How to Break into Campus Journalism

If you’re looking to break into the non-paying world of campus journalism, you’re going to have some hurdles to overcome. Not only are journalism departments notoriously hard to get into (well, the good ones, anyway), but you might also find it easy to get into a department only to find out they’re working for a less-than-celebrated publication. No matter what your position is right now, you need to remember that breaking into campus journalism is easier when you know what you’re facing.

Get Thee to the Journalism Department

The first thing you need to do to get into campus journalism is to find the journalism department. This is especially important when you aren’t majoring in writing. Talk to the people who are already writing for the paper or the campus magazine. Find out if you can help out in some way, though some campuses might need you to be a journalism major to get started. Even if that’s not the case, you will need to do some hunting and you’ll need to talk to as many people as possible to show them that you’re serious about helping out in a non-paying position. Learn how you can help out in little ways as those can lead to bigger positions of power and responsibility in the future.

Sign Up to Major in Journalism

Of course, if you’re majoring in journalism, you will probably need to sign up to work with the campus newspaper. After all, you need to make sure that you’re using the skills that you’re learning in class. Even if you don’t decide to major in journalism, just taking a few classes in this type of writing will help you get into campus journalism. What you might want to do as well when you’re majoring in journalism is to look for outside opportunities to try out your journalism expertise. It’s all about cultivating skills, and not just seeing your name in the campus paper. (Right?)

Start Your Own Campus Paper

If all else fails, you can also start up your own on-campus publication. This will allow you to get your name out as a journalist, without having to jump through the hoops of campus journalism. You will be able to talk about things that are important to you and only be responsible for deadlines that you set. At the same time, it can help to find a mentor so that you’re not completely winging it and (possibly) making a fool of yourself in the process.

Campus journalism is still a way to get the students’ voices heard and a way for you to learn how to write effectively. Though you don’t have to be a ‘journalist’ to be a successful writer, it also doesn’t hurt to try writing for a more organized group.