I am a fairly experienced writer, but I have little experience in journalistic writing and no formal education in journalism. I believe I can pick up the craft aspects of this form of writing. However, I don't really know where to begin in terms of career path.
So, I would like to know what options are available to a skilled beginner without a diploma whose goal is to become a professional magazine or newspaper journalist. Should I write freelance articles and submit them where I can? Should I apply for some sort of junior/intern/coffee-delivery position at publishers? I understand that any path will probably take years, and I am alright with that. I am just looking for general advice on where to get work when first starting out.
I am also curious if the lack of degree will hurt me significantly. Would four years back at school benefit me more than four years trying to break into the field without that degree?
Answer
The degree is less important than your clips and prior work experience. However, journalism is very hierarchical. Bigger papers have a higher status, higher pay, better jobs, etc, and they only hire reporters with good clips, and experience at larger papers. So you're going to have to start at a smaller paper, and work your way to bigger papers. I know a guy who went from a tiny crap paper to one of the best papers in the country in about 6 years (of course, then he burned out, and is now working back at a smaller paper again).
Stringing is a good way to start, but it's often deadly boring. If you're thinking more about magazine journalism, thats a bit different. Many magazines work on a contract basis, but that can make it even harder to break in, as they produce less content, and what they do produce they farm out to specific people.
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