So says Kelvin MacKenzie in today’s Independent.
He has a point. Not about closing colleges, but about the level of education that journalists need. To get into the industry these days, you pretty much need a journalism degree, or a degree in another subject plus an NCTJ. But what do we do that requires degree-level education? Unless you work for a subject-specific publication (medical, business, etc), your degree is unlikely to teach you how to do your job – or guarantee you one. That’s a fairly dodgy investment, particularly now that it’ll set you back at least £30k – for the chance of a £15k starting salary.
I studied Engish at university, but it didn’t teach me any of the skills I use now. And don’t give me “life skills and discipline” – I learned more of those in the previous two years, which I spent working full-time. And the two years before that when I worked 22 hours a week while doing my A-levels. You teach yourself life skills and discipline, or you don’t. What I did at university was have fun, read some great books, find out that I wasn’t quite as clever as I’d thought I might be, and learn to be proper middle class-like, at least most of the time. Oh, and get the piece of paper that enabled me to do everything I’ve done since. But did it teach me how to do it? Hell no.
That wasn’t enough to get me into journalism, though. So three years ago, after a few years teaching our fair language to various foreign types, willing and unwilling (there’s no better way to whip your grammar into shape, by the way), I spent £3,000 on an NCTJ and subbing course – a terrifying amount of money, considering that I was working in a mental health centre for £7 an hour at the time. Again, it didn’t teach me how to write – I already knew that. It didn’t really teach me to sub, either, because I kinda knew that too – but it did give me some good practice. What it taught me were the basics of libel, copyright and privacy law, which are essential, a grounding in public affairs – local and national – and a working knowledge of Quark (which really isn’t as different from InDesign as people will have you believe). It also boosted my confidence, which is something worth having.
Eight years after leaving university, I’m still £15,000 in debt (though that pales in comparison to what today’s graduates will owe). And I do begrudge it a little. I think the NCTJ was money well spent, but I wish I hadn’t spent all that cash on going to uni. It was fun, but it was frivolous. I would rather have worked then, or studied vocationally, and have the luxury of considering studying now. I’d work a lot harder now, I can tell you that.
Anyhoo. It’s all very well saying that you shouldn’t need a degree, but in reality, do journalist wannabes have a choice? Mr MacKenzie says: “My advice to any 18-year-old is try and achieve three decent A-levels, go to a local paper, then to a regional, and then head out on to nationals or magazines by 21-22.” Sorted. What are you waiting for, bright young things?
To be fair, I have seen editors hire people without degrees (recently, within the past three years), but they are the exception. It is very rare. Generally, if you don’t have one, your CV will go straight in the reject pile (I’ve seen this too).
I’m torn. I don’t think a degree should be necessary, but equally, I’m not sure that 18-year-olds have enough knowledge and experience to write about… well, much (though whether graduates do either is up for debate). Apprenticeships would be a lovely compromise, but they don’t really exist any more. Vocational courses are an option, but again, what would they actually teach?
My own opinion, woolly as it is, is that you need a bit of life first. I’ve worked in/on pubs, restaurants, cafes, farms, nurseries, factories, estate agents, town planning offices, social services, mental health centres, and probably more that I’ve forgotten. I’ve taught English as a foreign language in Japan, Italy and the UK. I somehow ended up teaching an adult education course called “introduction to computing” to Sudanese and Eritrean female immigrants, who couldn’t speak English and had never touched a mouse before. It makes for an untidy CV, but a broad range of experience, which I think is invaluable.
My advice to an 18-year-old, for what it’s worth, is yes, get those A-levels. Then, educate yourself by finding out about the world. Work in it. If you’re going to write about people, you need to give yourself the chance to be one first. Earn a wage, and blog about it. Write about it. Send stories to your local paper. Heck, send stories to the nationals. The worst they can do is ignore you – and if they do that, put it up on your own blog instead. Tweet. Get to know journalists in your area (geographical area and interest area/s). Read the news, every day.
