I think getting into journalism is a bit like trying to blag your into the VIP entrance of a nightclub.
Entry involves trying to get ahead the masses of other keen hopefuls in the queue, you have to impress the right people to have any hope of getting a foot in the door and once you are inside, well, perhaps it wasn't quite what you had expected.
For those lucky enough to land a reporting role, a stateside recruitment ad has taken a candid approach to outlining what might be in store — the Illinois Valley News promises "the poor glutton for punishment" selected for the job "low pay and marginal health insurance" for "your long hours and tireless efforts".
The newspaper's approach has been described as the world's most honest journalism job ad — but is this really all that lies in store for aspiring writers? And what if you haven't managed to get your foot on the ladder at all yet? We've decided to launch a series of Q&As examining the different areas of journalism, what they involve — and your chances of breaking into them.
Kicking off the series is our survival guide for budding journalists — join our panel of experts at 4pm on 21 October.
Our panel:
Chris Wheal is a freelance journalist, editor and trainer. He runs his own business, producing magazines for small professional membership organisations as well as writing news and features for print and the web. He is chair of the National Union of Journalists' Professional Training Committee (ProfCom) and is involved with student NUJ members across the country.
Alex Masters is business intelligence editor for Foodnews magazine, a division of Informa. She joined the company in 2003 and spent six years reporting on food industry and financial news, with a particular focus on European markets, before becoming an editor on Foodnews. Her specialist areas include UK and European retail, company analysis and consumer trends.
Riva Elliott is managing director of PMA Media Training, which offers editorial and design skills development for professional journalists across the world. For 22 years she has helped run an accredited, fast-track postgraduate programme twice a year, designed to give aspiring journalists all the up-to-date skills they will need to get a job in cross-platform journalism.
Sue Heseltine is head of the undergraduate journalism programme at Birmingham City University. Before moving into lecturing, Sue spent more than 20 years as a journalist working for regional newspapers, radio and TV — including Sheffield Star and Sky News.
Steve Harris, representing the NUJ Professional Training Committee. The NUJ looks after the interests of students in higher and further education as well as providing a range of short courses for journalists of all ages. He has worked as a journalist in print, radio and television and is currently Accreditations Secretary of the Broadcast Journalism Training Council.
Steve Schifferes is a professor of financial journalism at City University London. Steve has an extensive background in business and finance journalism, both for television and online. He was the economics correspondent for the BBC News website, and coordinating producer for most of the site's economics coverage, before joining City University London.
Laura Oliver is a senior reporter with Journalism.co.uk, a news website for the journalism industry. She joined the site in 2007 after graduating in newspaper journalism from London's City University. Prior to this she worked for a range of websites and publications based around Edinburgh's annual arts festivals.
Johanna Payton is a freelance lifestyle journalist, author and copy writer. She specialises in health, real life, fashion, relationships and parenting and her clients include Sunday Times Style, Grazia, LOOK, Elle Online, Daily Mail and the Daily Express, among many others. Johanna also runs media training courses for public relations professionals and fellow journalists.
John Stepek is editor of weekly financial magazine MoneyWeek. John joined MoneyWeek in 2005, and has had a regular column on MSN Money for a number of years. In 2009, he won the New Business Editor of the Year award from the British Society of Magazine Editors.
We'll also be joined by Ben Whitelaw, Matt Caines and Nick Petrie from Wannabe Hacks, a collaborative blog written by five wannabe journalists about the different ways of getting into the media and the issues surrounding journalism in the 21st century.
