Many people over the years have come to our humble journalism forum in search of an answer to the following question:
I am looking to get into journalism, but where do I start?
To this end, we administrators have put together a short round up of suggestions for those trying to get a foot in the door...
1. Work experience.
I’m going to begin with work experience because, of all the options for aspiring journos, this is probably best suited to people in a variety of situations. A lot of queries come from university students eager to gain some experience before they graduate. It may seem like an obvious answer to some, but many overlook the university newspaper, which is often not hugely well read or distributed. It is, however, one of the easiest ways to first get a feel for writing for a newspaper, producing copy to deadlines, researching and interviewing etc. Unlike work experience with larger organisations, a uni paper will give you more opportunity to undertake a variety of tasks. The subject matter may be narrow, the quality and organisation may be poor, but future employers will look favourably on this experience, it shows enthusiasm and initiative.
Journalism experience during your university or school years is not confined to the in-house paper though. In most cases, local papers receive a large number of applications for work experience placements, but if you apply to them in the right way there is a good chance of getting something from them. You may have a large number of local papers within easy travelling distances. If so, hedge your bets and ask as many as possible.
There is a more extensive guide to work experience with a local paper posted by petebolton at:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/shorturl/GLVHX/ As well as newspapers, valuable experience can be gained with other related companies. Publishing houses, both large and small, can offer good editorial experience. There are also online-only news and resource sites, often small companies, and often comparatively under subscribed. It is worth doing some thorough research into local media companies to broaden your options. Make sure to find out about exactly what they do before you contact them, to make sure you are interested and to impress them if you are.
As valuable as work experience can be, there will always be employers who abuse the idea. There are guidelines to fair work experience practice available through the National Union of Journalists website:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/shorturl/BTOLI/2. Further education.
For those who have graduated the next step is often further education, usually a postgraduate journalism course but there are a wide variety of options. For many courses, completion of an initial undergraduate degree will be an entry requirement, but others will accept candidates straight from school, or those later in life looking for a change of career. Journalism experience will often work in your favour when applying. If entry requirements aren’t explicitly stated, don’t hesitate to contact the admissions office or course convenor and enquire about your suitability.
A handful of journalism courses are accredited by the National Council for the Teaching of Journalists (NCTJ). These are mostly postgraduate courses, but they do include fast track courses open to non-graduates as well. The accreditation is a plus when applying for future jobs, as it works as a sort of seal of approval for the standard of the course, but it is by no means necessary. There are also other reputable organisations, such as the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA), who accredit courses. Be sure to sound out a course before you settle for it, read through the syllabus, check if it is accredited, and if possible get some advice from those who have taken it already. Searches on message forums like our own may produce an old query about the particular course, if not you can post one up yourself.
A wide variety of journalism courses are advertised here on our own website.
Browse college, degree and postgrad courses at:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/36/31/ And short training courses at:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/diary.shtml3. ‘Direct Route’
Journalism courses are very popular, and they are without doubt the most common way to enter the profession now days, but it is worth mentioning that they are not the be all and end all. Many still enter journalism via a so-called ‘direct route’, gaining experience through work and learning the trade first hand. Getting staff jobs will always be that much more difficult without a qualification, but companies are often keen to promote within, and a starting role such as editorial assistant, which can be achieved with good literacy and organisational skills, can lead on to a journalistic position. Then there is freelance journalism of course. Editors will always be interested in good story ideas and good writing, so if you feel you can demonstrate both, working as a freelancer can be very beneficial. It can, I should say however, be a difficult and unreliable way to work and is not ideally suited to beginners.
4. Specialist journalism
Specialist writers, for example scientific or law journalists, often don’t have any kind of journalism qualification. Expertise is an important factor in these fields, and many successful specialist writers obtain a degree in a particular subject and then turn their hand to writing about it. If you know already that you want to focus on a particular area, look into whether there are courses available that combine it with journalism or communications, as these may help you hone your writing/broadcasting skills. There was an article in the MediaGuardian only last week lamenting the fact that op-ed contributions from experts are being replaced by poorly researched pieces by journalists. If you know your interests lie in a particular area already, try and use it to your advantage.
Ok, this is obviously not an exhaustive guide, but its probably already the longest post on the message board, and we don’t want a full blown essay on the subject now.
I hope the thread will provide a good jumping off point for further ideas and research though. Please feel free to add to what we’ve said, challenge it, or even outright rubbish it.
Over to you.
