Nowadays, what do you need to become a good journalist? Some may rush and say “a journalism degree.” But what do you say? We all know that students are trying to figure out what to study, what’s necessary to make a living, what it really takes to cut the mustard. So, I asked a working journalist what he thinks especially during these tough times. See what this New York Times business reporter says:
Like Mr. Nixon stated, whatever you end up studying should enrich what you end up doing, in Libby’s case, an MBA would give her the business sense to understand her business client’s problems and run her consultancy (whereas a degree in public relations would only help her understand PR and social media principles, best practices, ethics and tactics which are still important). In Nixon’s case, a more nuanced foundation of statistics would probably have aided his business reporting for the New York Times more than a journalism degree would have.
My take: When looking to get a degree, in the beginning follow your passions and after undergrad assess what you need after working a few years. School won’t necessarily teach you to do. Only doing can teach you to do. School can refine your knowledge, expand your networks and enhance your ability to do something in a niche way. But more on that later.
We all know someone in journalism who has lost a job over the past year. Some of us (like myself) started out in journalism, got laid off, and are now working in public relations. Many of my former media contacts are now in-house public relations counsel or are now my competitors on the independent PR scene! So the question becomes, with newsrooms shrinking all over the country, what’s a PR pro to do when her contacts take the buyouts or get laid off?
Bulldog Reporter has an article today that posts some pretty simple tips on what to do when your media contacts move on. It’s pretty standard stuff, but worth reading. To sum up: get on social media, blog like crazy and make use of twitter to rebuild your media contact list. Read the story here.
“The times may be news-rich, but newspapers are cash-poor, facing their direst financial straits since the Great Depression…Racing to cut costs as they lose revenue, most have decided that their future lies in local news, not national or international events.”
Crazy that such an amazing time in our nation’s history will suffer from less media coverage as papers close Washington Bureaus. Seems so wrong, especially considering how “well-covered” our outgoing President was. I feel like pouting and throwing a mini-tantrum. I want my Obama news!
But what we lose as media consumers and voyeurs, we gain as business owners and publicists. If you’ve been trying to get coverage in your local markets, seems like a great time to get to know your local reporters, their beats and how they like their pitches. Go on and make that lemonade.
