A very res­pec­ted jour­na­list once told me, “I’m always telling stu­dents, if you want to be a jour­na­list, for God’s sake don’t be a Jour­na­lism Major. Study something else, like The Clas­sics or Archi­tec­ture. That means when you start loo­king for work, you’ll be brin­ging something to the table besi­des ‘Shop Talk’.”

via  Gapingvoid.

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6 Comments

  1. The most successful journalists I know came about it obliquely. A well rounded, well read, interesting person is more likely to have something to say than someone who just knows how the pieces of the journalism machine work.

  2. I give that same advice to young photographers too. I was an anthropology major with a minor in American history, but took photography and film classes during the summers at Tisch, ICP and The New School. I did suffer in some ways during my early years since I wasn’t completely in the loop but I had a POV that other young photographers didn’t. My academic studies are still informing my work.

  3. Oh, I don’t know. I was a journalism major. It helped me get a journalism job right out of college. That’s probably all you can really ask of a college education. Then other skills/experiences tend to influence the path of your career.

    One thing I’ll never regret is time spent as a reporter on a daily newspaper. It teaches you how to write succinctly and quickly. That skill has been beneficial to me in every job I’ve held.

    A lot of very smart people simply can’t express their thoughts in writing. That is a pretty big impediment in the business world. Whether you remain in journalism or move on to a different career path, I think the grounding you get in a journalism curriculum can be pretty useful.

    Whatever your educational background, I think having a range of interests and skills always helps. That’s what makes you unique and leads to interesting opportunities.

  4. Some of the best photographers are from the sciences, they understand all of the technical info intuitively and have a good eye for spatial relationships.

  5. I could have never lived a life of isolation. I went to Berlin one time with my mother at the age of 14. One day I said I would be back in the afternoon, and was asked what I was going to do. I said I was going to explore the city, see the street artists, visit places I had seen in my fathers pictures. The day of riding the u-rail, buses, walking, watching, eating, added passion to my life.

    A single day in my life instilled a desire. Everywhere I have lived or visited I have gone out and explored, learned about the contents of the world around me. I look back at the places I have been, and the wanderings have added to how I see and express life, not just my job. IMHO A well rounded person has more to offfer and the point of the article.

    Love the articles Rob

  6. More than ever this is the right advice to give to young photographers. I think the days of depending on a newspaper job to give the young photographer seasoning are nearly gone, if not dead already. And there are too many good photographers out there who know all about twisting knobs on cameras and making images look spiffy on web pages. Lots and lots of photographers who look good. What a difference when you find a photographer who has something to say, has real knowledge of the world, and has passion for something other than Photoshop. Photographers like that stand out in the crowd.

    Jim


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