Have you ever wondered how it feels like working with news reports and interesting articles? Do you have a special liking for current events, interviews, and print media? Are you seeing yourself being a news anchor reporting on live television? Then, taking the journalism career path must be calling for you.
What Are Journalists?
Journalists are individuals who engage in the field of bringing news and current events to the public. They are people who took a journalism career for their profession and enjoy writing about various breaking news, the latest issues about people or places, the hottest trends, do radio broadcasts, write publishing companies, and even do live interviews at press conferences. A journalist is someone responsible for creating stories and articles that will charm the interest of the public. They are a primary source of information that should be unbiased and truthful, which audiences can rely on.
If you are wondering how to become a journalist, we’ve got all the answers here for you.
What Does a Journalist Do?
Learning how to become a journalist involves learning how to be curious and truthful. You must understand how to ask questions well and use them in creating your articles or reports reliable for the audience. Constant research and gathering of information is a must in order to create only the most accurate and attention-grabbing story for the public. This type of profession also includes:
- Reading various press releases
- Researching tons of articles
- Establishing and maintaining stable contacts and connections
- Interviewing people and other related sources
- Writing, editing, and submitting a copy of article reports
- Attending events and press conferences
- Proofreading submitted articles
- Verifying gathered statements and facts
- Staying up to date with regards to privacy, contempt, and defamation law
- Communicating with editors, sub-editors, designers, and photographers.
Image taken from The Photographic Voice
One more idea you need to learn on how to become a journalist is that you must know how to keep yourself passionate about what you do. You will be encountering a lot of challenges on your journalism career path, so it is only a must for you to keep yourself well-equipped. Among the key skills you must have in order to master how to become a journalist are the following:
• Stamina
Journalism career will demand a lot of your time and physical effort. You will be facing large crowds and chasing people just in order to get the information needed for your project. Once you’ve finally decided to know how to become a journalist, you must be ready to risk your own health. Ready your physical and mental stability because you will be using them a lot.
• Confidence
If there is one basic character you must have in order to master how to become a journalist, it is being confident. You must be confident in asking questions which will help you in your journalism career. You will be facing a group of people and attend various events which will require you to interact with other individuals. For you to do well in your journalism career, you must now start practicing how to have that confidence.
• Determination
Every type of profession needs determination. If you want to succeed, you must be determined in everything that you do. You must have the willingness to finish the task assigned to you and do every assignment with perseverance. After all, what comes easy won’t last right?
• Excellent Oral or Written Skills
Knowing how to become a journalist also comes with working with various written and oral projects. If you truly want to pursue a journalism career, start practicing your written and oral skills now. Learn different skills from various known journalists and take them as an inspiration in enhancing your own skills.
• Interpersonal Skills
Aside from the basic skills like writing and speaking, another skills you should possess in journalism is a good, interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills can be defined as the skills we commonly use in our every day life. We often use this when we communicate and interact with other people, may it be individually or in groups. Interpersonal skills typically include a wide range of personal skills, but it particularly revolves around an individual's communication skills. Such skills involve listening and an effective speaking ability. It also include the ability of a person to control and manage their own emotions.
Interpersonal skills is one essential on knowing how to become a journalist. Everyday you will be facing different types of attitudes from people you will be working with. Knowing how to be flexible and adapt to a diverse attitude will not only help you focus on your work, but most importantly, make yourself capable of adjusting quickly wherever you are.
Image taken from Nays Baghai
How to Become a Journalist?
You might now be having the curiosity on how to become a journalist and work in such an exciting world. Then let’s fuel that eagerness more.
Image taken from Michael Wong
Below are the basic steps and ideas we’ve collected for you to get your journalism career starting. Take important notes of how to become a journalist process, and who knows; you might be the next big journalists every broadcasting and publishing company would want to have.
Image taken from Ben Borowiecki
1. Get a Journalism Degree
Every journalism career path starts with having an educational background. If you truly love and aim for a stable journalism career, pursue a college degree that is related in such a field. Learning the basics always starts at schools. Taking journalism career programs is one great way to learn the fundamentals of how to become a journalist. A degree from a journalism career program at an accredited journalism school is one practical way of enhancing and improving your knowledge and skills. In the future when a company sees that you’ve taken a journalism career path degree, it will automatically signal them that you are well prepared for the job, and is serious about it as your full-time priority.
2. Practice Makes Perfect
The good thing about having a skill is that you can always have the chance to develop it to become better. If you seek to master the art of knowing to become a journalist, start developing your writing and communication skills now. You can start this by simply writing down essays or simple news articles. Get your inspiration from videos you watch daily on various news reports and interviews on television. Creating and posting blogs, or becoming a freelancer for online news organizations or other types of print media outlets is also one way to gain the experience you will need on how to become a journalist. Write about anything that grabs your attention, at the same time. Showcase your skill to find a story at any random event. This way, you can immediately build a resume or a portfolio that can help you land a job that will help you on your journalism career path.
3. Build Connections
One more important aspect you should know on how to become a journalist, is how you are going to establish a strong network of connections.
Networking plays important roles in any field of profession. Taking a journalism career path comes with having a strong professional network. One best way to approach a potential networking source is by personally reaching out to reporters and editors you look up to and you know, have the potential to help you on how to become a journalist. You can start asking them to set up a time for small talks, either on the phone or better, in person. Once you manage to connect with them, share them stories about your journalism career experiences. You can also share with them your professional goals and ask them for the best way to become a journalist that can help you get started on your journalism career path.
Here’s our Pro-Tip: Always let the person know that you appreciate their time and effort. Make them see how you found value in your meetings. This is one great way to keep the relationship between you and them stronger, as well as to develop a long-term, reliable connection.
Image taken from Why Did the Chicken
Now that you’re done getting the idea of how to become a journalist, why not start building your career now? And how to do that? Start creating your journalism career portfolio!
Start Creating Your Journalist Career Path Portfolio With Strikingly!
Having an online portfolio of all your works is one holy grail. Not only can it save you from the troubles of storing your work in the wrong place, but most importantly, give you the chance to land a stable job.
Companies nowadays go and browse through online portfolios on searching for a candidate that fits their taste. They visit different online websites and carefully look through online portfolios posted by various individuals. By having your own created journalist portfolio, you are creating more opportunities for you and your future journalism career path. Once they saw your online portfolio and see your works, it will be easier for you to prove to them that you are capable of the job and is worth taking risk for.
Image taken from Radio Eden
We in Strikingly believe in every potential an individual has. We strive to help our users build an online portfolio to understand how to become a journalist and achieve their desired career path. We are one website builder who does not only help our users build their website, but most importantly, helps them figure out what they need in pursuing their goals.
Want more? Chat with us, and let’s start building your awesome online presence.
