Do you remember the story of Hansel and Gretel? The siblings who were lured into the forest by their wicked step-mother but found their way back home by following the trail of shiny white pebbles Hansel had thrown on their way to the forest. Being a Journalist can be quite challenging and exciting too. Here is a detailed breakdown of the key opportunities and challenges every journalist will face. This article will help you swim through the murky waters of journalism with ease and help you find your place just like the pebbles brought Hansel and Gretel home.
Key Opportunities in Journalism
The field of journalism is filled with so many opportunities. You just have to weigh your skills and passion in a balance and choose a path you enjoy. This will make the job easier. Here are some key opportunities in journalism:
- Television/ Radio Broadcast: Whenever the word ‘journalism’ is mentioned, minds quickly travel to television/radio broadcast. This isn’t the only opportunity journalism offers. However, it presents a great opportunity for you to work in traditional media houses, share ideas with other like minded journalists, develop certain work ethics, increase network and gain experience.
- Niche Journalism: Another opportunity in the world of journalism is Niche Journalism. This has to do with choosing a particular pea in a pod and sticking to it. In Niche Journalism, one is required to choose a particular field and milk all it has to offer. You could pick a niche in the health sector, politics, education, technology, real estate, business, finance, sports or even entertainment and be a champion in that field. It requires gaining experience in a particular niche and garnering training, experience and certifications until you become a go-to person whenever information on that speciality is needed. It will make you relevant to niche centred publications, news outlets and broadcasting agencies.
- Online Media/Digital Journalism: With the constant advancement of technology, dissemination of information, stories and news is no longer restricted to traditional broadcasting. It would interest you to know that journalism has gone beyond television and radio broadcast. Journalists can now tap into technology by securing a place as writers, content creators whether for websites, blogs or social media. With just a laptop or even a mobile phone, content can be created on the go. For a young journalist full of passion for storytelling, writing, editing and discovering new stories, this is a great opportunity to build a career as a freelance Journalist; working at your own set time, terms and establishing multiple streams of income. Journalists with entrepreneurial goals can now earn from their personal streaming platforms which include; personal social media pages (Tiktok, Twitter, Facebook), YouTube, Medium, Tiny letter, SubStack , Patreon etcetera. There is no limit to the platform technology provides for Journalists.
- Photojournalism: Photos + Journalism. Does this ring a bell? Journalism is so broad that photo lovers and those who enjoy photography can also thrive in it. Journalism involves communication and photojournalism is simply communicating stories and news through pictures. Some people often say that images travel faster than words. Oftentimes, images enhance understanding, and make stories more compelling. For example, writing stories, features or reporting news about people dying of hunger would be best represented using pictorial representations of malnourished children or even pictures of people who look the part. This will not only drive home the message but it would further give depth to your story and leave a lasting image in the minds of readers, viewers or listeners.
- Investigative Journalism: Again, investigative journalism is another opportunity that can be explored in journalism. With a little more digging, you might discover gold. The field of investigative journalism deals with digging deep into issues and holding people of consequence accountable for their actions. It entails detailed research, interviews and asking several relevant questions to get to the crust of stories. Investigative journalists often believe that there is always something left unsaid or unshared in every story and it is from this belief , they form the basis of their work.
- Data Journalism: This is also another amazing opportunity in journalism. If you love the idea of telling and developing stories using data and turning them into graphs or infographics, you are best fit for this role. Journalism in general requires the ability to research, fact check and gather news. Being able to leverage data and work with statistics deepens your narrative and makes you an attractive journalist. It is often proof that you understand the requirements of your job and know your sauce.
- Editors: A lot of effort and hardwork go into news reporting and sharing of stories. After research and fact checking of stories and reports, there is a need for editors to edit and proofread scripts. This also offers a place for journalists.
- Columnist: Also, it would interest you to know that journalists can also make a living creating stories for magazines, newspapers, blogs and other publications. They generate content that can spur readers to express their opinions and air their views. They achieve this by sharing their opinion on a particular subject and drawing their audience in with questions that can spur deep conversations and more opinions. This way, they do not get to just report stories but share their opinion and match it with that of their audience. Oftentimes, this helps to generate traffic and make stories robust as it captures several angles asides the subject of focus.
- Freelance Journalism: As earlier mentioned, Journalism has grown and expanded beyond traditional reporting. Journalists can now work and earn from multiple streams even from the comfort of their homes. Companies, organizations and firms hire freelance journalists everyday. With a strong writing skill, you are good to go. Some writers sell their piece per word while some others work based on contracts for publishing firms, companies and media houses. Freelance journalists have the privilege of determining their schedule and pay. This is usually for journalists who are passionate about entrepreneurship.
- Advocacy and Solution Journalism: Advocacy and solution journalism, is yet another opportunity journalism offers. One of its core characteristics is its deep human focus. It focuses on solution finding, fighting for human rights, and social justice. This is a hot niche for journalists, seeking to make a mark. Firms and media houses, looking to dig into new stories and report beyond traditional news, will find advocacy journalists interesting to work with.
