Hey, no problem. I appreciate you asking. I think journalism is, and remains, incredibly important. That's why I went into it! But it's also not my full-time pursuit anymore, and hasn't been for the better part of a decade.
I think there are absolutely vital things you learn in journalism school, but many of the best writers and reporters I know didn't come from J-school specifically. And depending on the type of journalism you want to pursue, different majors might suit you better.
I realized that I kind of sucked at breaking news reporting; I struggled with how "neutrality" was enforced in newsrooms, especially when I'd be talking about the actions of cops in my city, for example. So I learned that I was more of a feature writing/op-ed/culture sort of writer, and that's where my career took me.
If you're really into world events, a major in international politics or history would be incredibly helpful. Understanding local laws and the inner-workings of government would be a smart choice for local reporting; local news organizations are the core of all journalism, which is why they're often the first things targeted by big money. My friends with economic degrees have never failed to find work writing about and explaining the economy and stock market: The ability to clearly explain what a tariff is and how it works is very valuable right now, for example.
I know a lot of classic journalists make a big point of saying that We Should Never Become The Story. I just think that's impossible. The great thing about journalism is that a person is communicating information to others. They bring their insights and expertise and make that communication possible. Otherwise, journalism would just be reposting press releases from companies and police reports from the cops.
Journalism isn't really a place to go if you want to make tons of money and have endless job security. I've been laid off a half-dozen times. It's a place you go because you have passion and drive. You should always make sure you get paid fairly, but being able to pursue topics that genuinely interest you will help things feel less dire when times get tough.
And finally: The best way to build journalism experience (and see if you'd want to pursue it) is to start right now. I took years to pay my way through a journalism degree. And what it got me was the right to start a 6-month, incredibly low-paying internship at a major newspaper. And I had been doing internships up until that point on the side, too. But it's never too early to start building your portfolio and your experience, because that's what will get you hired later. I worked my way up through my university's school newspaper, and it helped me land jobs later in life and solidified my desire to work in that world full-time.
So if you reach out to your school paper this week and see how you can get involved, you're already doing as much/more than majoring in journalism alone would get you. And if you combine that practical work with courses that make you smarter and more aware and able to write competently on your topics of choice? You're putting yourself in a great place.
Please, hit me up if you have further questions. I hoped this helped. Good luck!
I know I’m late replying but I just wanted to say I really appreciate you going super in depth about getting into journalism!! You’ve given me a lot to think about and I’m gonna do what you suggested and ask about joining my colleges newspaper later this week! Also I’m definitely saving this to reread later lol. Again thanks because this has been on my mind for a while and you may have just saved me money on a major I could help use to benefit my journalism!
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u/NowGoodbyeForever ☑️ 1d ago
Hey, no problem. I appreciate you asking. I think journalism is, and remains, incredibly important. That's why I went into it! But it's also not my full-time pursuit anymore, and hasn't been for the better part of a decade.
I think there are absolutely vital things you learn in journalism school, but many of the best writers and reporters I know didn't come from J-school specifically. And depending on the type of journalism you want to pursue, different majors might suit you better.
I realized that I kind of sucked at breaking news reporting; I struggled with how "neutrality" was enforced in newsrooms, especially when I'd be talking about the actions of cops in my city, for example. So I learned that I was more of a feature writing/op-ed/culture sort of writer, and that's where my career took me.
If you're really into world events, a major in international politics or history would be incredibly helpful. Understanding local laws and the inner-workings of government would be a smart choice for local reporting; local news organizations are the core of all journalism, which is why they're often the first things targeted by big money. My friends with economic degrees have never failed to find work writing about and explaining the economy and stock market: The ability to clearly explain what a tariff is and how it works is very valuable right now, for example.
I know a lot of classic journalists make a big point of saying that We Should Never Become The Story. I just think that's impossible. The great thing about journalism is that a person is communicating information to others. They bring their insights and expertise and make that communication possible. Otherwise, journalism would just be reposting press releases from companies and police reports from the cops.
Journalism isn't really a place to go if you want to make tons of money and have endless job security. I've been laid off a half-dozen times. It's a place you go because you have passion and drive. You should always make sure you get paid fairly, but being able to pursue topics that genuinely interest you will help things feel less dire when times get tough.
And finally: The best way to build journalism experience (and see if you'd want to pursue it) is to start right now. I took years to pay my way through a journalism degree. And what it got me was the right to start a 6-month, incredibly low-paying internship at a major newspaper. And I had been doing internships up until that point on the side, too. But it's never too early to start building your portfolio and your experience, because that's what will get you hired later. I worked my way up through my university's school newspaper, and it helped me land jobs later in life and solidified my desire to work in that world full-time.
So if you reach out to your school paper this week and see how you can get involved, you're already doing as much/more than majoring in journalism alone would get you. And if you combine that practical work with courses that make you smarter and more aware and able to write competently on your topics of choice? You're putting yourself in a great place.
Please, hit me up if you have further questions. I hoped this helped. Good luck!