By Almas Nazeer
Former student. Currently working as a copywriter at Mangalore’s leading ad agency.
1. Read
From reading newspapers to those inscriptions on the back toothpaste, research articles or blogs about someone’s mundane activities – reading is a must.
Because you meet people from diverse backgrounds like commerce, computer applications, dental care, architects, zoology, botany and those under-graduate courses you never heard off all in your mass media class only your reading will help you connect with such diversity.
Remember media is multidisciplinary subject. The more you read about diverse subjects the more open mind is to new ideas.
2. Creativity
“Oh! I am not creative. Master’s in Media and Communication a.k.a. mass comm is out of question.” Plenty of people give this excuse.
To be honest, you might not even know where your creativity lies until you explore you subconscious. Challenge your little self to do something different.
And the Result would be – “Eureka!” Nowhere else you will learn such wide range of skills – writing, acting, radio production, photography, designing for print, news anchoring, fictional work and so many other areas where you will discover your creative side.
3. Mutli-task
You cannot copy your friend’s assignments. It’s not a rule. You simply cannot copy.
Your news stories might be same. But your reporting style makes the difference. Your product can be same. Yet your advertisement cannot resemble your friend’s ad. Either way, if you don’t give your evaluator something new you don’t score points.
So shouldn’t this point be called Originality rather than Multi- tasking?
Well, your original assignments are never stand alone. They always come amidst other activities. So might be reporting inauguration of new petrol bunk in your locality, you might have to come back make a presentation on “How to conserve our natural resource” in the environment journalism class.
4. Love to have fun
You ought to be fun loving. If you like to sit at your desk, keep your head dipped in your work and run home at 5 o clock, Mass communication is not your cup of tea.
Right blend of fun and seriousness makes you a complete media person.
Unless your lips are darkened with hot coffee, and your eyes darkened with late night movies, nails bitten in the spooky railway tunnels or you have been chased away by the police (when you are waiting for perfect time to shoot setting sun in the beach and they assumed you are contemplating suicide) you have never completed you Mass Comm course.
5. Survival of the fastest
There is no room for laidback, slow, take-your-time type of work. There is no such thing as laid-back-work in the media industry. Masters in Mass Comm at any institute anywhere in theworld requires promptness and enthusiasm — or someone else will steal your story idea!
Almas Nazeer is a Scriptwriter in ad agency. She has completed her Masters in Communication and Media Studies from St. Aloysius College. During her free time, she likes to help students choose right career for themselves.
