INTERNSHIP A GREAT INTRO TO MY PROFESSION !

Internship in Bhopal with Doordarshan news was full of excitement. During this time period I realized what qualities a person must possess as a journalist. Writing skills is one of the most important qualities of a journalist. Not only writing skills but I needed to be accurate and speedy in delivering the story, Time is very important. I also learned the difference in writing for a newspaper and for television. In electronic media, we have to write for pictures and in very easy language. I covered lot of stories including political, social and of human interest. Some of the good stories which I covered, were on the poor plight of the farmer whose crops were devastated due to untimely hail and rain. Film actor Ashutosh Rana and Rajpal Yadav did a yagna on Shivratri. Uma Bharti former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on a padyatra reviving her political fortunes. Budget 2006 of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Hearing of Bhopal gas tragedy in district court of Bhopal, bird flu in Madhya Pradesh, phone tapping scandal and new agricultural scheme launched by Shivraj Singh Chouhan Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh As a reporter in the field I had to be careful about a lot of things. I learned to maintain a contact book, attend press conference with prior research so that I could ask sensible questions, wear noiseless shoes and comfortable clothes and carry a light pen and folder. My multiskills at FICT gave me a head start in camera work, editing and graphics. I also understood that teamwork is survival and above all a journalist must be punctual. Doing internship with Doordarshan in a newsy city like Bhopal was a great learning experience. The internship period was a great intro to the profession.

PROFESSIONALISM !

What is professionalism? I learnt the meaning of professionalism while I was doing my internship with Zee News. I was placed at the NEWS DESK, ASSIGNMENT DESK, SPORTS DESK, FEED ROOM and REPORTING DESK. Every desk gave me an opportunity to enhance my knowledge and develop my skills. For example the NEWS DESK gave me an opportunity to prepare news copy and Hindi phonetic typing skills. I learnt to use visuals economically to tell the story in a limited time. I gained efficiency in DAYANG EDITING SOFTWARE and most important it taught me to handle work pressure and work as a member of a team. The ASSIGNMENT DESK gave me a nose for news to discriminate between which news is important and which is not. If it is important then for whom? I coordinated coverage of news with Reporters and The Editorial Desks. At the SPORTS DESK, I learnt to find out stories from current matches and situations. The FEED ROOM taught me the importance of time and a lesson that if we lost even one minute we could incur a heavy loss. At the REPORTING DESK, I learnt to be prepared for stories day or night- a Reporter is always awake and ready. I worked 36 hours non-stop during the HOLI festival and I learned that a journalist's job is not a 9 to 5 job and I woke up to become an invigorated journalist. During my internship, I found that other Interns were not familiar with camera work, editing, voice over and other practical production skills. But FICT had prepared me and given me a head start .......... much ahead.

WRITE, WRITE, WRITE !
(1st February - 15th March) CNN-IBN

My internship with CNN-IBN was a learning experience. I learnt a lot and improved my skills by working with professionals. I have become more confident. One of the most important things was that we ourselves had to take the initiative to learn things and ask for work…. "Nobody will come to us to teach and give work. We ourselves have to struggle" I worked on many stories on the International Desk i.e. Cartoon protests in various countries; Bush's statement on reduction of oil dependence on foreign countries; Nigeria kidnapping; Indonesia landslide; Afghanistan bomb blast; Iraq mortar attack and many more. Most of them came on air. I wrote scripts, did voice overs, packaged and edited the visuals. From scripting to editing, we had to do each and every thing. I even worked on the camera and got a chance to shoot a Press-Conference. While I was in the institute, I never paid attention to writing, but actually i needed really need rigorous writing practice. A journalist has to do everything from scripting to final editing. I was even a part of a sting operation targeting a Member of Parliament. For the first time I realized the extent of risk a reporter takes to bring out the truth. I learnt how a story is dramatized or re-created when the actual victims and the culprits cannot be brought in front of the camera, in cases like rape, molestation, etc. All I would like to say is working in a professional atmosphere is added to my experience from what we did at the institute. We need to realize the value of time because each second counts. Everything has to be done quickly and on time. A journalist has to take the initiative and forge ahead.