Q: I'm still in high school, and I'm interested in pursuing a career in journalism. I know exactly what I want to do with my career and what types of things I expect from myself, but I need help finding out how best to go about achieving these goals. What I'd really like to do is work for a small-town newspaper or magazine.
Most people who pursue a career in journalism often see themselves reporting for a large metropolitan newspaper someday, but I'd be content to work in a small town instead. Contrary to what I had thought, my family told me that it would be more difficult to find a job in a small town than in a large city. Is it true that journalism jobs are more competitive in smaller towns than in large cities?
Currently, I am looking at several very small public schools (around 5,000-12,000 students). Many of my friends have encouraged me to look at larger private schools such as Duke or Seton Hall. Would I be better off at one of these larger schools, or does the size of the school really matter? I think that in a smaller school I would have many more opportunities to write for the school newspaper and there would be considerably less cut-throat competition.
I don't know what types of schools to look at, and I'm getting very confused. Please tell me what type of school you would recommend, and please tell me how competitive the job market in smaller towns relates to the competition in large cities.
Not the usual
A: I'm glad you want to start small. And if you stay small, that's great, too.
Too many people think that biggest is always best, but that clearly isn't the case. Stick to your plan until you, yourself decide to change it. A couple of thoughts:
I'm going to have to disagree with your parents on the ease of getting jobs at large papers. It is clearly more difficult. At this paper, we received about a hundred internship applications for every spot we filled. Smaller papers have less competition.
It is true that larger papers generally pay better, but those paychecks also come with higher costs of living and everything else.
As for schools, you sound like you are most comfortable with a small school, so I would look for filling some big shoes on a small campus.
The larger schools are fine and can have journalism programs with more resources but, again, competition. At some schools, it is extremely hard just to get on the paper because of all the competition. Smaller schools often have another problem -- too few staffers.
But, putting your comfort aside, think about this for a second: If you plan to have a small-town experience when you are out of school why not go for something big while you are in? It might be your best chance to mix things up a bit. And more competition often forces faster learning.
