Have the curiosity and determination to dig through records, interview sources and get to the bottom of a story? Great! We asked several professional journalists the best way to prepare for a successful career in journalism and this is what they had to say:
The best way to prepare yourself for a successful journalism career is practice, practice, practice. That means gaining experience and training. There are many ways to do this: study journalism in college; work for student media; intern at a local newspaper; find a mentor; and pursue paid internships like the Dow Jones News Fund’s internships.
If you are interested in preparing yourself to be a journalist here are some helpful resources:
- List of accredited college journalism programs
- Top 50 college newspapers
- List of paid journalism internships and fellowships
- Poytner’s News University
- Mentorship programs:
- Professional journalism associations offer extensive training, mentorship and networking opportunities for college students, who are also eligible to join at discounted rates:
- ACES: The Society for Editing ($40/year)
- Asian American Journalists Association ($25/year)
- National Association of Black Journalists ($40/year)
- Native American Journalists Association ($10/year)
- National Association of Hispanic Journalists ($25/year)
- NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists ($25/year)
- Online News Association ($25/year)
- Radio Television Digital News Association ($52/year)
- Society of Professional Journalists ($37.50/year)
Thank you to the journalists featured in this video: Maria Carrillo, assistant managing editor for enterprise, The Tampa Bay Times; Carla Correa, senior staff editor, The New York Times; Tyler Dukes, investigative reporter, WRAL; Adam Harris, staff writer, The Atlantic; Jennifer Loren, executive producer and host, “Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People;” Yolanda Martinez, graphics producer, The Marshall Project; Karen Lincoln Michel, interim publisher and editor-in-chief, Madison Magazine; Adam Playford, investigations editor, The Tampa Bay Times; Steven Rich, database editor, The Washington Post; Topher Sanders, investigative reporter, ProPublica; and Mark Trahant, editor, Indian Country Today.
Video produced by Jon Busdeker, Sunny Oranges Productions.
