I want to work in ..... Journalism and Writing

 

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Journalism involves gathering, interpretation and presentation of news and other items of topical interest, involving some or all of the following tasks: conducting interviews, attending events, constructing reports and stories, undertaking special assignments and researching the background to stories.

Employers include: local and national newspapers; magazines and journals, especially the trade press; the BBC and independent TV and radio; news agencies. Self-employment (freelancing) usually follows a considerable period as a staff journalist, building up experience and contacts.

Getting in

Qualities and skills required

 

Learning to use desktop publishing software will greatly improve your CV for publishing and journalism jobs. Microsoft Publisher is part of MS Office and although basic, will get you started. Even better are Quark Xpress and In Design: you can download fully working demos of these professional packages which you can practice and then add to your CV. Adobe Photoshop (image manipulation) will also help, as will basic web page design skills as so much publishing is now electronic. See our Computing Skills page for more details of how to get these packages www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/ComputingSkills.htm#Publishing

You will need a PORTFOLIO to showcase your work. This should ideally include several articles covering different topics and styles such as a feature, match report, hard news story with dates and publication details if you can. See our How to create a portfolio page

In a UK-wide survey by Skillset employers said there was a skills gap among graduates entering journalism
www.skillset.org/publishing/industry/article_7016_1.asp Traditional skills missing included finding own stories, use of language, writing, media law, shorthand and news gathering and using the Freedom of Information Act. The standard of written English among new entrants was a major cause of concern. 

Postgraduate courses

There is a range of postgraduate journalism courses that should improve your chances of entry, but there is strong competition for places at the best courses and you may need to apply early. A good course will normally be accredited by the NCTJ, BJTC, or the PTA (see below), but some excellent courses (e.g. the MA at City University) are not accredited. Costs of courses vary from about £1,000, to over £8,000 for the best Master's courses.

Fast-track courses are short, intensive journalism courses lasting up to twenty weeks. These are very practical courses and you usually get the NCTJ Preliminary Certificate (the main requirement for most journalism jobs). Courses at Colleges of Further Education are often run 2 times a year in September, and again in February and course fees can be as little as £1,000 upwards. Some private companies run courses: fees are higher, but they may contain work experience on a newspaper or magazine. Course pass rates vary widely: you can see the exam results for the NCTJ courses at www.nctj.com/results_tables.html

Editors aren't bothered whether you have just a bachelor's degree or an MA: the most important consideration is evidence of relevant practical skills (see above), so an NCTJ course run by a local college may have just as much value as an expensive MA which will be more theoretical as you have to write a dissertation. However an MA may add more value to your CV for careers outside journalism.

 

There are VERY FEW formal company training schemes in journalism. Employers that do run such schemes include

Competition for these schemes is even fiercer than for journalism jobs generally.

PROFILE: Newspaper Journalist

INVOLVES: Gathering, interpretation & presentation of news & other items of topical interest, involving some or all of the following tasks: Conducting interviews, attending events, constructing reports & stories, undertaking special assignments; researching the background to stories. Reporting the news (local, county or national); writing accurate, factual & legal stories; largely keeping stories within 200 words; getting both sides of a story.
EMPLOYERS: Local & national newspapers Magazines & journals, especially the trade press (see Benn's Press Directory for information). BBC & independent TV & radio, News agencies, Self-employment (freelancing) usually follows a considerable period as a staff journalist, building up experience & contacts.
RELATED JOBS: magazine/radio journalist; press relations; copy-writing in advertising agencies.
SATISFACTIONS: Variety on a daily basis; meeting people; writing news stories which are accurate, interesting & first.
NEGATIVES: Long & unsocial hours; low pay (generally, not completely, but especially in the earlier stages of a career).
SKILLS: written & spoken communication, working to tight deadlines, attention to detail, investigating, persuading, listening.
ADVANCEMENT: Typically: reporter, newsdesk, sub-editor, deputy editor, editor.
DEGREE: Any degree subject, but some areas may require a specialised background (e.g. science, economics). Can do one-year postgraduate course in journalism but not essential for entry.
VACANCY SOURCES: UK Press Gazette (weekly), The Guardian (Mondays), Willings Press Guide, Writers' & Artists' Yearbook Vacancies are limited in all types of journalism. Competition is fierce - as much so for places on postgraduate courses as for actual jobs. Speculative applications are essential!
TIPS: Start applying early - some training schemes have December closing dates - & persevere. Remember that WHAT you say in your letter of application, & HOW you say it, is a vital part of the selection process for prospective journalists, Get a good degree, develop excellent inter-personal skills. Overt enthusiasm, maturity & idealism are required.

