Career Discovery: Media and Reporting

There are disadvantages to having your children at home during the Coronavirus crisis. They are only taking classes online, cut off from their friends, missing athletic practices, and maybe even falling behind on their preparations to take standardized tests.

But there are advantages too. One is that some students are discovering certain professions for the first time. Most often, they are careers that have suddenly been getting more attention and exposure because of the crisis.

In today’s post and in the days to come, we will be writing about these careers and making sure they have not escaped your attention, or the attention of students who have been spending time at home.

Media and Reporting

A parent who lives outside New York recently told us that while watching television coverage of the Coronavirus situation, her daughter suddenly expressed interest in studying to become a television reporter.

“We were watching a young woman reporter live on air about the measures that the town of New Rochelle, New York, was taking to help protect the health of its citizens,” this mother explains. “Suddenly, out of the blue, our daughter turned to us and said, `I would like to learn how to be an on-site reporter like her . . . couldn’t that lead to a bigger career in news coverage for a television station?”

Yes, it could. And suddenly, that high school student had discovered a possible college major and a possible career.

How to Prepare for a Career in Reporting the News

Broadcast Journalism and Communications are the college majors that can lead to a first job as an on-camera news reporter. Fortunately, a wide variety of colleges and universities offer those majors. Institutions range from prestigious universities (including USC, Syracuse, Boston University, Emerson College) to local community colleges around the country and even some online institutions (including the University of Phoenix).

Note that the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) reviews and accredits various programs in broadcast journalism and has compiled a list of its accredited programs.

In addition to studying Broadcast Journalism or Communications in college, these activities can help students prepare for a career in broadcasting . . .

Joining broadcasting clubs in high school
Working for college radio and television stations
Interning and/or working summer jobs at cable television stations

Plus, starting a career in on-air broadcasting really can lead to a career in journalism, news writing, television production and other fields. If you and your children haven’t been thinking about starting a career in this branch of journalism, perhaps you should investigate it now.

To Learn More about College and Career Options

Teachers, we invite all your students to explore their career options by participating in our career and college research studies. Students who complete the free career test for high school students will receive information on college and career opportunities matched to their interests.

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