Below is a 10 step guide to help you find your way into the Irish media.
I would like to point out that I speak as an outsider as I have not yet made any serious attempts to get my career started; these are just general tips that I’ve picked up on my way and most are generally common sense. They are certainly things that I will be working by when I finish college in just a few months time.
Know what you want.
The word ‘media’ is a pretty vague one, especially in this age. It could mean print, radio, television, online, film, music or a bit of everything. Once you pick a category there are then numerous sub-categories to look into; comment, fact, news, current affairs, fiction, light entertainment etc.
In other words, don’t just plan on getting into the media, plan on getting into something precise, the more exact the better. If you want to be a reporter then you’ve made a start, but if you figure you want to be a court reporter you’ll have a much better starting point. You’ll know what skills you’ll need to perfect and what ones you won’t use quite as much.
Be multi-skilled or die.
A slight contradiction on the above suggestion of specialising, but do your best to have as much ability as possible in as many fields. If your specialty is Irish politics that’s fine but be prepared, especially in the early years of your career, to be doing a bit of everything else. Basically in journalism you have to be (or be able to pretend to be) an expert in everything. Keep track of as much as you can in the world. If you get a chance to write a story, don’t be an idiot and reject it because you don’t know enough, accept it and then become the expert you need to be to write it.
Also, nowadays journalists are expected to do more than write and/or present stories. Reporters in TV3 News have to research, write and report a story and then edit it for broadcast themselves. Why would a cost-conscious company hire two people to do a job that one committed person could manage alone?
Don’t swallow your pride, just send it on a short vacation.
That’s not to suggest you become someone’s slave or that you sell your soul for a crappy story, just don’t turn your nose up at jobs you feel are beneath you. Basically, the harsh reality is that in the beginning there is nothing you’re better than. In other words, you might be the next Robert Fisk but until you can prove that to the station/paper you want to work for you’ll have to lower your standards.
See this kind of a move as a stepping stone. No (or very, very few) media workers started out in their dream job, they all started in some low paying rag or sensationalist boob-laden excuse for a publication. Once you do get that crappy job though, don’t forget to keep looking up. Your pride and plans are still there, and now you can work your way to them with greater ease.
Bombard them.
Most Irish (and I assume international) media outlets don’t really care what your CV says or what degree you have (although it does help), they want to see what you can actually do. So you wrote a commissioning letter and never got a reply, or sent in a request for work experience and got rejected? What now? Leave it a year and try again? No, send them another one, and another. Send letters and e-mails to as many stations or publications as you can. Request work experience, write articles for them, try and get them to buy a story from you. At worst they’ll remember your name, at best they’ll eventually see some promise in one of your pieces or you’ll hit a story that they haven’t covered yet. This is not like a regular job where you apply, get a rejection letter and move onto the next shop/office. Get used to rejection and learn to learn from it.
Prepare to work for dust.
Work experience is a vital aspect of media work. From an outlets point of view it makes sense; get someone eager in for free, they work their asses off (hopefully) and if all goes well you’ve found yourself a useful future employee without having to go through the pointless interviews etc. At worst they realise you’re a waster but have spent nothing finding out. For you, it’s not ideal but it is the most sure-fire way into a good job, assuming you’re a good worker.
If you do get work experience do everything you can to get your neck in there without being a pain. You might be on tea duty for a week but do your best to get involved everywhere. Offer your help or services, if there are team meetings, give opinions or suggestions and show that you have the ability to follow through on them. Even if they aren’t interested in hiring you, at least you’ve made an impression and perhaps gotten some useful contacts for the future.
Oh, and ask for work experience well in advance; the bigger outlets don’t just pick people up, they usually interview for placements months ahead of time. If you get rejected and are told they already have this years workers, re-apply for the next available placement.
Know people.
Knowing people in Ireland is very useful. If you know the right person you’re certain of a good job no matter how moronic you are. Sadly this is more true in the Irish media than anywhere else, but all is not lost. Ireland is such a small place you’re bound to know someone who knows someone who can help you. You don’t have to know an editor or reporter, just someone with a story. Everyone comes across great stories every week, if you’re looking out for them you’ll see for yourself. Sometimes these stories just lead back to idle gossip or maybe you’ll find yourself stonewalled by the people you need comments from, but eventually you’ll find something. Keep your eyes and ears open for ideas, we’ve all heard human interest pieces in our time that wouldn’t bother you but would probably sell well. It might only take one good friend of a friend to do it.
