Nikki Osman wrote in her column 'Diary of a budding journalist' in the Guardian this week about a debate surrounding the entry to journalism. Do you try and specialise in one particular field so that you become an expert or do you diversify and cover many different topics so that you are versatile.
Journalism is a competitive arena and as a career it requires a bit of grit and determination to pursue. If you choose to find a specialism you need to find something that no one else is writing about. This can be problematic as the topics that no one else is writing about tends to be topics far away from the popular and you are likely to know little about them as well. Yet once you find a niche and start delving into that topic, it can put you in a unique and desirable position to offer you writing to specialist magazines, columns of the newspapers either as a freelance or on contract. Yet if you choose to be more a general journalist you can adapt to all different situations and you are a better prospect for full time employment at a newspaper or magazine.
Nikki finishes her column with a quote:
'To return once more to wise words of successful freelancer Johanna Payton: "I know plenty of journalists who have plucked a specialism out of thin air and are doing brilliantly with columns, regular pages, staff jobs and booming freelance careers." Herein lies the dream.'
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