The way in which the news is projected plays a vital role in determining the influence of the story on the readership. There are several tactics used by the media organisations and its reporters to present the story in a manner that it captures the attention of the audience while informing them.
If you stick to immediacy and novelty then it is purely ethical as well as a clever tactic applied by you as a reporter. But if one chooses to cross past that line and brings in yellow journalism and sensationalism to the story just to grab the eye balls of the audience, it is indeed unethical and such a practice should be avoided as much as possible.
A story should be a blend of hard news and soft news facts that grasp the amenity of the audience and satisfies them to the grass root level.
Some of the basic tactics applied by the media when presenting a story, to make it look more attractive and alluring are as follows:
1. EMPATHY:
When people actually start relating to the characters of the news story, it gives the story that extra boost that it requires in order to connect to the audience and persuade them to finish the story.
For example:
‘A mother lost her only son’ or
‘Things kids usually hide from their parents’.
An intro of this sort will definitely provoke all the mothers or parents to read the article or the news story. Even the kids will be inclined to read further by the curiousness of knowing as to what facts have been revealed. Its just that simple.

2. PROMINENCE
Usually high profile people or celebrities cater the interest of the audience far more than stories and lives of the poor or secluded. Stories related to Bollywood celebrities are most of the time highest on the charts. Special prominence is given to the lives of the rich and popular. Its all about ‘giving what the audience wants’. All newspapers and magazines want their readership to be the highest because of which special prominence is given to these stories.

3. COMBAT:
As I mentioned before, stories that involves sensationalism are always on a top view, whether it is about the arguments revolving around various political parties or a disagreement between players of a cricket team. Anything and everything that has a mass impact always seem to indulge the audience. Conflict or combat is directly related to sensationalism as people have always been curious about the lives of other individuals.

4. ODDITY:
Oddity is the other area that is used by the news agencies to apprehend the mindfulness of the audience. Anything unique, a never heard story, a new machine or technology introduced. All of this plays a major role in influencing the audience to stay intact. Sometimes false rumour is given privilege and made the front line of the news story without proper research and double checking of facts. Just to earn the engrossment of the audience using methods like these should be dodged as much as possible.

5. EMOTIONS:
Stories that trigger the emotions of the audience always seem to engage the enthrallment of the public as well. Emotions such as sadness, anger or inspiration encourages the readers to annihilate the story. Emotions play a huge part in forming a bond between the reader and the story. An individual gives priority to a certain piece because he/she has this connect to it. To establish such a hook up emotions are a must.

These are broadly some of the tactics antiquated by the news organisations and media companies to cater the attention of its readers. Drama and controversy has always played a major role in fascinating the audience and encouraging them to finish the story.

Any news story that gets published should be verified in advance. Even controversies are news, and it’s a clever technique to use it to the highest potential by a news agency but only till the time they are authenticated and valid. False news story does not only harm the integrity and moral of the person concerned but can also place the newspaper or magazine on a shaky ground. A well-researched story with proper evidence is what is most relished and appreciated by the audience.

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Cybercrime refers to the activities that are compassed on the internet or web and are against the law. Cybercrime may also be described as intruding in the privacy of a person without his/her intent permission. With the invention of new technology the misuse and exploitation of it has also increased at a faster pace. Cyber bullying or crime has become so common nowadays that it is affecting the lives of majority of the population who is engaged with social networking sites or other media platforms.

The information circulated on the internet stays there permanently. Even if the content is deleted by the user, it will still remain on the web due its eternal nature. No matter how many privacy settings an individual choses to use for his/her account, it is incredibly easy for a hacker to get the desired information with no hitch or bump. The anonymous nature of the internet plays a vital role in burgeoning of cybercrime. It is extremely challenging to catch the culprit in such scenario.

There are many ways through which cybercrime is executed. Using pictures of a person without his/her permission is one such example of cybercrime which happens with a bulk of people. Hackers at times use the pictures of the people in an extremely indecent way, by cropping the face of a person and adjoining it with some other body and then publishing it on net. How are we supposed to guard against this now??

Cybercrimes are increasing at an expeditious rate and is affecting the youth of the country to the highest sense. The dissemination of the information from the internet to the hackers is constant and requires a determent from our hand.
A lot of awareness from the side of the users is necessary to cease cybercrime from its very root. Here are a few tips that will help you deal with the constant flux of cybercrime:

1. Don’t accept random requests
The root cause of the problem is adding unknown people to one’s profile. An individual should never do this. With new techniques coming into play of hacking accounts, one of them also includes the secretion of information through messages. A person may ask you to go checkout a link. This should be avoided as much as possible. These link access all the required information and it becomes very easy for these hackers to break through.

