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How to build a career in Journalism and Publishing
This career guide is designed to help University of Portsmouth students and recent graduates explore job options, key employers, and entry routes into the Journalism and Publishing sectors.
In this guide:
Journalists produce content for magazines, newspapers, radio, television, and, increasingly, online publications. As well as producing written content, journalists can be employed to produce other forms of content such as data-sets, images, videos, live blogs and so on. Competition for jobs within the industry is extremely high and enthusiasm and previous experience are highly prized by employers.
The UK has a strong publishing industry, the second largest in Europe. Roughly half of the industry is located in London and the South East. Freelancers make up around 15 per cent of the workforce. Similar stats apply to the journalism sector.
Publishing traditionally referred to the creation and distribution of books, newspapers, music and magazines. More recently, the creation and increased use of electronic media has widened the scope of publishing significantly. Now a huge volume of websites, emails, computer games, software and blogs are published each day around the world and this has increased the diversity of the industry and the roles within it.
Potential Job Roles
Prospects has a useful list of job profiles, each containing relevant information about key responsibilities, skill requirements, starting salaries, entry requirements, career prospects with links to major employers and current graduate vacancies. Some roles include:
Professional Qualifications
Many professional journalists hold qualifications from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). Although not mandatory, the NCTJ qualifications are widely regarded in the industry, and allow you to develop practical journalistic skills, such as:
- News reporting and feature writing
- Media law and regulation
- Journalism ethics
- Digital and multimedia journalism
- Interviewing techniques
Find out more about the NCTJ qualifications available
Gaining Experience
Securing your first job within journalism and publishing can be tough – more people want to work in the business than there are jobs available and entry level jobs are rarely advertised. Employers, keen to attract the brightest talent, can therefore afford to look for people who have some practical experience as well as relevant qualifications and genuine enthusiasm.
Getting relevant experience is essential. Many employers recruit through internships, placement programmes, or work experience programmes. Overall, additional experience will boost your employment prospects by helping to build a network of contacts. Most of your graduate competition will have degree-related work experience.
Types of opportunity
Placements are a great way to gain substantial experience, help you to build contacts and gain an understanding of an organisation.
On some degrees, work placements are part of the programme, whilst on others you can choose to complete a placement as one of your modules.
To learn more about completing a placement, you can contact the Placements team in Careers and Employability.
Internships are usually for a fixed period and give you more hands-on experience. Many employers will treat interns in the same way as full-time employees, so when future job roles ask for 'at least one year's experience' you can include an internship in this type of experience.
A small number of large publishing companies offer summer internships, which may lead to a graduate position for successful recruits.
Other book publishing companies offer work experience/internship-type opportunities, it is a good idea to research individual companies to identify these; some examples of larger publishers offering these opportunities include:
Enhance your prospects with hands-on experience through volunteering. Whether you're uncertain about your career path or aiming for professional success, volunteering offers a chance to explore diverse roles.
You can also get involved in relevant university projects through the different groups and societies via the Student Union. This is a good way of demonstrating your motivation and interest in this area of work.
Our Volunteering Bank provides local opportunities to undertake alongside your studies, listing roles such as:
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Digital News Assistant Volunteer with Portsmouth City Council
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Online Reviewer Volunteer with Together in the UK
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Content and Copywriter Volunteer with Toucan Diversity Training
Where to find opportunities
Some key platforms for finding work experience in all sectors include MyCareer, HigherIn, Bright Network and Targetjobs.
You could also think about approaching employers directly to enquire of any suitable work experience opportunities. This is called a speculative approach, and can work well with smaller businesses who might not advertise as many opportunities.
Create your own work experience
In this sector, you could always 'create your own' work experience by:
- Writing a blog - showcases your writing, editing and digital skills
- Contributing to university publications such as the Spyglass Magazine
- Joining a local writer's group - New Writing South offers events, courses and networking events with other writers
- Attending a free journalism workshop, such as those run by News Associates
Networking
Working in this sector is all about contacts, so it is a good idea to think about building up your network during your studies, to help you gain potential work experience opportunities and ultimately a graduate job. Create a strong LinkedIn profile, join relevant societies and attend industry events to connect with journalists and media professionals. Explore the resources below to start growing your network and making valuable industry connections:
Getting the most out of work experience
Whether you already have a career path in mind or are still exploring your options, our work experience pages guide you to finding opportunities that match your interests and goals. You'll find advice on choosing an industry, broadening your search, and standing out while building valuable skills and experience.
