The Journalism work force?

Question

My dreams have always led me to want to work for a newspaper as an investigative journalist. But lately everything seems to be ran over the wire. I really like copy editing but now theres spell check. Is the journalism field slowly dieing out? Is there any hope for me to still be able to pursue my dreams and become a journalist?

Answer 1

Spell check has not eliminated the need for good copy editors; it can't distinguish between there and their. But copy editing has little relationship to investigative reporting.

If you're serious, go to a good journalism school and get a degree. Northwestern, Columbia University and the University of Missouri are especially well regarded. If you end up at another university and can't study journalism, study English or communications.

Always reread your own copy and correct it before posting or submitting it. In your question above, for example, "seems to be ran" should be "seems to be run"; "theres spell check" should have an apostrophe; and the traditional spelling is "dying," not "dieing." You won't pass an editing test with errors like these.

Answer 2

Journalism is not dying. Newspapers are declining but there will be a new medium to replace it. So go to a good journalism school and hone your writing and reporting at a small newspaper to start.