Challenges Ahead for a Journalist
Miguel de Cervantes’ once said, “Forewarned; forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.” Beginning a career in Journalism is a worthwhile venture but just like all other roads to success, it could also be a bumpy ride. Not to worry, this article is your buddy and just like Miguel said, “ …to be prepared is half the victory.” Below are challenges prevalent in journalism:
- Fast-paced Deadlines: Whether you are working as a journalist for media houses or just freelancing, it is important to note that the news industry thrives on meeting deadlines. Most stories require prompt actions and are time sensitive. This part of the job could come with a lot of pressure. Irrespective of how limited time could be, journalists are expected to produce quality and factual work. This means there would be a need to plan your schedule, set up reminders, calendars and utilize technologies that can increase your speed, fact check your news, limit errors and enhance the quality of your work.
- Unstable Finances: With little access to funds some traditional media houses are struggling. This is a disadvantage to journalists as this flaw doesn’t guarantee job security. With increasing cost of living and a constant need to meet personal and family needs, lack of funding is a major challenge. Freelance journalists face the worst hit as there is no guarantee of consistent funds. Can you create this mental picture in your mind? – a passionate journalist with rent to pay, family to cater for and a sick mother to care for but hasn’t received a steady income in two months. These conditions in some cases could cause journalists to comprise the tenets of truth, integrity and credibility. These values are the core values of journalism and comprising them cannot be justified no matter the circumstance. Comprise is comprise.
- Dwindling Press Liberty: Another challenge journalists face is the danger of dwindling press liberty. 72 journalists have been reported dead in 2024. Some journalists have faced severe sanctions for lending their voices to sensitive issues. In some regions, these attacks could come from government agencies and people of consequence. Some introduce restrictions and censor the media. Journalists under the coverage of big firms or media houses are not left out. Freelance journalists are the worst hit.
- Personal -professional Harmony: Journalists often have a struggle of creating a seamless harmony between their personal lives and professional life. Due to the increasing demands for time-relevant stories and constant updates on occurrences and trends, there are chances that a dedicated journalist can experience burnouts and an unbalanced mental health. This disconnect often spills into their personal lives as they sometimes might run into a risk of not prioritizing their relationships, friendships and family. In the world of media, there are no holidays as events are always occurring and new stories will always come up. Freelance journalists are not excluded. Gathering facts and in depth stories, might require long travels and trips away from home especially for investigative journalism. These activities can often create a crack in the personal and professional life of a journalist. However, some firms have a way of making up for these lapses.
- Advanced Technology: The advent of advanced technology can be a blessing or a curse to journalists depending on usage. With recent technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), which can aid research, there is every tendency for a journalist to become less creative and rely solely on these platforms which will eliminate creativity and dismiss human angles to stories. Again, with access to these technologies, there is this rising fear that AI would replace human journalists in the future. Note, this does not discredit the benefits of the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in journalism. There are advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, these technological tools lack human angle to stories.
- Censored Reporting: One of the core values for journalism is unbiased reporting/storytelling and truth. However, with threats to security, cyberattacks, and even murder, a journalist can be forced to censor reports and stories for the sake of safety. In some way there is a compromise.
- The cost of Sacrifice: Building a successful career in journalism requires sacrifice. From self discovery, to personal development, and building a portfolio via internships, training, mentorship. This could be challenging and sometimes, navigating these waters would require funds, late working hours and risk. One needs to be better prepared.
- Need for research: Gaining accurate and credible information requires intentional fact-checking and research. The absence of these can put a journalist at risk of mis-information and giving fake news credibility which could lead to serious litigation issues and backlash from people in power such as the government.
In conclusion, Journalism is an honourable profession built on the firm foundation of truth, integrity, credibility, and objectivity. These qualities make it remarkable. Being dynamic, it presents life changing and exciting opportunities. The ever increasing growth of technology , and new platforms for journalism has created new platforms for journalists to hone their skills, make their marks and connect to global audiences. Freelancing, entrepreneurial journalism, data journalism, photojournalism, online media, and developing technologies like AR and VR are further expanding the limits of the field, allowing journalists to tell stories in a more engaging and dynamic style.
As honourable as journalism is, it is also burdened with certain challenges such as fast-paced deadlines, unstable finances, dwindling press liberty, personal -professional harmony, fear of advanced technology, censored reporting, cost of sacrifice and the need for research. With easy access to disseminating information, there is a high chance of an increase in the spread of fake news, making fact checking a necessary task in journalism despite the time based reporting nature of the field. Therefore, the need to preserve oneself against litigation and ensure safety becomes paramount. Again, technological disruption introduces the fear of the unknown about the place of humans in journalism due to the advent of these advanced technologies. Journalists have to struggle to gain relevance and still maintain a balanced personal and professional life irrespective of the struggle..
Despite these roadblocks, the core pillars of journalism which include truth, credibility, objectivity, integrity still remain core components of a functional society. For journalists who chose to maintain a grit mindset, expressing willingness to adapt, innovate, and uphold these values, journalism will continue to provide a remarkable, fulfilling and rewarding career path. Assuredly, the future of journalism will depend on how well the industry adapts new models while maintaining its unique sauce even in the face of an ever changing world.
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