edited by: Rebekah Baldwin
Journalism jobs may be changing, but despite reports about the decline of print media, students and career experts say it is not impossible to find jobs.
“I’ve heard some students say they’ve had a hard time finding a job, but not a lot,” said Marian Higgins, Grady Career Consultant at the University of Georgia Career Center.
The raw statistics alone seem discouraging. According to several recent studies, the number of journalism jobs is decreasing while the number of journalism graduates is on the rise.
In August, the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research released its annual survey of journalism graduates, showing a 10 percent decrease in job offers and interviews from the 2007 findings.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says jobs in journalism have declined over the past 20 years, with the sharpest declines coming in the past five.
From 2008 to 2009, enrollment at journalism schools across the country has increased about 30 percent, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Journalists and business experts are releasing new analyses of the future of the news industry on a regular basis. What is really happening to newsroom jobs?
Cecil Bentley, director of career services at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, says that although the Cox survey may be influenced by the recent downturn in the economy, it may be an indication of things to come.
“There will be a continuation in magazines, newspapers and other publications with seeing jobs disappear and change,” Bentley said. “I don’t see all jobs coming back [when the economy recovers].”
Students, although aware of the changes taking place, are not discouraged.
“I think all Grady professors are pushing the idea the newspaper isn’t going to last, but I still think they are going to be available,” said Mimi Ensley, a junior magazines major from Dalton, Ga.
Both Bentley and Ensley said that the newsroom is changing so quickly that 2011 graduates will be offered jobs that do not yet exist.
Bentley said that journalism schools are trying to keep curriculum current by offering classes in new media studies to give students an edge in the job market.
“Digital has changed how we do things,” said Bentley. “There’s still people doing work—they just have broader skill sets.”
Bentley says the buzzwords for journalists have been “multi-platform” or “multi-purpose” journalists, meaning, journalists should be editors, photographers and digital media experts as well as storytellers.
Judy A. Maxwell, editor at The Eatonton Messenger, said that she is looking for a reporter who will take an issue and pursue the story.
“I’d say accuracy, good listening—those would be the soft skill set. Computer savvyness, layout, photography would be part of the harder skill set,” said Maxwell, whose newspaper is launching a new magazine. “Accuracy is key, though.”
Higgins said that journalism students should be focused on transferable skill sets, giving them a greater variety of jobs they can apply for.
Does that mean students should abandon their journalism aspirations? Not necessarily.
“I would say start with an initial goal [such as] magazines, then look to newspapers, publishing companies, PR firms and other companies,” said Higgins.
Bentley says that students should be open to any opportunities that come their way.
Grady Career Consultant Marian Higgins lectures students about internship opportunities.
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