What are the chances that I will land a job in the newspaper business before or shortly after college?

Question

Yeah, it's a little late to be asking this, but I'm currently a Junior Journalism major. I am writing part-time for the city paper (pop. 10,000) doing stringer stories for the small high-school sporting events in the area. I also write for the school paper doing business.

If I keep going in this direction, what are the chances of me landing a fairly decent full-time reporting job at a newspaper in say...a 200 mile radius, (markets would be Des Moines, Kansas City, Omaha, Lincoln, etc.) as long as I do reasonably well with the reporting?

I really don't have a lot of expierience reporting yet either, but I'm working on it.

Answer 1

The more experience you have the better the results of course.

You might check out mediabistro.com there jobs sections lists hundreds of jobs at publishing companies, newspapers, media outlets, etc. you might find something there worth checking into.

You could also get some experience writing by becoming a freelance writer.

There are a lot of great sites that offer freelance jobs for you to pursue.

Do a search on craigslist in your area for writers and freelance writers. Also check out the following websites:

http://www.freelanceswitch.com/............

http://www.freelanceswitch.com/............

http://www.sunoasis.com/

http://www.Write4Work.com

www.Monster.com search for freelance writer

Also sign up at http://www.ifreelance.com/ and elance.com as a freelance writer and start getting jobs.

Some of these writing jobs might lead you into political writing.

Another popular thing righ now is blogging and, yes, you can get paid for it. check out blogging positions at:

http://jobs.problogger.net/

http://freelancewriterjoblist.blogspot.com

If you have some experience under your belt, it may be easier to find a good solid job.

Anyways, good luck with your job hunt.

Answer 2

I'd say they're pretty good. You're doing 10 times more than most of the journalism students I went to college with did. I did a lot of work to find a job and got one before I even graduated, but know a lot of people who didn't do anything and can't figure out why they're unemployed. So you're on the right track.

As for job prospects, you never can tell. I do, however, see a lot of small Midwest jobs online all the time. Talk to your local paper about going full-time there when you graduate. A lot of times they're more than happy to hire long-time interns or freelancers.

Also, keep checking sites like journalismjobs.com and sportsjournalists.com for job leads, and start contacting these places as your graduation nears.

You might also try scouring individual newspaper sites for internship possibilities. Most large papers take on a decent amount of interns each year and many actually pay them well. If they don't keep you around at the end, you'll at least have an awesome experience to put on your resume'.

With the work you've already done, I'm sure you won't have too tough a time finding an entry-level job not too far from where you're at. Just stick with it and don't let the competition get to you.

Answer 3

Your chances are excellent if you avoid the meaningless jobs for large corporate controlled media outlets.

I'd join a small company that has an interest in publishing in-depth stories at the local level. In Seattle, we have two weekly newspapers: "The Weekly" and "The Stranger".

Do something meaningful and rewarding. You always have the opportunity to do free-lance writing as well.

Answer 4

No. There is no relation. What matters more is how much you made of your education and how enthusiastic you are. A Harvard degree will make it more likely you get an interview but anything below that and it does not matter anywhere as much as you may think. Between those two schools, no one will care. You need like a 4 to 1 spread before it starts to matter.

Answer 5

In your line of interest, the only qualification I know that would ensure you to get the job you want is .. DETERMINATION.

If you have that, then you have what it takes to become a good reporter!

Good luck!