Should We Go to J School?

Journalism school is a fuzzy situation today. Flickr photo by moohappy.

As an aspiring journalist, I often ask myself, should I go to journalism school? In fact, I’m thinking about taking the GRE in September and applying to a few schools this fall. But in today’s emerging field, the question deserves some thought before we all go rushing for more student debt to study a profession that’s in a state of disarray. I’ll admit that since graduating from college, part of me has longed to re-embrace life as a college kid, delve back into the buzz of campus life and study something that really interests me rather than a broad interdisciplinary major that doesn’t lead directly to any thing (I majored in Human Development. What’s that right?) But nostalgia aside, I also know that since I didn’t major in journalism, I could probably use some training in things like long-form magazine writing or to build skills in web, video, and television which I’m currently lacking. But couldn’t I also learn these things on the job? I’ve only had my Spot.us internship for a little over a month and I’m already hosting a radio show with no prior experience…

I’ve heard good arguments on both sides of the spectrum. J School advocates boast that journalism school will teach you needed skills to preserve quality journalism and hook you up with connections for a job that’s still in many ways an insider’s game. On the other hand, journalism is unique in that it doesn’t require a graduate degree. It’s more about proving that you can handle the stress, ask probing questions and deliver–on deadline.

Some of the best advice I’ve received on the subject was from a former co-worker at the UCSD Guardian and kick ass reporter, Ian Port, who went straight to working at a daily newspaper after graduation:

“…Working at the Daily Post isn’t my dream job. I’m still not sure what is. But I’m learning. And that’s one thing I think a lot of people forget about journalism, especially in this age, where you can buy a degree that says you’re qualified to do anything: if you haven’t done it for real, on deadline, with real people calling to bitch at you when you fuck something up, and a real editor breathing down your neck for that one piece of information you forgot to ask for, then your training wheels are still on. Nothing wrong with that. But there’s a fucking lot to learn, and you won’t even be able to fathom how much until you get out there and start doing it.