Should we lie to journalism students?

My first FT gig out of college paid $13K. In 2001.

There's a lot of good stuff on this thread, especially from Double Down.

I would add to this that we should encourage young journalists to learn to "fend for themselves" ... to start their own IRA because they can't expect any retirement pennies from companies; to scrimp, save and occasionally resort to ramen as a means of building up a small emergency savings; to not expect loyalty from their employer and to not be overly enthusiastic in giving loyalty; to go out of their way to network and meet people outside their company; to be conscious of building their personal brand through blogging, social media, etc. and to use that as leverage in seeking the next job; to be able to work independently without hand-holding from an editor; to find a life partner with a well-paying job.

 

There is no need to lie.

Just emphasize a few things, the most important of which to understand is the fact that the sheer number of jobs, particularly on actual company-supported staffs, is a fraction of what it was even five years ago.

And, that number will more than likely get even smaller as newspapers eventually, probably, unfortunately, die, and journalism, such as it is or will become, goes more and more electronic and digital.

Companies can get away with, um, doing less with correspondingly less. The reality is that it takes far fewer people to do online production of journalism than it does any print version. That is what they will do.

And, it is what they will have to do if good ways to monetize the news are not found.

If you want to work actually for a newspaper or a company, that is becoming difficult and will trend toward becoming even more so.

If you want to offer your work to a company as a freelancer, doing much of the same work any staffer would do, but all on your own, without any of the support or any of the benefits, you will still be able to have at it.

I predict that, eventually, there will be fewer and fewer people wanting or willing to do that on a long-term (or career-long) basis, and that will lead to further degeneration of the business as we know it.

 

Based on WriteThinking's post, I'd also add "learn to shop for personal health insurance" and "learn to do taxes as a freelancer" to the list of how to fend for yourself.

 

When young people ask me about future job prospects in journalism I tell them that the future will always need good reporters and people who can really tell a story. But I also tell them that the competition for spots at places like your Major Metro Daily is akin to the competition for a starting spot on a Div. I football team - and they should ask themselves if they're really that good or willing to work to get that good.

There are still some great gigs out there, but to get them you're probably going to have to be better than you would have had to be 20 years ago.

You just have to be realistic about that.

Meanwhile you've got Poynter trying to each editors how to con people in to contributing free content. Depressing:

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=194201

 

In the last year, I've had two family members and a friend approach me to talk their kids out of going into journalism.

Two, I definitely got to. I scared the crap out of them. The last one didn't want to hear any of it and I'm guessing will be the next Sally Jenkins.

 

Make a point of hammering in the importance of freelancing and take some time explaining how to get started on that path. One of my biggest regrets was not having a good enough sense of that aspect of Journalism until very late in college.

 

I'd argue that it was always as tough to get a spot on a major metro as to get a spot on a Division I college team.
I wonder if in the future it's going to be as tough as getting the lead in a major Hollywood motion picture.

 

It's not that tough. Not even close.

 

I can think of very talented journalists already in the business who have attempted a 'Bill Simmons thing' and have fallen ingloriously on their butts. His 'thing' is obviously harder to pull off than it looks.

 

to the point. brilliant.

 

When I've talked to journalism classes, I've rarely, if ever, been asked by a student about the future of the business/salaries/etc.

I just tell them what the job is like and move on. If they want to stupidly get into this industry, that's their problem and not mine.

And if they were to ask, I'd be honest: You better love what you do, or this just isn't going to work for you.

For what it's worth, I consider getting into journalism the worst mistake of my life.

 

I appreciated the honesty of a local columnist when he visited our class in college and remember his words to this day..."It's a tough job on marriage and family" and our advisor at the college paper never pulled punches about the low pay we were heading into.

I had a good idea what I was getting in for...sometimes there's a touch of regret...even went back to school for a teaching degree and quickly found out that wasn't my cup of tea. Luckily, my wife is amazing, and I've landed at a paper that values family enough to allow flexible schedules. If the pay sucks, at least I get time with the kids and such.