I’m a Journalism major: Stop telling me I’m going into a dying business

J-School, represent

Before now, journalism was never an option for me. In fact, I wanted to go to film school. But both of my parents are journalists, which means I’ve been surrounded by breaking news stories and weather reports my entire life.

I would sit in front of a TV and eat my breakfast before school while listening to the anchors repeat depressing story after depressing story, day after day, week after week. OK, I admit I used to record myself making fake newscasts, but that’s just because I looked up to my dad (who is now a news director in LA).

But when the time came to make a decision – film school or journalism at UNC – I chose journalism. Why? Mostly because it was cheap and close. And I know that sounds bad, but it’s true. I made the sacrifice to be close to home for many reasons.

I realized something once I began my JOMC classes: being a Journalism major does not mean I’m going into a dying field. It also doesn’t mean I gave up on my film dream. In fact, my concentration in Photojournalism is so similar to what I wanted to do in the beginning, I think it may have changed my goals entirely.

I still get to transform lives by making film, but maybe now to a greater extent. Now, I get to tell real stories about real people.

I cannot emphasize this enough: journalism is not dead. A lot of people think journalism and the newspaper industry are interchangeable. Absolutely not. Hell, maybe newspapers are dying, but they’re not dead yet. I don’t think they’re going to be erased from our lives anytime in the near future.

Saying journalism is dying is like saying all media is dying. Journalism encompasses so much more than people think. For instance, what I am writing now is considered journalism.

I’ve only been in three classes in the J-School (yes, I’m aware they changed the name but I refuse to call it the “MJ-School”), yet those three classes have changed my perspective on what I want to do with my life. I guess that’s what college is all about – choosing a major and falling in love with something you thought you would never like, or changing your major every semester until you find the right one.

I never thought I’d want to be a journalist. I still want to go to film school after I graduate, but now I get to go into it with an entirely different perspective and with a prestigious UNC School of Media and Journalism degree to back me up.

Yes, I am a Journalism major. And yes, I plan on making money when I graduate.

Don’t worry – I won’t forget the little people when I’m famous.

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