Career and Scopes after MA Journalism

There are certain roles available for MA Journalism students with better career growth opportunities to the skilled professionals. The present article discusses some such roles that play a crucial role in one’s growth in the field of journalism.

Let’s try to understand more about this

Political Risk Analyst

As a Political Risk Analyst, one is responsible to examine the issues such as economic conditions, crime levels, threat to conflict, government sterility and governance, trade and regulations or humanitarian and human rights issues and report the same in the newspaper and magazine articles.

Role of the Risk Analyst

As a risk analyst one is required to assist national and international policy making and strategies. They work in government organisations, NGOs, non-profit organisations and ensure that the required message is passed to the government.

Responsibilities of the Political Risk Analyst

As a Political Risk Analyst, one is needed to:

• Collect and analyse information from different sources, relating to a particular area of interest
• Monitor conditions and update intelligence platforms and database with trends and development
• Use modelling tools and data analytics to circulate risk scores
• Produce scenario modals and forecasts for different business or policy decisions or to assess the impact of political or international developments
• Write bespoke risk assessments and reports for clients, including offering recommendations about managing risks
• Research and write reports and articles on trends and developments in the region or section
• Deliver verbal briefings and presentations to clients and wider audiences on your research
• Develop and communicate regularly with a network of individuals and groups in the region of sector-including government, academic business and journalistic contacts
• Read local and sector specific press and publications to maintain up-to-date knowledge of political development
• Be updated with the latest developments in politics happening at international levels.

Earning Potential

• As a Political Risk Analyst, the fresh MA Journalism students will be earning around 5 lakhs to 7 lakhs per annum
• The senior and experienced professionals will be earning around 6 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum

Press Sub Editor

As a Press Sub-Editor, one is expected to have an excellent eye for detail. As a press sub-editor, one is responsible to have an ability to coordinate with journalists and other editors and they should also possess creativity to write compelling headlines.

Role of the Press Sub-Editor

The Press Sub-Editors are required to check, edit the articles before it goes to publish in the newspapers and magazines. They are also responsible for ensuring the correct grammar, spelling, house style and tone of the published work.

Responsibilities of the Press Sub Editor

As a press sub-editor, one is needed to:

• Editing copy, written by reporters or features, writers to remove spelling mistakes and grammatical errors
• Rewriting material so that it flows or reads better and adheres to the house style of a particular publication
• Ensuring that a story fits a particular word count by cutting or expanding material as necessary
• Writing headlines that captures the essence of the story or are clever or amusing
• Coordinating with reporters, journalists and editors
• Checking facts and stories to ensure they are actually accurate and adhere to the copyright laws
• Cropping photos and deciding where to use them for best effect and writing proofing symbols
• Working to a page plan to ensure that the right stories appear in the correct place on page
• Laying out pages and depending on the nature at the role, playing a part in page design
• Manipulating on screen copy using appropriate desktop publishing softwares
• Keeping up to date with sector issues
• Adapting all these skills for a publication website

Earning Potential

• As a Press Sub Editor, the fresh MA Journalism students will be earning around 6 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum
• The senior and experienced professionals will be earning around 7 lakhs to 9 lakhs per annum

Proofreader

The proof reader is responsible to ensure that the newspaper article is clear, consistent, complete and credible. He/she should ensure and certify the article for no mistakes before it goes to publishing.

Role of the Proof Reader

As a proofreader one is responsible to ensure that the material is grammatically correct and accessible. The proof readers are required to correct spelling, grammar and layout. He/she is also responsible to reword or rewrite depending upon the framework of the page.

Responsibilities of a Proofreader

As a Proofreader one is responsible to:

• Correcting spelling mistakes and grammatical errors
• Sub-editing text written by a number of authors to ensure consistent house style
• Working with IT-based publishing systems and databases, as well as information available on internet or from paper manuscripts
• Coordinating regularly with authors and publishers by phone and email
• Checking that the authors have provided all the required materials and paperwork
• Resolving queries directly with the author and test inconsistencies
• Coding manuscripts for design features, such as hierarchy of headings for instruct the production team
• Creating artwork briefs to detail the content of illustrations
• Ensuring that illustrations are correctly captioned are referred to in the text
• Producing or working to style checklist to ensure consistency in hyphenation, capitalisation, formatting of references
• Discussing and resolving any potentially libellous sections with the commissioning editor and author
• Retrieving articles from archives and rearranging within publications
• Preparing preliminary pages for the title, contents and preface of a publication
• Overseeing the work of indexes type setters and designers
• Ensuring that publications are prepared on budget and to schedule
• Managing marketing and business activities

Earning Potential

• As a Proofreader, the fresh MA Journalism students will be earning around 4 lakhs to 6 lakhs per annum
• The senior and experienced professionals will be earning around 5 lakhs to 7 lakhs per annum

Public Relations Officer

The Public relations officers should be creative communicators who can thrive on the demands of client reputation management and ensure that proper information is communicated effectively on behalf of the client or an organisation.

Role of Public Relations’ Officer

As a public relation’s officer, one is required to about manage a reputation in an organisation when it comes to communication. The public relations officer is required to use all forms of media and communication to build, maintain and manage the reputation of the clients or the organisation.

Responsibilities of the Public Relations Officer

As a public relations officer, one is needed to:

• Plan, develop and implement PR strategies
• Communicate with colleagues and key spokesperson
• Coordinate with and answer the enquiries from media, individuals and other organisations
• Research, write and distribute press releases to targeted media
• Collate and analyse media coverage
• Write and edit in-house magazines, case studies, speeches, articles and annual reports
• Prepare and supervise the production of publicity brochures, handouts, direct main leaflets, promotional videos, photographs, films and multimedia programmes
• Devise and coordinate photo opportunities
• Organise events including press conferences, exhibitions, open days and press tours
• Maintain and update information on the organisation’s website
• Sourcing and managing speaking and sponsorship opportunities
• Fostering community relations through events such as open days and through involvement in community initiatives
• Be updated with latest PR techniques

Earning Potential

• As a Public Relations Officer, the fresh MA Journalism students will be earning around 5 lakhs to 7 lakhs per annum
• The senior and experienced professionals will be earning around 7 lakhs to 9 lakhs per annum

Final Words

The above-mentioned roles are some of the important roles available in the field of journalism. The MA Journalism students can find a good number of jobs in this field. The journalism field is considered as the most emerging field and continues to make its presence in the future.

The students who have done MA Journalism can join to any of the above job roles for better career growth and better pay scales. The students who are interested to be a voice of the people can join MA Journalism course and work for the society.