My Advice on How to Break Into Business Journalism

My advice:

** Business degree is ok, but if one decides to be some other kind of journalist, it won't necessarily help
** Best is a journalism degree from a prestigious school (NYU, Columbia, if that's possible)
** Get clips asap - even for free at the beginning, in areas that one wants to write on; try NOT to write for free, but a couple clips are ok
** Get an internship under one's belt right away
** Don't step on anyone's toes; burn any bridges - ever. This is a business full of huge egos. Make sure you're prepared to kiss a lot of behinds!
** Have a financial cushion; a second trick if you will (sales, financial analyst, etc.) to help you through the down times
** Learn a second language. At a recent networking event in Manhattan, one recruiter from a top wire service was desperate for someone who spoke Russian!
** Network but don't be a fool; it's important to help others but not at the expense of your own livelihood. Others may disagree, but I gave away work once and haven't written for that publisher since. The person who stepped in was a bit better than I, apparently!
** Don't do this for the money. You have to have a passion for writing and or reporting. It's the ONLY thing that will get you through the lean months and years
** Finally, journalism is undergoing a sea change. The new wave means all is digital. The era of 24-hr news means the top dogs are in this arena: Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, Dow Jones
** Be willing to take any shift for perm jobs; e.g. graveyard at Bloomberg
** Be an ideas person; if you are not, you'll never make it!

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