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Vadim Lavrusik Rss

What major would you recommend for a highschooler pursuing a career in journalism?

Posted on : 11-28-2009 | By : Vadim Lavrusik | In : Journalism school

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Meet Yuliya Barsukova. She is a 17-year-old Russian high school student applying to college with a dream to be a journalist. She even has some professional experience working for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. But right now she is trying to decide what would be the best major to prepare her for a career in journalism. She is one many that is still choosing the career despite cutbacks at many news organizations and among the record number of people applying to journalism school.

I have had a few other youngsters (I know, I myself am young too) asking me what I would recommend for a major in college to prepare them for a career in journalism. I majored in journalism. But I think that if I were to go back I would have likely picked something more on the technology side of things like computer science.

This isn’t to debate the relevance or quality of journalism schools today because I think learning the fundamentals of journalism are invaluable and can be applied to careers outside of journalism as well. But journalists are having to be more entrepreneurial and tech-savvy in today’s online journalism environment and the profession requires a new set of skills. I think at the undergraduate level students should focus on the follow:

  1. Learning Journalism Fundamentals: This includes reporting factually and accurately, ethics, writing, etc.
  2. Become an Expert in an Area: Study a specific subject that you would want to specialize in and report on.
  3. Learn a Foreign Language: This makes you more valuable as a reporter. Also, it is obviously very valuable as a foreign correspondent or a U.S. journalist in a diverse city.
  4. Gain Tech Skills: Learn how to produce multimedia content, Web development skills, etc.

With anything, the argument could be made that a student could learn coding skills on their own or learn journalism from experience in a newsroom. But ultimately, I want to get your views on what you think would be the most valuable major for a young journalist to pursue. Vote below or add your thoughts in the comments. I will share them with the likes of Yuliya and others that have inquired. Oh, and for those interested in journalism school here is a great Twitter list by Mediabistro of J-Schools on Twitter.

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Related posts:

  1. More journalism schools should partner with business schools
  2. Is it worth going to journalism school? Join me for a discussion
  3. A look at how journalism schools are teaching social media
  4. Read reactions to the Reconstruction of American Journalism Report

  • If I had a chance to replay my career, I'd focus on business journalism, technology and economics. Enjoyed many years of writing about cops, courts and features, but also liked writing about the business community. I also would learn another language, considering our expanding global community. Here in the US, I would recommend learning Spanish, for those of us who don't already speak it.
  • ckanal
    I actually voted journalism, and a year ago I may not have said this... But from my experience (different hats in the last two years -- undergrad print journalism student, grad online journalism student, & adjunct journalism instructor), if you find a journalism program that has a modern/fluent curriculum and incorporates topics like Web/tech/entrepreneurialism/SM in its classes, I think that's the way to go.

    I'm a firm believer that success has less to do with what you do in the classroom and more to do with the networking/experiences/experimentation you do outside of it. But as a complement to that, it's essential to find a solid program that fits YOU and your interests, a place to do that development (which yes can be outside journalism but I still say a good J-school should be considered). In the end, it's a very personal decision and should be looked at on a case-by-case basis, but those are my thoughts.
  • You bring up a great point, Craig. A lot of J-Schools have integrated a little bit from each of the majors above into their curricula. Most of them, however, give you just a little bit of a taste, but enough to get you started. And some schools have been slow to adopt some of the much needed skills that journalists need today. As a journalist today, you have to be a jack of all trades but a master of one (or two).
  • And what do you think of a foreign language? It's obvious that the more languages you know the better. But what foreign language is really necessary for a journalist today?
  • Just like Craig said, it depends on where you want to work and what you want to cover. However, I would say try to learn a third language if you don't know one. That is one thing that I regret and hope to improve on is learning a third language that is popular and in depend. I would recommend Spanish or Chinese-Mandarin (though it is quite difficult).
  • ckanal
    It's great to be fluent in English. Spanish is becoming of greater importance in the U.S., and there will be opportunities for those who know Chinese and Arabic as well. But you should be fine with Russian and a good handle for English, Julia...though of course where you want to work plays a role too.
  • An excellent question. Personally, I'd argue for journalism with a minor or a double-major in something else, allowing you to both develop your writing/reporting/multimedia skills and to get a broad education in a specialty area.

