The best jobs in journalism aren’t advertised because, simply, they don’t exist. For every graduate who gets a lucky break there will be hundreds who follow a different career path after a year of feckless searching.
As we have been repeatedly told, the print media industry is diminishing. Why, then, do journalism graduate numbers increase each year? As one investigative journalist once told me (a career for which I still harbour romantic intentions): 'If you had any investigative skills you’d know this is the wrong career to get into.'
Couple this with the fanciful notions journalism students approach employment with (I genuinely thought I’d be writing features for the Guardian within a year) and you find out where all the good jobs went. Nowhere. They didn’t exist in the first place.
Like any ‘multimedia, NCTJ-qualified journalist with experience’ I have whiled away many hours searching Gorkana, HoldTheFrontPage and even FleetStreetBlues’ paltry selection of hack jobs. I’ve emailed CVs to every major daily, every magazine in the newsagents (except the top shelf) and lost months to unpaid internships with nothing gained but the promise of a letter of recommendation.
The truth is that we, the mass exodus of unemployed journalists leaving expensive courses up and down the country each year, know the weather report is grim but still go out there expecting a lovely sunny day.
Modify your expectations of what constitutes a good job. Or choose another profession.
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9 comments:
Have you tried local papers?
You know, to actually prove yourself and gain experience before you end up writing those Guardian features?
You seem to have a blog filled with comment, rather than any examples of stories you've written. I'm not sure why.
Potential employers don't care what you think. Every graduate seems to want to be the next Charlie Brooker.
Why not set up a blog/website with scoops and exclusives you've uncovered while on placements at papers? That would be a more productive way to spend your time.
You increase your chances of getting a job on a local daily newspaper if you're showing that you can do the one thing all editors and news editors are looking for - find good stories.
The reality is that like the vast, vast majority of new journos out there, you have to start at the bottom and be prepared to work hard wherever and whatever the job happens to be. Attempting to bypass local or regional media at the beginning of your career in favour of the 'golden job' at the Guardian is a complete and ridiculous waste of time for the majority - without a solid grounding, they're not going to want you there in the first place. Unfortunately, as in any other job, you have to earn your stripes first - doing doorknocks after someone has died, late nights out on call with the police and, yes, 500 village fetes before you move on to the next level.
By definition the best jobs in journalism exist. The statement 'the best jobs in journalism don't exist' could only be true if there were fewer than three jobs (you need a job that isn't the best to compare it to, and you specify plural 'best jobs').
What you mean is the 'good' jobs. Time to brush up on your writing.
Agreed. What's wrong with local? Also, what's wrong with top shelf? Surely you should be open to all experience. I've had some of the most rewarding experiences at places I'd never have contemplated working when I was younger. You have to be open to everything. There are all sorts of holy grails out there if you're willing to give them a go.
It's not just journalism. I have a friend who works in IT who says a lot of jobs there aren't advertised. Bottom line, if you're in the private sector this is just the way things are and always have been.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7eLuTk5L9g
I don't really understand the reasoning behind this blog post. You finished university and found out that the "fanciful" dream job of writing features for the Guardian didn't exist. Sure, we've all been there.
But then you seem at a loss, surprised that the major national newspapers and magazines won't sign you up for a 30k+ salary with a decent pension.
Surely, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you must know that unless you're sleeping with someone or related to someone you're not going to start your career with a job in the nationals.
Stop writing redundant posts like this one and do what the rest of us have to do - go to a local and cut your teeth and if that's not satisfying enough (you get out of a local news job exactly what you put into it) then start spending your weekends answering phones at a national. But only after you've actually BEEN a journalist first.
It does appear that the only sector of the media that is still thriving is training. We are churning out hundreds of graduates with multi-media qualifications, none of whom seem to have any inkling of the parlous state of the industry, and most of whom are never going to earn a living from their profession. I blame the training providers who appear to be enticing youngsters into training as journalists by offering unrealistic expectations - like jobs writing features for the Guardian. Surely trainees need to learn how to write an obituary, a WI report and a parish council meeting report first.
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