Journalism: My Dream Job- Steem Ghana contest

Brief BackgroundGrowing up as a child, i had dreams to become a lawyer and then metamorphose to a politician. I wanted to be a lawyer and a politician because i wanted to to help the vulnerable in the society. In-fact i wanted to change the status quo and give real power to the people. Before i delve into my dream job journalism, i'd like to tell you a little about me. I was born into a community where no one can predict where their next meals would be coming from. I had to struggle my way to SHS and currently at the University. I have grown up to see the disparities in our society which is mostly man made and can be changed with the right policies. To be honest, i want to see a society where there's equity and opportunities for all no matter where they are born or their ethnic affiliations.

Journalism My Dream Job and what it EntailsJournalism they say is a profession of verification. It is part of a broader profession of communication and media practice.

"Journalism is communication. It is the events of the day distilled into a few words, sounds or pictures, processed by the mechanics of communication to satisfy the human curiosity of a world that is always eager to know what’s new”
-David Wainwright.

“A Journalist is a person who takes pen and paper and goes out looking for trouble”.
– Niagia Santuah.

As a Journalist, your duty is to fight; social, political & economic evils but also educate, inform & entertain audiences. Journalists are development agents who act as: writers, authors, reporters, correspondents, editors, sub-editors, interviewers, freelancers, stringers, data journalists etc.

Studying Journalism as my dream jobAs i told you earlier, i never had the plans not to talk of dreaming about journalism as my dream job. But the moment I had admission to study social change communication at the university, i realize that indeed this is where I belong. With time, i developed strong love for the profession owing to the fact that it is in-line with my earlier dream job of becoming a lawyer/politician.

I realize that as a journalist, i can re-echo the silence of the marginalize to the political class and also give the poor and those who are discourage with the system hope that things would be well someday. I realize that, journalism would give me the chance to send my journalistic mic to the poor in the inner cities, the gethos, fishing and farming communities to also vent their anger on the system that is designed to benefit a few. Already, I'm a data journalist and a community reporter as well as a show host on campus.
I believe I have a long way to go since the media space is highly competitive. I want to specialize in data journalism because it is the type of journalism that would dominate the world in the future. I wish to use complex data such as annual budgets to tell stories to the ordinary person who has never been to school.

Qualifications and Requirements for JournalismTo be honest, to practice journalism does not come with any form of qualifications. YES you heard me right, Studying communication , English and media related courses is a plus but does not necessarily means you can practice it. In-fact most journalists you know never studied journalism in school. Bernard Avle of Citi never studied journalism in school but he's one of the best in Ghana. To be part of this profession, you must chase the desire to see the society better and learn about the ethics and cannons of the profession and viola, you can practice and adapt with time.

Why you should study journalism
Kindly go through the under-listed points and know why you need to be part of the profession that is known as the unofficial fourth arm of the State. A profession that gives hope to the people while telling the ruling class to be mindful of their promises.

• Giving the voiceless back their voices so that they can speak for themselves.
• Making the difference between culture and religion.
• Appreciating rural peoples’ knowledge and skills
• Amplifying the muted, muffled, silenced voices…
• Seeing the silver lining beyond the dark clouds, seeing beyond gloom to sunshine days
• Not merely exposing the problem but identifying remedial actions
• No room for selfishness, self-centeredness
• Letting people be heard even if they cannot pay the price to be heard
• Going beyond informing to stimulating people to take their destiny into their hands in your reportage
  Thanks for reading and Kudos to @rubilu123 for this contest.