Journalism
Students study news reporting, investigative research, media ethics, multimedia storytelling, and the principles of informing the public through print, broadcast, and digital platforms. Graduates typically pursue careers as reporters, editors, broadcast journalists, podcast producers, and content strategists for news organizations and media companies. The shift to digital media has created new opportunities in data journalism, newsletter publishing, and multimedia storytelling.
What Journalism graduates do
Your journalism degree prepares you for a world of communication, but the day-to-day work varies significantly. As a writer or author, you'll spend most of your time researching, interviewing sources, and meticulously crafting prose for articles, books, or web content. In an editor role, you're the quality control, spending your day reviewing submissions, fact-checking details, and shaping raw copy into polished final products. For those chasing the story as a reporter, your work is a fast-paced cycle of finding leads, conducting interviews on tight deadlines, and verifying every fact before publication.
Career progression often starts with entry-level reporting or copy-editing roles, leading to senior positions like a section editor or a specialized columnist. While opportunities for writers and film editors are growing modestly, traditional newsroom and broadcast roles face significant headwinds. The biggest challenge, however, is AI. With extremely high exposure across core jobs, AI is fundamentally reshaping this field. It now handles much of the drafting and copy-editing that junior staff once did, shrinking entry-level opportunities. Your value will not be in producing raw content, but in directing AI, exercising sharp editorial judgment, and conducting original, on-the-ground reporting that algorithms cannot replicate.
You may also want to evaluate Journalism against Communication & Journalism (Other), Rhetoric & Writing, and Communication & Media on salary and long-run job outlook.
Where Journalism graduates work
Common career paths for Journalism graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 50,500 combined openings per year across these roles.
| Role | Median Pay | Annual Openings | 10-yr Growth | AI Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Communications teachers, postsecondary
|
$77,800
$60K–$103K
|
2,700 | +2.1% | Moderate · 43% |
|
Editors
|
$75,260
$50K–$101K
|
9,800 | +0.6% | High · 65% |
|
Writers and authors
|
$72,270
$53K–$98K
|
13,400 | +3.6% | Very High · 89% |
|
Film and video editors
|
$70,980
$50K–$102K
|
3,600 | +4.0% | High · 53% |
|
News analysts, reporters, and journalists
|
$60,280
$40K–$97K
|
4,100 | -3.9% | High · 65% |
|
Proofreaders and copy markers
|
$49,210
$39K–$62K
|
1,900 | -0.6% | Very High · 98% |
|
Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys
|
$45,680
$33K–$72K
|
2,300 | -5.5% | High · 65% |
|
Photographers
|
$42,520
$35K–$62K
|
12,700 | +1.8% | Moderate · 39% |
Best schools for Journalism
Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 10 of 178.
| # | School | DW Score | 1-yr Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 |
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO · Public
|
50 | $43,958 | 11.0x |
| 6 |
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS · Public
|
50 | $43,191 | 12.3x |
| 7 |
Ohio University-Eastern Campus
Saint Clairsville, OH · Public
|
50 | $38,246 | 22.9x |
| 8 |
Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus
Chillicothe, OH · Public
|
50 | $38,246 | 22.9x |
| 9 |
Ohio University-Southern Campus
Ironton, OH · Public
|
50 | $38,246 | 22.9x |
| 10 |
Ohio University-Lancaster Campus
Lancaster, OH · Public
|
50 | $38,246 | 22.9x |
| 11 |
Ohio University-Zanesville Campus
Zanesville, OH · Public
|
50 | $38,246 | 22.9x |
| 12 |
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public
|
50 | $38,164 | 21.9x |
| 13 |
Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ · Public
|
49 | $42,605 | 12.0x |
| 14 |
Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN · Public
|
49 | $39,992 | 13.0x |
| 15 |
Utah State University
Logan, UT · Public
|
48 | $41,431 | 13.9x |
| 16 |
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN · Public
|
47 | $42,450 | 9.2x |
| 17 |
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR · Public
|
47 | $38,354 | 14.4x |
| 18 |
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX · Public
|
46 | $39,336 | 12.1x |
| 19 |
Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, GA · Public
|
46 | $38,603 | 14.5x |
| 20 |
University of Georgia
Athens, GA · Public
|
45 | $36,636 | 12.8x |
Highest Earnings Top 5
| George Washington University
DC |
$52,015 |
| Northeastern University
MA |
$51,855 |
| Northwestern University
IL |
$50,426 |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
CA |
$48,637 |
| University of Maryland-College Park
MD |
$46,893 |
Best ROI Top 5
| Ohio University-Eastern Campus
OH |
22.9x |
| Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus
OH |
22.9x |
| Ohio University-Southern Campus
OH |
22.9x |
| Ohio University-Lancaster Campus
OH |
22.9x |
| Ohio University-Zanesville Campus
OH |
22.9x |
Related majors
Similar fields of study often offered alongside Journalism.
Frequently asked about Journalism
What's the typical salary after a Journalism degree?
The median first-year salary across 178 Journalism programs is $34,417. School selection matters — the gap between the lowest ($18,301) and highest ($52,015) earning programs is significant.
Will AI affect Journalism careers?
Our analysis classifies Journalism as "Very High" for AI risk — approximately 61% of typical job tasks overlap with current AI capabilities. That puts most of the daily work in the automation-sensitive category.
Where should I study Journalism?
Our data ranks California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo first among 178 Journalism programs. Its score of 56/100 reflects strong outcomes across earnings ($48,637/yr), return on investment, and career durability.
Is a Journalism degree worth the investment?
Typical graduates earn 9.0 times what they paid in tuition within a decade. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly. Look at per-school ROI in the table above — averages can mask significant variation.