Journalism, the versatile degree
I have lost track of the number of times I have been told that a Journalism degree is worthless. For some reason, most of society believes that all Journalists do is write for a newspaper. What they fail to realize is that Journalists can do so much more.
In my Print News Writing class yesterday, we had a recent graduate come in to talk to us. He received his Communication degree over four years ago in Journalism, and did work for a newspaper, but quit after only a few days. He then moved on to the Charlotte NBC TV affiliate as an assistant and later a producer for their evening news section. As a producer, it was his job to write the script for the news segment.
This career had never even crossed my mind, and got me thinking about what else a student with a Communication or Journalism degree can do career wise. Very few of my fellow Journalism majors are even contemplating going into traditional print Journalism. Some of the jobs that have come across their minds though are working for nonprofit organizations, writing for magazines, or doing publicity for arts organizations. In reality, the options for a Journalism major are endless, we just have to get out there and find them!
And Journalism skills lend themselves to other careers as well. For example, the speaker that we had in class did not stay with a traditional Journalism job. After working at the tv station for a number of years, he felt drawn to working with legal issues, and entered law school. He now works for NASCAR drafting contracts and other documents. Though he said he misses writing from a Journalism standpoint, he said his current position is just as worthwhile, especially since he can use his writing skills from Journalism.
This should set an example to all of us up-and-coming journalists. We may get a lot of flack from choosing this major that is apparently going nowhere, but we can turn that all around if we take the initiative to go out there and find jobs in our field. With this economy, a full time Journalism job is not going to fall into our laps. We either need to be out there talking to literally everyone we know, or we may need to create our own. Either way, a Communication or Journalism degree does not need to be a death sentence to unemployment but a ticket to some really interesting jobs that we haven’t even thought would pertain to us yet.
Journalism is more than just writing, it is knowing people’s story
There is not just one thing that drew me to Journalism. If I had to pinpoint it though, I believe it was a combination of the thrill of writing, and telling people’s stories. I was one of those kids who was put to bed at night with books and stories. My dad, being the storyteller in the family, told the craziest stories I have ever heard. Even when I was four or five, we said that we would put those stories in a book at some point. This idea, that I could write my own stories, amazed me as a child and I kept that idea with me as I grew up.
There is nothing better than connecting with a source. As Journalists, we are expected to be professional when we talk to sources, but I cannot count the number of times that I have connected with the people that I have talked to. I cannot pretend that I have had my fair share of unpleasant sources, but for the most part I have been lucky with the people that I have interviewed.
In my opinion, Journalism gets a bad reputation with people because journalists do not take the time to actually listen to their sources. Some look for a certain piece of information when they interview people, and they throw everything else out. I have found that if you take the time to actually hear what a source has to say and do not misconstrue it, your sources will be more than willing to talk to you later.
What I enjoy writing is more on the soft journalism side, therefore, my stories mainly deal with people’s experiences or events. This allows me to be more relaxed with them and vice versa. There have been so many amazing people that I have had the chance to talk to because I am a journalist. The thing is though, there are so many amazing people out there who’s stories are never told. As journalists it is not only our job to report the news, but to go out and find them. This is precisely why we need to be as perceptive as possible, otherwise, we will miss a story that is right under our noses.
Will we ever leave Journalism?
With all the talk hitting us in the face these days about Journalism dying, it is extremely hard for some people to realize why we go ahead with getting our degrees in this field. They just cannot fathom the thrill we journalists have when we connect with a source, find the best news story, or tell someone else’s story.
We’ve already established on here that Journalism is not dying, but just changing. Despite this, a thought that remains in the back of my mind is “Will we ever leave Journalism?”
This issue was brought up on a fellow journalist’s and friend’s blog. She describes how she has had quite a few friends, who started out as journalists, leave for other parts of the industry. There is some definite truth in the fact that the traditional job of a journalist is changing by the day. The days when you did not have to know anything about technology are long over. Now, you have to not only be a good writer, but you have to know how to pitch your story to your audiences on social media and on the web which is not an easy task.
Just today, I had an interview for an internship, and the first thing they referred to was, “You say that your a Journalism major, but you have all this background in graphic design. How did that happen?” In the 30 minute interview I had, not one question was geared towards my writing portfolio, what types of stories I’ve done, or even what publications I worked for. What the person interviewing me wanted to know was where did my skills in Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator come from and what design work had I done.
This is not the first time it has happened. In fact, this has happened on every interview I have had. I have NEVER been asked about my Journalism skills, only my design work. This worries me since this is not all I want to do.
I understand the importance of having other skills besides writing. I enjoy graphic design, and I’d like to think I am good at it even though I know I am nowhere near as good as other people I know. For once though, I would like to be asked “Why did you choose Jouranlism?” That is a question I can elaborate on till the sun goes down. That is what I want to do in the future in addition to any graphic design work that comes along.
There is no denying that the world of Journalism is changing. The question of leaving it now is a definite no. I’m not even out of college yet, so I do not even want to think about changing careers already. There may come a time when it is just the right moment to do so though. And as much as it would pain me to leave, I would do so knowing that it was the right one.
