Journalism is an undermarketed career choice locally, the monotone way in which tv and radio news items are read in our local bulletins does not help matters (no offence). It's always a bit odd to me that journalists abroad use their natural voices and even have engaging conversations during news time yet here it seems to be a requirement that they should be dead serious reading in a monotone. Of course there could be a good reason for that and it may come out some day, but till then I will stick with my assessment: odd.
Despite all that seriousness, the good news is: journalism is not at all a boring career option. Its also very versatile, that is: it can be turned into so many different jackets that boredom is really a choice. With the advent of social media, blogging and other technology tools, journalism is becoming one of those fields that beautifully merge art and science.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, what is journalism? According to the Cambridge dictionary, journalism is: the work of collecting, writing, and publishing news stories and articles in newspapers and magazines or broadcasting them on the radio and television.
Some of the professions that can be pursued under journalism include:
- Investigative journalist: these reporters deeply pursue one topic of interest. So for example the Journalist might travel all over, exploring human trafficking. Or maybe the journalist might take a swipe at corruption in football. We have requested an interview with an award winning investigative journalist who focuses on environmental reporting and will be including it in this series.
- Broadcast journalism: is disseminating news over electronic media as opposed to print media. So careers here surround television, radio and internet. We managed to land an interview with one of the broadcast journalism legends, Temba Hove and will publish it in the follow up articles.
- Advocacy Journalism: is about promoting a cause or viewpoint by gathering and reporting on evidence towards that cause.
- Photojournalism: they say a picture is worth a thousand words, photojournalists make their reports via photos and videos. You may have seen some of these guys operating in war zones or other areas where one has to see it to believe it.
- Public Relations and Ad Agencies
- Newspaper Reporters
- Social Media and Blogging
- Researchers
Journalist can be employed by news organisations or can be freelance. The internet has made it easier for focused individuals to take their trade beyond geographical borders. This also means that journalists can sell their pieces or research to organisations in other countries.
There are a number of journalism diplomas and degrees on offer from local and international schools. You can search for some of local options on http://www.careerzim.com/progs
If you like storytelling, travelling, investigating then this career might be a good choice for you.
Journalism is also a good career option to cross over to from another field because you can then report on items from the other field you were engaged in, for example if you find that IT admin work is becoming monotonous, you could pursue journalism add blogging to it and report on the developments in your field.
Author: Edmore Munedzimwe