What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper! “Journalism is the entertainment business” - Frank Herbert.
Journalism is fun, exciting and interesting. But… What exactly is journalism?! Those who work in the media industry are called journalists. Journalists can write for a publication meaning either a newspaper, magazine or for an Internet site. They may also work on the radio and even TV.
A journalist’s main job is to write. But before they can write anything they have to research information for the story that they are going to cover. They can use online or offline sources to gain information or they can interview somebody. This somebody then provides quotes for the journalist and gives insight information that an online or offline source may not have. Interviews may be recorded onto a Marantz for example, and these recordings would be suitable to broadcast as part of a news bulletin.
So what makes a good journalist? A journalist has to be committed, hard working, determined and courageous. A journalist has to follow up a story that he or she may of heard floating around the office; therefore they must be eager to succeed and constantly looking for the next OH MY GOD angle of a story! Their stories must be gripping and lure in the reader with snappy headlines. Pictures usually accompany these headlines, which also help grab the readers’ attention. A journalist has to give 110% all the time. A journalist has to be enthused about their job because without enthusiasm where would you be?
There are many roles in the media journalism industry where journalists can be divided into different categories which include reporters, editors, sub-editors and producers as well with other employees work closely together to gather the news to deliver to the publish in a publication or broadcast on the radio or TV. In print, there are people who work on the design and layout of the magazine or newspaper.
There is also a production management team who look for advertisers; make sure deadlines are met; they communicate with the printers and so on. Whereas, in radio and TV there are researchers hired to research information about a topic, write it up and give it to the presenters for them to present.
The main person in any publication is the editor. An editor chooses what content is suitable for the publication. If the content is suitable it might need a few tweaking here and there and then its published, whereas for the unfortunate one whose articles had been rejected would then have to brainstorm some fresh ideas and present them again to the editor and repeat the process.
A sub-editor in a publication has to have a wide general knowledge. They have to be masters in the English language. They correct any grammar, punctuation, spelling mistakes and so on. They have to make sure that the article reads perfectly.
In a broadcasting scene, this role is called the producer. The producer chooses what is going to be broadcast in the radio or TV station. Producers have to follow cue sheets so the team run on a schedule – so this means presenters have a certain amount of minutes of talking, interviewees are on air for an allocated amount of minutes, ad breaks come on in certain times.
After a journalist or an employee in a radio or TV station pitches their idea to the editor of a publication or producer they will then gather relevant information together as mentioned earlier where they will interview people, use a range of sources and write their piece, or use Adobe Audition in radio to edit audio. In print, when their piece is published they then will get a by-line, which simply means that their name will be written on their work. Sounds awesome, right?
A reporter has to go out find stories for that specific area that they are working in and report all the facts from events such as political debates, war scenes and Grammy’s on the red carpet in a newspaper magazine or through broadcast. When reporting they write down all the details about the event, along with facts and explanation and can report live through TV, radio or have their article published the following day. The report has to literally report what happened at the event.
In print, there are employees that work on the design of a newspaper or magazine. In a newspaper they have the masthead, which means that they follow the same design every day or every Sunday. The reason for this is because in design, you don’t want to confuse your reader so it is important ensure that design is similar always, and if any changes were made to design it would have to be bare minimum just because you don’t want to confuse your reader that the newspaper has changed too dramatically as readers might reject the change and opt for a different paper. In a magazine, those working on design have to be more imaginative. They have to use their white space extremely well. Usually, a magazine targeted at a more mature, educated audience would typically be clean cut. If the magazine were targeted at a younger audience and at those less educated, usually that magazine would have a dramatic look and look busier. Pictures also help in design. They have to fit the target audience, be bright and eye-catching. Pictures have to help grab the people’s attention. Those working on photos would have to research photos online, organise photo shoots and hire photographers and maybe in some cases even take photos themselves for an article. Design is really important guys – it is not to be underestimated!
Journalism comes in many forms that include news and opinion. News can include breaking news which means telling an event that just happened, feature stories meaning a detailed peek into something that didn’t make the news and last but not least enterprise or investigative stories meaning stories that uncover information that few people know about.