I just hope that if that day should come, it is not in the near future because this journalist has a few more stories that I want to tell.
Marriage Equality, Our Generation’s Civil Rights?
If you have logged on to Facebook or Twitter today, you probably noticed the barrage of people sporting the marriage equality symbol as their profile picture. The reason for this sudden outpouring of support is due to the discussion of the Calif. Proposition 8 case, or now known as Hollingsworth vs Perry, today. N.C. had its own version of Proposition 8 to vote on last year called Amendment 1 which, unfortunately, passed. This issue has been a hot debate for quite some time now, and is one that is being heavily followed on multiple news outlets. It seems students, especially those in college, have taken a serious stance on this issue with some in the media calling this fight for marriage equality our version of the Civil Rights Movement.
First, I will say that I am not gay. I have many close friends who are, however, so this issue deeply resonates with me. I also come from an extremely rich Catholic upbringing, so sometimes this specific topic e is not easily settled in my house. This is not because either one of my parents have anything against gay people. Rather, one of my mom’s best friends in high school came out after they graduated. I think because of both my parents growing up in equally traditional Catholic households though and considering what time frame they grew up in (mid-1950s to 1970s), what they were taught back then is still very much a part of their belief system.
I’ve talked with both of them about this, and they support civil unions. When it comes to legally recognizing gay marriage, however, is when we drastically disagree. I remember coming home a week before Amendment 1 was being voted on and telling them I was voting against it-both were a bit taken aback. I know I cannot fault them for their beliefs, but I just do not see how anyone can oppose someone else’s right to be with the person they love legally.
Because the first discussions of this case took place today, there was a very constant stream of media coming in throughout the day. My favorite so far is the soundbite of judge Sonia Sotomayor making a comment in favor of gay marriage in less than a minute and leaving the lawyer defending Hollingsworth speechless. What was most interesting was how the media that appeared today managed to keep the majority of opinions over this issue out. For the most part, what was reported on was how people felt that the voting on the case was going to go rather than just about the issues.
I am really at a loss as to why we as a generation have been drawn to this case. Why is now the time to start to seriously fight for their rights when it is well know that there were gay people as far back as Roman times? I do not have the answers to this, but seeing how it will play out in the coming months, especially as a journalist, will surely be interesting. What will be even more interesting, however, will be when we all look back on this period of time 40 years from now and see what has changed both in our world and with our own beliefs.
In the place at the right time, a journalist’s moment in history
In Journalism, being at the right place at the right time is essential. If you’re not, you will most likely miss vital pieces of information. But if the place where you currently are becomes the place to be, then you have a birds eye view and not to mention the inside scoop of a story.
I had one of these moments last Wednesday when I was in New York City visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I had the chance to intern in New York City last summer, so St. Patrick’s became my parish and a place that I came to know extremely well. Whenever I am in the city, it is just one of the places that I have to visit, but last week’s walk through soon became a momentous one.
I had been in St. Patrick’s earlier that morning with a friend who had never been there, and somehow did not catch the news that the conclave was meeting that day. I had a meeting with someone just three blocks away, so I stayed in the area. When the white smoke appeared, I was in a nearby Chipotle on my phone and saw someone’s Facebook status about it. The first thought that came to my mind was “drop everything and run over to St. Patrick’s,” so I did.
When I arrived, I did not expect to see the crowd that was there, but there it was at the front of the church surrounding a 20 inch television. I somehow managed to push my way to the front of the group where there were literally five cameras zooming in on us. The New York Times, CNN, and NBC News were all there along with many others.I remember one reporter said, “These are the types of days that we live for” while he was interviewing people. As a fellow journalist, I could not agree more.
Being both a Catholic and a Journalist on this day and in this environment was both extremely memorable and educational. It is not very often that you can observe the professional media doing their jobs in such close proximity. From where I was in the crowd, I could see reporters swarming the crowd for people willing to talk. Multiple people in the crowd happily wept as Pope Francis spoke to Catholics around the world for the first time while the cameras zoomed in on them while others watched with excited expressions. One image that sticks out in my mind is a group of about six women around my my age from Argentina who are preparing themselves to take their vows to enter the convent listening to a live telecast on their phone.
The image of this group of faithful women crowded around an Iphone to hear the new Pope’s words, who were just standing across the crowd from me, was included in articles on CNN, The Boston Herald, and multiple other publications. Actually being there in person to witness it, however, was so much more memorable.
As someone who is from a very traditional Catholic upbringing, the election of Pope Francis is an exciting new chapter for us. Growing up during the papacy of Pope John Paul II, we were spoiled with a Pope that was not only a people person, but had a special place in his heart for the youth. I believe that Pope Francis is made of the same cloth, and will truly be a breath of fresh air in the church. Seeing a new Pope be elected is considered a special experience in itself, but being able to witness his election in such a place as St. Patrick’s will always be something I look back on and say, “I remember where I was.”
The Student Journalist's Perspective 