2. Use strong passwords:
Also the password used to secure the information of your account should be strong enough, it should not be really facile to make out. The password should be changed quite frequently and should never be written down on phone or any other device which gets connected to net.

3. Purchase Anti- virus
Virus is co related to hacking. The most outset stage of hacking is virus. A virus consumes all the information on the phone or laptop and makes it visible to the hacker through which the bot hacks the account of any person or can do any sort of criminal activity from his/her account.

4. Privacy settings
The social media provides with the facility of selecting the audience for each post that you share. Always remember to keep it to ‘friends’. In this way the pictures that you share will always remain confined to your friends. This is the best way to guard against the hackers.

5. Always report or call for help
It is absolutely okay if you fall into the trap of a hacker. It happens to a lot of people. It is very important to report the case to the police or the nearest cyber cell for immediate help. They can actually help you by finding out the source who committed the crime. This will also ensure that the bot does not screw up with anyone else in the future. Also, if objectionable content is seen on web, it should promptly be reported.

With the booming rate of cybercrime, it has become essential for the common citizens to repel against it by using the technology in the best way possible. Internet has provided us with all sorts of coverage and networking with the people we know. In such rundown it gets increasingly important to look for our security.

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Writing a story requires a huge amount of efforts from the side of the reporters as well as the editor. An effective news story appeals the audience and nabs their interest to further complete the story. Unnecessary information in the introduction leaves the readers astray as it hinders the flow of the story.
Some important points that must be kept in mind while writing a news story for a newspaper are as follows:

Report in Brief
An intro must be short and to the point. A maximum of 20 words for the first paragraph is as good a guideline as any. Overloading paragraphs with too much information or too many clauses may slow the story down.

Story Construction
One of the best ways to proceed with the story is to work chronologically through how the events happened. A blend of direct and indirect reporting is a must. Historically, the inverted pyramid is the way of constructing news stories. It basically means placing the important and newsworthy stuff on the top while the other pieces of news that could be trimmed upon at the very end.

Keep It Simple
Long titles should never be used for intros. A story should be kept as simple as possible. This is something that would interest the readers, overloading it with heavy words and abbreviations will only doom the story.

Remember Your Audience
It is vital to remember the readers of your story as they are the people for whom the story has been written in the first place. Special emphasis should not be given to a particular beat as the readers vary, so does their longings. The apprentice hack should study the language of newspapers and think who will be reading their copy. A clear form of English should be used by avoiding jargon, slang , pomposity , academic complexity and obscurity.

Punctuation
Grammatical mistakes often appear in the broadsheets because of the length and complexity of the sentences. It is more likely to have a mistake in a sentence that is extremely long and is exaggerated. Hence, the correct usage of punctuation is a must for any news story.

Facts
It is imperative for a news reporter to get his/her facts right. A news story is all about reporting sincere and reliable facts to the general public. No matter how the language or punctuation is used, till the time a story does not comprise solid facts it shall not flourish. A double check of facts is requisite and must be done.

Experiment
One of the best ways to improve the intros is by reading newspaper. One should always learn to adapt their style and experiment. According to Evans ‘Every word should be scrutinized: If it is not a working word, adding sense to a sentence, it should be struck out.

Answer all the Questions
The readers are interested in knowing anything and everything. A proper news story answers all the 5 W’s i.e what, when, where, when and why.
The basic specifications of the news story include answering all the questions that may arise in the audience’s mind. The reader should be completely satisfied once he’s finished with the news story. One should focus on drama and human angle, how is the story affecting the society at large. Reporters should be on the look-out for the unexpected.

Get the Rhythm
Economy as well as rhythm requires all kinds of sentences to be used. Somehow in the national tabloids, one looks at mainly short sentences that keep the story flowing. The sentences should be short but not monotonously so. There should be continuity in the news story. It should not look as if the writer has skipped some part of the story and has jumped to the conclusion. There should be a certain flow in the news story along with rhythm.

Names
Special attention should be given as to how a name is been spelled or written in the newspaper or magazine. Names are a basic building block of news reporting. The reporter’s most basic tool beyond his or her pen is the voice. A reporter must ask in case of any sort of confusion. It is disrespectful to a person if his/her name is spelt wrongly in a local newspaper. It brings disgrace to the news organisation as well.

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The Editor is the captain of the team whose wishes are command. A great editor is what makes a good newspaper. He is the one who decides which news shall appear, where and how. He is addressed as the father-figure on the news side. Before the story gets published it goes through the hands of the editor. He is the one who decides as to which story deserves to get published. Reporters may squirm over the editors blue pencil but at the end of the day it is the editor that makes their copy sing.

