posted
I know a number of you write reviews or articles for your local newspapers. I was wondering what college courses, if any, you had to take to become on. What degrees are necessary, and what are just preferred?
Posts: 2292 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Da_Goat (I'm trying to think of your real name, but I've forgotten again)
I began working for a newspaper at age 18. But that was over 20 years ago.
I was pretty sure I wanted to be in journalism. But I wasn't sure I wanted to go to college. So I actually made an appointment with the senior editor of our local daily, and went in and told him I wanted to work in the newsroom awhile to see if this was truly what I wanted to do with my life.
Lo and behold, he gave me a job.
It wasn't a GREAT job, but it was in the newsroom, and I was surrounded by REAL journalists and editors, etc. and was probably one of the greatest learning experiences of my life.
And many many journalists there did NOT have journalism degress. Some had English degrees, and some had liberal arts/general degrees, or other. You just had to have A degree in order to be moved up to reporter, but not necessarily a writing degree.
So I left there after a year, to go get my degree..
I think it's worth a shot to go TALK to an editor -- just set up an appointment and talk to them about your goals. Most editors love to talk about the business and will advise you.
FWIW, Farmgirl
::editted for spelling because I don't have a copy editor on staff here::
posted
Da_Goat, I'd say you never know until you try. There's usually some magic combination of education and experience that goes into getting a job, but who knows what will happen if you've got the moxie to walk in and just ask for one?
I got a degree in English, and I work as a writer, although not a journalist per se. I can't tell you exactly what got me my job, but my education and experience, plus a carefully planned portfolio, certainly didn't hurt. Now I'm back in school to get a master's degree in Technical Writing, hoping that it will be a valuable addition to what I can offer.
My only advice would be to volunteer. Do any type of journalism work you can get your hands on right now, pay or no pay. I racked up lots of volunteer hours in college working with various publications, and that filled out my resume and my portfolio nicely for when I went looking for a real, paying job in the writing field.
Try to sit down with real live journalists, editors, etc., and find out all you can about their work and everything involved. Read books on the subject. Whatever it takes. Be as informed as you can be, and then prospective employers will see that you're serious.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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School is going pretty good. I got two A's last semester, which was my first semester in the program. That was heartening, especially since one of the classes just didn't seem to cover anything, and I wrote a 12 page paper in one sitting, on a topic of my choice, having no idea how the professor would grade it.
This semester, I am taking Advanced Editing from one Kelli Cargile-Cook. It's been a great class so far.
What's really great is that I'm getting tuition reimbursement from my company. Nothing like a free lunch. Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Thanks for the tips, advice for robots and Farmgirl. I'll check out a book at the library next time I go there.
(Farmgirl, I'm Daniel, for the record. But there are so many Daniels out their running around Hatrack like they own the place that it would probably be a bit less confusing [for me and everyone else] if you referred to me as Da_Goat, or some variation thereof.)
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