    Although some folks make good points that a journalism major isn't necessary for everyone, as a journalism professor I can say that for many students, very, very basic skills (e.g. writing an intelligible sentence) are lacking. I'm not trying to be down on students because many are bright, but ask any professor at almost any school and they will tell you that in many ways our secondary education system is failing us. If you are already a very strong writer and highly motivated person, you'll be fine regardless of major. But some students really benefit from having an opportunity to not only be rigorously edited by your professors, but be forced to write frequently for others.

    Also, majoring in journalism, in my obviously biased opinion - is FUN! It lets you challenge yourself, play with new technologies, get to know people on campus better than you otherwise might, and be part of something exciting that is changing fast. And even if you don't end up as a journalist one day, I think your skills in writing, finding accurate information, producing video and basic Web skills will serve you well in a lot of careers.
  • Thanks Carrie. I think you're right in that it depends on what skills the person already has and what skills are lacking. Most journalism students don't have the fundamental skills, and so a journalism major could benefit them. However, I also am a strong believer in learning from experience and a lot of great journalism skills can be learned at a college paper or Web site, or through a hand-on internship.
  • Alex B
    The right major is a major that sustains a person intellectually. I think that we all ultimately report on what interests us most anyway, and having a background in those interests can only be beneficial to one's reporting. So, if you're most interested in entomology or comparative literature, go for it. A person can get the journalism stuff from a school paper or an M.S. program in journalism. You major can make you a more well rounded thinker.

    And, definitely minor in a foreign language.
  • It definitely depends on what you want to do...I'm currently majoring in convergence journalism with an emphasis in broadcast at Mizzou, and it's allowing me to report at an NBC affiliate, produce multimedia for a local newspaper and do features for our local NPR affiliate all before even graduating. There's no way I could so easily get TV experience- and put together a solid tape- if I didn't major in journalism. That being said, I have no plans of going to grad school for journalism, and I probably could have gotten some of those experiences by doing the right internships.

    However, I think it's important, at the same time, to either double major or take enough classes in a specific subject area to be able to specialize (a subject you're actually really interested in). For example, double-majoring in journalism and environmental studies with a minor in info tech. It's not hard to do if you stack your classes right!

    It's definitely not necessary to get formal education in journalism— but it helps, and if you know you want to work in the field early on, why not spend the college years having fun doing it?
  • Great thoughts, Erica. I think becoming an expert in a field that you enjoy and want to cover is definitely an important factor on top of gaining skills. Learning about a subject area will allow you to report on it with authority and put you ahead of the game as you graduate.
  • shanedsnow
    The answer to this definitely depends on what you are interested in writing about. I think Journalism is a good major for someone who's not planning on going to grad school for journalism. For those who do want a master's in journalism, I strongly recommend another undergrad degree. I did business, and I think it's helped me become well-rounded. Also it's helped me understand economics and small business strategy for when I do business reporting. If you want to write about science or tech, go for network technology or information systems (or computer science, although programming may really be too much for someone who just wants to write). Dreaming of being a political correspondent? Do your undergrad in poly-sci and then your master's in journalism.
  • probably NOT journalism... would be good to major in any other subject ... pick a subject that helps you think.. helps you connect the dots .. then minor in journalism .. taking a few journalism classes will help establish relationships with journalism profs ... that can lead to internships... that's where they will really learn how to do journalism.
  • Perhaps a combination or a double-major would be a better option? I am not sure there is a perfect answer, but i like your point about making connections with journalism professors and that leading to potential internships.
  • yeah. maybe a double major or journo major with heavy minor. just find some passion other than journalism so you can start creating a beat or body of knowledge while still in school.
  • dwfk
    I agree with Robin
  • ... but we're talking about high schoolers. just tell them to get in there, stay curious and have fun. who knows what majors they'll end up with.
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