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Topic: How much does a degree in journalism help?
| Author | Message |
| D_S | Posted – 11/12/2007 12:20:48 PM | show profile | email poster I might go in a degree in journalism next year. I was checking all the league tables, and some of the best journo colleges are in the US. The best, according to most tables, is the Columbia School of Journalism. And it's quite expensive, of course. Even if I manage to secure a scholarship (there are no full scholarships for most of these colleges), I am not sure if we can afford an education there. There are others that I can apply for, but it's got me wondering if studying at a better college really matters as far as journalism is considered (for some subjects, it definitely matters, but journalism?). So here goes: Does a degree in journalism really matter? Of course, it helps you get placed and all, but can it actually help you become a good journalist? |
| mkelly | Posted – 11/12/2007 1:02:02 PM | show profile It's more helpful than a hole in the head, but only slightly. In fact, for Columbia, I'm not so sure... If you're a high school kid entering college, study something else and work on the school paper. If you're an aimless person looking for a graduate degree, study what you like and write about it. If you're an aimless full-time professional, write for whatever professional journal you read. If you're dead-set on being a newspaper reporter, call up your local newspaper and say you'll be attending the local Piddling Commission meeting, would they like a brief story on it? You get the picture. Do not drop $50,000 on a graduate degree in journalism. Drop that kind of money on traveling around the world and writing freelance stuff for publications back here. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/12/2007 2:52:06 PM | show profile I got a degree in journalism. In retrospect, I would have majored in something else, and maybe minored in journalism -- and done internships and worked on the school paper. |
| justthefactsman | Posted – 11/12/2007 5:52:58 PM | show profile I got my degree in communications and history from a state school. I wasn't really a stand-out academically, but my experiences outside of the workplace translated into a respectable entertainment journalism career. I had great internships and an inability to say, "no" to even the most inane tasks. Now that I think about it, it's kind of sad. I should have gotten a degree in bio chem. |
| wineaux | Posted – 11/12/2007 6:26:27 PM | show profile I like Mkelly's advice on this one, and I usually do on other topics as well. I have the journo degree and had to write for my school paper all four years, and those clips were what were my greatest tool for getting work. Your clip book is what catapaults you into success. Every gig I've ever had has helped me to achieve others, and has led me in some interesting directions. Hindsight being as chrystal clear as it is, I wish I'd just written for my school paper, pitched ideas to my local paper, and gotten a degree in something else. I'd love to have another skill to fall back on, and a place of specialty to write about. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/12/2007 9:30:19 PM | show profile Actually ... ...a journalism degree, whether it's a B.A. or an M.A., does NOT "help you get placed". It's also not a "get out of experience free" card, either. |
| nothing's fair | Posted – 11/12/2007 10:26:13 PM | show profile It doesn't hurt... I had a ton of journalism internships, majored in something else in undergrad (and went to a really good school at that), and worked in some editorial assistant positions that dealt with subject matter that I didn't really care for that didn't really help me grow. I grew complacent, applied to J-School, and am currently in Columbia, and I couldn't be happier. The experience you get at Columbia is unlike that of any job--you get to work with subject matter that interests you, which is unlike most entry level jobs. And yes, it has opened my door to more opportunities, and I feel like it has improved my writing and reporting. Yes, it's putting a deep hole in my pocket, but I feel like it enabled me to go further than I would have otherwise. |
| bananarama | Posted – 11/13/2007 9:15:38 AM | show profile Hi- I went to Columbia J school straight out of college and it was a godsend even though I had good internships and lots of clips under my belt. Half the reason to go is access to the Columbia J School job bulletin- I have gotten nearly all my NYC-based journalism jobs through the list, and in many cases the jobs were only posted via Columbia. I'm not bragging but the publications were all top notch so for me, it was well worth the price of tuition. |
| reporterwriter | Posted – 11/13/2007 1:58:23 PM | show profile Matt's correct in that a bachelor's or master's in journalism won't help you get placed, but at least some schooling in journalism will help you get an internship that helps you get placed. Very, very few companies offering journalism internships are interested in students with zero journalism education. It's possible to get into journalism without a journalism degree, but it's wise to have at least some education in journalism. Sometimes nowadays, however, the only way to get into journalism classes is to declare journalism as your major, because the classes are so full. Some very fine journalists were not journalism majors, and also some who have no clue about ethics, law and basic reporting procedure. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 11/13/2007 3:05:03 PM | show profile On the flip side ... In all the radio and television newsrooms in which I have ever worked, I can count on one hand how many people actually MAJORED in journalism (or "communications", for that matter). News directors these days want journalists who know something about something, as well as knowing how to write and tell a story. And ironically, at the network level, I don't know a single senior staffer who has a master's degree in JOURNALISM. If they do have an advanced degree, it's more likely to be an MBA or a JD. |
| bananarama | Posted – 11/14/2007 4:33:55 AM | show profile I agree with the posting above but will say that my Columbia J School colleagues are now at The New York Times, Portfolio, Forbes, Businessweek and writing books... That said, I'm sure there is a good portion of the class who arent in journalism now but you cant blame the school... |
| JeanMarie | Posted – 11/14/2007 12:26:05 PM | show profile | email poster I chose a graduate degree in journalism. My BA was in another field (Theatre) and the MA offered was built for professionals, not thesis-writers. It plugged me into the network in my region and provided the mentorship I wouldn't have found elsewhere. (I don't live in a large city). It was inexpensive, compared to Columbia. It gave me a basic understanding of history and ethics that I think are invaluable. All that, and I ended up with a job before I graduated too! Your experience may vary. In my part of the country, it was the best way to go. |
