Journalism-Your College Paper

[collme83]

Hey all! I don't know if this has been touched on yet, but i was just wondering if there were many journalism students here and what college paper you write for. I'm with the Daily Utah Chronicle. Not very many greeks on the staff so i like to hear of more! Anyone with the SPJ? Also, what types of interns are you doing and what do you plan on doing w/your degree in the future!

pi phi love,
...colleen*

[AXJules]

Hey-
I just graduated with a journalism degree (advertising emphasis) from the University of Missouri- Columbia. I'm a member of SPJ, because originally I wanted to write for magazines. @ Mizzou the Magazine and News Ed students run the city paper- it's the only one like it in the country! Very cool.
After 2 years of classes I realized how lucky I was to be getting a journalism degree, but decided advertising and public relations was the direction I wanted to go. I'm still really grateful for my writing background, though, because I know it will make the road that much easier in the future.

[lalaelon]

I'm a rising junior journalism major at Elon University and will be working as copy editor for our paper, The Pendulum, next fall. I'm applying to a number of internships for next summer and will hopefully get something. From what I've heard, you start at the bottom and work your way up in journalism careers.

In terms of SPJ, thanks for reminding me. I need to get on that!

[jess_pom]

I was a member of SCJ, where I also interned--the exec director is on staff at Clarion. I also wrote a little for the paper and was on the circulation staff (you have to do a semester co-curricular for print and one for broadcast) because it was easy!

I also interned at a radio station. Make sure your internship will really help you in the future. Mine didn't really, maybe a little but it was not very structured. MAKE SURE you check into that. Let me know, I know of a few internship opportunities in various places.

[winneythepooh7]

my sister is a journalism major. any advice i can give her about getting into the business? she is actually music journalism at SUNY Purchase.

[ISUKappa]

I graduated in 2001 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. My emphasis was in Magazine so I didn't write anything for the student newspaper save the odd clips required by the intro and intermediate writing classes. I wrote a few articles for our student magazine, ethos, but it was going through some advisoral restructuring and funding problems so few issues were published during my time there.

Currently I am using my degree, but not in the capacity I would like. I work for a publishing company that does PR/trade magazines for the construction industry. I don't get to write much but it was a great job to start out in and learn more about the industry. I am planning on going back to school next spring to obtain my Master's in teaching and become a high school Language Arts/Journalism teacher. I would like to freelance in the summers, mostly for in-state tourism/history publications.

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally posted by winneythepooh7
my sister is a journalism major. any advice i can give her about getting into the business? she is actually music journalism at SUNY Purchase.

Advice from a 30-year vet: change your major to engineering, or computers, or business. Newspapers are dying every year and the rest are cutting staffs. Broadcast only takes the prettiest people. If you do go into broadcast, count on being "dead" career-wise after age 40. If you stay in journalism, do something else to earn money. You won't earn very much at all in JN. Sorry to seem so cynical, but that's the way it is.

[collme83]

Originally posted by AnchorAlumna
Advice from a 30-year vet: change your major to engineering, or computers, or business. Newspapers are dying every year and the rest are cutting staffs. Broadcast only takes the prettiest people. If you do go into broadcast, count on being "dead" career-wise after age 40. If you stay in journalism, do something else to earn money. You won't earn very much at all in JN. Sorry to seem so cynical, but that's the way it is.

i object. There is a TON to do with a journalism major besides just writing for a newspaper. Production is also a big part to broadcast, papers, magazines, as well as advertising, PR, Telecommunications etc. My uncle is in his late 50's and is STILL in the field, and has no intention of leaving. I feel that if you really want to persue journalism, then stick through it. I'd rather struggle for a job i enjoy, then hate my life as an engineer. I don't mean to back lash your comment, but in a field that IS competitive, staying positive i believe should be key.

pi phi love,
...colleen*

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by AXJules
Hey-
I just graduated with a journalism degree (advertising emphasis) from the University of Missouri- Columbia. I'm a member of SPJ, because originally I wanted to write for magazines. @ Mizzou the Magazine and News Ed students run the city paper- it's the only one like it in the country! Very cool.
After 2 years of classes I realized how lucky I was to be getting a journalism degree, but decided advertising and public relations was the direction I wanted to go. I'm still really grateful for my writing background, though, because I know it will make the road that much easier in the future.

That basically describes me as well. I majored in print journalism at Boston University (I almost went to Syracuse before scholarship money changed my mind to BU). I wrote for a while for local papers back in CT in high school and through part of college, and wrote for the Daily Free Press at BU. However I decided I like the public/media relations aspect better and am trying to work that way professionally.

That's not to say anything bad about journalism; I had some great experiences and interviewed some interesting people (Derek Jeter, Chris Berman, Stuart Scott, Rob Dibble), but it just didn't end up being what I want to do right now.

I do love writing though, and am glad for the experience I have writing and reporting.

[ADqtPiMel]

I'm a broadcast journalism major. To say that only the prettiest people get jobs or that you're "dead" after age 40 simply isn't true in my experience. I suppose it depends on the location.

[reverie]

My school doesn't offer an actually Journalism or Communications degree so I'm pursuing a different, but similiar major.

I want to be a Copy Editor someday, but since I've never heard of anyone else wanting that position (which hopefully means there will be a lot of opportunities when I graduate!) I have no idea where to start looking. However, I'm only a sophomore so I still have time.

