Journalism Student Problems

swallowmynamebitch asked: I'm a photojournalism major, well I'm really a double major of photography and journalism. My mom worries that me changing my major from nursing may be bad. She thinks that photojournalism, and journalism in general is going by the way side. Thoughts?

First of all, you will probably never make as much as a photojournalist as you will as a nurse, so if that’s what your mom meant, she’s right. But that’s not really new.

As for journalism going by the wayside? That’s never going to happen. There are still plenty of hardworking journalists out there covering important stories at international, national, state and local levels, and there will always be the people who need to hear these stories.

As a news-editorial major, I get plenty of people telling me what a dinosaur newspapers are, but there will always be a demand for good writers, and good journalists who understand how to interview and investigate. The economy is in a bit of a bind right now, so certainly there are less jobs available, but there’s still a demand, believe me.

Finally, as a photojournalist, you’ve got double the set of skills to get by. Newspaper circulation may be dropping, but the news is an evolving beast. As journalists, we can now use all kinds of multimedia to cover stories, and a good journalist today needs to understand the forms of media available and how to pick the best one to tell a specific story. Journalism students graduating now understand the Internet, social media, photography, writing and video more than previous generations. I believe this is a strength, and I’m excited for the future of journalism.