“To be a
journalist or a film critic one needs to have certain attributes – ability to
write and passion for the medium. If one has aptitude for it then qualification
only adds to it. Therefore, both training and education go hand-in-hand. -
Deepa Gahlot, Film Critic”
(source:
mxmindia.com, website url: http://www.mxmindia.com/2013/03/mxm-mondays-do-journalists-need-to-be-qualified/)
Mr Justice Makarand Katju, the Chairperson of the Press
Council of India, has recently suggested that there should be some minimum
qualifications to be a journalist and that the schools of journalism should be
regulated. He expressed his view that no freedom can be absolute; it is always
subject to reasonable restrictions in the public interest.
(Published in The Indian Express on March 25, 2013)
I agree with Justice
Katju when he says that areas of super-specialisations like legal, financial,
labour, agricultural reporting are growing. Formal training in the format of a
Diploma would in my opinion be very supportive to good understanding
before actual reporting since this would only mean a strong spine for journalists
in their fields. Be it newspaper journalism or live TV reporting certain ethics
that were followed once upon a time are not followed anymore due to lack of
proper training in ethics of Journalism.
From the days of news-reporting up to the
1980's, and that this slowly emerged thereafter, has been a metamorphosis in
style and quality. The news then, whether through telecast or broadcast, was
always done with sombre & dispassionate tone and words, leaving the
conclusions to the listener or viewer.
Today we find channels seamlessly repeating
the shortest of live clips shot by the reporter, just to hold the viewer to the
screen of the particular channel. The rules of Grammar do not exist anymore. The
name of the game is SENSATION, with
the aim of increasing viewer-ship, popularity and revenues.
As for technical content, for example, to
report on the impact of changes in Tax structure, it would require proper
knowledge of the taxation laws and basics of Taxation. Otherwise, the margins
between fleecing and taxing would indeed be thin. If Insurance laws are not known, then terms and
conditions of insurance policies would never be understood. The margins between
payable and non-payable claims would vanish.
Thus, socially responsible reporting does
require an extent of formal grounding in various technical fields, combined
with ethics in the profession of journalism
By Nikita Nilekani
FSLE-3, FLAME School of Communication
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