don’t lose out on this opportunity and be the next popular women journalist!