In today’s world, one is faced with many career options and an equivalent number of courses that can help them realise their goals. Journalism is one such course that students often opt for. Being a journalist is not easy and, other than a talent for writing, there are other skills that need to be honed and perfected to ensure a successful career in this industry.

There are many journalism courses offered by universities and institutes that help students in their efforts. Besides introducing students to the history and development of journalism over the years, these courses give them an in-depth look at how this industry functions.

Ask any journalist and he or she will say that writing is one the most important aspects of their work. Anybody can write, but to write a news article is a very different ball game. That one must have good writing skills to be a journalist goes without saying. But to become a good news writer, one must first know the fundamentals of this kind of writing. Institutes often try and get news reporters from leading newspapers to speak on the art of writing a good news report for their journalism courses.

Journalism is one industry where time is of paramount importance. Journalism courses teach students the importance of working, and maintaining high standards, under the pressure of deadlines. Writing under such pressure is not an easy thing to do and it needs proper training to be able to do so. Students learn the importance of being alert for any news worthy event and getting their facts right. They are trained to look beyond the obvious and get to the crux of the matter while doing the research for any story.

All journalism courses instil in students the importance of the five W’s and one H – who, what, where, when, why and how. They are taught to check and double check and verify everything before they write a news report. The written report should not only be factually correct but also engaging to hold the interest of the reader.