A journey towards Journalism

I have asked a question to Chakki many times- "What was your motive for undergoing journalism course?" She has always answered "I dont know". She still doesn't know the answer.

A person is not born as a journalist by birth. But there are inborn talents that make a person a good journalist- like the ability to write well, enthusiasm to search for new things, ability to express the ideas in mind and many more. I believe Chakki possess many of these skills. This should have helped her at the time of her course.

Chakki did her journalism course in Kerala Press Academy. Kerala Press Academy, is an academy of journalists in Kerala. It was established in 1979. It is a joint venture of the Government of Kerala, Kerala Union of Working Journalists and Indian Newspaper Society. The head office of Kerala Press Academy is located at Kakkanad, Kochi, Kerala. Its primary aim is to foster and co-ordinate activities in the sphere of Journalism. The Academy has set up a full-fledged institute, published books and monographs, organized seminars and workshops and instituted endowments and awards for promoting excellence in the field of journalism.

It is the only one Government authorised institute in Kerala which provides journalism and public relations course.After her course, Chakki did her internship with Deepika, one of the major malayalam dailies in Kerala. She has also worked with Indian Express Daily and Samakalaika Malayalam magazine. Her friends are major journalists in leading newspapers of South India. Just imagine how much spreaded her friendship circle is.

The most interesting factor of journalism couse: The admission procedure for the course is very strict. First you need to pass an entrance test which is very very difficult to clear if you don't have the real talents. The interview is also difficult to clear if you don't have a clear idea about the field.

Can't you believe my words ? Well, take a look into some sample questions asked by Press academy for the entrance examination of journalism course. I am not joking, Click here to see some sample questions.

The classes are handled by guest faculty, who are veterans in the field of Journalism, Communication, Public Relations & Advertising. Chakki was lucky to attend those precious sessions handled by Ms. Leela Menon(Former Special Correspondent New Indian Express),  K.M. Roy (General Editor, Mangalam), Dr. M. Leelavathy(Literary Critic and Writer) and many more experienced hands.

Chakki still says that she liked to do the job of a journalist, but she turned into a software professional. Let's hope that she will get a chance to present her talents before the world.