There are certain qualities required to be a proficient editor:

• He should have a sound current affair’s background
• He must be able to visualize not only how a story must be developed but its impact on the readership.
• He should know the mechanical processes of newspaper production.
• He must know how to summarize and boil down a long and tedious report
• He must be a ‘team man’ not a loner

A good editor will put himself in the place of the reader and ask himself whether the copy makes sense. An Editor should never presume that the reader knows the full background of a story.

The story that is being published should never be biased. An Editor must keep a close eye on story that is biased and not ethical.

The Editor manages the story and commands the staff. He should be respectful to his juniors and should guide them in a desired way. Also a strong foothold on grammar is a must.

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Propaganda is the dissemination of information to persuade the public to think in a desired way. This is intentionally done to achieve an objective. It is a technique of manipulation in which the subject does not even realises that he/she is getting influenced. There is a certain kind of aura attached with the word ‘Propaganda’. It is a common belief that propaganda is used for a fallacious purpose only. However, this assumption is not true to the core. Propaganda is originally a proficiency of influencing the public for intention not necessarily destructive. It is a very neutral word which is now moulded into something vicious.

The usage of Propaganda is gigantic. The primary reason for it is also the gullibility of the public from the fact that they are getting manipulated. The power and effect of propaganda is so strong that it impacts the person in the highest sense possible. A person or organisation executing the propaganda should be shrewd enough to impact the minds of the people while being unaware that they are getting trapped.

From Political Parties to Advertising companies, the diction of propaganda is extensive. Different organisations use the technique of propaganda to influence the public to buy a certain product by telling how it is better from the other one. However, derogating is not the way they go about. They never speak ill of the other product or party, though they give all the good reasons as to why this product is superior from the other. Same applies in the field of politics. Audience is influenced in such a way that they don’t even realise the fact.

There are various medium of effective propaganda, some of them may include Radio, Television, Internet, Newspaper, Animations etc. These help in order to execute the message even more imperatively. People listen to the speech made by various leaders heedless of the fact that they are getting swayed.

One cannot avoid all the mediums just reach to a conclusion that is not influenced. But there are other methods through which an individual can protect oneself from propaganda. Some of them may include:

• Trusting only on reliable sources of information
• Understanding the various techniques of propaganda
• Self – decision making

Propaganda is an age-old method of manipulation of the masses. If only we learn to receive genuine signals we will be able to demark black from white.

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Freedom of press refers to the liberation of the press from any sort of restrictions and barriers that hinders them from posting any set of news story. The concept of freedom of press entails from freedom of expression. As press or media is basically the voice of the citizens, it has to be prominent enough to be heard.

Freedom of press guarantees the right to the individual or the media house to freely propagate their views to the people at large. Freedom of press varies from country to country considering on the degree of which it is applied. Freedom of press ensures the growth of the society in respect to knowledge, health and sustainability. A country has all the rights to know about the whereabouts prevailing in the society so that an antidote can be provided.

Though Freedom of Press plays a vital role in informing the general public about the happenings, it is limited to a certain extent. There are several cases in which the Freedom of the Press has to be sacrificed. Some of them may include cases involving national security. These are the cases that preclude the press from broadcasting the news story. Government has taken bold steps to ensure that these cases stay hidden. Bills have been passed in order to safeguard the information that comprises the national interest.

This is debatable that whether cases involving national security should be exempted from the eyes of the public or not?

Anyhow Freedom of press is being hampered by such rules and regulations. Obviating the public from the truth may not necessarily be in their best interest.

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A genre of journalism that includes investigative activities such as research work and database of public records is referred to as investigative journalism. A person carrying out such type of journalism should be a very curious individual who should know about the basic law surrounding the field.

Investigative journalism involves true dedication as the journalist has to follow or literally stalk the person about whom he/she is making the report. Sometimes the information can easily by acquired by the help of search engines, public records or various scattered sources. But there are the cases when the journalist needs to work really hard to acquire the much needed information.

A lot of sacrifices are required from the side of the journalist. Some of them may include insufficient sleep, restless days when no clue or lore could be found. A journalist needs to put his heart and soul in the story that he/she is working on. Adherence and devotion does pay well in the end.

Apart from this a strong foothold of the law system is a must for any journalist working on an investigative beat. A series of interviews has to be transpired by a journalist in this process. The investigative reporter needs to interview each and every source and associate of the suspect or the person about whom he/she is reporting. It is a demanding course of action especially when people are not willing to dispense their time or opinion.