Opinion on the other hand can include editorials such as unsigned articles that express a publication's opinion; columns that include signed articles that express the writer's reporting and his or her conclusions and finally reviews that include concerts, restaurant or movie reviews.
Finally, a big trend that’s speeding into the spotlight – that is the next wow factor is online journalism! Online journalism can come in the form as listed above as well as coming in the form of blogs. A blog is an online diary kept by an individual or small group.
However, there is the tendency to be bias or elaborate on one point and completely leave out another point. This is called gatekeeping. The competition in the media to get the story first can put stress on a publication or broadcast station, which can lead to some rumours floating around. You also don’t want to write down anything that is defamatory. Defamatory simply means any published materials that are untrue against an individual or group. Subsequently, this can cause uproar. This is a big no-no kids! It is important to make sure that when you are writing to ensure that you’re work is fair and accurate to avoid getting into trouble.
Putting that aside – the media industry is awesome! There has been many organisations set up that include the NUJ that stands for the National Union Journalists, the NNI that stands for National Newspapers of Ireland and the Press Council to protect journalists.
The NUJ claim that they are “the voice for journalists and journalism”. According to the NUJ website they believe that they are an active, campaigning organisation seeking to improve the pay and conditions of our members and working to protect and promote media freedom, professionalism and ethical standards in all media.
For those aspiring journalists, the NUJ is an active union with members taking part in campaigning, negotiating and lobbying, seeking to ensure that they are properly rewarded for the skilled work we do. At the same time, when things do get tough at work, the NUJ is there to represent you and stand up for your rights.
NNI meaning National Newspapers of Ireland and NNI Local and Regional Newspapers represents 18 national daily, Sunday and weekly newspapers and 35 local and regional newspapers with a combined weekly circulation of almost 6.5 m copies.
The NNI believe that they are committed to promoting and portraying newspapers and their digital activities as the most comprehensive source of news and information, and as the most effective medium for advertising.
The Press Ombudsman deals with complaints in relation to the printed media only. It is funded by the print industry, meaning newspapers and magazines. It drafted a Code of Practise for journalists.
The Press Council of Ireland and the Press Ombudsman have been set up to protect and promote professional and ethical standards in Irish newspapers and printed materials. The Press Council is the news independent supervising body, and assigns the Press Ombudsman. The Office of the Press Ombudsman ensures that everybody in Ireland now has access to an independent press complaints method that is quick, far and free. The news structures are designed to ensure that the freedom of the press is never abused, and that the public interest is always served. These are the main principles of independent press regulation all around the world.
If the world of media is still appealing to you, there are many employers in the media industry that hire journalism enthusiasts. Some of these include Johnston Press, Rupert Murdoch Dennis O’Brien.
Johnston Press Johnston Press plc is one of the top three largest local newspaper publishers in the UK and a major force on the Internet. Johnston Press publish local newspapers and internet sites produced by local teams of people who have a dedicated commitment to producing local news and information that both inform and reflect the important issues of the communities they serve, thus encouraging loyal, committed and valuable readers and internet users.
Another employer is Rupert Murodoch. When working in the media industry you will quickly become familiar with Rupert Murdoch’s media outlets that have a huge shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation, which was originally held in Australia, expanding to the many countries including Ireland. He owns many newspapers that include both the Irish and UK versions of The Sunday Times. The Irish edition offices of Sunday Times are held in Dublin City Centre.
In broadcast, Dennis O’Brien owns a company named Communicorp that owns many radio stations. Dennis O’Brien founded Communicorp in 1989. He later founded Communicorp Group, which has expanded to seven other neighbouring European countries, which owns and manages several media and broadcasting related radio companies. Spin FM being the most familiar with the young ones! He also owns 98 FM as well as several other popular radio stations.
Another company that hire people who are interested in journalism and broadcast is RTÉ. The people of Ireland own RTÉ. RTÉ employs a wide variety of professional and highly skilled people including journalists and producers in Ireland.
Are you still interested? There are many training opportunities at further education level both here in Ireland and in the UK that offer FETEC level courses that will give you some sort of a qualification in the media industry as well as the opportunity to further on into universities and get a degree.