Finding a Graduate Job
We recommend starting your search using our online jobs board, MyCareer. You can also find general online job boards and advice through our Graduate Jobs page.
There are many different areas within journalism and publishing to work across a variety of roles. From journalism across multiple platforms, to both in front of, and behind the camera, broadcast work and writing and publishing, this is a broad subject area. This means it is worth giving some time to thinking where you particularly wish to specialise within when thinking about experience and jobs you wish to target.
Employers who recruit in these areas
- The main national broadcasters including the BBC, Sky, ITV and Channel 4 are leading employers within all areas of journalism
- Leading graduate employers within publishing include Bloomsbury Publishing, Penguin Random House and Pan Macmillan
- The majority of national newspapers including The Guardian, The Financial Times and The Daily Mail run graduate schemes
- Local newspapers and radio stations are many people's way into the sector and offer a wide variety of positions.
- It is important to remember that many people who work within journalism and publishing will be freelance
Job boards for Journalism and Publishing
Start your own business
Freelancing is extremely common in this sector, check out the following resources below for more information:
- Student StartUp Team – The University's support network for current students and graduates who wish to work self-employed offering advice and guidance, office space and networking opportunities
- PeoplePerHour – The UK's largest freelance community offering work, advice and networking
- Freelance Writing – Provides advice, tutorials, examples and work for freelance writers
Specialist agencies
Jobs within this field are usually advertised directly and almost never through a recruitment agency but it is possible to work for press agencies, either on a permanent contract or on a freelance basis.
- Press Association – based in London, the Press Association is the national news agency for the UK and Ireland and offers work, training and experience across all multimedia platforms.
- Reuters – The world's leading international news agency with offices in London.
- NAPA – The National Association of Press Agencies has a members directory of organisations all over the country.
Are you looking for a role in Hampshire? Our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy can help!
If you're in the final year of your degree, you can register for support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy. They work with over 3,000 employers in the local area to place our students into fantastic graduate careers.
Speculative applications
Speculative applications involve sending a CV and cover letter to an employer to ask if they have any vacancies, even if the company is not currently advertising for a role. They're a great way to access "hidden jobs" that go unadvertised.
Submitting a speculative application shows your interest in a specific company and your willingness to go above and beyond to develop your skills and understanding of the industry.
Keep up-to-date with the industry
It's good to keep up-to-date on sector developments and track any vacancies coming up. Below are some great resources to help you research opportunities available. The knowledge gained through your research may help you to target your applications and will help when preparing for interviews.
Journalism
- Press Gazette – National and regional journalist and communication jobs.
- Hiive – This professional networking site for creative people provides information on job opportunities, company profiles, funding information and advertising space for freelancers.
- National Union of Journalists – The NUJ represents a broad range of media professionals and includes a section on careers advice.
- HoldtheFrontPage – UK regional journalism news and jobs
- journalism.co.uk – industry news, careers advice, courses and jobs
Publishing
- The Society of Young Publishers – The SYP has news, job vacancies and careers advice (some content can only be accessed by members).
- The Bookseller – Provides the latest news and analysis for the book industry and includes a database of publishing jobs available in the UK.
- Publisher's Association - Represents the interests of publishers, also has a useful member's directory allowing you to search publishers across the UK
- PPA Careers – The Periodicals Publishers Association includes a jobs board and careers resources including MagScene, a careers guide to working in magazine publishing.
- Publishing Talk – Online learning community for publishers, authors, agents and others wanting to learn about social media marketing, digital publishing, self-publishing and developments in the industry.
- Publishing Perspectives – Online magazine of international book publishing news and opinion.
- Episode 263 bookcareers Myths Working Publishing Final - YouTube - A a short you tube clip about getting into publishing.
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