| sophiesMOM | Posted – 11/14/2007 12:36:26 PM | show profile I don't think a degree in journalism matters, and an advanced degree (say, from columbia) is an even bigger waste of time and money. i worked with many columbia j-school grads, and none of them were any better than anyone in our office who graduated with a biz, history or whatever degree. i think a good way to break into journalism is the trade press. if you have no experience you're not likely to get hired by any big-name newspaper, magazine or website, but trades are a great, great way to cut your teeth. prove yourself there and use it as a stepping stone to bigger things. This is the path that I, along with countless others I know, used to create a successful career. |
| coastalwriter | Posted – 11/21/2007 3:36:01 AM | show profile | email poster If it's any incentive... I didn't graduate college, much less with a journalism degree. In fact, I never took an English course past freshman year. That said, I write weekly for one of the top newspapers in the country and have a stellar roster of regular, national clients. I don't work for under $1/word and have a steady influx of work. I'm sure that a J-school background would have been helpful (I learned a lot by making mistakes), but I don't think it's necessary for success. I think it comes down to gaining real world experience and having good editors who give a damn. I've been freelancing full-time for nearly a decade, have written 12+ books and have more work at any given time than I know what to do with it. If you want it, go for it and follow your gut. I never followed the so-called rules and have gotten far by sheer ballsiness and motivation. And although I may not be the picture of grammatical perfection I'd like to think I can write and have a uniqie voice. I encourage anyone with writing talent to do the same. It's a career well worth it. |
| stinking prague | Posted – 11/21/2007 11:12:29 AM | show profile I had a boss at a newsletter publisher who said he went and got a Masters in journalism at some point in his career. But he lied about a lot of shit and I suspect he was lying about this as well. |
| jkdscribe | Posted – 11/21/2007 10:49:51 PM | show profile If you study something else, keep in mind that you do need to know and understand the basic elements of journalism to get started--but that does not require a degree. The rest you will pick up along the way. While you may not be taking journalism classes, I do suggest surrounding yourself with journalism, learning the ins and outs. Experience, as they say is the best teacher. And read the greats. |
| reporterwriter | Posted – 11/23/2007 1:49:09 PM | show profile Also, be wary of advice givers' ages. In the 1970s and early 1980s, many people entered journalism without any journalism education, because newsroom management at that time came into newspapers when journalism was considered to be a blue-collar job. Blame Woodward and Bernstein for the shift to journalism education; Watergate made journalism an immensely attractive field in an era when college-age people wanted to save the world from corruption. The blossoming of journalism education changed the landscape in hiring. Soon, editors could hire newly minted reporters and copy editors able to hit the ground running, and lots of them. There were no more cub reporters, because there didn't have to be. So this is your challenge, D_S: first, to prepare as well as possible to enter the field and, second, to leverage your preparation into internships and a first job. You will get better journalism-job mileage out of a hands-on school than a theory school, no matter which one you choose; and, past the first job, nobody will care what your education or alma mater were, because performance is all that matters at that point. |
| Marie | Posted – 11/23/2007 11:42:02 PM | show profile That's a really good point. And a related point that I always make is that not all experience is good experience. As Belinda noted, journalism has changed drastically from, say, the 1970s. The old-school training rarely exists anymore. With layoffs and cutbacks, there's rarely enough senior people around to train new people properly. And I've met many seasoned (in years, that is) reporters return to a top journalism schools to at last learn, and expand, their craft, because they weren't able to do that on their jobs. Again experience, training given what it is, does not always trump school. And I'm really tired of the argument that experience is always better than school. The truth is, it isn't always better. You can't generalize like that. Just because you have a job doesn't mean you're getting proper training. With all the cutbacks and layoffs, not that much time and effort is put into training people and bringing them along in their craft slowly. There just aren't enough people around anymore to mentor you and bring you along. Often the people above you don't even know what they're doing. So how can they train yand nurture you as a writer and reporter? The master's in journalism in itself doesn't matter, and means nothing, at least as a credential, but what you lmight earn in getting this master's can make you better at what you do, and that of course does matter. There are no set answers here. If you're just thinking about school for a credential, don't bother. But if you think you need to learn more, by all means consider it. Select a program that is strong in your area of interest. And evaluate whether it's just a theory school or one that gives you practical, hands-on reporting and writing experience. |
| D_S | Posted – 11/25/2007 12:50:11 PM | show profile | email poster I am extremely thankful to everyone who's replied. Awesome! You guys have helped me think out of the box and, at the same time, approach this issue with a realistic view. I'm going to go in for that degree. I'll be 23 when I see through it and that would be a good time to start hunting jobs. I'll try to make the best of my time in college. I already have a few national credits, and I'll continue freelancing during that time. My current degree is a bachelors in life sciences. I have written quite a few science FOB pieces (one with Scientific American), and I should be able to crack feature wells, too, in near future. I also write a sports blog for a big media network. Naturally, I have two strong inclinations -- sports and science. Would all this background in sports and science writing help me in landing jobs? I guess so, and perhaps it can help me carve out a niche in one of these directions. |
