I receive a wide variety of reactions when I tell people that I’m a journalist. My least favorite is when I’m told I’ll need to marry rich.
It’s no secret that people don’t run to a career in journalism for the money. Low wages and competition push a lot of people with journalism degrees into marketing, something I’ve vowed to avoid.
One way to keep media fields full of hardworking and trustworthy people is to fund our academic programs.
When I see schools like Penn State gradually pulling all general funding from their newspaper, I get worried about what will happen to small schools and their newspapers.
Ferris’ journalism program is small. It is so small; it is attached to another program, technical communication. Of course, this should not be considered an immediate weakness.
With few people in the program, I have been able to learn through great one-on-one instruction, something Ferris prides itself on. I’ve also been able to climb the ladder at the wonderful Torch newspaper. From here, I see a small portion of how our budget works—more specifically, how we make it work.
Over this past year, I’ve learned that the Torch functions on an annual budget roughly of one-third of what Ferris’ Student Government Association currently has to their name. We use this to print 31 weekly newspapers and employ over 30 students.
We are 93 years strong and I want us to reach another 93 after I graduate. However, this won’t be possible without continued financial support. One of the hardest parts of this job is asking hardworking, busy students to put a lot of their time into a job that doesn’t have the resources to pay them what I think they deserve.
Without proper funding for student journalism, we will leave our right and responsibility to the free press in the hands of absolutely anyone.
Social media has allowed everyone with internet access and a following to feel like a journalist. I appreciate social media for its ability to share important news quickly, but we should not passively allow traditional media to be co-opted by users—human or artificial—on X.
To me, a fully student-run newspaper is the perfect environment for some of the most genuine and important reporting out there. We are a team of people who commit all of our working hours to study and working within this craft. We know our stories on such a deep level because of our connections to campus and each other.
Together, we tell stories that other students are interested in reading. Our entire editorial staff is made up of students, giving us a small look into professional independence.
I want future members of the Torch, and similar newspapers across the country, to have even more opportunities than I did. They deserve to travel, attend conferences, use current technology and work for needed scholarships.
If we want to see humanity and reason survive in journalism, we need to invest in journalists. This starts at school.