By Ryan Murphy, RTNDA Digital Media Editor

This week, RTNDA Chairman Stacey Woelfel offered an insightful blog giving news managers advice on what to expect from the next generation of hires. He tailored his piece to suit an audience comprising those who’d be making the hires. As such, I thought it would be a good idea to put the shoe on the other foot and give those future hires – today’s incoming journalism students – a sense of what they should expect and strive for in studying journalism.

I graduated with an M.S. in journalism from Boston University in December of 2005. I’ve been in your shoes before and I know the decision to study journalism is, as you know, not an easy one.  There are economic considerations – “Can I justify all these student loans when I’ll be making a journalist’s salary?” There are academic concerns – “Is this course really preparing me for the working world?” – And there’s also the ever-lingering fear of never finding a job at all.
When I finished grad school people asked me if I’d do it again. The answer has always been “yes” and I usually offer the following pieces of advice:

The best thing you’ll take out of journalism school is the contacts: Contacts in journalism are gold. You’d be hard pressed to find someone working at a station or a newspaper who applied cold and got the position. Find people to open doors for you. The faculty you’ll be working with is an amazing resource for contacts. They’re likely folks who’ve been in the field for years. Spend time with them. Get to know them. Show them your work. Volunteer for them. Do what it takes to get noticed and doors will open. You’ll likely never have this kind of access to such a diverse field of journalism minds again.

GPA is not as important as you think: I come from a home where education was priority number one. Both mom and dad are teachers. From kindergarten through senior year my GPA was my identity. It defined success or failure. In studying journalism, I quickly learned to throw that notion out the window. I’m not saying to fail your courses – but if you’re in a program that offers grades (some don’t) realize that journalism is a strict meritocracy – you are judged on the work you’ve done and the experience you have – not necessarily the A+ you got on your research final.

Your clipbook and your resume tape are your lifelines: I can’t stress this enough. When you’re in school, get as much professional experience as you possibly can. Build a clip book that’s too big to carry and a resume tape that shines. If your school offers you a contact in a professional newsroom or an internship program, use it well and do whatever it takes to get clips at that organization. When you’re applying for jobs, you want options, so diversify your clips as much as possible.

Find professors who embrace new media:  The days of simply learning and perfecting the inverted pyramid are past us. Of course, above all else, it’s essential to know how to write and all the professors you’ll have will embrace this notion. However, not all will embrace digital media with open arms. Today’s journalists need to be writers, producers, editors, web designers, multimedia producers, videographers, social media gurus, salespeople and media critics all rolled into one. Find professors who understand that and are innovative in their teaching approach. As the field evolves, so should the education. Do not waste your time in a class where you aren’t learning something new.

If you have any questions about journalism school anything media related please don’t hesitate to contact me at ryanm@rtnda.org.