Media placements in India

In recent years, India has seen an outburst of news channels and dailies. But seldom we get to see a job opening for a reporter or news anchor on a job portal. So what is the secret of job placements in the media industry? To know more, read on...

A SIMPLE Google search on media placements in India brings more than three lakh options. But is the scenario really that simple? Finding the right job in the Indian media industry was never easy. Despite being a net-savvy industry, media seems to be avoiding Internet for hiring people.

The famous job websites, like Naukri.com or Monsterjobs.com, seldom get job openings from the leading news dailies or magazines. Even the electronic media chooses to stay away from the sites. The only sect of media using Internet for job openings is the online media or cyber journalism websites.

The question of on campus placements can completely be ruled out in the case of media schools. Even the institutes run by big media houses seldom give their students an opportunity to prove their point. Though such students get to work in different departments as interns or should we call them unpaid employees. Wherein the company gets the work done and the student gets ‘the experience’, if not job, even at the end of the course.

An average fresher or one-year experience profiles, only get offers from book publishers, content writing websites, new and independent news portals, etc, for the post of editor/writer. Seldom do they get an offer of the desired profile.
So if net is not a proper channel then where does the media HR go hunting? Placement agencies are seriously not an option for them. Apart from one public sector unit agency, BECIL, none other provides the facility of proper screening for testing the abilities of a media professional.

Media in India is expanding exponentially. Despite the global downturn, India has registered request of over 1,000 new news channels for the coming year. We daily see new channels popping up on our television screens but where do they get there work force from?

Here comes the unorganised placement regime of the media industry. Indian media system hires on the basis on who-knows-whom. In Indian media, people still survive on contacts. If you know a person placed at a good position, you have a fair chance to get placed soon.

The system is pretty simple, yet reluctant to adapt you. You get in touch with a well placed and networked person in media, prove your qualities before him and get in his list of possible candidates. Next time, the HR asks him about any possible candidates for the job, he will suggest your name. Now, rest really depends on your skills.

It is unbiased from the view of skills and abilities but is very inconvenient for outsiders. For people, who are first generation media students. Such system ensures speedy placement of influential people and delays success of freshers, who may be very talented.

The system very much works like Indian Film Industry and yes, it also follows the Pitaji-Betaji rule. In past few years, several successful journalists have placed their kids at good positions across the industry. Of course, their sustainability and success depends on their work but the parental connection surely gets them the right note to start with.

Outsiders struggle over the years to prove their metal and build their 'profile' to fit into company's requirements. This process takes years and sometimes decade or so.

Well, in all the hustle bustle of the glamorous electronic media and not so glamorous but intellect print media, online media gives a platform to aspiring journalists. The budding websites provide a good platform for young talent to start their career with. Perhaps, very soon electronic channels and newspapers will also start supporting the younger talent, as before.