Radio and television broadcasting, together have become the most powerful medium of communication today and have revolutionized `mass-communication’. Electronic medium, including films, is today the largest single medium of communication reaching the masses with news, entertainment as well as education.

Due to the influence that the electronic media has on the viewers and listeners, most of the countries in the world have some form of control over their broadcasting. In India broadcasting till very recently was state owned and private television companies could produce programs but not broadcast them. However in face of greater public access to satellite transmissions from within and outside the country, government had to liberalize its policies. Recently, legislation has been passed in the Parliament seeking autonomy for Doordarshan and All India Radio and things may further change with the implementation of the bill.

For professionals as well as creative talent, radio and television broadcasting holds a lot of promise. The industry requires both qualified work force, in the areas such as program software development, editing and graphics, and creative talent for production and direction. Then of course challenging opportunities have mushroomed for talented performers as well. International channels, which are easily accessible, have created a dynamic environment and instilled more competition in this field. They have also brought in qualitative change and tremendous opportunities for professionals. Time being the most important aspect of their work- whether it involves appearing and speaking on the air, producing a program or transmitting it to radio and television receivers, people working in radio and television broadcasting, function under tremendous pressure.

The broadcasting media is expanding rapidly and India is fast emerging as a growth center for entertainment in Asia. It is anticipated that by 2005 the broadcasting and entertainment industry could be worth Rs 60,000 crore compared to the current revenue of around Rs 15,000 crore. A huge spin off effect of all this is the growth rate in employment generation and therefore those with an interest in this area can look forward to a bright future. Job opportunities for radio jockeys, disc jockeys, video jockeys, announcers, performers, anchors, directors, producers, cinematographers, photographers, set designers and costume designers animators etc., are being regularly thrown up by umpteen broadcasting channels. One of the best aspects about jobs in these areas is that one can choose between full time or part time employment or even go for free lancing. Any of these options exist for employment in All India Radio, Doordarshan, and Private TV Channels etc.

Radio and television both cater to audiences of varying tastes and preferences and most networks therefore present a range of programs that target segments according to age, sex, language, occupation special interest and so on. In other words no segment of the society is left untouched by these mediums and they are rightly predicted to be the major mass communication media of the twenty first century.

Other than direct employment opportunities the radio and television industry has given rise to a number of related industries or provided impetus to such related industries, which already existed. Some of these related fields in which job opportunities exist are the following:

Music- both audio and video recording
Networking
Advertising Commercials
Home Entertainment in both audio and video sectors and includes design, manufacture and sales of hardware as well as software like video games, compact discs etc.

Educational Qualification:
Professional qualification is a prerequisite for technical jobs, however for jobs in the production side no such qualification is essential as skills in production jobs are generally gained through hands on experience. Depending upon the opportunity simple graduates, with an interest in this field, can get jobs in production. Formal training is however available even for production jobs and would be helpful in finding a placement and sharpening inherent skills. Various institutes around the country offer courses in Mass Communication and in various other aspects of television technology and production. Some of these institutes also offer specialized courses in radio journalism and production.

Eligibility for admission into these institutes varies. In general, however, undergraduate courses are open for those who have cleared 10+2 examination. For Postgraduate courses, a bachelor’s degree in appropriate discipline is necessary for admission. Period of study would depend upon the course and the institute and would range between one to four years.

Some of the areas of specialization include subjects like broadcasting journalism, camera, sound recording, editing, direction, design, visual communication, graphics and animation