You can apply directly to these universities in Ireland through the CAO website. Some of these colleges include DIT, DCU, DBS, Independent College Dublin and Griffith. However, there are other options to get some sort of qualification in media and journalism. If you’d rather study something more broad before jumping into the media industry – many universities offer degrees in European Studies, Arts, English and so on that can lead to journalism and media. From here, you can also apply to do a masters in journalism or media if that’s the route you want to take. You can find more information on the CAO website.
If you don’t get enough points on your Leaving Cert don’t fret folks! Where there is a will, there is a way. You can apply directly to a FETEC course, so you don’t go through the owl CAO system. FETEC courses are normally a level 5/6 depending whether it is 1 or 2 years. You can directly apply to these types of colleges by filling out the application form. These types of colleges include Ballyfermot College of Further Education, Rathmines College of Further Education and Communication & Management Institute. From here you then have the option where you can then choose to continue getting educated and apply to a university or you can jump in the deep end; build up a portfolio and gain relevant experience to look for a job. If you opt to go into a university, you can also apply to do a masters if you would like.
If Ireland doesn’t tickle you’re fancy then there is always the option of jumping across the pond to the UK, which may be more desirable for you. You can apply to colleges in the UK through the UCAS website. There are loads of colleges that offer degree courses in media and journalism. A couple of these colleges include London Metropolitan, Liverpool John Moores University, Edinburgh Napier University, University of Chester and so on. You can find more information on these colleges in the UCAS website.
There is a real buzz to the media world. You got to know a little about a lot! You got to keep your audience entertained and interested with their ears peeled back. As Burton Rascoe once wrote, “A news sense is really a sense of what is important, what is vital, what has colour and life – what people are interested in. That’s journalism”.
Richard Oakley, News Editor, The Sunday Times
Richard Oakley has been working in The Sunday Times since the summer of 2003. He was a former political reporter is now the news editor.
Richard Oakley can be described as being courageous, bright and well rounded. He has a lot of experience and achievements under his belt. His proudest one to date is when he won “Journalist of the Year” for revealing the expenses paid to the politicians when he was younger.
He studied English and Philosophy in UCD. After gradually dawning on him that there were little job vacancies for philosophers he opted to look for work elsewhere. “In 3rd year in college I was asked to write an article about the rowing club that I was involved in for the sport section of The College Tribune, an independent student newspaper set up by Vincent Browne…I became more and more involved in the newspaper, becoming sports editor and helping out with other duties so much that English and Philosophy sort of took a backseat”.
The following year, Richard then applied to editor with another college student, where he spent his final year in UCD not as a student, but as the co-editor of the College Tribune. Richard says, “Being editor was like being thrown in the deep end. It was a full-time job, getting stories, designing the paper, finding ads, dealing with contributors, printers and so on, but we managed to produce 13 issues”.
He kept himself busy by writing about rowing for national newspapers, The Title and The Independent. He also had news stories published in The Independent based on stories that he had been working on for the College Tribune. With his growing portfolio of work Richard says, “I asked Matt Cooper, then editor, of the Sunday Tribune if I could join his paper as an intern. I joined the Tribune in 1998 and stayed there until 2003”.
Despite the fact that Richard didn’t study journalism in college he admits, “my experience in the College Tribune was a good grounding basics”. He reveals, “I remember applying to do a masters in journalism in DCU but not hearing back”. Maybe he posted it to the wrong address?
Richard says, “You get out of journalism what you put in. The harder you work at getting stories the better the job. There is a buzz to being involved in breaking stories that matter”. Although, the downside he admits is “it is quite a demanding job and you tend never to be off duty. Also it can be a controversial job and you have to be willing to take a stand on things even though this may lead to run-ins with people”.
In journalism folks you can still have the craic in work with your interviewees! On one occasion Richard reflects, “when he was talking to Enda Kenny somebody told him that I do a good impression of him. Kenny then started interviewing me as if he were the journalist and I was him demanding that I do the impression. I was mortified and refused”.
In order to be a successful journalist, Richard believes that you must “Read newspapers. Lots of them. Ask questions. But more importantly, write. And never take yourself too seriously”.
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Richard Oakley, News Editor, The Sunday Times
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