Monday, April 14, 2008

Who Wants to Be a Journalist


Nope, not the name of a new game show, but close. It seems like television these days is making journalism seem like the ideal field to be in and this blog by James Poniewozik at Time recognizes this new phenomenon.


I love the post that Poniewozik wrote because I, too, have been noticing recently that MTV especially seems to be hyping up journalism like no other. Not only does the network have its favorite "reality" star, Lauren Conrad, interning at Teen Vogue (though the actual work that she does is up for debate), but it also has a brand new reality series called The Paper that chronicles the race for editor-in-chief at a Florida high school.


Here's one line in particular from the piece that popped out at me:


"The lesson, I suppose, is that everyone wants to work in magazines, or newspapers, or TV news. It's just that no one wants to buy, read or watch them—except on a soap opera or a cable reality show. Journalism students, plan your careers accordingly."


For someone who is trying to plan their career accordingly, that sentence is a little daunting, but I also have to admit, incredibly insightful. The field of journalism seems like the perfect place on television, yet it is an area where the future of traditional formats is ambiguous and veterans and rookies alike are finding it hard to keep their heads above water. So, it makes me wonder--are we all writers at heart or is television hypnotizing youth into believing journalism is the "it job"?


Everybody wants to be a journalist, but how many of us actually will be?

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