OUTLINE OF JOURNALISM: AN OVERVIEW

Journalism as a profession includes reporting and gathering, selection and editing, processing and presentation of news and information to an audience. The media that journalism uses vary diversely and include: content published via newspapers and magazines (print), television and radio (broadcast), and their digital media versions — news websites and applications.

The words ‘journalist’, ‘journal’ and ‘journalism’ are derived from the French ‘journal’, which in turn comes from the Latin term ‘diurnalis’ or ‘daily’.

The Growth and development of journalism in India has had a chequered history. In India, journalism has been a product of struggle against the continuing repressive measures of the British rulers over a long period of time. Journalism in India is nurtured by some of the greatest men that this country has produced-freedom fighters, social reformers intellectuals who gave their best to its development and growth. The history of journalism has therefore been inextricably linked with the growth of national consciousness and the progress of freedom movement. In fact the press journalism nurtured the national consciousness and freedom movement in the country and was in turn nurtured by it.

The responsibility and standing of journalism, along with that of the mass media, has undergone thoughtful and reflective changes over the last two decades with the initiation of digital technology and publication of news on the Internet. This has shaped a swing in the utilization of print media channels, as people are gradually more consuming news through e-readers, smartphones, and other electronic devices, taxing news organizations to fully monetize their digital division, as well as manage on the context in which they publish news in print.

The rapid technological changes, which the print media is adapting to survive, has brought about far-reaching changes in the contemporary media scenario. The onslaught of technology is changing the dynamics of news delivery too. Newspapers, once the medium for breaking news, relinquished that role to television. The internet could take that over. Crudely, the new media ecosystem could look like this: the net will break the news, TV will do follow ups and live coverage and newspapers will end up doing analyses.

To conclude: At the present juncture, India, Indian society, Indian press are all in state of transition. The inclination that Indian press is eye witnessing today is bound to gather potency, while some others are bound to surface in the rouse of rapid technological development and innovations.

Ms. Garima Malhotra
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Studies