Investigation is not always related to a person. Sometimes it revolves around a crime scene or political corruption. A journalist working on an investigative beat should be high on contacts and sources as these are the people at the end of the day who outturn the story. Apart from this the investigative reporter should be dexterous and alert so that he/she could make the best out of people and situations.

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The trend of photo and video journalism has picked up pace in the modern era. People are acquainting about the different possibilities associated with this field. Photo and video journalism has emerged to its peak and more and more people are getting engaged.

It requires a lot of courage and determination to rise in this field. Journalists are required to go to unknown locations and carry forward their story. In the process they get to face various circumstances but they have to be rigid to follow their story.

A person inspirited to be a photo or video journalist should be well aware about the technical aspects of the camera and its usage. A tentative bird’s eye is a necessity in this occupation. The journalist must be mindful about the different aspects of the camera and the angle through which the story should be presented.

The major part of the work is done by the video and photo journalists. They have to reach on the spot where the incident took place. There are certain interventions by the police and other officials when they try to record the story from the crime scene or the area of activity. Bravery and fortitude is what pays in the end.

The globalisation that lead to digitalisation has advanced people to switch over to more of visual experience. The audience will only recognize a work that shows more of evidence and research work. Higher will be the TRP of the media house that shows the actual incident. This has forced the photo or video journalist to reach at the location before anyone does, cover the news and send it to the media house as fast as possible. There is no place for laggard in this field. Media houses will employ only those people who are diligent and hard working. So one needs to be the best out of the rest!!

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The Indian Parliament is composed of The President of India, Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The discussion and debates that takes place among the members of the parliament is recorded by the beat reporters. This type of reporting is known as parliamentary reporting.

A parliamentary reporter is required to report on each sitting of the parliament. His job is to record each and every point that is being mentioned in the parliament. This requires a great deal of concentration and writing speed. One needs to pin down each and every word that is relevant. Also, a strong foothold on the legal system is a must. A parliamentary reporter needs to be aware of the new laws and amendments in the constitution.

The reporter is required to make a final report on his/her observations and present it to the general public without any manipulation or twisting of news. A reporter must stick to the ethics of journalism and should not be biased or hold presumptions on a topic that reflects in his writings.

There are basically three seasons in a Parliament :

1. Budget
2. Monsoon
3. Winter

In the budget season specific budgets are made of separate departments such as Railway Budget etc. These seasons continue for 90 days in which approximately 30 days are allotted to each season.

A Parliament consist of two houses i.e Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Presently the speaker of Lok Sabha is Sumitra Mahajan. She is the first women who fought from the same seat eight times and never lost. She belongs to Madhya Pradesh. The joint session is addressed by the President.

Things that hold national interest are discussed in the parliament and all the citizens have the right to know as to what is being discussed in the parliament. The immediate amendments that are being passed by the new bill, all of this gets recorded by the parliamentary reporter.

There is a crucial requirement of a new budget for various calamities such as war, disaster, floods. This money comes from Prime Minister Relief Fund or other treasuries. The reporter must be aware of the different alternatives for the supply of money. The reporter must keep a close eye on where is the money going that did not get used from the budget. There have been many cases and instances in which the money has been spent for private usage.

The main agenda of any parliamentary reporter should be to educate the masses and make them aware as to what is happening within the parliament.

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Today journalism and mass communication as a profession is emerging to its peak. More and more people are gaining knowledge about this field. But what is journalism? How can one differentiate between journalism and mass communication?

Basically mass communication is a way of disseminating the content produced by the journalist. The work of the journalist is to collect and gather information which gets broadcasted by the help of an anchor or spokesperson.

Usually an anchor or reporter gets to deal with people and situations whereas a journalist is most of the time behind the cameras. A journalist researches and writes for print media like newspaper or electronic media such as the internet. But a reporter or an anchor has a strong foothold in mediums such as television and radio. These are the people who actually conduct the interviews.

Both the journalist as well as the reporters play a special role in the news making process. It is a two way process. The content is written by a journalist that gets propagated by the help of a reporter. Indeed if we go in depth, it is quite a long process as the content or matter requires editing work by the editor and even the camera person plays a major role in the whole procedure as he/she is the one who decides  the correct angle or position of light.

Nowadays the line between journalism and mass communication has blurred. Many people tend to try their luck on both the fields. But does it not require specialisation?

A news that gets viewed by millions of people should it not be more refined and filtered?

Many people do courses in mass communication or journalism, irrespective of the difference between the two. Specialisation is a key to complete the task effectively. If you want to make your future in this field, you’ve got to know the key elements.

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