• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, January 22, 2024

Anyone worried about the future of journalism has to be alarmed by a new report from Reuters Institute – A Shrinking Path: Ten Young Journalists Open Up About Their Struggles To Break Into The News Industry. 

This has to be especially dismaying to veterans who are hanging on to their sinecures. Newspaper combines are laying people off or offering buyouts. The institutional memory is being eroded.  

But publications are not hiring the young to replace those older journalists. How does the news industry refresh itself? 

“Despite this daunting landscape, young journalists still dream about entering the news industry, persuaded by an unflinching vocation to seek the truth and report it,” Gretel Kahn writes for Reuters Institute. “But many struggle to break through the difficulties. Very few manage to get a stable and well-paying job.” 

Case in point: A young American reporter named Kyle Kittredge went for a postgraduate degree in journalism and international affairs in Ireland after a few years in which he couldn’t get a full-time job in the industry, Kahn writes.  

“I thought that having a master's would help at least a little bit with getting interviews,” Kittredge said. “It doesn't really seem to be too much of a difference, compared to where I was after I finished my undergrad degree.”

Then there’s Ani Freedman who finished her degree in the US and ended up working as a freelancer for a non-profit newsroom. They couldn’t afford to hire her full-time even if they wanted. 

“While in university, she applied for summer internships where she got rejected for having a lack of newsroom experience,” Kahn  continues. “It’s a chicken and egg problem, as she was precisely hoping to use these internships to build experience.” 

That said, apparently the best way for an aspiring journalist to land a job is to serve an internship and hope that their performance will win them a full-time gig. Of course, even those that land somewhere are not going to get rich as the average starting salary is $56,000. 

We don’t mean to be critical of struggling nonprofit newsrooms. We suspect that the large newspaper combines are not investing in young personnel to take over the job.  

This isn’t a journalistic problem — it’s an HR issue that will accelerate the continuing decline of the news business. The grants and other funded programs should be pouring their resources into this — some are. Meanwhile, we should be grateful for the Kyle Kittredges and Ani Freedmans who are trying to fight their way in any way they can.