you should know.

[flannelpiano]

the following is an article i wrote for a magazine i'm creating at school. i'm posting it here for 2 reasons:
1) genocide, no matter where it occurs or to whom, is everyone's problem.
2) i'd love to hear some suggestions for improvement. (or, if you love it, why.)

Comments

[flannelpiano]

hm...the thing about a degree is not so much *having* a degree, but the thing is, journalism employers don't want to publish you unless you have clips proving your abilities as a writer (yeah...it's a catch-22). college sometimes offers you a chance to get those clips; plus you can get internships and recommendations from professors to beef up your resume when you send queries to publications. also, if you have a college degree (in journalism or English), publishers are likely to feel more confident giving you assignments, because they can reasonably assume that you are well-versed in the rules of grammar and the structure of news-reporting--and AP style, which is really important in writing for the media.

anyway, that's not to say you can't get anywhere without a degree. but it's more likely that you'll have to start at the bottom (at most papers, this means writing obituaries) and really prove your worth--unless you already have published work to show. the only way to really find out, though, is to apply--i'd suggest even looking for unpaid internships, just to get your foot in the door and show 'em what you can do....

[louthewerewolf]

that's what i figured. how would i find these contacts? also, what did you mean by clips?

[flannelpiano]

clips=published work. (columns, stories, features, etc.)

one way to find contacts is look at the specific publication you're interested in working for, and see if they have openings for interns or entry-level positions, or if they're looking for freelancers. also, with magazines, pretty much all they do is take freelance work, and you can look on their websites for submission guidelines. usually they want you to send in a query letter with your story idea, then if they like it, they'll give you a contract to write the piece.