Reporter

Here they may be looking at what papers you read and whether you know the differences between the major broadsheets. A common question for TV journalism is about the difference between BBC and ITN news coverage. Also, don't forget the Internet - this is now a major source of news and current affairs.

Before your interview try to make sure that you keep an eye on all the major news media and the different ways they cover the news - what type of stories do they priorities, do they have a political affiliation, who is their target audience, is there a particular style?

Consider the more popular forms of news availability in particular. How detailed are they in their coverage?

Be prepared for supplementary questions relating to any of the following:

☛ * Who covers the news most accurately?

☛ * Who covers the news most superficially

☛ * What are people normally doing when they "get" the news?* Which news story has been of particular interest to you lately?

Very often it’s absolute chaos. But, you know, I’ve been doing this for a while, and I read scenes to figure out what’s happening when the world’s gone mad. I realize, okay, these detectives are the actual case detectives and those detectives aren’t. Okay, that’s family. Okay, the shots had to have come from over there. You figure out what happened just by looking at the lay of the land and everybody involved.

I see the pack of reporters, and I don’t follow the pack. I try to go off in a different direction. I keep an eye on them — I understand that playing defense is a part of every game — but I don’t just hang around waiting for the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI), the press liaison on crime scenes, to give me handouts. Basically, what they give is cop version.

☛ Seize every opportunity to practice your interview skills. The chance to sit down with a potential employer to actually practice interviewing skills is priceless.

☛ Learn how to take the conversation beyond the initial question. If a question ties into something you feel you are very talented at, don’t be afraid to expand on the question to highlight those skills.

☛ Keep your resume simple. Keep only jobs that are directly related to what you are applying for.

☛ Be ready for tough questions. In regard to long-distance interviews (via Skype or phone): make sure to be prepared to answer the question, “How soon can you move out here?” Any sort of hesitation can kill your chances of success. (Also: the answer in these situations should always be “Right away.”)

☛ Anticipate what questions you think you may be asked. It helps to make a list ahead of time and work through the key points you want to say.

☛ Never underestimate the importance of networking. Meeting and knowing as many people as possible, even those outside your immediate field, is impressive and interviewers will remember it, especially if you share common colleagues.

☛ Know specifically what you would like to do in the future. If you aren’t 100 percent sure, think of something at least related to the career/business you are interviewing with.

☛ Have a long list of quality questions to ask at the conclusion of the interview. “Winging” it never works.

☛ Watch for nervous habits. Words such as “um” or “like” can be like nails on a chalkboard for interviewers.

☛ Research the company. (Do I need to say any more on this one? One of my interviewers told me that if an applicant says he or she hasn’t looked at the organization’s website, they end the interview right there. Ouch.)

☛ Keep your personal life out of it completely. Even if the questions may seem personal, stick to career values and definitions.

☛ Be well rounded. For example, photographers still need to know how to write, etc., especially given staffing shortages.

☛ Have a working knowledge of the organization’s area. Try to immerse yourself in the work you are interviewing for beforehand so you can draw on that fresh experience.

☛ Don’t go into interviews and act like you know everything. Your interviewer has more experience than you in the field, so maintain some humility. Do, however, emphasize that you are ready to learn as quickly as possible. Respect goes a long way.

☛ Make your work as accessible as possible. Employers don’t want to bother downloading ten different PDFs and Word documents from your online portfolio.

☛ Don’t rely on technology. Do not just assume the wireless will work, your PDF won’t be corrupt or that the computer you’re using will even turn on. Always have a backup plan. Preferably two.

☛ When describing who you are, first identify yourself. Example, “I am a senior advertising student graduating from [school]…” and then go into your work ethic/personality traits.

☛ Maintain eye contact. Pretty straight forward for face-to-face interviews, but can get tricky online. Some computers do not have head-on cameras, so it may be awkward looking up at a webcam. Practice.

☛ Keep your cool. You may get asked questions you’re not quite sure about, or flat out don’t know. If you need clarification on wording, ask. If you still don’t know, let them know you aren’t sure but will look into it as soon as possible.

☛ Smile. And laugh (when appropriate…) Have a good time. Neither one of you wants to have a stoic, dead conversation for a half hour. Part of the decision about whether or not to hire you may come down to how personable or pleasant you are.

☛ Don’t feel like you have to write an entire page cover letter. Try to be as concise as possible because, in a pool of 300 applicants, there just isn’t time to sit and read everything.

