Should You Study Journalism?

Have you ever dreamt about working at a newspaper, or working at a news company as an anchor or a correspondent? Or maybe, you have a strong interest in politics, global affairs, and current events? If you think and answer yes to all of those, then maybe, a career in journalism is the right one for you. However, to be able to go that career path, is it necessary to study journalism, or is journalism right for you? 

If you are thinking of a different path, will journalism be helpful to you? 

What is Journalism? 

Journalism, according to the American Press Institution, is the activity of “gathering, assessing, creating and presenting” information and news. Moreover, it can also be a product of these activities through the newspapers, books, magazines, televisions, radio, and in recent times, blogs, social media, the internet, podcast, webcasts, and so on. 

As an academic discipline, journalism instills in students the skills important in the creation of accurate reports, through research, critical thinking, writing, and systematic process and verification.  

What to Expect When You Study Journalism

Journalism can be taken as an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree and opens a wide range of specializations, depending on the student’s interest or passion. 

A Bachelor’s degree in journalism usually takes four years to finish. In many cases, students would have to study the concepts, principles, and theories of news writing. Aside from writing about news, they may also be trained in basic writing processes including editing, copy reading, and writing for advertising, or other skills like using multimedia tools, for design, reporting, and production. 

Can You Still Be a Journalist Without a Journalism Degree? 

The answer really depends on you. A journalism degree can get you closer to your dream of being a journalist because it is specifically tailored to a job in news and reporting. In addition, some specific subjects and concepts in journalism, like journalism ethics and law, are usually part of the required subjects for journalism students. 

However, a journalism degree is not the only option to be one. Other degrees that can help you become a journalist include political science, education, language, law, business, the arts, sports, and even business and finance. Basically, majoring in any of those subjects, aside from journalism, can help you become a journalist that can focus on working on a specific subject.

What Else Can You Do with a Journalism Degree

Contrary to popular belief, a journalism degree is not limited to just writing and news. In fact, the skills and knowledge one gets from majoring in journalism can open a lot of opportunities in various industries. These industries may include news, advertising, public relations, politics, publishing, digital media, development work, education, film, corporate communications, and so on. 

On the other hand, the job roles one can get with a journalism degree are the following: 

• Journalist
• News reporter
• Content creator
• Columnist
• Editor 
• Consultant 
• Copy editor/Proofreader 
• Market researcher 
• Researcher 
• Advertising specialist
• Film or video editor
• Photojournalist 
• Public relations specialist 

Journalism, in general, is a competitive field, and education has a huge role to play in increasing your chance to become a more competitive candidate for it. To begin preparing for this career, and if you want to study journalism, check out MSM Unify’s courses on journalism and media. To learn more about things you should expect when taking a Master’s in Journalism, check out MSM Unify’s article on this topic.