This also goes back to the idea of writing stories constantly. It’s great practice but also you’ll soon hit something the traditional media hasn’t caught yet. I’ve seen so many examples where a story turns up in The Irish Times a week after I spotted it online or elsewhere, but it never occurred to me that I might have read it before another reporter or writer had. The worst you’ll get is a no, or nothing at all.
Get some balls.
One of the biggest hurdles I’ve had to overcome has been my hesitance to go out and get something. It’s a nervous reflex that must be destroyed if you want to get anywhere. For example, be willing to hassle politicians. If you need a comment from them, keep at them. They’re not going to get back to you too quickly (they might genuinely have something to do but besides, you’re a journalist and that them suspicious instantly). If a secretary that they’re busy but will be in touch, accept it, but don’t sit back all day waiting. Get back in touch and prepare to look like an impatient asshole, once you get what you need. The trick is to know the balance. Some places will be nothing but helpful, others won’t, naturally the ones that stand to lose the most from a story will be the hardest to pin down.
Besides that, be willing to bug editors, even if you think your idea isn’t a great one. It doesn’t have to be world changing stuff, just something worthy of publication. It might be a small 200 word article, but so what? It’s a start.
Don’t let nerves put you off. If you’re trying to get a comment from someone and you know they’re going to be hostile, suck it up. Unless you’re dealing with some very dodgy people the worst you’ll get is some verbal abuse or some rude and short reply.
Don’t be nervous to approach people when you need to, just don’t be stupid about it (or insensitive, depending on the story).
Get educated.
It’s true, you don’t need a degree to get into journalism but like most careers you can’t go in there with nothing behind you. You are expected to write to a high standard, so get yourself there by whatever means. I still have a lot of grammatical work to do with my writing but at least it’s something I know needs improvement.
Don’t buy into the idea that a degree is a waste of time, it’s just that most degrees in media don’t give you a full understanding of what you’re getting into. I still don’t know what a real newsroom is like and I’m due to get my degree in a few months time (all going to plan). A degree is only pointless when you refuse to, or are somehow unable to transfer what you have learned into a real world situation. In my opinion people who don’t get anywhere in the media after a degree didn’t really want it enough (not to sound harsh, I know it’s not easy at the best of times, but I’m referring to people who just give up after a month looking for a job or working in something less than their Utopia).
That isn’t where the learning ends, though. When writing for a newspaper you must know who is going to read it. Learn to adjust your style for each story you write, depending on who you plan to send it to. The Sun won’t want something wordy and The Times won’t want to see slang.
Don’t quit.
If you really want to get into the media, you will. You may need to improve, but that will come with practice. You may just need to find your niche, but you’ll get there. There are so many specialised publications and so many new opportunities opening up in Dublin alone (with new newspapers, TV channels and radio stations appearing every year) you will eventually find your footing, even if it is just the first rung on the ladder.
You might find yourself in a boring office job or back in retail after you leave college, but as long as you want to break into the media, you will. You might start by getting an article published in a local paper, earning a couple of quid on the side. Maybe then you’re earning enough to drop the day job once you cut back your costs a little. After that, will more spare time you can write more and find more stories. Before you know it you’ve gotten something printed nationally, maybe just a local story that gets picked up.
That’s just one example, there really are so many ways into the Irish media, even though at times it seems like the most inbred industry going.
Don’t believe everything you read…
Finally, one thing is to remember that for all the slagging Journalists and media workers get, the public really don’t have issue with them. Of course people will complain about journalists when they’ve been outed for doing something suspicious in the past. Most journalists do a good job and only a few cross the line. The good journalists are the ones that are working to find out something that would have gone amiss otherwise. If people really hated journalists they’d stop reading what they’ve got to tell them.
Good luck, it’s not going to be easy but hopefully it will be enjoyable.