-Media in transition-
Sometimes, the things that make us uncomfortable are the same things that aid in our pursuit of success.
The media industry is one of the places that require a lot of curiosity for knowledge. To some, this curiosity is inborn yet again it is something that can be nurtured.
One should be aware of the things that happen within and out of their environment. In case your passion is inclined to specific societal issues, then you are not lost.
If you are highly-conservative, and less open to new ways of doing things, you’ll likely face challenges navigating the fast-changing media landscape.
With the daily innovations and advancement of technology, this industry favours people who respond to change in a timely fashion.
-Unpredictable working hours-
News-making and selling is a highly-perishable business.
Look at this 2017 scenario: President Kenyatta is declared winner of a presidential race at 9:40pm by the electoral board. At 9:45pm, Twitter is awash with the “news”. Thousands of tweets and retweets about the same are posted all over the micro-blogging site, and even Facebook.
The following morning at 8am, you write a “news” item headlined: “Kenyatta beats 6 rivals in race for president.” Who would care about your story, anyway? The same story was broken nearly 12 hours ago. That is how obsolete you get as a news agency, when you don’t do things swiftly in this enterprise.
If you want to get it done, and get it right, immediacy is key in this fast-paced business. That is the secret of having a cutting edge over your competitors. Audiences have become more media literate, and know what news-item timelines are. And since they are aware of that, even if it means working longer hours to deliver fresh hourly updates, do it. It pays in the long run; and in many cases today it pays instantly. If you’re sure this is the career for you, brace yourself for long-working hours. Breaking news happens at any time of the day or night.
-Audiences’ needs are priority-
The main focus in this industry is on content delivery.
Audiences are always your priority and, therefore, whatever you have to offer should be of public interest.
You will notice that most of the media content is based on issues affecting the society.
Politics and socio-economic information make a bulk of media content.