So You Want to Go to Journalism School... Seriously?

Journalism school is that hard-to-find mixture of desperation, ambition, and walking around with a big camera. It is not for the faint of heart, but neither is the profession, so if you make it through journalism school with a decent portfolio, you can probably make it as a reporter.

Journalism is a liberal arts degree, which basically means that you don't have to take math if you don't want to. There is plenty of room for electives, and most schools will encourage you to take many liberal arts electives in order to increase your grasp on, some stuff. Most people also choose a minor, or, what I really wanted to major in but figured I shouldn't.

Journalism students are bright, usually liberal, and will stab you in the back with a sharpened spoon if it will give them the chance at even a news brief with no byline. You will have to, at some point, work at the school newspaper in order to get clips. You must have these clips to get a job, or just to show people that one time you went to college and had a job. When applying for any reporter positions, you WILL have to have clips- that is not just something professors make up to get cheap labor. You will usually have to take three to five clips to any interview. I always took about 75, just to be sure. If you can not fit this many clips or one-sheets into a portfolio, put them into a large box. And, when you are ready to present them to an editor, be sure to really heave the box at him. No editor likes a weak throw- you have to show them that you mean business and will be a tough reporter.

Journalism can be a tough curriculum- you will likely be asked to read several different newspapers. We were required to read the New York Times daily, Newsweek every week, two Birmingham papers, and our local paper. Sometimes, if you get behind or just really want to do something else, it is helpful to watch Conan O'Brien instead. Conan's skilled news department will unearth most of the important topics of the day for him to discuss on air. You also will have lots of good news jokes that might win you better stories from your editor.

The section editor, main editor and sometimes the managing editor, are often elected by the student body of a college. If you have not been on Girls/Guys Gone Wild yet, you might think about doing this as a way to up your popularity on campus. Otherwise, settle in for a lot of assistant editor jobs. Those positions are enough to get you that big box of clips, though, so it's ok if the GGW bus is not stopping at your campus that year.

If you take a journalism management course, they usually will go into the job market and the general salary that you can expect. They lie. Real jobs in the field are extremely difficult to find, and many people find that they can not get a job in their field, and then that no one else will hire them because as a college graduate, they are "overqualified." And when you do find a job as a reporter, be prepared for teachers to kick sand at you as they run past to cash their giant paychecks.

Even if you can not find a job as a reporter, there are a few other jobs that you might consider. If you have ever thought that public relations people are the devil's minions- they aren't. Marketing guys are. PR is a respectable field and one that has a much higher potential for your being able to afford food. After my last reporting job, I started doing freelance PR, which is PR that you don't have to be accountable for.

If you do survive the backstabbing, the long hours and flashing that journalism school requires of you, you are then ready for a job. Congratulations! I was excited to exit school and begin my career- at Shoney's. That was just my first job out of college, but was one of the more rewarding. Small town papers are the best bets to try for a job in the beginning, as they will actually hire someone with only university newspaper experience. The pay is bad, the hours are long, but the small town folk live in mortal fear that you will write something bad about them. You can aid this by smirking at them and writing in your notebook at regular intervals.

The newspaper field is changing fast, and you will have to keep adapting to keep up with it. If you want to keep your job, you must agree to that salary freeze and all of the benefit reductions. Adapting for you may mean taking on a second job, or it may mean sleeping in your car, but whatever it means for you, stick with it, and you may someday end up with an even bigger box of clips.