My college newspaper is starting a Greek Column next year. I think we're inviting each organization to write something for certain issues and we'll probably include a general report. Since it's the first time we've tried it, I'm not sure how well it will go, but I think it should be good for positive PR and just since a lot of people don't really know what the greeks are up to!

[kk_bama]

I am a rising senior at the University of Alabama and I will finish my B.A. in journalism next year. I'm also a member of SPJ and the American Society of Copy Editors. I'm also trying to start a student magazine group chapter at my school called ED on Campus.

I am a copy editor at my school paper, The Crimson White. I'm also the Peoples editor for the Corolla yearbook. Right now, I am working at Randall Publishing in trade magazines. I'm hoping to get into magazines as a career.

I'm also hoping to go to graduate school at some point, either next year or after working for a few years. My top choice as of now is Mizzou.

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by reverie
My school doesn't offer an actually Journalism or Communications degree so I'm pursuing a different, but similiar major.

I want to be a Copy Editor someday, but since I've never heard of anyone else wanting that position (which hopefully means there will be a lot of opportunities when I graduate!) I have no idea where to start looking. However, I'm only a sophomore so I still have time.

My college newspaper is starting a Greek Column next year. I think we're inviting each organization to write something for certain issues and we'll probably include a general report. Since it's the first time we've tried it, I'm not sure how well it will go, but I think it should be good for positive PR and just since a lot of people don't really know what the greeks are up to!

Actually quite a few people in journalism programs (at least in mine) wanted to be editors, and being a copy editor is a good first step from what I've heard. I know that my school offered classes on editing, putting together your own magazine/newspaper, etc. I'm not sure how the market is, but I do know there good numbers of people out there who are choosing that career path.

I'd ask around at local papers in the area - even if it just meant spending a day or two with each editor, learning the trade. It could turn into an internship.

[True18]

Finally, a thread where I feel at home. Disclaimer: This will be long...

I've been in broadcasting since I was 5. Seriously. My dad was a radio personality and brainwashed me at an early age, putting me on the air with him... LOL. Inevitably, I chose broadcast journalism as my major when I entered school. Being that I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, I just did everything. At school:

The Hilltop - Staff writer
WHBC 830 AM - On-air talent; news writer
BlackCollegeView.com - Contributing writer
District Chronicles - Copy editor
BISON Yearbook - Staff writer

Add those to the internships I've been doing since high schools...

Sheridan Broadcasting - Student sales assistant
WAMO-FM (Pittsburgh) - Promotions intern
American Urban Radio Networks - Sports intern; news intern

... and you have a pretty well-rounded journalism student entering her senior year. For anyone who's not quite sure what they want to do, I advise getting involved as much as you can in campus media to determine what you like best. I'm pretty much married to radio news. My goals for this final year is to obtain one last internship and to begin working as soon as I graduate.

@ winniethepooh7... Tell your sister to get as much experience as she can on campus, and to get in contact with professional organizations to inquire about internships. (What worked for me was sending an email titled "Internship Inquiry," in which I expressed my interest in an internship and included a resume.) Also... network, network, network! Professional contacts are gold. Everyone who I meet in the business gets a card with my contact information. I'm still learning the skill myself, but in any business, the more people who know you, the better.

@ reverie (hey brother!)... I don't know if your school has communications job fairs, but Howard U. does every October, and there are always TONS of newspapers recruiting, interviewing, and testing. The Philadelphia Inquirer comes to mind... they give interested students copy [editing] tests to see if they're ready to intern or work in print. Contact local papers to see if 1) they have internship programs and 2) if they have a copy test you can take. My journalism professor told me that so many people want to be a writer (so they can see their name in a byline) that good copy editors are hard to come by. He also said that copy editing is easier to get into and that it pays better than writing. So it sounds like you're looking at a promising start in journalism!

@AnchorAlumna... I have to vehemently disagree with what you said. To tell someone to completely change their major is bad advice at best. You could be discouraging the next Katie Couric or Tom Brokaw. Or, if they're not "pretty" enough for TV, the next Michele Norris (my favorite anchor at National Public Radio... who is actually really pretty...) There are so many options when it comes to a career in journalism... writing, editing, producing, directing... for TV, radio, print, magazine, or new media (the Internet). I'm sorry if you've had a bad experience with journalism, but that doesn't allow you to discourage other people from doing something they love. Yeah, I'm still a student, but I am surrounded by people who have been in the business for 20-plus years. They're paid well, they STILL love what they do, and they're anything but "dead" at 40. Bottom line... PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS NEED NEWS. They will always need doctors to deliver them at birth, they will always need funeral directors to bury them when they die, and they will always need newspeople to tell them what happened in between. A person's experience in the business isn't determined by how the business works, but by how the person works the business.

Just my 18 cents...

~Tru

[reverie]

Originally posted by True18
My journalism professor told me that so many people want to be a writer (so they can see their name in a byline) that good copy editors are hard to come by. He also said that copy editing is easier to get into and that it pays better than writing. So it sounds like you're looking at a promising start in journalism!

Yay! That makes me happy!

I just wished my school had an actual communications department. Some of the admissions information said they had a pre-journalism focus, but they lied!

Anyway, good luck with your broadcasting. All of the stuff you have done sounds amazing.