"The courage in journalism is sticking up for the unpopular, not the popular." -Geraldo Rivera
The journalism field is matched with a lot of brick walls and great criticism. Being a journalist means needing to have tough skin yet still be empathetic, aggressive but understanding, creative yet guided. There are so many people against these revolutionaries caused by misconceived conceptions and well, pure ignorance. If you find yourself questioning why you decided to enter the field, find your way back. If you are considering changing your educational path from journalism not from lack of interest but from criticism, ignore those devils. Follow your passions, follow your heart. You have the chance to change the world.
1. Without you, everyday people wouldn't have anyone to follow except for the gossip they hear about what is happening with the world on the streets and unreliable social media accounts.
With the absence of news comes a great loss of communication; it turns into a he-said she-said situation where messages begin to get skewed and false narratives circulate. Without having a face to the tested and supported evidence distributed by the news, the world would be chaotic and lost.
2. You have the opportunity to change the world, and I mean that.
When you become the face of news, you become the face of the people. You tell the stories of the small people who lack a voice. These populations rely on you to share your knowledge about current events for them to stay present. Use this opportunity for good and make it powerful.
3. You can give journalism a new name for itself, that of hope and complete trust.
Unfortunately, in today's age it has such a heavy negative implication, but that is set by the older generations, not us, the students. We are the future. We can push our world into one that we see can prosper; we can learn from older generations and build from what good they established, but we have the opportunity to make it our own.
4. This world of fake news is not our own.
Sites distributing "fake news" are thriving and building on the ignorance of their followers. When people do not check their sources, they fall for deceit. We can learn from these faults and how to build trust with people who feel lied to; we encourage those stuck in the trap to find safety in the publications set to share truth. As time continues, we can work towards shutting down those sites through lack of viewers and importance. When you stop fueling the fire, it will die.
5. There are enough businessmen.
I don't know about you, but I am tired of hearing "are you sure that's what you want to do? You don't want to go into business?" If I wanted to be in another major, I would have changed it a long time ago, thank you. People are so afraid that the journalism field is "too competitive" but so is every other occupation out there. There's this skewed thinking that in order to be successful, you must work for the New York Times, Huffington Post, or the New Yorker. And although those are great publications, and I would die to work for any of them, they don't define accomplishment. There are so many publications in your city that you probably don't even know of only because they are so overlooked. And behind each of these businesses there are hundreds of people working to make it successful; there are multiple editors, many reporters, several writers, and so many other positions. What this field needs is all the people it can get or it really could die.
6. Happiness can drive the field into absolute success.
Although it's a shame that people encourage students away from studying journalism, it's these students that choose to stay that define the future. They are marked by passion and pride for their work; they are empowered by the criticism to change the minds of those who see their work as invaluable. They feel the need to prove them wrong, as they should, and work that much harder to prove its worth.
7. So what if newspapers die?
It will be a shame the day newspapers die out, but that doesn't mean journalism will die with it. We are an electronic world that finds its news on the TV, websites of news publications, and social media. Newspapers have not been a prominent source of information since the early 2000's because cellphones and computers became easily accessible. A main motive for this change is because you can find news for free online; to have newspapers, you either need to pay to have them delivered to your house or you need to go to the store and pay for an issue. It is also just much more convenient to keep all your news sources at the touch of your finger. Newspapers are just one mean of accessing information, it isn't an all or nothing situation.
8. Journalism programs tend to be smaller in size compared to Business or Health, meaning it is easier to make connections.
Because so many people are discouraged by the field, journalism programs have much lower numbers of students in comparison to other programs. With this being said, you will generally take classes with the same students and your schedules will align. You learn to work with your classmates and build strong connections that can ultimately help you network for jobs. It is a competitive field, but your competition isn't looking to throw you into the fire contrary to popular belief.
9. You will have to work your way up, but with that, you gain more knowledge than you can even imagine.
The second you graduate from college, you won't have the reporting position you dream of or that editorial position you planned for. You will have to start from the absolute bottom and work your way up. Although going on coffee runs as an intern or doing all the busy work no one wants to do when you are newly hired isn't exactly exciting, you will get to see what the people do that you work for and can someday possibly takeover. Follow their orders, create strong connections, and prove your patience when you climb that latter. Show that you are determined and willing to work as hard as you possibly can to get what you want; no one is going to want to hire you if you think you should have everything handed to you.
10. When you become successful, there will be no better feeling.
When you finally get to where you want to be, the feeling of accomplishment will never be forgotten. In this industry, you should always continue working up and hard to advance, but when you're where you at least wanted to be, you can be proud. You started from the bottom, you fought the judgment, and you beat the discouragement. I wish I could elaborate more on this, but I'm still at the lowest working up.
11. You will never be stuck in a cubicle counting numbers, you will be working for the world.
As a journalist, it will be required that you adventure out and find news. There can be a new cake shop opening up down the street or there can be a four car pile-up on 7th Ave, whatever it may be, you will have to go find news. This can be on a communal or national level, regardless, you need to deliver all types of information to the people so they can decide what they are interested in. You will need to be prepared at all times to head to a scene to collect any and all information for someone to build an article off of; you are the witness behind the stories.
12. You get to live a life of excitement and adventure, what more could you want?
You will be asked to go places, try new things, and experience what other people can only read about. You will live life on the edge traveling, building stories, and gaining more knowledge that you can hold forever. The fact is you probably won't make six figures, but most people don't anyways. But instead of sitting behind a desk all day, you can have fun and your job is to tell everyone about it. It's not always going to be enjoyable, you will have to show up to a crime scene with the victim's crying family members and places of lost souls. It will be heartbreaking, it will be challenging, but it will also be rewarding. You will be able to tell the stories of grief that these people are experiencing, you can leave their legacy all while making your own.
This field isn't all daisies and butterflies. It isn't all just airbrushed makeup or video-recording lights. It is long nights and red-eyes caused by the terror others are living. It will challenge you emotionally, physically, and mentally, but in the end, you will have lived a full life of helping others and experiencing what you couldn't even imagine. So if you ever feel discouraged, come back here and read. Find that elation you feel in the pit of your stomach when you read about all you can do. Let that smile cross your face at the thought of helping others. Do it for your happiness. Both you and journalism are worth it.
