If I had a dollar for every time I was told that my major was not going to make me any money in the future, or that Journalism is dead I could pay my college tuition. My only question to those people is, Is it your future, and is it your paycheck?
It isn’t. So….shh.
I am here to tell you Journalism is not dying, but it is changing. Change is a good thing though, and this field has the capability to become something even better than what it was yesterday and what it is today.
Journalism is so much more than an old man poking away at a typewriter, in a musty office, on the twelfth floor of a skyscraper. Journalism can be done by anybody with a photo, video, article, and so much more. Social media has even opened up a whole new door to what defines journalism. A lot of you even fall under a category that you may have never heard of, citizen journalism.
citizen journalism:
- the collection, dissemination, and analysis of news and information by the general public, especially by means of the Internet.
Now of course if you want to be a big time journalist/reporter one day you may have to get a degree, but anyone can send in an op-ed to AJC, for example, and BAM, you're a published writer.
I think the biggest concern I get from most people is, no one reads newspapers any longer.
This is correct if you mean the ones you get thrown onto your front porch every Sunday morning. In 2015 newspaper purchase went down to 51% from the previous year. So, of course, you may not get the most views if you write for a print news source, but there are so many other options in this growing field.
A lot of people write for online journals now. Many newspapers you may have received copies of years ago, you can now subscribe to and use online. Just because you can't physically hold a newspaper does not mean you still can't access one.
I personally want to write for a news source of any kind, but my main goal is to pursue a life in documentary and film work. Why I am getting a degree in Journalism is to have the credibility and knowledge to research a topic for the documentaries I will make.
I also have seen many journalists go into reporting, PR (public relations) work, and writing for magazines.
No matter what get a degree in what makes you happy.
