An honest media is a cornerstone of a democracy like ours and many others around the world. While there is a huge nexus between corporates and organisations, some independent media houses and individuals strive for freedom of speech and expression. Unlike today, where dissemination of information is at the speed of light, earlier travelling merchants and sailors used to bring in the news and spread it among their people. Word of mouth was the only way for stories and information to be spread. Then came the Gutenberg printing press, radio, telegraph, and now the internet. Journalism as a profession has evolved over time, and a lot of skills that are amalgamated go into the making of a journalist. It is no longer just about reporting and writing articles but involves communication skills, research and analysis, data mining, laws and beyond everything, a keen eye for detail and unbiased reportage.

A Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication prepares its students to go beyond the art of writing well and provides a platform for people to express opinion and information which is relevant, factually correct as well as interesting enough to catch the reader/viewers’ attention. There are many courses that fall under the ever-changing purview of Journalism and colleges need to keep updating their curriculum to pander to the demands of the changing needs of this profession.

Here is a list of skills and areas that you need to work on to be a good fit in Journalism and Mass Communications

• Good grasp of language: Since journalism and media focus of communication of information, you need to have a good command over the language of medium whether in spoken or written formats. You will need to write articles, profiles, columns, interviews, and more. You also need to be creative in your content and engaging as a writer.
• Law of the land– We all write about what is being done in a country and all actions take place within the purview of the legislature. As a journalist, your job is to know about all the laws of the land and adhere to journalistic ethics while doing your job. You will study about freedom of speech, copyright laws, religious laws among other things.
• Tech-wizard? No, but still in the profession you need an understanding of audio, video, presentation, print layouts. Digital or online journalism is a medium which incorporates all these factors to reach out to a potential audience. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the buzz word in online journalism

Best Schools for a Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication

In the United States of America, colleges like the ones listed below are best in the world-

• University of Southern California
• Stanford University
• Yale University
• New York University
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Pennsylvania
• Columbia University
• University of Texas, Austin
• Michigan State University

In Europe

• University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
• London School of Economics, UK
• Cardiff University, UK
• King’s College London, UK
• Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
• Aarhus University, Denmark
• Loughborough University, UK
• University of Zurich, Switzerland
• University of Westminster, UK

Asia Pacific

• National University of Singapore, Singapore
• City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
• The University of Sydney, Australia
• Queensland University of Technology, Australia
• Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
• Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
• The University of Tokyo Japan
• The University of Queensland, Australia
• The University of Melbourne, Australia