Nature of work and Lifestyle

Mass Communication is a broad field. A student who takes up the course in Mass Communication has number of career options option before him. He/she can opt for Copy writer if he wants to go into Advertising, a Journalist if he has a nose for news and Public relation officer if he wants to be the image builder of the company. But whatever career options a student choose, one thing that will be found common inall career options are meeting tight deadlines. The media people have to work in lots of pressure as they have to meet the deadline. A ‘news’ for instance cannot be taken lightly and put off for another day as it would become stale and won’t sell. A journalist has to rush whenever any news breaks in. He has a 24-hour job. A copywriter too has to meet the deadlines. Anybody planning to enter this field must prepare himself to work in odd hours. Like other fields where the working hours are generally found to be between 9 and 5, in the media field one has to work in shifts.. Though there are some positions in the media where one is required to contribute fixed eight hours of work during the day time, but such jobs are very few. In a nutshell, the field of media is quite interesting and rewarding but at the same time it demands lots of time, energy and hardwork from one. So if you have the passion to defeat deadlines and ready to work as it comes to you at any time of the day, you are the right person this industry is looking for. Let’s take a peep into the lifestyle and nature of work of various professionals in this field.

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Journalist : A Journalist’s task is basically to collect the news and file it at the end of the day. But gathering news is not easy as it seems. In order to get the news, a Journalist has to win the confidence of the people. His day starts with going to the office and then checking with his sources about the happenings around. If he has some news, he goes to the field to cover it. After the news is collected, a journalist is required to come back to the office and write it for the reader. A journalist usually gets free at 9 in the evening (every organization has own timings) but he can be against sent to field in case any news breaks out.

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News Anchor : A News reader or News Anchor is the face of a TV news channel. A person holding the position of News Anchor faces a big responsibility. One mistake on the part of News Anchor can land News Channel in trouble. So a News Reader has to be very alert. After coming to the office, a News Anchor has to see what the latest news is. He should go through the script which he has to read in the bulletin. If some news is not understandable to him then he should enquire about it. A news anchor has to be on air for 2-3 hours together after which he is given a break.

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Copy Writer : The professional working as a Copywriter is usually employed in an advertising firm or advertising department of a newspaper or Television. He/She is responsible for writing the text of an advertisement. The text should be such that a customer gets easily fascinated by it and make up his mind to purchase the product. Slogans and jingles are all part of the text of the advertisement to make it more attractive. Advertisement campaign often involves deadlines and a copywriter has to work against it.

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Media Planner : The advertising firm prepares the advertisement but the task of putting it in the different kinds of Medias (print, radio, television) is handled by Media Planner. While selecting the media, a Media planner first of all understands the target audience the advertiser is trying to reach. He then researches the magazines the audience likes to read and the type of TV programmes it watches. A media planner also decides the timings of advertisements. After carrying out these tasks, Media Planner has to book advertising space with media owners. He has to work in a specific budget.

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TV Producer : A television producer coordinates all aspects of production. From idea development to casting actors to oversee technical crew, a television producer has to do everything. The responsibility of smooth running of a particular programme depends on him. A television producer has to work under lot of pressure. But usually television producers are problem solvers. Despite heavy work pressure, they are able to deliver good results.

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Camera Person : A programme or a movie cannot be shot without a Cameraperson. A camera person plays an important role in making of any show or programme. The working hours of a Camera Person depends on the programme with which he/she is associated with. There are no fixed working hours for a cameraperson. The camerapersons employed in newschannel have to go with the Reporters for shooting. Thought they are allotted a particular shift but like Journalist they can anytime be asked to go to the field for covering the news.

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Public Relations Officer : Image is very important for any organization. Here comes in the picture the role of’ Public Relation Officer’, popularly known as PRO. His task is to bring the organization’s accomplishment before the public through newspapers and television. A PRO either works in a Public relation department of a company or in a PR agency. In the PR agency, a PRO has to handle different clients simultaneously but a person donning the hat of a PRO for a particular company has to oversee the task of that company only.

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Books Editor : Most of the people holding the designation of ‘Books Editor’ work in publication houses, which are engaged in publication of different books. The Book Editors mainly review, rewrite, and edit the work of the writers. Sometimes they do the original writing also. A senior Book Editor even plans the content of the books and oversees the production of the publications. The working hours of a Book Editor varies from organization to organization. Some publication houses have the regular office hours in which the Editors have to work between9 and 5. In some of other publication houses, an Editor has to work in shifts.