As part of LSE’s ‘Careers in Creative Industries’ 2022 programme, Sirin Kale (The Guardian and freelance features writer) and Josh Roberts (City and Finance Correspondent, The Economist) joined LSE’s Professor Charlie Beckett to discuss the journalism sector, share their own career journeys and provide top tips for those aspiring to work in the industry.
Here are 5 key takeaways:
1. You don’t have to study journalism to pursue a career in the industry
Coming up with ideas and having the confidence to pitch them is more important. Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need lots of contacts to get you started – you’ll develop them along the way.
2. Find a subject that you’re interested in and write about it
It doesn’t matter what you’re writing and who’s reading it but hone your skills on something you’re passionate about or have a particular perspective on. Don’t underestimate how valuable your experiences are to other people. Josh started by writing weekly market reports for the consulting firm he was working at. Sirin began by writing about her life in London.
3. How much do you (honestly) like writing?
As a print journalist, writing is what you’ll be doing most of the time. If that isn’t your primary love but you still want to be a journalist, there are plenty of roles out there where writing is less important, such as podcasting, TV and radio production.
4. Make freelancing work for you
Sirin and Josh both acknowledged that it’s tough to be hired straight off by big publications, and freelancing is often the only to get started, build experience and those all-important ‘cuts’ (examples of your writing). Start by pitching to smaller publications, who might have smaller budgets but are willing to work with you. Take a strategic approach.
5. Have a social media presence
Twitter is still widely used in the industry but be careful what you post (imagine your future boss reading it). TikTok and podcasting are increasingly profitable parts of journalism so consider building a portfolio of content in those spaces.
The Careers in Journalism Panel was part of the Careers in Creative Industries programme run by LSE Careers. You can read catch up on the full panel now on CareerHub under ‘materials and recordings‘.
