New age Journalism — A career that knows no bounds

“Journalism can never be silent: That is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.”

– Henry Anatole Grunwald

A qualification in journalism produces graduates with many key elements that employers may want, these include initiative, how to write a story accurately and training in the growing area of mobile journalism. This training is offered in a number of institutions around Ireland, including some higher education and 3rd level institutions.

The modern journalist comes in many forms and the rise of the citizen journalist is evident in mainstream media in recent years, so many people may argue that a qualification in this field may become a thing of the past. Although a qualification in the area of journalism mainly focuses on the print aspect within the field many courses that offer training in the production of digital media are growing increasingly, to compete with the advancing digital world of mainstream journalism.

By looking at the industry itself we can see that there are a number of positions available both in print and broadcast media. Although each media institution is different there are a number of positions that apply to all forms of journalism.

Researchers are key to the production of any story in broadcast and print journalism. They are responsible for collecting relevant information and fact checking the content before it is either broadcast or published.

Freelancers are also an important part of many media organisation as they are able to create content that may not specifically be used for one publication. Freelancers work on their own time and may be affiliated with several different organisations. The contribution of freelancers to the production of news is essential especially when it comes to a breaking news story or a story that contains many angles. Each media organisation may employ approximately 8–10 freelancers depending on the size of the organisation.

The most important position and most prominent in print media is the editor. The editor must have an in depth knowledge into everything journalism related. They are responsible for finalising content and make all the final decisions on the layout and priority of the news in the newspapers. The job of the editor in print and broadcast media usually goes to a journalist who has been writing several years and someone who has worked in the industry for a long time.

As mentioned before the area of mobile and citizen journalism is ever growing which puts a demand on courses such as radio production and creative media which aim to train those seeking a career in the profession. These courses equip graduates with knowledge on the faster-paced industry as it is known today and it seems that gaining a qualification in radio skills or subjects that explore the aspect of social media journalism may offer a better insight in to the area of journalism today.

Institutions such as DCU, DIT and Trinity College all offer a 3rd level degree in journalism with the possibility of progressing to a level 8 or level 9 masters in the area. There are also some fee paying institutions like Griffith college in Dublin that offer training in the field.

Cross platform journalism is also an area of the sector that is growing in size. This is the idea of adding audio and video to written text to engage the reader further into the story. Courses that offer training in these skills have become more popular with those wishing to study journalism. These “digital” skills would be more suited to the growing area of multi-platform journalism and has become hugely popular in America with news forums such as The New York Times creating long form multi-platform journalistic pieces that use a number of different methods to engage the reader, such as interactive maps and slideshow videos.

These skills cannot be taught through traditional journalistic methods which calls for the need for the modern journalist to have skills in producing such pieces in order to compete with the increasing demand that exists among readers. These skills can be gained by training in digital and creative media and those wishing to do so can in study in a number of institutions such as itb (institute of technology Blanchardstown), Griffith college and NUIGalway.

As mentioned before if a Journalist wishes to make their living doing freelance work they must be prepared to look after their own finances. This involves planning jobs around the payment schedule. As some jobs pay differently to others they must know how much they should be getting paid for each job they are doing. Although there are set backs to being freelance there are also advantages as the freelancer is not directly associated with any particular organisation and can choose which work they want to do in the areas that interest them most making the freelance aspect of Journalism one that is desired by many graduates.