A question for any journalists or journalism majors out there...?

Question

As a high school senior who wants to major in print journalism, is there anything I should be doing this year?

Answer 1

It really depends upon what field of journalism you wish to settle into. If you are interested in politics then study as much politics and economics as possible. Then there are other fields -- Sport journalism where it would be good for you to know about various sports and their rules, Police/Crime beat -- learn about law, Economics and the stock exchanges -- again economics and mathematics are important, Fashion industry -- learn about the various fashion houses and advertising agents etc, General Reporting -- you need to be a good all-rounder when doing this.

English, especially spelling and grammar are essential and when you join a newspaper, learn their "Style", which includes words which they prefer you avoid and which to always check upon because of meaning.

Also, try to write clearly and concisely with the majority of the material in the first two paragraphs so the editor can always edit from the bottom up without destroying the story.

Answer 2

If your school offers any journalism type classes like for the school news or school newspaper, that would be great experience for you because it gives you a platform to work with and when you go to college, you will at least know the basics of journalism.