Journalism

[Bardeaux]

So I've been out of high school for about four years and I have since been working sporadically in the construction/maintenence field with long hours and low pay. I've been mulling over long-term career choices for awhile and journalism really sticks out as an interest. I love to travel and would like to incorporate that into my life and writing was always my favorite subject in school.

I understand that trying to make a living as a writer can be very frustrating and that there are pressures concerning deadlines, but I'm willing to give it a shot. My current battle plan consists of first obtaining a degree in journalism while maybe getting an internship at a newspaper or magazine if I'm lucky. I suppose submitting freelance work during this period could build my portfolio which will give me a little experience before I set out to find employment.

I'm mostly interested in newspaper/internet reporting, magazine reporting and maybe investigative filmmaking rather than broadcast journalism.

Are there any journalists here on Bl? How did you go about getting into it and do you have any advice for someone wanting to explore journalism as a career?

Also which skills are the most benficial? I was thinking about lerning another language to expand my repertoire.

 

[RedLeader]

What kind of things are you interested in (for this purpose)? I know you post a decent amount in CE&P, so would global politics be an inspiration? Really, it comes down to where in the world you'd want to go as to learning a second language.

I would suggest that going back to school, a major in journalism with a minor in political science would be good, if you're into the political thing. If not, English is always a good minor. As well, if you cannot pick up a foreign language on your own, then a FL minor could suit you. But honestly, IME learning a foreign language actually can be done easier when it's not in a classroom.

 

[psood0nym]

I've taken a few "media studies" classes, and if you thought long hours for low pay were bad in the position you're in now and are looking into journalism (at least in the U.S.) you haven't looked closely enough. The press, the Fourth Estate, is dying fast (don't get me started on the ineptness of self-interested blogs and citizen journalism as a replacement for professional publications).

The economics of the business is seriously dire (even the New York Times is near bankruptcy). Newspapers are the chief source of journalism worth doing and they are disappearing the fastest (most all TV news selectively rips off newspapers or magazines for news that gets ratings). The newspapers that aren't gone have gone through numerous rounds of layoffs and don't have the money to finance very much serious investigative journalism anymore (Watergate, the Catholic Church molestation investigation - not possible in th U.S. today). Preference in hiring is given to the innumerable experienced reporters that have been laid off and are looking for work, not new blood. The only reason journalism schools continue to recruit is because the alternative is not training anyone to professionally report serious local news at all.

Not enough people will pay for news until professional journalism is effectively gone and serious consequences for democracy begin effecting their own personal lives. With the internet we can get "news" for "free" so why bother? Yet no internet-based model yet conceived generates remotely enough profit to support news gathering in the capacity in which the press is intended to operate, and the government and private donators are currently in no position to prop up the business (hell, even in journalism's heyday rich families that owned the papers took a loss in publishing for the sake of prestige). General interest publications of all types are doing bad, but the ones that publish things that are the most important are doing the worst - especially the ones that dare try to report increasingly unpopular international news. If you're prepared to work one or two other shit jobs to make ends meet while you get spotty freelance jobs that publications don't have to provide you benefits for, or you can wait five or ten years until, hopefully, something solvent is figured out, go ahead. Otherwise, steer clear.

You may, however, be able to get a PR job for a non-profit organization with a journalism degree. These jobs tend to not be as noble as they sound, but at the same time I've no doubt there is true integrity in some of the work.

 

[Bardeaux]

Thanks for the helpful replies

I hear you, psood0nym. I'm sure it seems a little strange to be so interested in a dying industry. But I am totally prepared to work other jobs while I try to find suitable work as a journalist. I expect it to be very difficult to make a solid living soley on this particular business and I am prepared in full to do what it takes.