Hard Being A Journalist? (Solved & Explained)

Have you “google” is it hard being a journalist because you are thinking of becoming a journalist?

Maybe you are just curious.

So, hard being a journalist?

Yes, it is hard being a Journalist. The role of a journalist is one of the hardest jobs going around.  In a fast-paced environment, journalists have to deal with deadlines, demanding editors, and the pressure of coming up with headlines and stories.

While it is evident that the role of a journalist is hard, it can also be a very dangerous profession. In the past decade, 554 journalists were killed worldwide.

Journalists do face intimidation and violence for just doing their job.

In extreme cases, they are confronted with being kidnapped, forced into detention, and tortured.

With any profession, however, there are some downsides. Having your name out in the public space can lead to online bullying, online stalking, and shaming.

So now I have answered the main question, let’s uncover the most common questions people have around why it is difficult being a journalist.

But before we do, let discuss if it is hard getting a journalism job

Is it hard getting a journalism job? (Explained)

Yes, getting a job in journalism is difficult. With publishers having to cut costs due to declining advertising revenues,  the traditional level entry journalist roles have disappeared.

The decline in revenue has also led to a decline in journalist roles, with many news organizations reducing the size of their workforce.

Whilst getting a job is not easy, it is not impossible. Just means with fewer roles it will far more competitive than landing a journalism role.

With any role having connections helps. If there is someone in an organization that can help you “get a foot in the door” that can make the difference in landing a journalist role.

Low pay makes journalism hard (Explained)

With the decline in roles, there has also been a decline in wages.  The average base wage in the USA is around $44k per annum.

With a dismal wage, the question is who in their right mind would want to become a journalist.

Is journalism dead? (Explained & Solved)

Journalism is not necessarily dying. It’s just going through a prolonged, period of change due to a fundamental shift in the ways audiences consume their news.

Journalism like any profession evolves.

Journalism has evolved from ancient Rome to Town criers through to print newspapers, television, radio, and now electronic media.

Final Thoughts

To become a journalist it is something you need to be passionate about. Because it is a hard profession.

As with any other profession, analyze yourself and understand your strengths and weaknesses before deciding on which job or career you want to choose.

Hope you enjoyed this article, if you would like to know more about being a journalist, check out this article. 

Related Articles