Is a correspondent a profession or a way of life?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Who is a correspondent? What does he do? What's good about this profession? How to become a correspondent? What skills and personal qualities do you need to have? Let's figure it out.

Who is a correspondent?

Deciphering the meaning of the word “correspondent”, the explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by T. F. Efremova gives us three answers: this is a person who is in correspondence with someone; author of correspondence; media officer.

As for the last definition, the explanatory dictionary of D. N. Ushakova describes it more precisely. According to this dictionary, a correspondent is not just an employee of a periodical, but the person who transmits information from the scene. This is probably why it is widely believed that a journalist “sits” in a publishing house, while a correspondent travels to places to collect information.

To some extent it is. A journalist is a broader concept than a correspondent. This is a generalist. He may well be a correspondent, but in general he should be able to carry out not only the collection and processing of information, but also other types of journalistic activities.

What does a reporter do?

Based on the above, the correspondent isa person who travels to the scene to interview, shoot a story, report. He can also participate in the editing of the finished material, write the text for the transfer or article, coordinate the work of the photographer and cameraman.

May be full-time or freelance. In the second case, the correspondent is not tied to the editorial office and has the opportunity to work remotely.

Pros of being a correspondent

1. There is a chance to become famous. Although this advantage has its drawbacks.
2. Great opportunity to meet interesting people, make useful connections.
3. Active lifestyle. Correspondents often travel, they are always in the center of events.
4. The work is creative, interesting and certainly not boring.

Cons of being a correspondent

1. Work can be dangerous.
2. You can forget about a clear work schedule. Sometimes it becomes necessary to work on weekends and holidays, and overtime on weekdays is the norm. Sometimes you have to “break down” to work on a call from your boss in the middle of the night.
3. Very fast rhythm of life. You need to follow the events, find interesting material in time and be able to work in a stressful environment.
4. Over time, correspondents begin to look for material for an article in everything. And even on weekends, their brain is not switched off from work. Therefore, a correspondent is more of a lifestyle than a profession.

How to learn to be a correspondent

You can finishFaculty of Journalism or Faculty of Philology, but in general 70% of media workers do not have a special education. The ability to write articles is far from the main thing in the work of a correspondent. The ability to find useful information, conduct interviews, analyze some events is much more important.

However, the collection and processing of information, and even in time trouble, is an amateur occupation. If this is not to your liking, then working as a correspondent will be unbearable.

In mastering the skill of interviewing, university lectures will also be of little use if a person does not feel the interlocutor, is closed and cannot boast of sociability.

As you can see, a correspondent is more of a way of life than the ability to perform a number of professional tasks, and this work is not suitable for everyone.