“Truth, Trust, Transparency” To start a perfect Digital Journalism Career, this is an ultimate guide that contains full domain knowledge, best digital journalism career options, digital journalism jobs for freshers, current trends, and future of Digital Journalism.
In the current technological era, getting news and fresh updates at a click has become common. We currently experience a reality where we don’t have the opportunity to hang tight and wait for Newspapers each morning. We would now be able to get to data anyplace, whenever, just by clicking or looking over the news on our telephones.
What is Digital Journalism?
Digital journalism, also referred to as online journalism, is a contemporary type of journalism where editorial content is circulated through the Internet instead of distributing utilizing print or communication. What establishes ‘researchers banter digital journalism. However, the essential result of journalism, which is news and highlights on current issues, is introduced exclusively or in the mix as text, sound, video, and some quick forms and dispersed through digital media platforms.
Importance of Digital Journalism
A higher level of innovativeness can be practiced with digital journalism when contrast with regular reporting and usual media. The digital aspect can be fundamental to the journalistic message or not, and stays inside the creative control of the writer, editor, as well as publisher. There are numerous career options in this domain with a bright future scope with a sea of knowledge and multiple digital journalism jobs for freshers. Before leaning digital journalism, you should be good at SEO, WordPress, Social Media Marketing, Online Advertising, Online Video Marketing, Graphic Designing, content marketing, and email marketing.
Traditional Vs Digital Journalism
- The rapid spark in mobile internet users coincided with the rise and growth in the digital journalism scene. The Wire, Scroll, the Quint are producing exciting content with a ‘mobile-first’ distribution strategy as mobile devices account for 79 % of web traffic in India, compared to 50 % globally. They give real-time news and analysis without the shouting matches of the television newsrooms.
- Digital journalism sets itself apart from print and T.V. journalism on multiple accounts. It contains catapulted news from a once-a-day product to an ongoing event consume in real-time on social media and news portals.
- For digital journalism, web traffic is God. Therefore, web journalists are expected to know about the workings of search engines and the use of specific keywords. They should be in tune with the trending topics and package the content in an accessible manner by using multimedia tools. While print journalists take pains to frame headlines carefully, a web journalist will think additional in terms of the ease in the discovery of a new innovative story.
- The 5Ws and an H ( what, when, where, why, who & how) constitute the bulk of the newspapers with barely 2 pages editorial opinion. Digital news websites contain less reporting and also additional analysis.
- Digital journalism is a bilateral medium where the comments, views, and also reactions to a story are fast; editors & writers are always put on the spot by the readers, making them more accountable.
Digital Journalism Career Options
Skills required to develop a career as a Digital Journalist
- Anyone who aspires a career as a digital journalist should have excellent communication, critical skill, critical thinking, and also quick problem-solving skills.
- The individual should be able to gather information from multiple sources on the internet & web and should be familiar and active on social media platforms and usage.
- Journalists also post their respective content on social media utilizing hashtags (#) to expand the reach of the audience and also to track the story or analyze the popularity of their posts.
- Web analytics tools are also used to analyze website traffic, real-time users, page views, trending topics, and top-performing articles.
Career Profiles
The career as a digital journalist includes a lot of research, writing stories, and also interviewing people. Apart from that, online journalists are also required to attend events, press conferences, read press releases sent from PR (Public Relations) persons, and handle phone calls from people who are giving interesting news stories or article ideas.
The most demanding career options in digital journalism jobs are as follows:
- Sub-editor
- Web Content Manager
- Digital Copywriter
- Publishing copywriter/ Proofreader
- Reporter or Specialized Journalist
Sub-Editor
The main editor’s profile may include mainly sub-editor, and also assistant editor, web editor, etc. To be a good sub-editor, you should be an all-rounder, i.e., you should know media law, have a keen eye and idea for detail, and also be able to place a story together with speed and even style. Depending upon the nature and prerequisites of this career option of digital journalism, the extent of production and also layout work falls within remit; the tasks will typically involve:
- To edit copy, written by reporters or features writers, to remove spelling mistakes and also grammatical errors.
- Rewrite an optimum material so that it flows or reads better.
- Ensure that a story fits a particular word count and write headlines that capture the essence of the story.
- Write standfirst or ‘sells’ (small and well-explained introductions, which sum up the whole story under the headline)
- Lais with reporters, journalists, and also editors
- Check facts and stories to ensure they’re accurate, adhere to the copyright laws, are not libelous or against publication policy.
- Layout pages and, depending on the nature of the role, play an essential part in page design as well.
- Manipulate on-screen copy using appropriate desktop publishing software, for instance, Quark Express, InDesign & PhotoShop.
- To be up to date with sector issues, for example, by reading related publications.
- To adopt all the above skills for a publication’s website.
Web Content Manager
Digital journalism career as a web content manager, you’ll need to:
- To manage your company CMS, working with developers and also editors to ensure it’s meeting the needs of your organization.
- Conduct content audits for identifying gaps and redundancies in website content, create and implement content schedules for people to produce or update content.
- provide maps and visualizations of the site to help staff understand the structure and function of the website.
