Journalism remains one of the most important and challenging professions in media. Reporters, correspondents, investigative journalists, data journalists, broadcast producers, and multimedia journalists are the people who hold institutions accountable, document the events of our time, and give communities the information they need to make decisions. Despite the very real challenges facing the economics of journalism, the profession continues to evolve and adapt, and skilled journalists remain in demand across a wider range of employers than ever before.
Traditional newsroom employers including metropolitan daily newspapers, national newspapers, wire services, and local television and radio stations continue to hire journalists, though the volume of staff positions has contracted significantly over the past two decades. Digital-native publishers, nonprofit newsrooms, and philanthropically funded investigative reporting organizations have grown substantially and now represent a major source of journalism employment. Trade publications across virtually every industry, from healthcare to finance to agriculture to entertainment, hire journalists to cover their sectors with depth and expertise. Corporate communications departments hire journalists for writing, research, and content roles. Fact-checking organizations, policy research institutions, and international development organizations also employ journalism-trained professionals.
The skills that define excellent journalism have not changed: the ability to develop and cultivate sources, to ask smart questions and listen carefully to the answers, to verify information rigorously before publishing it, to write clearly under deadline pressure, and to make complex topics accessible to a general audience. What has changed is the range of technical and production skills that journalists are expected to bring. Data journalism, podcast production, short-form video, social media distribution, and newsletter writing are all now standard parts of the journalism skill set at many organizations.