Do you have a kid interested in journalism?

[Anonymous]

I just heard Ray Suarez interviewed on WAMU, and his story would make me nervous about entering the field at this point. He was SO well regarded and experienced, yet has had trouble finding a full time job. Of course he had ageism working against him also, but still...

I have not heard this podcast, but suspect it will go over his story similarly:

https://economichardship.org/2021/10/a-veteran-journalist-finds-himself-the-center-of-the-story/

[Anonymous]

I would try to identify alternative careers to a traditional journalism path. Plenty of people do not end up working in their major's field, so there is no need to panic about it. Suggest to your child to have additional skills that would help in case plan B becomes necessary.

[Anonymous]

I wonder how much of this is actually about him re-entering the workforce as someone older. Not necessarily about journalism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just heard Ray Suarez interviewed on WAMU, and his story would make me nervous about entering the field at this point. He was SO well regarded and experienced, yet has had trouble finding a full time job. Of course he had ageism working against him also, but still...

I have not heard this podcast, but suspect it will go over his story similarly:

https://economichardship.org/2021/10/a-veteran-journalist-finds-himself-the-center-of-the-story/

I totally agree- but our society is totally dependent on healthy journalistism. It is very worrisome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how much of this is actually about him re-entering the workforce as someone older. Not necessarily about journalism?

He said it is more and more rare that people have full time jobs.

They are more self-employed as freelancers.

(Which I assume comes with no benefits and no security)

[Anonymous]

My DC is a young journalist. It really depends a lot on what your child sees as that path as journalism has changed so much. Reporting vs opinion? That’s the first hurdle. Then print vs TV/radio. There are the traditional big newspapers, local TV /radio news, and networks, so much is shifting these days that the lines between news/opinion are blurred. Most local papers are gone. And bloggers, Twitter and all sorts of competition are in the mix and part of the job. Then there is long form (The Atlantic, etc) vs daily news. Pay is awful to start. But if you have a following and wrote books or columns on sub stack you can do well. Unless DC is going into technical aspects of production I would skip journalism school, study a traditional liberal arts major of interest, and work for the college newspaper as an EC.

[Anonymous]

I was a journalism major (double major actually) but am no longer a practicing journalist.

If I were to make a recommendation, it would be to major in an area of interest - what the budding journalist would want to cover - economics, finance, political science, history etc, but work on the school newspaper/blog whatever.

There are fewer journalism jobs because hedge funds and billionaires have purchased many networks and newspaper syndicates and put them out of business.

As a result, many are creating their own forums, or are banding with others on Substack and other platforms to basically scrounge for income while covering a beat.

Something has to give, because it isn't good for a healthy democracy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a journalism major (double major actually) but am no longer a practicing journalist.

If I were to make a recommendation, it would be to major in an area of interest - what the budding journalist would want to cover - economics, finance, political science, history etc, but work on the school newspaper/blog whatever.

There are fewer journalism jobs because hedge funds and billionaires have purchased many networks and newspaper syndicates and put them out of business.

As a result, many are creating their own forums, or are banding with others on Substack and other platforms to basically scrounge for income while covering a beat.

Something has to give, because it isn't good for a healthy democracy.

I also was a journalism major and also am no longer a practicing journalist (though in my case, leaving was by choice, to stay home with kids; I freelanced for a former employer as a writer/editor for years and now blog for a tourism site).

I agree with the PP above. Area(s) of interest plus work on the school paper and/or as many journalism classes as possible. I'd probably lean even more toward a double major in journalism and a subject of interest. My major was journalism, my minor was poli sci, and I got a master's (in one year, special program) in a poli sci subject, which all were a huge help to me getting newspaper jobs covering government -- but that was a while back. Definitely I agree with PP that newspaper jobs, and also TV jobs, are now increasingly in the hands of corporate owners who do not have much interest in actual news or whose interest is based on advancing their personal political agendas. It's a tragedy for democracy and for facts, for sure.