 

PROFILE: Magazine Journalist

INVOLVES: commissioning articles, writing/rewriting articles, editing others' work, some news reporting.
EMPLOYERS: Reed, Haymarket, & many others (see Willings Press Guide for further information).
RELATED JOBS: newspaper journalism, broadcast journalism, advertising copywriter, public relations.
SATISFACTIONS: Combination of creativity & craft. Opportunity to be innovative/influence others. Flexible career.
NEGATIVES: "Flexible career (diminishing job security)."
SKILLS: written & spoken communication, working to tight deadlines, attention to detail, investigating, persuading, listening, commitment & persistence, curiosity, self-sufficiency. Versatility. Ability to strike up a rapport with all kinds of people.
DEGREE: Any degree subject, but some areas may require a specialised background (e.g. science, economics). Some postgraduate courses offer useful skills & experience (e.g. City University, Cardiff University, London College of Printing). Otherwise, training is mostly on-the-job & generally less structured than on newspapers.
VACANCY SOURCES: UK Press Gazette (weekly), The Guardian (Mondays). Willings Press Guide, Writers' & Artists' Yearbook.
TIPS: Vacancies are limited in all types of journalism. Competition is fierce - as much so for places on postgraduate courses as for actual jobs. Speculative applications are essential! Start applying early - some training schemes have December closing dates - & persevere. Remember that WHAT you say in your letter of application, & HOW you say it, is a vital part of the selection process for prospective journalists\Get a good degree, develop excellent inter-personal skills. Overt enthusiasm, maturity & idealism are required.

Detailed profiles of the following roles can be found at www.prospects.ac.uk/links/pubjournal

Useful journalism links

A student wanted to become a trainee journalist on her local newspaper. She decided to carefully analyse the content of the paper and compared it with similar local papers. She conducted a small survey of readers' opinions on the paper by interviewing passers-by in the city centre. Using this information, she drew up a list of possible changes to the paper, wrote a sample article to show what she had in mind and sent these to the editor. The editor invited her in to discuss her suggestions - they had a long discussion and the next vacancy that arose was offered to her without competition.

Photojournalism

PROFILE: Press Photographer

INVOLVES: Taking photographs for newspapers & magazines. Photojournalists also produce copy to go with their pictures.
EMPLOYERS Newspapers & magazines, Photo agencies, TV Companies
RELATED JOBS: photojournalist, medical photographer, police photographer, TV camera operator, audio visual technician.
SATISFACTIONS: Creative & technical satisfaction of producing a good picture. Seeing your work in print.
NEGATIVES: Often poor initial pay, much of the work is freelance.
SKILLS: creativity, entrepreneurial skills if self employed.
ADVANCEMENT: Can move into freelance work
DEGREE: photography, graphic design, English (for photojournalism), media studies.
POSTGRADUATE STUDY: Relevant course in photography will help if first degree not in this
VACANCY SOURCES: Jobs are rarely advertised. UK Press Gazette, Benn’s Media Guide & British Journal of Photography are useful sources.
TIPS: Talk to experienced photographers. Get together a good portfolio. Need to make speculative applications. Competition is fierce.

Writing

Scriptwriting

  • No one but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. - Samuel Johnson
  • Most writers regard truth as their most valuable possession and therefore are most economical in its use. - Mark Twain
  • Doctors bury their mistakes, lawyers hang them, but journalists put them on the front page.

Send a script to a particular producer at the BBC. Take characters from a soap or regular drama and write scenes for them that develop current plots and move the story on, then submit them to the Producer. This gets your name known and practice in writing for a particular genre. You have to start somewhere, and the discipline of working within set characters and deadlines on a soap is extremely valuable. The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, available for reference at the Careers Helpdesk contains a section on scriptwriting including advice on agents and their specialisms. Also look regularly at The Stage www.thestage.co.uk

Travel writing

 

Brilliant personal statement written by Hugh Gallagher, this won the humour category of the Scholastic Writing Awards.

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets. I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four-course meals using only a Mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

 

Last fully updated May 2009