BMM: Being Mass Media Finale

The final year of BMM is a year where one looks back at the years spent in BMM, how one has improved over the years, the moments that changed their lives & the moments that they would want again. 2 years gone by, it’s the final year that actually prepares one for the real world outside, especially the world of mass media! My experience again is similar to the functioning of the mass media & I shall share the similarities as well as the bonus points of BMM!

TYBMM

Seniority:

This is the stage where every individual is now superior not only in age but also in experience. This is the year when all the juniors will look upto their seniors & decide whether they want to look upto them because they are good & are worthy of respect or they can be looked down upon for their ill treatment & a legacy that none want to follow. Every batch leaves its own legacy behind. But the legacy of TYBMM is followed by many as an inspiration to either be better than them or not follow them for it shall harm others. Since seniority has been obtained, there will be ego clashes as one would expect others to respect them as seniors & follow their guidance. Similarly in the media, senior workers expect their juniors to respect them & follow their guidance. But their values & ethics decide their fate as a respectable person or someone that every junior would have to be around.

A deeper study into………..nothing:

By now every individual has understood that whatever subjects they have studied until now hasn’t helped them in practicality or could not be implemented in the manner they have studied. Even if the lecturers said the subject is helpful in their future, one couldn’t interpret the message of the subject properly as either the message wasn’t simpler or lacked clarity or the message of the subject was not given out properly. So this leaves with individuals either taking self-initiatives to find methods & knowledge that would help them in the outside world or be dependent on their colleagues to guide them towards a better path. Similarly in the media, years of analytical & thorough research of a particular subject may not help an organization at times as the subject might take a completely different path thereby leading to fresh analysis & study of it. Thus organisations have to take self-initiatives to study the subject to get a first-hand detail of it or depend on studies of other organisations & thereby lag behind in competition.

Basics of being objective:

Although if studied & understood properly, every subject teaches the basics of being objective about any topic i.e. covering all angles of the topic & giving people information for them to decide what angle of the topic they should believe in. This is necessary as aspirants of the media industry are expected to have an objective view of all topics as no bias is wanted in the industry for it may harm the image of any organisation. In the media industry, one’s objectivity is decisive factor of integrity & respect received from its audience & observers. Every media organisation cares for its audience as they are the base of the organisation’s integrity & respect. Thus they would try avoiding bias & one sided topics so as to secure their audience & not lose them to other organisations. Media organisations can also play smart & try to manipulate their representation so that the audience cannot recognise the bias or one sidedness of a topic easily, thereby maintaining its objective role.

The Journalism/ Advertisement Divide:

Each individual is divided in the Journalism/Advertisement batch. As often seen in many colleges, most of the individuals join the Advertisement batch rather than the Journalism batch. It can be due to preference or the fact that most of their colleagues have joined the Advertisement batch so they follow suite. This encourages the Herd Mentality within us & thereby restricts one’s free thinking & individualistic freedoms of choice. Also the divide between the Journalistic & Advertisement batch leads to prejudice & ego clashes as both believe in the fact that they are greater than the other & have chosen the right path. Similarly in organisation, more preference is given to advertisements in today’s time as it is an easy way to earn revenue thereby leading to compromise in journalistic ethics & thereby it will lead to fights between the journalistic & advertisement department of the organisations. While both should be given an equal share in an organisation, the bias towards advertisement department is evident. It can also indirectly lead to the belief that the advertisement industry has more scope than the journalism industry, thereby covering facts of high unemployment in advertisement sector (if it is to be believed) & imply glamour & scope in advertisement sector.

Samaj Sevaks:

In every batch, whether it is the advertisement or journalism batch, there are individuals who believe in serving the society in their unique manner. But in this year, it becomes more evident as most of the projects & assignments they do is related to social service & at times can be helpful for the society. Their persistence in this field can also help others realize their own potential in helping the society develop in an equitable manner. Similarly, organisations also consist of social service workers as it is necessary that each organisation is viewed as one that is working towards upliftment of society, thereby helping them in conducting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities effectively.

Source Building:

This is also a period during which individuals can build sources that will help them in the future in various manners such as getting important & accurate notes for subjects, important questions that one can study for exams, contacts within the industry, sources that will help them in their future career & sources that will help them in coordination between different companies. For this, it’s necessary that one has good communication skills & an objective mindset to accept every personality & individualistic characteristics of every person they meet. It is believed that the media industry needs a large base of source to get accurate information as to how an organisation can project itself better with regards to a particular topic. It is also believed that help can be received from anyone, anywhere, anytime & anyplace. Thus it is necessary for individuals to keep in contact with every source & have a good rapport with nearly everyone! Commonly during this year, sources are built with people outside the college premises & with people who are from different colleges & appear in the same examination hall or in common festivals that students participate in.

Historical Knowledge:

One receives historical knowledge of how various organisation currently or previously in the media organisations were formed & what led to their success & decline in the coming years. This is important as it will help those individuals planning to join organisations that have been existent since a long time & gives them a small glimpse of how the organisation has evolved & thus functions at present. It also helps individuals planning to form a new organisation & give them a set of plans & strategies that they can implement to avoid committing the same mistakes that non-existent organisations have done. It also helps organisations to know what other organisations are doing & have historical records of these organisations to help their organisation to grow.

Of Long Goodbyes:

Nostalgia kicks in as soon as one begins the TYBMM semester. And the goodbyes are all the more hard to say. Each individual comes to a realisation that their 3 years are coming to an end. Some feel the years went by fast. Some feel they didn’t make the most of it. Some feel there is still some time left to enjoy. Some feel that after these 3 years there will be no aim for their lives. Everyone has mixed feelings. None would want these years to end for their own ends. Even in organisations, many people who leave get mixed feelings as they might feel relieved but at the same time a sense of sadness kicks in. For they have worked hard for the organisation for a long time & now that everything is coming to an end, all the memories come back flowing in a disorderly manner reminding them of the time they spent. These memories are always cherished & will never be forgotten for many events took place & thus changed their lives in one manner or the other.

Bonus:

Politics:

Politics is unavoidable & every individual learns about office politics in these 3 years. What can you expect? With people belonging to different backgrounds, having different mindsets, thoughts, ideas, goals, expectations, ego, attitude, character, behavioural patterns & needs; politics is bound to happen. There are none who haven’t talked negative about others behind their backs. There are none who blindly agree to one’s opinion on face value unless they are a part of the Herd Mentality. There are none who haven’t played mind games to gain certain position or power for their own goals! Politics is necessary & those who don’t want to be a part of it, unfortunately become a part of it!

College/ Faculty:

If one is a part of a well maintained college, the facilities that they will receive is a blessing. But if not, then God bless their survival! Similarly in organisations, one has to look at the factors that the organisation is well maintained & in proper order otherwise it will be harmful for them & can hamper the progress of their talents! Thus indirectly we learn the difference between a good & bad organisation and more importantly the skills needed to survive in an organisation! As is common belief,” Teachers make leaders”; and I would still believe that BMM teachers can make the great leaders that our society needs at present. But it depends on the teacher’s capabilities & talents whether they can make one!

The people matter:

In the end, it’s the people who matter the most. It’s not the way in which stones, metals, plastic, food supply, paper, technology is utilized that makes memories for individuals. It is the people that make memories for us, whether it is good or bad. Even organisations are known for the people that work not necessarily for the infrastructure, facilities & high salary it provides!

Do you agree or have a different point of view? Please feel free to mention in the comments about your experience & views!