Journalism today seems increasingly obsessed with quick fame. Everyone wants to cover a national protest with social media reach where a thousand journalists from print, digital and YouTube channels are already reporting. Being there makes them feel important, but what are we really adding? Will this be a good impact on your CV?

Meanwhile, villages remain unexplored, government officials go unquestioned, and stories that could expose corruption or change lives remain buried.

Ground reporting and investigation takes time, patience and persistence. Finding that one groundbreaking story can take months, sometimes years. It requires building trust, following leads and asking questions nobody else is asking.

Somewhere along the way, we seem to have prioritised quantity over quality, visibility over substance, and personal branding over public interest.

Am I the only one who feels journalism is increasingly chasing quick success at the cost of meaningful reporting?

I’m trying to get some work experience at my local newspaper. They are owned by Newsquest, a bigger company that covers lots of smaller local papers, so I’m not sure how to go about asking for experience, as there might not be much to do in the area I want to actually work in.

I'm keen to get started in whatever way is most useful to them, so it doesn’t have to be reporting immediately. But obviously that is my end goal. And at first I'm not looking for it to pay!

I have 2.5 years of experience in copywriting within marketing and have a collection of over 200 SEO/marketing articles. I am not a student looking for experience; I’d eventually like a job in the industry and want to use this as a step in, but I also have a genuine interest in writing about my local area, so I wouldn’t be disappointed always remaining in local reporting.

I am currently accredited as press at the London Film Festival, which has given me experience of working in a press environment, but this is only from my own platform where I’m not earning anything either; it predominantly shows my experience and access. 

I would like to eventually focus on writing about culture in the area, i.e., local events, local food, live shows, fitness, etc as that’s where my interests lie, and I feel there’s a lack of anything but breaking news, news gathering and court reporting currently. 

Would a cold email/phone call actually get me anywhere?  The editor of this paper works on 10+ papers, so I’m not sure this would land anywhere useful.

And is there any point in pitching some ideas along with a cold email, or would you say there’s no point since I don’t have any proper experience? 

And which are some of business magazines / platforms that you refer to as the source of your information and why that one particularly?

sometimes i wonder whether journalists entering the field today still believe they can make a meaningful difference, especially when the industry is under pressure from deadlines, declining trust, political interests, and the constant demand for clicks.

at the same time, a well-researched story can expose wrongdoing, give overlooked communities a voice, or help people understand issues they might otherwise ignore.

i'm curious how journalists and journalism students here feel about this. is journalism still a calling that can create real change, or is its impact more limited than we like to believe? what keeps you going when the work feels thankless?

The kids are alright.

I’m wondering about outlets like Sinclair, Center Square, or some other kind of Fox station.

Even if the work you do is good and fair, would future hiring editors at non-right-leaning places skip over you after seeing that on your resume?