By: Monique Mulima

When I started my master’s in journalism, I was excited to embark on my new career path. Having only been out of school a year, I figured it was a reasonable time to go back, but little did I know, that to some I seemed late.

My classmates were already well-versed in skills like the inverted pyramid, AP style and had connections in the industry, while I was still getting my footing. Although this could sometimes be frustrating, I figured since we were all in the same program, we were still on track to have the same opportunities. But as I began to apply to internships and attend industry panels, I started to realize that many news organizations were not interested in someone without prior journalism experience.

It’s the job seekers paradox, you are supposed to have experience to get a job but can’t get experience without a job. I worried about whether I was already too late to get into journalism, and I wasn’t alone in having these thoughts.

Journalists, particularly those of marginalized backgrounds, have pointed out that companies only seeking people with experience limits the applicant pool by excluding those without industry connections and those who historically made not have had access to the same opportunities.

This was a particularly large online conversation in August 2021 when The Washington Post posted their summer internship applications, which included the requirement for “previous experience in a major newsroom.” People within the journalism industry pointed out how this can be a barrier to many students who do not have connections in the industry to get into a major newsroom or who may live in smaller towns that don’t have major newsrooms.

Journalist Soledad O’Brien tweeted “If you are currently a college junior who is looking for a newsroom internship and has already had prior experience working ‘in a major newsroom’ your daddy is probably employed there. Good luck!”

Austin-American Statesman reporter Nicole Foy pointed out on Twitter that The Washington Post isn’t alone in have these requirements. “The thing about everyone dunking on the ‘major newsroom’ part of this tweet is that even local newspapers with like 25 people are this selective despite definitely NOT being the Washington Post,” she wrote.

Following the backlash, The Washington Post did remove this wording from their job requirements, but just because it is no longer listed, it does not mean that they are now actually interviewing people who don’t have that experience.

Teen Vogue Interim Managing Editor Jewel Wicker wrote a Twitter thread about how The Washington Post including this wording in the first place purposely discourages certain students from applying, and how even if those students apply they may just be wasting their time and not be considered anyways. “As someone who works to place interns in newsrooms, this makes me so sad. Every single day this industry shows us they’re not serious about fixing the inequities in journalism,” she wrote.

Oftentimes journalists propose that aspiring journalists get their start in smaller media markets and newsrooms to gain experience. However, these positions are often low paid (if paid at all), and students of marginalized backgrounds may not be able to afford to work for these salaries, especially if it may require relocation.

Another concern with some smaller markets is that a number of these places may not be as welcoming to people of color and LGBTQ+ people. This limits even further how and where marginalized students can gain industry experience. The Nieman Journalism Lab compiled a thread of dozens of tweets of journalists of color’s experience with racism in newsrooms across the country. The Nieman Lab also did research into racism in newsrooms, and found that journalism has a clear racism problem and put together a list of peer-reviewed studies that point to some of these issues.

Even if students can overcome all these barriers and get their start in the industry, it still may not be enough to advance when so many news outlets like The Washington Post will only consider applicants who have worked in larger newsrooms.

Huffington Post politics reporter Liz Skalka tweeted about how this is an industry wide problem. “If you’re pissed off about the Washington Post’s “major newsroom” requirement for interns, wait till you hear how this industry treats people who have spent any significant amount of time in ‘local news,’” she wrote.

If journalism truly wants to reflect the makeup of America and become more equitable, it cannot keep in place the same barriers that have always existed. It has to become more open to people with other experiences like freelance, student newsrooms and non-major newsrooms. Journalism shouldn’t just challenge the status quo in our reporting, we should also do it within our newsrooms.

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