How to get ahead in journalism
Critical thinking towards others and yourself, hard work, resourcefulness, journalism is definitely a demanding job. After their free-lance careers in the field, John Murphy and Andrew Green developed their view on how to get ahead in journalism.
As John Murphy puts it, aspiring journalists need ‘some literary ability, a plausible manner and "Rat-like cunning," as Rudyard Kipling said'
Concerning the suited background to become a journalist, a degree is surely not (anymore) the only thing that will get you employed, ‘media students are up and down the country' as Andrew puts it. Nevertheless, as explained by Sherwin Coelho in a Guardian article, it remains your bare minimum to be taken seriously on the job market.
Stressing on the importance of curiosity and open-mindedness, Andrew said: ‘I was a big reader, [...] I gave importance to other journalist's work, practising in a variety of style is important' .
On the other hand, John emphasized the ability to think critically, as Seymour Hersh said: ‘If your mother says she loves you, check it out.'
"One of the great things about the digital evolution of journalism is that it has opened up niche and specialist publishing," said Ross Hawkes in the Guardian. Nonetheless, the interviewees are not the only thing you have to target; you also have to understand what your editor and your audience want and how relevant your angle is.
‘Write every day' is also a piece of advice I've heard often, notably by Laurent Joffrin, head editor of Liberation, one of the biggest French newspaper. ‘Generate your ideas and find contacts; you have to be pro-active' suggested John Murphy.
Talking about your image, when you apply for a job you will ‘have to persuade people that you can do the job,' stated John Murphy, reminding me of how important the shape over the content is. ‘When making a call you have 20 seconds to persuade somebody that your story is worth it,' followed Andrew.
Do not only send emails, remember that face to face and phone call give more room for persuasion, ‘I think email is the fastest way to apply but the slowest way to make an impression.' said Sherwin Coelho.
Andrew green warned me ‘You have to be prepared to be exploited.' For him, the most important way to get experience as to build a solid CV and to be seen.
‘There was one computer for eight journalists consequently I had to write fast,' John said. He underlined that self-discipline, challenge, and speed allowed him to keep up the pace; a pace that is increasingly faster in our current context.
‘The most important thing I did for my career? I wrote a book.' said Mark Kobayashi-Hillary to the Guardian. Surprisingly, he reminded me that the most crucial things are not always what we expected, he explains ‘the effort will be rewarded in the effect on how you are viewed in your company and the marketplace in general.'
Journalism being versatile, how to go ahead in this field depends on what kind of journalism you wish for. When I asked if a sensationalist style was necessary, Andrew answered ‘I not a sensationalist and I didn't want to be one.' Before the interview, I had the intuition that sensationalism and opinion journalism was something to avoid in order to give more room for in-depth thinking rather than reaction. However, Andrew and John had a different view ‘Its best to concentrate on news that people actually want to read, most times that is bad news but not always, and do not judge your readers.' said John ; Whereas Andrew stated ‘Emotions will always be an essential ingredient of news [...] people want factual information but also an opinion.' However, journalism remains ‘ a disposable medium and not a more serious academic opinion as in a book [...] an opinion can be irrelevant the next day'.
Still, he reckons that journalism is ‘a form of entertainment.'
The issue of opinion bias also appeared when Andrew worked for the BBC ‘there was more need for balance and impartiality.' However, that doesn't mean that you cannot write for another media to write down your opinion. Andrew did not work in a field overwhelmed by criticism like politics but ‘if both sides are criticizing you are probably right' he said.
When I asked if aspiring journalists should study media studies (or media culture) I got contrasted answers: On one hand, John answered no because medias studies are ‘journalist-haters'; On the other hand, Andrew answered ‘I think so, can't imagine not being interested, it's healthy.' I was not surprised given that Andrew worked more is ‘slow journalism' compared to John who worked in a faster environment.
I told Andrew about my interest in the sustainability for qualitative journalism, the spread of binary thinking (seeing things black and white) and in-depth thinking through media. Andrew shared his concern ‘I can't stand shallowness [...] I read different newspapers [...] I'm not saying there's a golden past and I don't insult people; But to stay informed a smartphone is not enough.