☛ Know social media. Make sure you understand today’s tools (and tomorrow’s), as well as how to apply them strategically. Knowing how to use Twitter is a lot different than knowing how to use Twitter to achieve business results.

☛ Bring your portfolio with you. Portfolios add another dimension to your conversation. It is good to always have on hand for reference. Make sure it includes relevant samples of work that pertain to the job you seek.

Web or Internet journalism helps one to read, hear, and view the news, all at the same time! Those who cannot access television, radio and newspapers, keep themselves updated, courtesy the electronic edition of newspapers. Yes, change is the only constant!

Web journalism entered India about ten years ago. Initially, it had to cope with the pressures posed by the post-liberalization era. The deteriorating plight of web journalism led one to question its very survival. However, some companies decided to stick it out, come rain or shine and availed, during the period 2000 - 2002, the services provided by the search engines like Google.

The web revolution started soon thereafter, with newspapers launching their Internet editions. Foreign majors like Yahoo, Google, and MSN also played the role of sheet anchor. These portals also recognized the importance of Hindi and other regional languages. The agreement between Yahoo and Jagran, to initiate a portal, could be an important milestone in the history as well as the future of e-journalism. It will also boost dissemination of news. The linguistic purity associated with web journalism is still a debated topic. It must always be kept in mind that news is read from a newspaper, heard over radio, and viewed on electronic media. However, with web journalism we can read, hear, and view news, all at the same time.

A Careers Adviser recently visited the main production site of a local television station. Upon asking about opportunities for work experience for students he was told there was every chance to arrange this. What any interested student should do was to contact the company direct and make a request, stating clearly the kind of experience desired and the times when available. The Careers Adviser verified this with the personnel department and was told that while this certainly was the appropriate procedure it would not by itself secure the hoped for work experience.

To cut a long story short any applicant would have to make numerous applications by letter for work experience. The student must convey a dogged, persistent, resolute intent to work for the company. You may not need to express quite this level of determination at interview, but by the actions you have already taken (perhaps in obtaining the interview in the first place) you need to show your determination to work in journalism.

Here is the lowdown for the UK.

1. Censorship exists in many forms in the UK but is about what the paper's think they can get away with.

2. We have no freedom of speech but what has evolved is through Acts of Parliament and court judgments.

3. Government controls

what the media can say through a number of ways:

► Restricting information but the Freedom of Information Act has eased this.

► D notices which restrict information if there is security issues.

► Court orders preventing newspapers from publishing stories if they are considered to prejudice a case but only when someone has been charged and trial is proceeding. See the current cash-for-honors scandal where The Guardian got permission to reveal details about an e-mail sent by an aide of Tony Blair.

The simple answer is that newspaper contains news articles and magazines contain feature articles. However, the U.S. has 18,000 magazines and about 4,000 newspapers. In addition, both contain some of both. The main difference is in audience. Newspapers focus on a broad audience of all ages in one specific city or location. Magazines go to a national or international audience who has an interest in a specific subject, such as gardening, photography, Christianity, history, etc. Newspapers are published daily or weekly; magazines are published monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. However, those are generalizations and this kind of question, probably a homework question, escapes simple answers.

I impersonate no one. When I go into a place, I do my best not to answer any questions, but if someone asks me who I am, I tell them. If you lie to people, your leverage is gone. Why should they tell you anything if you’re a liar? I know people who’ve done the impersonation thing, who’ve lied to people about who they are and what they’re doing, and they’re malignant. Decent journalists have to repair the damage they’ve done.

Don’t get me wrong: people have looked at me and seen a detective. I don’t rush around telling people I’m not a detective. But I let everybody I speak to know who I am. Sometimes it’s at the beginning of the interview, sometimes in the middle, and sometimes at the end.

Computing skills are becoming important in all jobs - rather like the skill of driving. If you can use a word-processor well then tell them - although some journalists type with two fingers, word-processing is a valuable skill in journalism - if you can't do it then learn! Start by word-processing your essays.

You could also mention if you have used a database, Microsoft Windows or email. They will almost certainly not be looking for specific skills, just a general familiarity and willingness to learn. Desktop publishing skills could be useful especially if you are aiming at sub-editing posts where a knowledge of layout, fonts and kerning will be useful - "Quark" is the industry standard DTP package.

The Internet is becoming increasingly important and you may be asked your views on how it is affecting the traditional journalistic media. Try to learn how to use it, so you can talk from a position of experience.