How to become a journalist?
In recent years, statistics have indicated that Journalism is one of the careers most requested by young people. Without a doubt, it is an exciting profession, but very demanding, so below you will learn how to become a journalist, what to study and what skills are required.
What is a journalist?
The journalist is a professional prepared for the search, processing and dissemination of relevant and high-impact events within society. According to the sector where they operate, people who are dedicated to journalism must fulfill their work in any media, that is, audiovisual, print or radio.
Often, what makes the difference between a bad and a good journalist are their knowledge, skills and desire to improve, so some of the aspects that these professionals should have are:
- Professional ethics: for the influence of a journalist to be positive, it is essential that they have solid moral principles. While everyone makes mistakes, it is known that disclosing information that is not confirmed, manipulated, or being impartial when reporting is considered malpractice, meaning that it should be avoided at all costs.
- Creativity: it is one of the fundamental qualities that a journalist must have. Although most of the information has already been presented before, it cannot be repeated in the same way, so new original and effective reporting strategies are needed to avoid plagiarism.
- Independence: a quality journalist must be able to preserve their autonomy at all times, that is, they must not allow themselves to be censored by social groups that want to control their work.
- Fluency: journalists use the word, so they must put their knowledge into practice in an organized and concrete way, in addition to expressing themselves adequately.
What to study to be a journalist?
To practice the profession of journalist you must obtain the Degree in Information Sciences, which has a duration of 4 to 5 years. In the course of the degree, you will acquire the necessary knowledge to function successfully in any trade offered by the sector, whether as a Writer, Correspondent, Reporter, Director, Screenwriter or Announcer.
In addition, the subjects that are studied in the career are oriented to the training of the student in the field of work of their choice. Some of the essential subjects are ethical training so that you can work truthfully and thus transmit real information. Also, there will be an induction to others such as writing, reporting, photojournalism and interpersonal communication.
On the other hand, each university has the power to establish its requirements to study journalism, being essential to be a high school graduate, in some cases mastering English, applying for income and presenting knowledge tests. Some also require proof of grades to qualify for a quota.
What does a journalist do?
The work of a journalist includes investigating and communicating social reality, which is why today these multidisciplinary professionals fulfill several tasks: they are technicians, writers, advisers, managers and stop counting. In any case, some of the tasks are to search for news in reliable sources, write chronicles, analyze, comment on your partial option and participate in editing processes.
Likewise, a good journalist must have some qualities such as the following:
• Ability for public speaking.
• Taste for being up-to-date with events.
• History hobby.
• The desire to collect data.
• Skill in writing.
• Interest in research.
• Pleasure in reading.
• Knowledge of other languages.
• Synthesis capacity.
• Accuracy when transmitting information.
• Respect for all points of view
• Curiosity and desire to know more.
• Ability to work in a team, with morality and truth.
• Knowledge of politics, at least the basics.
• Respect for the laws, for orders and compliance with activities.
• Management of current technologies.