There’s no harm in trying to take Mr MacKenzie’s advice at the same time. Just be prepared that it may not be quite that simple. Most of us have to make compromises. How many young folk out there are dreaming of breaking news in the world of mushroom farming, or the latest development in steam irons? Not many – but that’s what I spent my first three years in journalism doing, and I did my best to do it well. In my spare time, I blogged, tweeted, charmed and – ugh – networked my way into some shifts at the Guardian, The Times and The Sunday Times. For a year and a half I worked six days a week (the day job, be it mushrooms or irons, plus a shift or two at the weekend), until eventually I felt I could tip the balance and go freelance entirely. So far, it’s working out. What comes next, I’m not sure. But what I do know is it’s a great industry to work in. Good luck!
UPDATE:
I just asked my editor here at Which?, Martyn Hocking, whether he’d hire someone who didn’t have a degree. He said: “Absolutely. We hire them based on their experience and what work they’ve done before. The exception is our graduate programme, for obvious reasons. But I’d be much more impressed if someone pitched up here aged 23 with a couple of years of relevant experience already under their belt than if they showed me a media studies certificate.”
Though of course, where you get that experience remains the question.
FURTHER UPDATE:
In a triumph of irony, the article was written not by Mr MacKenzie himself, but by a journalism student. The Independent has now added the following footnote: “This is an amended version of an interview with Kelvin MacKenzie by Harriet Thurley for City University’s XCity Magazine”
I’ve just read the piece myself, and I have to say as a UCLan journalism student soon to graduate, I think it’s completely wrong. Of course MacKenzie would say that. Firstly, he’s out to provoke people, which as former editor of The Sun he clearly does pretty well.
Secondly he comes from a time when it was much easier to get a job in journalism. Our lecturers, some of the best in the business, admit that they found it much easier to gain experience and ‘walk’ into a good media job. Frankly, you need a degree as that thing which sets you apart from the rest. There’s no two ways about it.
http://wordsmithh.wordpress.com/
Comment by wordsmithh — April 8, 2011 @ 11:46 am |
Are you sure that having a degree sets you apart, though? Pretty much all applicants have degrees these days, and it doesn’t guarantee that they can write well. I think what really sets you apart is what you do on top of that.
Comment by substuff — April 8, 2011 @ 12:26 pm |
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s the be all and end all. I just think that they still have a lot of merit. Without the skills I now have, I’d have little chance of getting into the industry.
Over the last few months my writing, designing and proofing skills have improved a lot, thanks to this course. Maybe a three year course is a bit much, I think two years would probably be sufficient. But to say there’s no place for them at all is wide of the mark. I’ve seen a lot of jobs, not just traditional ‘journalism’ ones, which require the skills I now have.
Comment by wordsmithh — April 8, 2011 @ 12:37 pm |
Sound advice, I think. I suspect too many employers (in journalism and elsewhere) look for the magic letters on CVs rather than seriously considering whether the candidate is qualified. At the same time, editors are always concerned about whether the applicant can write, and evidence in the form of a blog or other unpaid writing is useful in a way that all the NCTJ courses aren’t.
I was one of probably the last generation to secure a journalism job without a journalism qualification (graduated 1997, degree in history) and, partly as a result of that, I think anyone with a talent should be given a chance. Regardless of degrees and courses and letters. Employers may say that a journalism qualification shows ambition or commitment to a career. Not necessarily. More likely, and presumably increasingly, it simply demonstrates that you have the resources to get one.
Oh, and as I tweeted earlier, MacKenzie’s article contained this sentence
“That job should belong, as it used to, to the news editor and not run by some HR oik from who has named it the Graduate Recruitment Centre or some such nonsense.”
Writer fail, sub fail or journalism school fail? Or some combination of the three?
Comment by Chris — April 8, 2011 @ 11:54 am |
Indeed. If I were in a position where I was responsible for hiring writers, I think I’d definitely pay attention to a blog – it’d be a chance to see their unedited copy, which is worth a great deal.
Comment by substuff — April 10, 2011 @ 12:46 pm |
MacKenzie is showing his age! I have former colleagues who got reporters’ jobs straight from school but they are retired now. It doesn’t work like that any more.