- To develop policies relating to your organization’s web content, such as a house style.
- To analyze analytics data to learn how users interact with your site.
- Carry out survey users and also hold focus groups to learn about suggestions and views for the website.
- Train staff in writing and content production for the web
- Occasionally update HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on your site
- Stay knowledgeable about your site’s subject area.
Digital Copywriter
As a digital copywriter, you’ll need to:
- Liaise with clients from set-up to completion; you’ll be checking with the client regularly by phone, email, or face-to-face.
- To carry out project scoping and create a clear brief to ensure you understand what the client wants.
- tailor the content & style of individual writing assignments according to their purpose – whether they are intended to sell or inform
- To understand your target audience – client or readers, so you’ll need to know what interests them.
- To research your client’s industry and their audience and identify fresh and exciting angles for your articles.
- Write for webpages, blogs, and potential for social media, e-books, slogans, and video script.
- To edit your own and others’ writing and provide different digital content, for example, images & video.
- Input the content from the client’s CMS with prior permission when required.
- Work with the team to review the impact of your content and assist businesses pitches in winning new clients or projects.
Publishing copywriter/ Proofreader
Activities of Proofreader depend on experience and whether you work in-house or freelance. They may include:
- To correct spelling mistakes & grammatical errors and also sub-editing text written by several authors to ensure consistent house style.
- Work withIT-based publishing systems and databases, as well as via the Internet or from paper manuscripts, and check that authors provide the required materials and paperwork.
- To liaise regularly with authors and publishers by phone and email. and resolve queries directly with the author, e.g., style and text inconsistencies
- To code manuscripts for design features, such as a hierarchy of headings, to instruct the production team
- Maintain the awareness of new words or phrases coming into widespread usage to ensure they’re appropriate for the readership
- Discuss and resolve any potentially libelous sections with the commissioning editor and author
- Retrieve from archives and rearranging within publications
- preparing preliminary pages for the title, contents, and preface of a publication and oversee the work of indexers, typesetter, and designers
- To ensure that publications are prepared on budget and to schedule and manage marketing and business activities (for those who are self-employed).
Online Reporter or Specialized Journalist.
Responsibilities will typically include:
- To research on trending news and stories
- Write and edit news stories & features in the respective digital journalism organization before publishing.
- Ensure work is well written, accurate and also submitted to deadline
- conducting interviews, either in person or remotely.
- Attend seminars, conferences, and fairs to gather information for the story to publish on the web.
- Carry out primary and authentic research regarding a specific topic and also source images to accompany particular written pieces.
- To have contact with colleagues to plan the content of the issue and the character of the publication.
- Be updated with trends and current developments of the highlighted content; the published material should bind with the companies privacy policy and should not be a reason for exploitation further.
Digital Journalism Job Prospects
With the boom in the online journalism industry, it doesn’t come across as a surprise that the job prospects for digital journalists are very bright. Apart from the traditional news publication houses such as Times of India, Indian Express, there are multiple other internet-first news agencies, for instance, the Quint, The Wire, and Reuters, who hire digital journalists in India. Usually, the profiles start from field reporting in a particular genre or beat and with experience you can rank higher in the editorial field
Digital Journalism Jobs for Freshers- Salary Prospects
The salary prospect of a digital journalist revolves around the same mark as a print journalist. At times, thanks to the expansion and also growth of digital media, the salary can be a little higher as well. But on average, a digital journalist can earn around Rs 3 lakhs per annum for digital journalism jobs for freshers. And as there is no limitation to the compensation that can get once you improve the experience, expand your network, and also knowledge.
Digital Journalism is one upcoming field that can be an ideal career choice that is interested in joining the booming news-media industry. Thus, looking at this current media trend, if digital journalism aspirants are looking towards digital journalism as a career, go through the points mentioned here and also kick-start your digital journalism jobs now.
Get a journalism degree
All students desiring to build a career in digital journalism can start by attaining a degree in traditional journalism followed by a specialized course in online/ multimedia journalism. While a course in conventional journalism can provide with all the techniques needed to thrive in the profession, a specialization in online journalism can hone students’ digital research skills. Furthermore, a digital journalism course can also help students in learning different online technical skills needed for presenting news online. For instance, creating a complete journalism website or gaining knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and page ranks.
These days, multiple mass communication colleges in India have started offering digital journalism courses to students at both UG and PG levels. Some such colleges/ institutes include
| College/ Institute | Digital Journalism Courses (UG/ PG) |
| Loyola College | BVoc & MVoc (Digital Journalism) |
| Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication | PG Diploma in Digital Media & Online Journalism |
| India Today Media Institute | PG Diploma in Mass Communication with specialization in Digital Media |
| IIJNM(Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media) | PG Diploma and Diploma in Multimedia Journalism |
Future of Digital Journalism
The rise of digital media has empowered individuals around the globe but also enable the full spread of disinformation, demagoguery, and undermined the funding of professional journalism as we know it. Future and also the effect of traditional journalisms option
Current trend Challenges
Moved to Distributed Discovery makes platforms gatekeepers
Firstly, we have transformed from a world where media organizations were gatekeepers to a world where media still create the news agenda. Still, platform companies control access to audiences through SEO, social media, news aggregators, etc.
