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What are the realistic prospects of finding a job in the field of Broadcast Journalism with the recent development of AI? #fall25
Specifically, looking to enter Sports Broadcasting or Investigative Writing.
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Donald’s Answer
Adam: I think you are smart to consider the potential impact of AI on a career in broadcast journalism, or print journalism, for that matter. This was not a factor for me in my career as a neighborhood newspaper editor. Be let's set that aside for the moment. Ultimately you will need to decide, as Michelle as suggested, what kind of journalist you want to be. For any kind of broadcast journalism you are going to need to master the technology, as that will be integral in your career. I did internships at a local tv station (public affairs where I helped produce public service announcements) and later at a public broadcasting station (daily radio news, weekly tv news). See if you can volunteer at the campus radio/tv station, again you want to learn the technology. You will also want to study broadcast reporters and their presentations of their stories. Are you comfortable with reading on air? Speaking in front of a large audience? Acting? Interviewing live? If you are a television or radio reporter, or podcaster for that matter, you are going to have to be comfortable with your voice, your appearance, and professionalism in front of the camera as well as behind it. Look for classes that focus on those aspects. Plan on taking classes in script writing and segment production. Working as a board operator at a radion station may provide a stepping stone as well. Apply for internships at local radio and tv stations and consider that part of your education. As a print journalist the focus is on the writing, but modern print journalists are expected to support their work with technology and often contribute to the paper's website, video blog, or social media, for examples. Whether you decide to pursue a career in broadcast news or sports, you should know that unemployment is high and opportunities are few and far between. AI may also prove to be challenging. Definitely be open to non-traditional channels and work-arounds. You may start out over here and wind up over there. Volunteer wherever and whenever. Journalism is an important part of our democracy. I admire anyone who makes that commitment. But it's tough and the money is lousy, especially when you're starting out. Hang in there. Best of luck!
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Joseph’s Answer
If you are passionate and knowledgeable about a specific field and interest, your knowledge and experience is more than what AI can do.
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Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Adam !
Sports Broadcasting and Investigative Journalism are two different paths so you'll first have to choose one to take the academic path for and get a focused degree for the career.
I would say that Investigative Journalism would be your better bet as Sports Broadcasting requires focused and subject specific education, practical experience, personal skills, and networking. It may not be something that you can self-start but Investigative journalism may be something you can do independently as well as get hired in media for. The suggested Major in college for Investigative Journalism would be Journalism.
You will have to love this work far beyond any worrying about how the future will be for AI or anything else. As a journalist, you would write but you would also be expected to present, be on screen as a reporter and you can create your own podcast on an online platform. There's just more you can do as a Journalist as compared to sports broadcasting.
Once you begin your academic path for Journalism, you are going to learn a lot about how to do the career. If you think you want to start a podcast now, write a plan for yourself and where to post your show online. YouTube, Spotify for Creators, Libsyn, Podbean, Zencastr, and CoHost are some places online that people post their videos. Some web hosts do charge a monthly fee, so research this before making a commitment. There is no reason that you can't start this now before college. The podcasts out there are in different formats: direct presentation with video clips of news and commentary, sit down talk show style, interviews, on the street presentations, Zoom type podcasts with one or more guests.
You don't have to use AI. As a matter of fact, lots of the AI videos on You Tube are very inferior compared to real person carefully polished edited videos. The AI videos have random video clips that are not pertinent to the city or location they're speaking of. The background music often times drowns out the voice over. The AI voice pronounces words wrong and gives weird inflections to some words and even says the wrong word sometimes. It's like the person who made/ordered/generated it doesn't even edit it to correct technical errors. So you can do everything yourself without AI.
Don't let anything stop you from pursuing your dream career. No one knows how their career is gong to be before they even start - whether AI is around or not. Lean on the skills you have, plan a Major in Journalism for college and take Journalism in High School if your school offers it. Start writing for your school newspaper/website. See if there is a video class, group or extracurricular and join it. You can do this !
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best !
Sports Broadcasting and Investigative Journalism are two different paths so you'll first have to choose one to take the academic path for and get a focused degree for the career.
I would say that Investigative Journalism would be your better bet as Sports Broadcasting requires focused and subject specific education, practical experience, personal skills, and networking. It may not be something that you can self-start but Investigative journalism may be something you can do independently as well as get hired in media for. The suggested Major in college for Investigative Journalism would be Journalism.
You will have to love this work far beyond any worrying about how the future will be for AI or anything else. As a journalist, you would write but you would also be expected to present, be on screen as a reporter and you can create your own podcast on an online platform. There's just more you can do as a Journalist as compared to sports broadcasting.
Once you begin your academic path for Journalism, you are going to learn a lot about how to do the career. If you think you want to start a podcast now, write a plan for yourself and where to post your show online. YouTube, Spotify for Creators, Libsyn, Podbean, Zencastr, and CoHost are some places online that people post their videos. Some web hosts do charge a monthly fee, so research this before making a commitment. There is no reason that you can't start this now before college. The podcasts out there are in different formats: direct presentation with video clips of news and commentary, sit down talk show style, interviews, on the street presentations, Zoom type podcasts with one or more guests.
You don't have to use AI. As a matter of fact, lots of the AI videos on You Tube are very inferior compared to real person carefully polished edited videos. The AI videos have random video clips that are not pertinent to the city or location they're speaking of. The background music often times drowns out the voice over. The AI voice pronounces words wrong and gives weird inflections to some words and even says the wrong word sometimes. It's like the person who made/ordered/generated it doesn't even edit it to correct technical errors. So you can do everything yourself without AI.
Don't let anything stop you from pursuing your dream career. No one knows how their career is gong to be before they even start - whether AI is around or not. Lean on the skills you have, plan a Major in Journalism for college and take Journalism in High School if your school offers it. Start writing for your school newspaper/website. See if there is a video class, group or extracurricular and join it. You can do this !
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best !
Updated
Amanda’s Answer
Broadcast Journalism will still need plenty of people, so I don't think it'll negate job prospects by a certain percentage. There are always advances in technology every day, every week, every year, and the best people are the ones who understand the technology and how to use it to his/her advantage. I also agree with Donald -- this is a very crowded field -- so being open to various type of roles within the industry that might get you to your "dream role" is essential.