What Can You Do With A Journalism Degree?

Journalism is the act of researching information to provide groups of people with advice for healthy lifestyles or news on current events. What, then, can you do with a degree in journalism? You can enter worlds like print or broadcast media. Journalism will always be necessary to keep individuals informed of the happenings in their communities and across the world. In this article, you will find various types of journalism, schools with noteworthy journalism programs, and career options for people with journalism degrees.

Types of Journalism

Journalism isn’t just an article printed in your local newspaper. The subject involves the use of various types of media. There are many types of journalism to explore, and some of them are listed and briefly described here.

Print journalism – news and advice articles and columns usually printed in newspapers and magazines

Photojournalism – news portrayed in powerful, intense photographs

Broadcast journalism – news and advice given via television or radio

Multimedia journalism – news and advice given through the use of multiple types of journalism (i.e., print and photojournalism)

How to Get a Journalism Degree

If you’re interested in putting together news for the public, then a career in journalism is for you. You should begin researching and applying to liberal arts schools during your late junior and early senior years of high school in order to find journalism programs that best suit your career goals and to ensure you are able to attend a college or university right after graduating from high school.

Located in Washington, D.C., American University’s School of Communication offers a journalism program for both undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates can earn a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism during which time they will take courses in both print and broadcast journalism in order to become well-rounded in the world of journalism and prepared for the careers of their choosing. They can also take part in internships to gain experience before entering the field of journalism. Graduate students have the opportunity to earn a Master of Arts in Interactive Journalism, Master of Arts in Journalism and Public Affairs, or even a Master of Arts in Media Entrepreneurship. Students can also join the university’s Investigative Reporting Workshop, a professional and nonprofit newsroom, as another opportunity for experience with journalism.

The School of Communication and Journalism at Auburn University offers students the chance to earn a bachelors degree in journalism, and graduate students can earn a masters degree in communication or graduate certificate. The journalism program at Auburn provides both in-class and in-field learning for one of the best educational experiences available to journalism majors. They learn tactics for print, broadcast, and multimedia journalism to get them on track for the careers they seek. Students can get involved with the school newspaper and television station to build experience, as well.

If you are more interested in learning on the go, then perhaps you should consider earning an online degree in journalism. If you already have a bachelors degree in journalism and are busy with a full time job, Full Sail University offers a chance for students to earn a Master of Arts in New Media Journalism to broaden your horizon. Each individual course has its own homepage that displays your grades, assignments, and more to make your academic responsibilities easy to manage. You can even see images of your instructors and fellow classmates without stepping foot into the classroom, which makes it easier to visualize who you may be working with on group projects or other assignments. And just like in-class professors, you can easily contact your instructors from your personal computer.

Online degrees are becoming increasingly popular for various reasons, so consider exploring your options before making a concrete decision on where you plan to earn your degree in journalism.

Careers in Journalism

While you’re in the process of earning your journalism degree, it is important that you get a general idea of what career path you plan to travel, what jobs you find most appealing. Once you discover a career or two that most intrigues you, you can then form your studies around that particular option.

Entry Level Careers in Journalism

With a bachelors degree in journalism, you will qualify for a multitude of positions that incorporate various types of media. Some positions you may qualify for with a bachelors degree in journalism are briefly described here.

Sports Writer

If you’re a sports fanatic and a lover of words, consider a position as a sports writer. Sports writers create content usually for newspapers in order to promote or provide results of sporting events. Writers have the privilege of often finding themselves in the stands of a baseball or football game so they can most accurately describe the happenings of the game. Sports writers usually possess a bachelors degree in journalism and have a few years of experience under their belts from participating in high school and/or college newspaper teams. Sports writers have

Sports writers can earn around $30,000 annually, depending on the sizes of the newspaper companies for which they write.

Photojournalist

Photojournalists are professional photographers who capture powerful and intense images that evoke various emotions in viewers around the world. They can focus on issues within a community, state, nation, or even issues across the globe. Traveling is often in a photojournalist’s nature. Photojournalists may find themselves a few states from home or halfway across the world in order to inform their audiences of current events through the use of pictures. Photojournalists often have bachelor degrees in journalism with a concentration in photojournalism, but if they were lucky enough to find a specialized program, they possess bachelor degrees in photojournalism. They are personable and incredibly passionate about the power behind a good photograph.

Photojournalists can earn around $34,000 annually, based on their employer and experience.

Sports Broadcaster

If you’re a sports fanatic but no so enthusiastic about writing, you could consider a career as a sports broadcaster. Sports broadcasters provide audio and visual coverage of sports events, like golf tournaments and football games. With a bachelors degree in journalism or communication and depending on what courses you take in college, you may qualify for a position as a sports broadcaster. Sports broadcasters possess excellent verbal communication skills and are very outgoing and optimistic.

Sports broadcasters can make around $45,000 annually.

Advanced Careers in Journalism

With a bachelors degree and a few years of experience or with a masters or doctoral degree in a form of journalism, you may qualify for one or more of the positions described here.

Book Reviewer

The job of a book reviewer is just that–he or she is responsible for reviewing newly-released books by authors of various genres. Book reviewers typically work for newspapers or magazines with their own editorial columns. They are fairly fast readers with excellent analytical and written communication skills with bachelor degrees in English, literature, communication, or journalism and over five years of experience in the world of writing, whether for magazines, journals, newspapers, or their own pieces.

Depending on what company a book reviewer works for and his or her experience level, he or she can earn around $54,000 annually.

Investigative Journalist

Investigative journalists hunt for information meant to stay undercover and then use it write newspaper content. They produce pieces on political scandals and the like. Their job requires an extensive amount of research and the ability to pay strict attention to detail so as not to misquote sources whether anonymous or identified. Investigative journalists can start out with bachelor degrees in journalism or related fields, but it would be significantly more beneficial to go into the position with a masters degree in journalism. Higher research and communication skills are built with an education that produces a masters degree in any subject from science to journalism.

Investigative journalists have the potential to earn over $65,000 annually, based on education and experience levels.

Companies that Hire People with Journalism Degrees

Once you earn a journalism degree, it’s time to go on the hunt for available jobs. Today’s job market is not kind, so jobs for people with journalism degrees may not be so easy to find. However, if you know where to look, you’re bound to find something to which you can apply your newly acquired talents. Below is a list of companies that hire people with degrees in journalism.

Cablevision Systems Corp. – headquarters in Oyster Bay, NY; television cable company in America; hires positions for newscasters, reporters, etc.

E. W. Scripps Company – provides information for television, print, and digital media brands; hires positions for investigative reporters, news reporters, account executives, etc.

Tribune Company – headquarters in Chicago, IL; American multimedia corporation; hires positions for photojournalists, associate producers, various types of journalists, etc.

BHMedia – operates 69 newspapers across many states of the eastern area of the U.S.; hires positions for sports reporters, circulation sales representatives, digital media specialists, digital content producers, etc.

Journalism will always be necessary, so the industry will never wholly disappear. As more and more newspapers are turning to online media distribution, writers are still necessary but those who do physical work in the printing process are not guaranteed to keep their positions forever. With a degree in journalism, you can show the world that there is still truth in the media one story at a time.