If you’re interested in news writing and reporting, you need to know that the media industry is very competitive.

Most people view the news media as a glamorous field to work in. You may, too, at first. You may want to be on camera, not primarily for the glamour, but a little bit.

People say, “You know, you’re gonna meet celebrities,” or, “You have this exciting lifestyle.” On the other hand, the media industry has a bad reputation. Journalists take offense when people say, “Oh, it’s all fake news. There’s no real news.” So, you need to ask yourself why you want to write for the news media, and why you believe it’s important.

Today, journalists are as necessary to society as they ever were. People need to hear facts about topics such as COVID-19. And for a vital issue like this, nothing hits you more than hearing a personal story about someone coping with the virus. As a journalist, you can get in and tell those stories. You’ll not only inform the public but also enrich your own life. You have this privilege to walk inside someone’s life, share their experiences, learn from them, and translate everything into a story that will be meaningful to readers.

Podcast writing is definitely a viable path for writers now. If not your full career, it’s at least one way that you could find work or find specific gigs. I read a lot of newsletters, lots of different job posts, and there are always calls for writers for podcasts.

What’s different about podcasts in regard to media writing is that it’s like you need journalistic research skills, but then you need really good storytelling skills because it’s is audio. People can’t see things, so you need to be able to write in a way that comes across well without a person being able to engage with any other media to make your story make sense. You know, it’s writing clearly. It’s finding sensory details, making sure that you’re vivid, that you’re descriptive; that’s a big part of it in the media industry. And just making sure that you can write in a way that’s engaging.

So, in a sense, some of the web writing techniques apply in terms of writing shorter sentences, that kind of stuff, keeping paragraphs short. But I think that it’s really important to just be very visual when you’re writing and be descriptive in online media education.

It’s kind of combining the quality of journalism, but then more of the imagination or the creativity of fiction and kind of putting those things together so you can tell really great stories.

The ability to research is a must-have quality for those in the media. Because video and audio clips are forever, nothing is more embarrassing than for a media industry professional or spokesperson to be caught relaying disinformation.

However, most spokespeople rely on a researcher to take the time to go through articles, compile data, and determining the facts around a topic.

Researchers can make a successful career out of these skills. They may research for the media spokesperson, or they may work as a researcher for documentary productions. A research staff person is critical in providing the production staff with the vital information on a topic. A research staff person is a bit like a computer database; they are expected to hold on to various bits and pieces of information over time. Some even report the information they compile. Others take part in media education projects working behind the scenes.

Some research staff members may put their research to use in a variety of ways. They may write for a newspaper, or they may be a part of a new group of online media writing enterprises, such as blogs and podcasts. Podcasts are becoming highly popular as more and more are depending upon online media education for their information.

One can use reading, writing and research skills in a number of ways in the online world today. A research staff member is able to contribute much to a media organization, and many employment opportunities to utilize those skills are present in the job market today.