Comment by Crimes against English — April 8, 2011 @ 12:55 pm |
MacKenzie probably has a point to an extent – the level of education needed to become a journalist is high compared to what it used to be. But that’s simply because Labour raised the bar by encouraging so many to go to university – it’s not wannabe journalists fault that people want degrees when degrees aren’t as essential in journalism as in other professions.
What is galling is that all this advice comes from a man who probably isn’t best placed to say – a Fleet Street editor who’s been out of the industry for a while, during which times it’s changed hugely. In that sense, it’s irresponsible to go round shouting about scrapping j-schools and the best way to get onto a national – until I hear it from a managing director, it’s hard to take him seriously
http://wannabehacks.co.uk/
Comment by The Student — April 8, 2011 @ 1:03 pm |
It’s true. As one of the first Labour teens (I was 17 when they came to power and had a big crush on TB, incidentally), I felt lot of pressure to go to uni. The line at my school was that if you were ‘intelligent’ you would go – but there was far less emphasis on what you would study or why. I have the feeling that’s still the case, and it’s daft. When you’re making such a huge investment, you should be able to feel confident that you know why you’re doing it and how you can expect to grow from it. If you’re not, then the sensible thing is to work for a few years first and study later – and that shouldn’t be viewed as a failure. Sorry… I digress!
But yes, I agree. He is certainly out of touch with the current reality.
Comment by substuff — April 10, 2011 @ 12:57 pm |
We’ve got to be clear whether we’re talking about staff jobs, freelancing, news or trade. The consensus seems to be that staff reporting jobs on newspapers require a degree these days.
For freelancing, you need a specialism, and a degree might be way of achieving that. Self-education is laborious, and think that most people would be better off doing some sort of course to understand the basics of grammar and writing. Perhaps A-level English is sufficient?
One advantage that non-graduates have in a field such as tech is that most of the rates are way below the expectation of a typical graduate. Basically, you just need to convey the impression that you wear a jumper in most situations.
I liked the guest post that a colleague of yours did a bit ago in which he pointed out that newsrooms used to be more diverse. We’ve all met our share of mediocre graduates, and from what I’ve seen, I’m not in direct competition with recent journalism graduates as standards are so low. I’m self educated, a self starter, massively interdisciplinary and extremely flexible. When something is highly competitive, in biology or business, the winning strategy is often a weirdo one.
PS. When are you going to put together a S&M themed “Cathy, The Grammar Mistress” YouTube channel? “*THWAK* That’s not the proper place for a comma is it? Anyway, see you next week, worms!”
I’d watch it!
Comment by Michael Reed — April 9, 2011 @ 8:33 pm |
What does wearing a jumper signify?
Ah, you are talking about young Vince Bamford, or as we call him, the man on the Clapham omnibus (post here: http://rantingsubs.com/2010/05/20/the-man-on-the-clapham-omnibus-writes/)
Whips? Hmph. I am a sweet and gentle soul, I tell you. I don’t know where people get these ideas.
Comment by substuff — April 10, 2011 @ 1:15 pm |
Kelvin is trying to tell students in the nicest possible way that a degree does not entitle them to a job at a national newspaper. The nationals demand experience experience experience… unless it’s one of the very few that still run in-house graduate training, and even then they need to see plenty of proof of your work in local rags and college mags.
Oh, of course the other way to get onto a national newspaper straight from uni, with or without qualifications, is to be the son or daughter of an MP or lord. National newspapers are stuffed to the gills with these wasters.
Comment by Alistair Dabbs — April 10, 2011 @ 10:14 pm |
…or the offspring/partner of a meeja mover who have been busy pursuing nepotism with a naked rapacity that would be embarrassing to the old nobs. The families Lawson, Geldof, Grade, Dimbleby, Brooks, Pollard/Winkelmann have all been astounding in producing generations of highly talented journos.
Comment by blutree — May 24, 2012 @ 12:54 am |
A politics editor with a gcse in pub culture would be really useful McKenzie.
Comment by richard — December 26, 2012 @ 3:06 pm |