We do greatly need young people to go into journalism. Not blogging or opinion pieces but actual hardcore reporting of facts. But the route to doing that is not necessarily journalism school followed by a path through newspaper reporting/local TV reporting. I hope OP's kid does go into the field but with the backup of another subject and with a clear understanding that he or she might have to cobble together a career moving from media outlet to media outlet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a journalism major (double major actually) but am no longer a practicing journalist.

If I were to make a recommendation, it would be to major in an area of interest - what the budding journalist would want to cover - economics, finance, political science, history etc, but work on the school newspaper/blog whatever.

There are fewer journalism jobs because hedge funds and billionaires have purchased many networks and newspaper syndicates and put them out of business.

As a result, many are creating their own forums, or are banding with others on Substack and other platforms to basically scrounge for income while covering a beat.

Something has to give, because it isn't good for a healthy democracy.

I also was a journalism major and also am no longer a practicing journalist (though in my case, leaving was by choice, to stay home with kids; I freelanced for a former employer as a writer/editor for years and now blog for a tourism site).

I agree with the PP above. Area(s) of interest plus work on the school paper and/or as many journalism classes as possible. I'd probably lean even more toward a double major in journalism and a subject of interest. My major was journalism, my minor was poli sci, and I got a master's (in one year, special program) in a poli sci subject, which all were a huge help to me getting newspaper jobs covering government -- but that was a while back. Definitely I agree with PP that newspaper jobs, and also TV jobs, are now increasingly in the hands of corporate owners who do not have much interest in actual news or whose interest is based on advancing their personal political agendas. It's a tragedy for democracy and for facts, for sure.

We do greatly need young people to go into journalism. Not blogging or opinion pieces but actual hardcore reporting of facts. But the route to doing that is not necessarily journalism school followed by a path through newspaper reporting/local TV reporting. I hope OP's kid does go into the field but with the backup of another subject and with a clear understanding that he or she might have to cobble together a career moving from media outlet to media outlet.

Journalism major here and still a working journalist. These posters above are correct. Major in something else, minor in journalism, or double major. It's not a dying industry as much as one that's being actively killed by hedge funds. We need good journalists and good journalism, but it's increasingly becoming impossible to make a living in it. With lots of a hustle, you can do a Substack or other gigs for more income, but for a young person without much standing/clout already, that's really tough. It's a soul-crushing, exhausting career honestly.

[Anonymous]

I know a guy who is a correspondent for the NYTimes he supplements his income quite well writing non-fiction, journalistic style books.

[Anonymous]

Ray gambled when he left PBS for Al Jazeera America. I’m sure he never thought it would fold. I’ve followed his struggle to get back into a steady full time job and I think some people don’t love seeing Al Jazeera on his resume and others are just discriminating against his age (probably mostly because of the salary point). News organizations can almost always find someone just as good as you for way less money.

[Anonymous]

My daughter graduated from a journalism school and I found it interesting that the vast, vast majority of students who got journalism degrees didn't go into "journalism" in the traditional sense (e.g. writing for a newspaper). They're working as "digital strategy associates", "communications associate", "social media specialist"...stuff like that. My DD worked as in digital for a Senate campaign and now is a communications assistant for said Senator. It's not being a journalist, but they're still definitely using the skills they learned. Might be a route worth considering if kid likes writing but (rightly) doesn't want to go the traditional journalist route.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the others. While the profession is not in good shape, there many similar roles that require similar skills. Science writing, technical writing, legal writing, medical writing are all pretty lucrative. Some require advanced degrees, but not always. Definitely encourage your child to get as much experience as possible at the campus newspaper and any other outlets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a guy who is a correspondent for the NYTimes he supplements his income quite well writing non-fiction, journalistic style books.

Either of those gigs is fantastic. Good for him, and I mean that sincerely. But he's a unicorn, frankly, and his example isn't one that the OP's kid necessarily can apply to his or her own choices in the increasingly fragmented, nontraditional paths currently open to younger journalists. I hate to have to say that but it's reality.
--One of the former journalists from posts above

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a guy who is a correspondent for the NYTimes he supplements his income quite well writing non-fiction, journalistic style books.

Only someone with no direct experience working in journalism of any kind would chime in with this story