In 2018, 2/3 of online news users surveyed across 37 different markets worldwide identified distributed forms of discovery as their essential way of accessing and finding news online. Amongst those under 35, 3-quarters relied primarily on social media, search engines, and the like.
Digital Media drives people to more diverse sources
Secondly, this move to digital media and platforms does not generate filter bubbles but more diverse news diets
Empirical research consistently discovers that search engines and a broad range of distinct social media incorporating both Facebook, Twitter, and also YouTube demonstrably drive people to utilize more distinct sources of news, incorporating diverse sources and sources they do not seek out of their own volition.
Increasing Information inequality based or Internet and use
Thirdly, journalism is often losing the battle for people’s attention and, in some countries, for the public’s trust
Segmented based on interest in news and frequency of access, survey data from 37 markets shows that news lovers were only 17% of the public, daily briefers about half (48%), and the casual users, who approach news less frequently than once a day, 35%.
The other challenges which may lead to an effect on the future of Digital Journalism are:-
At fourth, the plans of action that support news are tested, debilitating proficient reporting and leaving news media progressively defenseless against business and political weights
Above all, the news is more different than any other time in recent memory, and the best news coverage much of the time like nothing anyone’s ever seen, taking on everybody from the most impressive government officials to the greatest privately owned businesses.
Future Predictions
- With the continuing development of AI, voice-operated systems, and also the integration of connected digital media in more everyday objects, we are equally clearly only in the early phases of this fundamental change.
- Independent professional journalism will be more crucial than ever in assisting people in perceiving the fundamental challenges & opportunities facing us, from daily local events to global issues.
- The most significant advantage of digital media is that the audience can create content and actively take part in the news making process. This, as it has been felt lately, has dangerous consequences as well. Fake videos uploaded on youtube, fake news shared over social media is leading to social tension.
- Above all, independent digital professional journalism is essential for both the online public good, politics, and private enterprises -and as it adapts to the digital media individuals all over the world are embracing, it can help assure that this communications revolution results not in chaos, but in change for the better.
- Therefore, there is an excellent future of Digital Journalism in the coming years. Technology advancement and also its applications will also play a significant role in the future of Digital Journalism
Conclusion
- Digital journalism has indeed transformed the way news is produced and the way it reaches the audience. It’s no more restricted to writing a report or reporting it live from the spot. Many organizations now seek multimedia journalism. A popular 24-hour news channel is expected to have a robust presence on the internet as well. The main essence of journalism remains the same. Factually accurate reports find acceptance, and the credibility of a well-established media house is an added advantage.
- The existing theories of digital media impacting journalism talk about convergence, participative down to top nature, the grounded theory of inductively understanding online journalism, diffusion of innovation approach, broader economic & social factors, network theory of power, mediatization, metamorphosis, & actor-network.
- This has its advantages when there is a social change involved. However, a constructed reality done with a hidden agenda can lead to a discourse which harms the social fabric. In the agenda-setting, media also concentrates on a few issues and subjects as necessary. This leads the citizen to perceive those issues as more important than the rest.
Wrapping Up
- This situation demands a new approach to digital journalism. Present theories need to be considered in the wake of impending danger. Governments are coming up with new methods to control the spread of false information. This is not the ideal solution because it can be used to control many voices and to curb the free flow of information.
- New theories of digital journalism can help understand and find out ways and means to analyze the dissemination of misinformation over the online platform. These theories can give indications for digital journalism to build up a proper response to its imminent threats in this changing media scenario.
FAQ regarding Digital Journalism Career
Digital journalism / online journalism can be defined as a contemporary type of journalism wherein editorial content is dispersed via the Internet as opposed to publishing via print or broadcast. Ther are vast career options in Digital Journalism.
The multiple career options in Digital Journalism are web editor, sub-editor, assistant editor, reporter and specialized journalist, digital copywriter, proofreader, etc. All the career profiles will lead to an excellent future of Digital Journalism in the coming years and an excellent opportunity for digital journalism jobs for freshers as well.
The benefits of digital journalism include cost-effectiveness, fast and convenient, checks waste, provides quick feedback, can feel like human presence, and just convergence of roles.
Limitations of Digital Journalism may be article may be sometimes biased, there may be less requirement for digital journalism jobs for freshers as it requires limited personnel as compared to traditional journalism, website crashing and technical issues may also occur
There is a great future of digital journalism. The average salary of digital journalism jobs for freshers may vary between 3 lac-3.5 lac per annum.
Editor’s Note | Digital Journalism Career
COVID-19 pandemic has strongly affected the very reputed journalism industry. However, digital journalism, as well as traditional journalism method, plays a major role in providing timely updates of each event and declarations. Digital journalism is an essential home to a world of knowledge as well as one of the major sources of information for all the citizens. Pandemic has affected the safety and risk factor of the on-event reporting and traveling journalists. Track the live status of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is also an example of digital journalism. Hence there are numerous career options in Digital journalism, the future of digital journalism is broad and excellent. There are multiple digital journalism jobs for freshers with passionate minds.
