As you know, journalism is a field that always attracts attention in society. The more advanced a society is, the more attention is paid to journalism. Journalism always absorbs new things, creates and innovates continuously to meet the needs of readers. Hence, there is a big possibility of elimination: if you do not find something new you will be easily eliminated. Therefore, in the working process, you are required to educate yourself, improve your knowledge of current affairs, society, expertise or seek specialized training courses dedicated to your profession to improve your qualifications and job skills.

There are several elements that I believe to be essential to become a successful journalist: among them are professional skills, experience, ability to work under pressure and take risks etc. In this article I would like to dwell on some factors that can help you become an excellent journalist.

Quick thinking

The first skill required when you want to be a journalist is quick thinking. The essence of journalism is to capture events quickly, the ability to analyze issues clearly. The key factor for journalists in their work is the ability to spot problems, recognize new information in a forest of information heard. For someone with a journalistic eye, it takes a sensitivity to spot the new in those familiar corners. We know that the laws of nature as well as society never stand still, every day there are changes. Thus, the journalists task is to find out what has changed and inform everyone. A good journalist will always capture the tastes of the public. From there, it is possible to exploit information in a new and unique aspect, attracting readers.

Writing skills

After having news, you need to transform it into a compelling, high-quality article. And whether an article can attract readers depends on your writing skill.

It is challenging to become a successful journalist if you are not able to express yourself fluently, and do not know what is the focus of the problem posed. A journalist who lacks writing skills, presents an issue so that others can understand what is happening. Many unsuccessful journalists have poor general knowledge and lack literacy, so they write in the way that does not attract listeners.

Convincing and timely manner

Besides discovering information, a journalist must have another important quality, which is the ability to convey that information to readers and listeners in the most convincing and timely manner. A skilled journalist is one who can present many types of journalism, including writing commentary and editorials. To achieve that ability, of course, in addition to a solid ideological stance, journalists must diligently read books and newspapers, train themselves to have a rich cultural background, and understand many fields; especially try to travel a lot, write a lot, try your ability in many different genres.

Journalistic style

Once having stood firmly and confidently in the journalist profession, you need to pay attention to developing your own style and expression, not to be confused with others. It is the journalistic style that wins the hearts and minds of the readers. For instance, when the same event is described in several newspapers, the readers may choose to read only the information from the newspaper A and not to read the newspaper B, because the journalistic styles of the authors differ. That shows that the ability to «write» is of great importance, not only for writers in general, but also for journalists in particular. Many reporters, at first, are just ordinary writers, but through practice, they may become outstanding authors, who are honored by readers.

(To be continued)

Zhao Xuan, a second-year student, Periodical Press and Web Journalism Department

Anastasia S. Petrovskaya, trainee-teacher, proofreader