It Depends on what you’re interested in.
How hard is journalism school? Journalism school varies in difficulty levels. Different skill levels are required depending on your chosen major. There are components to each major varying from one on one, to independent work, and finally group/team work.
Drake University Journalism majors include Digital Media Production, Multimedia Journalism, Public Relations, Advertising, Magazine and Brand Media, Strategic Political Communication and Open Communications.
In journalism classes you get to explore multimedia outlets. Podcasts, video production, PR/ Ad writing, photography, visual editing and script writing are some of the tools you learn. On top of these, you learn how to market and promote your created content with classes such as Digital Media Strategies, Social Media Strategies and Advertising Principles. Throughout your time in journalism school, you will build a personal portfolio and gain experience through class participation.
All journalism students at the SJMC are required to take a capstone course. Drake seniors get immersed in a semester to full school year long project with their peers.
This may be seen as the pinnacle of journalism students’ time at the SJMC. It introduces students to what working in the journalism industry is like with the student lead capstones, such as Urban Plains. Some students may see this experience as intimidating, but many students view it as a valuable experience.
In the Digital Audio Writing and Production class you get hands-on experience with radio shows, podcasts and a final project involving film audio. Common course work includes basic writing techniques, multimedia tools, news gathering and judgment, news writing, and more.
Drake University Mass Communication and Journalism majors include Digital Media Production, Multimedia Journalism, Public Relations, Advertising, Magazine and Brand Media, Strategic Political Communication and Open Communications.
Depending on your major you could be introduced into a lot of group work. Majors like Advertising, and Digital Media Production often have lots of collaboration and teamwork. In Advertising students usually work with a small team that focuses on multiple parts of an ad campaign such as organizers, designers, writers, and speakers. In Digital Media you also may work with small teams or even 1 on 1 talks to take part in different productions such as podcasts, radio shows, and interviews.
But overall is journalism hard? It depends on your overall interests and choice of work. Your choice of work could vary from creating social media posts to collaborating with major companies and clients to research target markets, creative strategies, and press releases for new products. You could also work around digital media where you are hands on working video and audio editing as well as interviewing many people.
This post was written by SJMC students as an SEO assignment for our web content and development class.