There's a longstanding myth that in order to break into the journalism industry, you must first be willing to take on free or low-paid work to prove your mettle. This is true of many competitive industries, but it's a well-documented and well-trodden path in the news sector.

In 2025, the Sutton Trust found that 1 in 5 internships offered no financial compensation, with its 2018 research identifying journalism as one of the industries most likely to offer unpaid internships. The NCTJ’s 2024 Journalists at Work report backed this research, finding that 73 per cent of journalism internships (that led to work opportunities) were unpaid and don't cover basic expenses.

This tradition perpetuates a class problem. As journalists from low-income background can't afford to take on unpaid work, the top opportunities (typically concentrated into the capital) usually go to those who come from wealth: 71 per cent of UK journalists identify themselves as from a 'privileged background' (they had parents in a top-three occupational category).

Former NUJ general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, echoed similar concerns about newsroom diversity in the UK, and the role of unpaid work as a deterrent and barrier for aspiring journalists from underprivileged backgrounds. It leaves many relying on family financial support to fund courses or a period of unpaid work.

The other option is self-financing. One trainee journalist, who previously completed unpaid work experience on The Times' culture desk, told us:

The unpaid work that is often required in the industry is, first, a reflection of the type of people that have typically been able to be journalists, and second, a reflection of a struggling industry.
If everybody who has typically become a journalist comes from a well-heeled, middle-class background where private education and skiing trips are the norm, then why would newspapers and magazines need to pay for them to complete unpaid work, when their parents are capable of supporting them?

This trainee could only afford to complete their work experience at The Times by saving money from a side job to cover the costs of travel into London and a hostel room shared by more than a dozen people.

Another budding journalist revealed that a recent, unpaid editorial internship specifically targeted individuals from working-class backgrounds.

They used holiday pay from another job to absorb the financial impact of unpaid work. But they had to persuade their employer to let them use holiday for this purpose.

A more subtle, but no less significant, factor is the mental load that unpaid work places on journalists from low-income backgrounds.

Interventions have since emerged. The Observer Journalism School and The Guardian’s Positive Action Scheme aim to make opportunities more viable for journalists from low-income backgrounds. The former provides meals and accommodation, the latter is grant-funded. But as you can imagine, places are limited and highly competitive, with applications typically opening once a year.

So, what else can aspiring journalists from low-income backgrounds do to gain experience when working for free isn't an option?