Journalism. It is your life. You work 24/7. News fills up your twitter feed and you are constantly talking about your job. There is nothing else that you can relate to more than needing a cup of coffee at midnight in order to finish your workload. It is a tough profession and it is certainly not meant for everyone. So, if you are an aspiring journalist, or already a journalist, congratulations. You work in one of the craziest careers out there.
With that being said, journalists are in a field of their own. Here is a list with relatable journalism aspects, that only journalism majors can relate to.
You run on coffee...
To be fair, everyone needs to coffee, but journalists depend on it. You can't get through the day without a cup of coffee- or 3. Without coffee, you wouldn't get any of your reporting done.
All nighters are an every night occurrence...
There is no sleep in the game of journalism. Insomnia is real and so is the sleep deprivation. You are up working all hours of the night, and the lack of sleep doesn't help when you need to get up bright and early to cover the breaking news stories.
That great feeling you get after a great interview...
It was a long chat, but you now feel unstoppable. You feel like the next Anderson Cooper.
... And that terrible feeling you get after a terrible interview...
Yikes. That was awkward.
When your article deadlines appear out of nowhere...
Deadlines are always creeping up on you. Something will be due next week and then all of a sudden the article needs to be edited within the next hour.
Reading smoothly through an entire script and then stuttering on the last sentence...
You read through an entire five minute script with ease, only to say your name wrong on your closing.
Reading through your published article and finding an error...
Punctuation. Grammar. Misspellings. They happen.
The low financial income...
Journalists are broke. It is ok though, because most of us love what we do. It balances out.
Spending hours upon hours transcribing interviews...
Transcribing is the worst! You always push it off until last minute. That 10-minute interview turns into a 30-minute transcribing period. If you have an hour interview, your transcribing time turns into a three-hour session. Transcribing is a journalist's biggest pet peeve. Period.
Having people tell you that the news is fake and that you have a corrupt job...
When people ask your career is or what you are studying and you say journalism, they always have something to say. You commonly hear "the news is fake," or "all journalists do is lie." Sure, there are some bad journalists, but you are not one of them. All you can do is roll your eyes.
Having no idea what you are going to pitch for your next story...
Sitting there in the abyss while trying to come up with a story idea is awful when your mind is drawing a blank.
Having no time to eat...
GiphyYou don't have time to eat. You go from interview to interview. From shooting to shooting. There is no time for food. It is ok though, you have your coffee.
While your friends go out, you have to stay in and finish your articles...
There is never time for nights out on the town because you always have work to do. Especially those final edits.
When you report an entire segment and realize that the mic wasn't working...
You record your entire segment. You thought it sounded good and your camera presence was at its best. However, it turns out the mic wasn't working. *Sigh.*
Constantly trying to perfect your demo reel and resume...
Everything needs to be perfect. You need to stand out. You need to look great on camera. You always find yourself questioning; can I put this on my resume?
You have your normal voice and a reporting voice...
Your voice scares you. When you listen to yourself talking you are always like; who is this person? Your friends even point it out. It is fairly obvious.
That proud feeling you get when someone says your article was great...
All that time consuming work was not a waste after all. People are reading your work, and they are liking it. It is the best feeling when your article voices say that your article makes them feel good about themselves. Well done. Give yourself a pat on the back.
Dropping everything to do an interview...
Whenever you can, you try to get your interviews in. You will be mid-class and walk out to quickly phone interview someone. You will be out to eat and leave the restaurant to talk to someone. Anytime and any place, you will always drop everything in order to get your interviews in.
Meeting awesome people basically everyday...
You love reporting. You get to meet the coolest people. Listening to their stories is the best part. You become a source's voice and you feel like you are changing lives.
Being a journalist can drive you crazy, but you wouldn't change your job for anything...
You go crazy, to the point where you have no idea what is going on. It is ok though. You are passionate about your job and your really wouldn't change it for anything. You couldn't see yourself being anything but a journalist.
