Am I Journalist AND/OR A Media Person?

Answer is NO for both the privileges.

Preface:

My educational background is Diploma in Computer Science. I neither went to any college of journalism nor attended any seminars in similar stream. It’s one of the areas of work of SpeakBindas.com that adorned me with this privilege of a journalist or a media person, simply for the reason that I do interview people.

If I’m not a Journalist or a Media Person and still I’m running SpeakBindas.com where people from different sectors are interviewed, then what am I?

It’s simple. I’m a Blogger. I am a Writer. As a reader, if you observe the site, it also has other categories such as ‘Articles’ and ‘Video Articles.’ Both the categories do focus on WRITING part. A writer is not always a journalist.

Now, as I’m saying that I’m not a journalist and as taking interviews is a form of journalism only, how can I deny that I’m not a journalist?

It’s simple, again. Meeting people from different walks of life has always been my passion. Even prior to inception of SpeakBindas.com, I regularly used to meet people from different walks of life such as industrialists, religious people, artists, singers and other creative people. At that time, I simply used to meet and interact without video recording it or even writing about it. I was keeping it to just myself. But as the era of blogging initiated as well as I have a video camera, I told to myself that let me take this practice of meeting people a step further by recording it or writing about it and share with like minded people and see how it goes. And it went good indeed. People liked it and hence I kept on sharing more and more interactions, discussions in form of interviews.

And those who were physically out of reach, I started conducting online interviews, interactions with them.

So, it’s my hobby, my passion which drives me to dig further in different people, culture, traditions, customs and surroundings. It’s a very common man’s passion.

So am I against journalism?

Not At All. And why should I be? Rather, I have few journalists as friends as other friends from other fields. As well I’m in good terms with few media persons too for whom full time profession is journalism. They are my friends for many other reasons than to being just a journalist. I rather take inspiration from the field of media. But that goes same for other fields as well such as social welfare, medical, industries, service sectors, religions etc. Learning from different professions, different areas and distinct people is a pure humanly approach. And same goes for journalism as well. I rather think it’s quite an interesting field for those who live with the passion of mass-communication. But for me, it is not what I am. It’s rather a perception of some people towards me. They see or like to see me being a journalist or a media person.

Sunil Gavaskar and other cricketers do write regular columns in newspapers & magazines. Would we call them writers or cricketers first? Of course, they are writers too but it’s just a minor part of their total personality. Primarily, they are cricketers. Harsha Bhogle do commentary in cricket matches. He also interviews cricketers. Would we call him a journalist for the same? No, it would really look odd saying so. He is a Commentator first. It’s his passion of conversing with cricketers, not his prime identity. Same goes for me as well in a different manner.

Something Interesting You Would Like to Know:

Because of some people’s perception on me as of a journalist or a media person, what happens is that sometimes at some places when I meet people, they start talking with me about Media, you know like “What’s your take on the Indian Media?”, “Which is the best English newspaper in India?”, “Don’t you think Media often twist a story and fill masala in to gain more viewers?, “Media mostly shows negative news only, nothing positive in there” and it goes on and on.

I feel a bit insulted, honestly by such or similar questions. It makes me feel odd knowing that they already have considered me a journalist or a media person which I AM NOT. I’m a BLOGGER and a WRITER. Why don’t they talk about it? Or any other things like culture, education, India etc. and including Media too, but not only that.

At one incident, I had to face an odd question that “Don’t you need some registration or licence to run a media website?” The questioner was under impression that SpeakBindas.com is a News cum Interviews website and just like Print Media and Electronic Media, this too should have some kind of registration. She had no idea that it’s a BLOG. And blog needs no such registrations. A student, a house-wife, an industrialist, a kid, a spiritual person, a journalist, a teacher – anybody can have a personal / business blog, without any such legal litigation (provided, the content is not harmful or offensive.)

Unending Debate: Journalists are Born or Made?

As the title says, it’s indeed unending, as there are people of both kinds who believe in either of the fact very strongly. The first believers have the creative reasons and the later ones have logical. I have no intentions of digging further this topic than to simply clarify that I’m neither born nor a made journalist. I don’t deny that journalism is a part of what I do. What I simply deny is that it’s not the whole of what I am.

So I am happily enjoying the privilege of being a BLOGGER and a WRITER. And that’s all I have to say my dear readers.