All about media

IF YOU want to find people who work so hard, rain or shine, and receive so little income as salaries or wages, welcome to the world of the media people.

Here you see the real hardworking individuals who work every day, even on Sundays and holidays, from early in the morning to sundown. They don’t mind the sweats in their forehead that run down every now and then. They know nothing except to work hard because there is a deadline to beat and gathering news stories should be fast or you got nothing but bits of history.

Like food in restaurants, news stories are served hot. A journalist should know how to walk fast, how to write fast and how to take it easy with smiles.

A newspaperman who cannot prepare stories that are fresh, hot and up to the minute has no place in the journalism profession. The reason is you have to work with incredible speed or you become a butt of anger of your readers. Doing this a number of times means you have to close shop and better go farming or fishing.

In this world, a journalist has to present only news stories that are still kicking and alive.

Because of this requirement for speed and accuracy, some members of the fourth estate engage in a silent competition on who can get the best story and fast. Stories have classification too, like other items.

Big stories are arranged in the front page. One such big story must be utilized as the banner line or the biggest of the stories. The rest are in the lower part of the front page but they are still considered tough and attractive. And to do this, one must go out search and open your eyes to be able to develop stories that attract people.

Being in the media is a way to develop prestige. A journalist has to establish his own style to make a name and for people to follow his write-ups all the time.

The public is selective. They judge a story by the headlines and if their attention is not caught well, the story is finished. Chances are, the writer as well is finished which means no one would look for his articles anymore.

Life in this kind of profession is not easy because it involves the public. The secret is be articulate, honest, truthful, straightforward and credible. The objective is to inform the community so let it be that way.

In the first place, the journalism profession is a four-year degree in college. It involves a lot of subject matters that necessarily touch news writing, grammar, editorial writing, feature article writing, column writing, libel, public relations, advertising, history literatures and others.

On top of these, one is trained how to design headlines, dummy of pages, arrangement of advertisings, copy reading, proof reading and so many more.

The final stage is actual practice in giant newspaper publications and actual solicitation of advertisement in large corporations. The basic necessity in the first place is writing.

While some journalists have attended formal education in journalism schools, others who were not were able to attend seminars, conferences, self study and at least have been to college. This industry needs know how. In the first place, one must know how to write and be able to determine which is libelous and which is not. The lead must be clearly established.

The first paragraph of any story is decisive. One must get the attention of the readers during a first glance or they leave outright.