 |
Studying Journalism in New York
New York City: There is no comparable environment in which to develop as a journalist. There is no better place to seek professional opportunity. And there is no more exciting place to be a student with a curiosity about the world and the ambition to make a mark.
The major advantages of New York are three. First is the huge community of over 20,000 professionals working here, along with the thousands of editorial outlets that employ them, or publish and broadcast their work. Nowhere on earth is there a greater concentration of talent and industry, tradition and variety. And no place has more jobs or assignments. Of course this means the professional climate is highly competitive, but journalists thrive on that. Can we get you a foot in the door? Yes, if you show promise. Don't be surprised if you have to push it open yourself.
The second major advantage of studying in New York is the sheer scale, density and variety of life in the City (population 8 million) and metropolitan area (21 million). One way to describe it is to imagine all the potential stories with a 45 minute train ride. Another is to realize that almost every conceivable interest in politics, business, art and social life can be explored, journalistically, here. A third is to recognize how much economic power and cultural influence collects in the city, especially on the island of Manhattan.
Not only is New York different than other big cities, but people come here to be different. They somehow know they will find others like themselves. Diversity, then, is no buzzword for us; it is the very texture of street life and the most obvious fact about residing here. Creative people of every kind are drawn to the city, in part for that reason. Immigrants have always been pulled to the city, but in recent years this has accelerated. Today, twenty percent of the population is foreign born, and about 120 languages are spoken by children in the public schools.
The third unique advantage of becoming a journalist in New York is that every style and genre of journalism is well represented here, each with long roots in the city, each with its own circle of people and institutions. Mainstream news reporting; business and financial journalism; cultural commentary and criticism; book, music and theatre reviewing; reporting on the arts; documentary journalism; sports writing and commentary; literary journalism, the journalism of ideas, science writing, writing about fashion and food and entertainment— New York is a center for each of these and many more. The foreign language press is the biggest in the world, and so is the corps of international journalists.
Finally, it is important to add that New York City matters—matters to the world, as we saw after the terrible events of September 11, 2001. The famous skyline of Manhattan belongs to the modern imagination, especially because we know that human beings built it. Closer to the ground, New York is one huge social experiment, testing our ability to cope with problems. All of which generates a journalistic challenge of unlimited richness and depth.
|
|