The Fate of Journalism: 2010 and Beyond

I'm currently a college student pursuing an Associate's Degree in Telecommunications and eventually a BA in Journalism. I've always known that Journalism and writing, in general, was something I've always enjoyed.

I have a pretty good history of experience with Journalism. I wrote for my high school paper from freshman to senior year. I won a national contest in 2005 and had a Reporter from one of the two major publications in my city write a full page article. I actually had a chance to go on live TV on one of my local newsstations.

I get paid, albeit on a bi-monthly basis, for writing for my college's newspaper. It's nothing to scoff at, for sure (especially for someone like myself, who is having trouble just finding a part-time job): $15 for short articles, $30 for long articles and $20 for pictures. My editor is really helpful and she's been there for me every step of the way.

Maybe I'm sharing too many details, but I wanted to post this for two reasons.

With how bad the economy is, I'm so very terrified that I might be following my dreams with no payoff. I have one friend who graduated with a Master's in Journalism and has not had any luck finding a job; on the other hand, I have another friend who is going to school for Engineering, really has no experience in Journalism, yet somehow managed to snag a position as a reporter for his town's newspaper.

Is there anyone out there who is starting out fresh like me? What has been your experience?

More importantly, I'd like to hear from those who have years worth of experience. Are you still in the field? What should I know about what's to come, should I stick it out (which I will, considering how stubborn I am)?

Hi,
I'm also an engineering student (4th year) who is contemplating a career backflip to become a journo, which in hindsight I should've done from the get go. The people I've talked to in the industry here in Australia have all suggested that it doesn't matter what you study, (since you will mostly learn on the job) as long as:

1) you have proof that you can work hard and hit deadlines (which is why I'm completing civil engineering instead of picking up a BA journalism); and

2) You have a handful of special 'pet' subjects that you know enough about to be considered an 'expert' on, can rip out super fast speedy articles about, and are passionate enough about to blog about for free when you're unemployed - hence constantly building a folio and developing your 'voice'.

With these two bits of advice in mind I decided to stick out the engineering degree even though I have no intention of ever using it. However... through this degree I have gained a very good understanding of maths and statistics, which seems a rare skill in journalists these days. I have explored this further and found that I have a fascination with Austro-libertarian economics and economic forecasting, which is a field generating stories of growing interest considering the current global economic climate. There also seems to be a void of young people reporting from this perspective, and I hope that a young, fresh, realistically optimistic (and very very widely read), voice might attract readers.

I think the woman who gave me the advice was very cunning when shesuggested these two tips. Unexpectedly, I've found a lifetime of material to write about and am passionate enough to keep learning and writing about it even if it doesn't lead to glamour or the big bucks. Personally, I don't think you can be successful as a journalist unless you have a passionate intention backing at least some of the information you're sharing.

That being said, that's only my naive opinion!

Unless you really have the skills to get to a top level magazine as a writer, or the balls to be a war correspondent, I'd avoid becoming a print or online journalist.

I've been in journalism for 8 years. It's a profession that's continuously being devalued.

If you're an engineer on a project, there's a direct connection to your value. It's nice and simple.

In journalism, there is no direct connection between what you do and what you're worth to the company. You're completely dissociated from the money stream. As such, the company, especially in this economy, will pay you as little as it can.

They say "you'll never get rich being a journalist". What they should say is you'll go broke. I have a Bachelor's degree in journalism from one of the biggest universities in the country. Innate ability and interest in learning on the job are all that factor into how well I do. You do not need a degree to do this.

Your company knows this. I'm an editor with a local newspaper company (it owns a few local weekly papers). This is my second editor job since leaving college. The so-called national average for a "level 1" editor (the bottom rung) is $55,000. I've been at this company for 3 years, and make 2% more than the $28,000 I started at. The entire company handed out one round of 2% raises in 3 years. And this is a step UP for me. I made barely more than half this at the last company btw.

They also like giving out furloughs (forced unpaid days off) here to cut back your salary in a creative way. A 2% raise coupled with an 8 day furlough is a net paycut. Meanwhile my workload has doubled.

It's like this everywhere.

I used to be an engineering student. Interesting that there are so many of us. Had I known what I know now, there's no way I'd be doing this for a career. In hindsight, journalism is for people who are successful in something else and want a rewarding side job.

I'm in television, and can relate to your challenges. Here's the bottom line, the way to get jobs in competitive industries is to get in there before there's a job opening. Let people get to know you, see how motivated you are, and things start happening.

The first thing I'd try is to get a paid internship through your school. Next option, if you can afford it, an unpaid internship. (More people get hard-to-get jobs through internships than any other method.) If that's not an option, then introduce yourself to the alumni representative. Be very clear about the type of job you want. Ask the alumni representative which alums you might talk to about pursuing a career in journalism (this would be a 15-minute informational interview).

Alums tend to be generous with time and advice. Be sure to ask if they can recommend others you can get information from; and be sure to send a thank you note and stay in touch.

Keep talking to people, keep being specific, and you'll be surprised at the offers that will come your way. It worked for me. Good luck.

Thanks guys that is great advice, particularly about journalism being a rewarding side job when you've proven to be successful at something else. From what I've seen this seems to be very true - in the world of the internet and millions of voices, people only want to hear the opinions of those who have a track record that shows that their opinion is valuable. I find this very daunting, but motivating.

Suds I like your advice about going for the job you want before it exists. Through my career research I met a guy who pretty much invented his own job and then applied to companies which he thought would benefit from it. He now is an educational speaker on monetary history for seminars sponsored by a bullion investment company and is building a reputation for himself that will lead to his opinion being respected. I have developed quite a passion for economics and economic history myself and I am starting to view this as my 'special subject' that will require development.
I am already noticing that through talking to people I am learning alot more then I would in a classroom, and that by showing people that I am motivated and genuinely interested in improving the world through education through journalism, (young and naive I'm sure!), that they are very generous with their time. One person I've met has even lined up a brief meeting for me with the president of the european union next may. They did this as a thankyou for me volunteering to help run mining stock analysis seminars with them.

Do you think it is worth finishing my final year of civil engineering? Would it make me 'stand out' at all? It seems to have helped get me in the door with the mining crowd, so it has value there, but I am thinking I would probably get more value out of learning mandarin chinese or something. It is only one year, but it is very time consuming...
Do you guys have any other ideas on where I should go from here? Maybe start up a blog or something?

Thanks again for the advice!

Whether or not to complete your final year of civil engineering is completely your call. Do you get joy from it? Can you imagine yourself jumping out of bed, enthusiastic to head off to your civil engineering job? If so, stick it out.

If not, ask more questions of the folks who are doing what you want to do. Learning Mandarin Chinese actually sounds like a good idea for someone who wants to report on the world stage. That one skill (along with your experience and talent) can put you on a faster track than others.

I'm all for learning on the job, though. My first job in TV paid me next to nothing. And those first six months were tough; but I learned so much. Within the first year - simply because I'd planted myself on the road to where I wanted to be - I had doubled the income I had as a legal word processor.

All this to say, follow your bliss. Think of the work you'll do as getting paid for what you'd happily do for free, and that will keep you on the right track.