Journalism?

Question

I think this is a suitable career for me, I love history and English, how might I pursue my goal? I'm currently a HS sophomore and plan on taking a journalism class next year.

Until then, how can I learn more about what this career is all about? Do people get burned out after a decade or so of it?

Sorry for all the questions, any info on this would be greatly appreciated. I know it doesn't make much money, but doing what you love and enjoy is more important than getting a whopper pay check for a job you hate.

Answer 1

Becoming a journalist is very difficult going forward with media consolidation and such. I'm not even going to get into it. With that being said, someone will be doing the job in the future so why not you?

There are websites for aspiring journalists and the like, but I'm a bigger proponent of asking people who do the job. Go on a local affiliates website and e-mail a journalist you admire and emulate what they did. Sounds silly but it works.

Otherwise, the internet is a beautiful resource for these things.

Answer 2

If you are interested in becoming a journalist for TV or for a web site, then there is a bright future. Magazine journalism is iffy due to static circulation projections in the future. Newspaper journalism is absolutely headed downhill fast due to rapidly declining circulation. Radio journalism hit the skids about 20 years ago. So unless you are cut out for TV or website journalism, find a different career path, such as public relations.

As far as your comments about money: You want to find out about hating a job, try working for peanuts. You will learn what hating a job is all about. It *is* about the money.

Answer 3

Journalism is training for a career in the media/news industry.
With interests in history and English, seems that historian or teacher would be more conducive to your current education.
Perhaps you might entertain ideas of what it is you want to do in life, lifestyles, location(s) of residence/or travel, family desires, a focus on how you want to live basically, then factor in your passions and where you see yourself in 10 years.
Happiness is a wonderful thing, but in today's world, money supports life and longevity, willful suffering, while noble, is a fools pursuit!

Answer 4

I am a fresh college graduate and in my first year as a full-time newspaper reporter covering primarily city and county government issues for a daily paper in a small town.

When I started college, I did not know what I wanted to major in. Like you, I enjoyed English. I also had an interest in psychology. After taking a general communications class, I
thought majoring in Journalism might be a good way to combine my love for writing with my interest in humanity.

In my second year of college I finally decided to major in Journalism (and minor in English in psychology) after taking a class in magazine writing. I began writing for the student newspaper and later was news editor and then editor-in-chief. While magazine writing, which typically has more room for creativity, was what initially caught my interest, my involvement with the student paper led me in the direction of covering hard news.

Also, I learned that magazine writing, for the most part, is freelance, which means you have to convince editors of magazines to buy stories from you. I liked the idea of regular paychecks, which a newspaper could offer, and it turns out, after 10 months, I can say I do like the career.

However, it is demanding and with little rewards. Like someone said above, the newspaper industry is in a precarious position. With the cost of printing the paper outweighing its sales, and many people now using the Internet as their primary source for information, it looks like the future of the newspaper may be online.

The problem is, people in the industry still haven't figured out how to make money online. Most readers aren't willing to pay for online subscriptions and some advertisers, which is how newspapers make most of their money, are reluctant to advertise online. As of late, this means many in the industry are losing their jobs and those that still have jobs aren't making much money.

At my small newspaper, there are three reporters, a photographer, two news editors, a features editor and a sports editor. When I first started, there was an additional reporter and photographer, but they left and their positions weren't filled. That means there's more work for the rest of us, and to top it off, the reporters make only $10 an hour.

While $10/hour is on the low side, even for someone right out of college, most of the other newspapers I applied were still only in the $12-$14 range. But like you said, doing something you enjoy is more important than making a ton of money, and that's why I took the job knowing that it paid little. It's hard not to get down on it sometimes though. It does require a college degree, and it's frustrating to have friends that went to college for four years just like you, but they studied engineering or computer science and are making at least twice what you are.

Anyhow, I do plan to stay in the journalism industry for some time, but I may try copy editing or page design next. I did a lot of that in my capacity at the student newspaper, and would like to give it a shot again. Reporting can be tiresome. I have heard quite a bit about burnout in the industry, and recently took part in a survey some university was conducting about journalism burnout, so it's definitely a factor.

For me, it's the demand to turn in at least one story a day that's tough. Sometimes, I worry at night before I fall asleep whether or not I'll be able to come up with something the next day. For others, like people who cover the police beat, the job can be emotionally draining because those stories often deal with fatal car accidents, fires and other traumatic events.

I had a professor in college who had been a reporter for at least 40 years and he seemed basically numb to the world. He started all of our classes with a current events quiz, and following a particularly tragic weekend in which two students died in an avalanche, he put a name on the quiz and asked members of the class to identify why that name was significant. It was the name of the kid who escaped the avalanche and had to run to find help for his two friends buried beneath the snow. The professor couldn't understand why that was hurtful to some of us in the class who might have known those that died.

But while some get burnt out, others have been in the profession for many years and still enjoy it. I've heard that at some newspapers, after you have been covering a beat for a few years, they'll switch you to a new one for a few years for a change of pace.

As a high school sophomore, I think it's great that you've got an interest in journalism. If there is a newspaper produced in your town, get in touch with the editor and see if it would be possible to shadow someone at the newspaper or sit in on a news meeting to see a little more what it's all about. Also, if there is a college in your town, you could get in touch with a professor in the journalism department and see if you could sit in on a class. And if there is a student newspaper at the college, it would be a good idea to get in touch with its editor and see if you could hang out with the staff while they are putting together the paper.

One of the things I enjoy most about working at a newspaper is the teamwork aspect, and you would get a good taste for that by shadowing at a student or professional newspaper.

If you decide to pursue journalism, you'll need to get a bachelor's degree from a four-year college. Since you have an idea already that you'd choose it as your major, you'll be able to pick a school that is known for having a good journalism program (University of Oregon, Columbia University, University of Missouri, NYU and others). Getting into a good J-school isn't that important though, so don't worry too much about it. I went to a smaller university with a focus on liberal arts (meaning they make you learn a little of everything) and I was able to get a job.

Good luck!