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How do I become an international reporter?

I am considering going to law school to combine it with my BA in broadcast journalism, is that advisable? #communication #international

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Tom’s Answer

Hi Larmie. I would suggest rather than considering law school to further an international broadcast career, you may enhance your career opportunities in broadcast more if you were fluent in one or more foreign languages. In particular Chinese. That may sound formidable, but so is law school. If you were multi-lingual you might also find interesting opportunists outside of the field of journalism if you wished, but you would be a high-demand journalist if you spoke the language of the country from which you were reporting.

Good luck.
Thank you comment icon Thanks for your response Tom. I should’ve mentioned that I also speak some French. I aim to use my French, broadcast and law degrees as footing to launch a career. Does that change your answer? Larmie
Thank you comment icon No, advice is still the same. Depends what else is driving you. If you become an attorney the pay is usually much better and it may be hard then to switch to reporting where the pay is less (even for reporters with a law degree). But maybe the pay differential is of less concern for you, that would be admirable. :) But if you wanted credentials to be the most widely employable at a good salary I'd stick with journalism and Chinese. That will be highly in demand in the near future. Good luck my friend. Tom Behan
Thank you comment icon Once again, thank you so much Tom! And so you know, money isn’t my motivation and the pay difference doesn’t bother me. I just want to be an international reporter. Appreciate you taking the time, Larmie. Larmie
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yoonji’s Answer

Hi Larmie,

My very good college friend is now working as a Politics reporter for HuffPost and now covers the Senate in DC. He started out as a Political Science major and his first job out of college was working at a law firm as a Legal Assistant. He thought he wanted to pursue a career in law so there's some overlap with Tom's suggestion. However, after a few months he realized that this was not his interest and decided to move to DC to get into politics. He ended up interning at Talking Points Memo and eventually getting a job there as a reporter was promoted to an editor position. He then moved over to HuffPost and has been there for 5 years.

I share this story so you can get some insights and inspiration to kickstart your own career in reporting. There are so many different ways to get into the field. You could study journalism in school and then intern at a newspaper, magazine, or news network and work your way up. You could get really deep expertise in a field like law, politics, economic or a region/country in the world like France or in a Francophone country and cover the different topics and issue areas. Stick with it and GOOD LUCK!

yoonji recommends the following next steps:

Check out the LinkedIn profiles of reporters you admire and see how they got into their career as an international reporter.
Stay abreast of the news in your areas of interest and also international news. I have an International Affairs background and like to read The Economist and Foreign Policy magazine.
Thank you comment icon Thanks a lot for the insight Yoonji! I especially appreciate your comment about the many different ways people can land in journalism. It’s comforting to know that there isn’t just one path. I will take action and follow your next steps by looking at profiles on LinkedIn and continuing to stay well informed of international news topics. Once again, thank you for taking the time. Larmie Larmie
Thank you comment icon Of course, Larmie! Good luck and keep reaching out to people and places like CareerVillage.org for more info. There are always people willing to help! yoonji KIM
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