Folk Reporters: Who gets to be a journalist, anyways?

I got my first paid newsroom gig during the summer of 2020. By attending one of America’s most prestigious four-year journalism schools, I managed to beat the other applicants and achieve the distinct honor of earning $11 hourly as a reporting intern. (Thank you for letting me live with you rent-free, Mom and Dad!) I was the only woman working as a reporter or editor, and, although Baltimore is one of the Blackest big cities in the country, there were no Black people in editorial positions.

Don’t get me wrong. I had an amazing experience at this newsroom. My editors were supportive, nominated me for awards and sent me off with dozens of clips that helped me get hired after college. But the experience left me with a lot of questions regarding the news industry.

American newsrooms are definitely less of a good ole boys club than they used to be, with roughly a quarter of positions held by reporters of color and 46% held by women, according to Pew Research Center. But the power of the legacy press still remains out of reach for many.

Nearly every full-time journalist in the country has at least a Bachelor’s degree—less than 4% do not, according to the 2022 American Journalist Study. And certain Bachelor’s degrees are more likely to open doors. A 2019 VOICES investigation found that two-thirds of interns at top newsrooms came from the country’s most selective colleges. Roughly one in five interns at the New York Times or the Washington Post came from an Ivy League school, Duke University, Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or the University of Chicago.

Statistics like these concern me. Whether you go to Harvard—where tuition and housing will run you roughly $83,000 annually—or West Virginia University, where that cost jumps down to $23,000 for in-state students— is shelling out a bunch of cash the only way to become a good journalist?

In my opinion, a good journalist is curious about things taking place in their community. They actually give a damn about the people they’re interviewing, beyond using them for a story. And they’re committed to pursuing the truth, whether that’s a clear-cut, correct spelling of a source’s name or the more complicated endeavor of accurately representing people’s lives and experiences.

As West Virginia’s legislative session kicks off, lawmakers are expected to tackle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; child care; Medicaid; and many other programs that impact West Virginians every day. Does a Bachelor’s degree automatically make you more qualified to write about these things than being a Black high schooler, a working mother, or a person who can’t afford marketplace
insurance?

I don’t think so, and that’s why I’m excited to be running Black by God’s Folk Reporters program. Through this citizen journalism initiative, we’ll be providing training and support to help West Virginians from all backgrounds cover the West Virginia Legislature—not just the ones who already have journalism experience.

I’m sure some of you have been itching to write, to shoot photos, to just say something about the decisions being made by our elected officials. Maybe you didn’t know how to get started. Maybe you’ve been busy. Or maybe you don’t think you’re the right person for the job–because you’ve never seen someone who looks like you or grew up like you covering state government. Who gets to be a
journalist, anyways?

Anyone who wants to be.

Interested in becoming a Folk Reporter? Reach out to Ellie@BlackByGod.org