National Institute of Mass Communication & Journalism, Ahmedabad

Mass communication and journalism, both often confuse students as they think both are the same. However, the fact is both of these are two different fields and you can make a career in anyone as per your interest. At the end of this article, you will have a clear idea about both professions.

What is Mass Communication?

In simple words, mass communication means communicating with the masses. Here, the communication can be for different purposes such as:

●     Conveying a message

●     Spreading awareness

●     Passing information

●     Entertaining audiences

Types of Mass Communication

1. Advertising

2. Journalism

3. Public relations

4. Social media

5. Audio media

6. Convergence

7. Film and television

8. Photography

9. EBooks

What is Journalism?

In simple words, news reporting is journalism. Based on the medium, there are three categories of journalism:

1.      Online journalism, which uses online newswires, blogs, etc.

2.      Print media which use printed material like newspapers, magazines, etc.

3.      Electronic media which use radio, television, etc.

Read to know about Types of Journalism

Difference Between Mass Communication and Journalism

As you can sense, journalism is part of mass communication because the news is conveyed to the masses. Mass communication is not limited to journalism. There are more divisions in it such as:

●     Public relation

●     Filmmaking

●     Web series

●     Digital marketing

●     Hoarding advertisement

●      Television commercials and serials

●     And more

There are some characteristics which make one different from another:

Content

Both fields use content which gets conveyed to the masses, but there is a significant difference in content in journalism and mass communication:

In mass communication, content can be of any type such as:

●     Facts based

●     History-based

●     Political

●     Fictional

●     And more

It means there is no limitation on the type of content in this field.

On the other hand, in journalism, content always has to be based on facts and stats. The news story has to have evidence to support the coverage.

Creativity

Mass communication gives an open sky to its professionals to be creative. They can choose the zone, mode of communication, story, etc. to take advantage of their creativity.

On the contrary, journalism has no real connection with creativity. The news coverage has to be professional and formal. The creativity of a writer or journalist would make the story ridiculous and make facts fuzzy which is not acceptable.

Curriculum

Now, we will talk about the courses and what is covered in the courses of each.

When you join the best journalism college in India, you will learn about the following subjects:

●     Journalism history

●     Communication

●     Political science

●     Research methods

●     Economics

When you join the best college of mass communication in India, you are will learn about the vast diversity of subjects.

Summary

There are the best colleges in India, which have different courses in both fields. Based on your interest, you can choose the course. For example, if you like journalism, you can start with graduation in journalism from one of the best journalism colleges in India. If you like mass communication, join the graduation course in it. If you like both then opt for graduation or post-graduation in mass communication and journalism course.