Mass Communication is the study of how the information related to entities and individual, communicate or transfers to the entire world at the same time. The information is generally disseminated using the newspapers, books, magazines, websites, blogs, radio, film and television. There is a rapid expansion in the mass communication industry in the last 10 years, with more and more news channels and media houses coming in to picture every year. Mass communication is actually, communicating those information that is not known to people around the globe, and thus to make information available to everyone, by using the latest technological platform, in the form of blogs, websites, and television.
If writing is your hobby, and you can present the things in an effective manner, if you love to take challenges, if you have got excellent communication skills, then a career in mass communication is waiting for you. Mass communication is one of the popularly emerging career fields with more and more students opting this as their higher career option.
Mass Communication and Journalism:
When we talk about “journalism” it means a way of presenting the information by various medium including printed articles, blogs, and television. Whereas a journalist is a person who performs all these task of searching for information, editing it, writing article and presenting it, thus we can say that journalism is an integral part of mass communication.
Scope in Mass Communication
After completing your degree in mass communication, you can work in different sectors like reporting, writing, editing, photographing, broadcasting or cable casting news items and many others similar work profiles . There are two types of journalism in which you can work, i.e. first one is Print Journalism and the second one is Electronic (Audio/Visual) Journalism.
In Print Journalism you can avail jobs in newspapers, magazines and journals and can work as editors, reporters, columnists, correspondents, etc. In Electronic journalism you can work for Radio, Television and the Web. You can build your career in journalism, which is a highly paid and prestigious profession. It is the best job for those interested in gathering different news from various sources and then to mould it in different styles. One can also find job opportunities outside of India.
If you are looking for a career in mass communication, then you must pass your class 12th with any discipline, but must be having excellent communication skills. After the completion of the class 12th you can go for the following courses:
- Diploma Courses (1 yr.)
- Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication (3 yr)
- Master of Journalism and Mass Communication (2 yr)
- Post graduate diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication (1 yr)
Eligibility and Admission
- The candidate who is looking for a career in mass communication, must pass their senior secondary examination and have good communication skills.
- The admission to the various courses on done on the basis of marks scored in the qualifying examinations.
- Minimum eligibility for bachelor degree in journalism is 10+2 and for postgraduate degree courses, you must hold a bachelor degree in journalism or relevant field.
- Some universities and college admit students on the basis of marks in class 12th followed by interview.
Most of the universities conduct their own entrance examination, and the marks scored by the candidate is considered for providing admission. Some entrance tests which are organized for providing admissions in mass communication courses are listed here:
- Amrita University (ASCOM Communication Aptitude test)
- Indian Institute of Mass communication Entrance Exam (IIMC 2020)
- AIMSAT (All India Media Studies Aptitude Test)
- Xavier Institute of Communication Entrance Exam
Are there any good colleges to pursue mass communication?
Colleges Offering Mass Communication courses are:
- Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Pune (SET 2020)
- Delhi College of Arts and & Commerce, New Delhi (Du Admission 2020)
- Christ University, Bangalore.
- Manipal Institute of Communications, Manipal.
- Amity School of Communication, Noida.
- Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC)
- Institute of Mass Communication Film and Television Studies (IMCFTS)
Career and Jobs
After completing the course, there is a huge demand from the news channels, TV shows, magazines, and various publishing firms and online news portals. The candidate can even work as a freelancer and work for many companies. The job profile in this field may depend upon the company in which you are working and your overall experience. If you have good writing skills and excellent command on the language, if you can play with the words, then this career can get you to the great height. Looking at the current scenario of the media industry in India it is expanding at a rapid rate, more than five news channels are coming up every year so there is good opportunity for a fresher, to be a part of them and reach a good post in quick span of time. The top recruiters in this field include:
- Star Network
- CNN IBN
- TV Today
- Zee Network
The major job profiles in this sector include:
- TV Anchor
- News Editor
- Senior Journalist
- Junior journalist
- Screen Writer
- Editor at large
These are some of the coveted designation in mass communication, besides these an individual can work as a Camera man, assistant director, producer, screen writer, video jockey etc.
The salary in this profession may depend your skills and experience; you can start your career as a correspondent or news reporter, the salary in this period could be Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000. After some experience, you could be working as an editor or an anchor, the salary in this profile could be around Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 40,000 per month. If you have got enough experience and expertise in a particular field then you can easily make a six figure income.
Books and Study Material
Study from good books matters a lot in studies. Here we have listed some books which have been compiled by our experts:
- Mass Communication in India (4th Edition) by Keval J. Kumar
- Mass Media And Communication In Global Scenario by Ratnesh Dwivedi
- Cases in Communications Law by John D Zelezny
- Media Planning: A Practical Guide by Jim Surmanek
- Media/Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media by Shirley Biagi
- Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future by Stanley J. Baran
- Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture by Stanley J. Baran
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