Do you need to study a degree in journalism to be a journalist? The short answer is no, a journalist does not require formal qualifications or a licence to operate in Australia. There is no requirement for a journalist to actually study a formal journalism course in Australia. Nor does a journalist need to be directly employed by a large legacy, a freelance journalist is  viable option, a digital journalist utilises online formats.

Therefore, a writer and journalist may write for independent publications and as we move from print media to online media, blogging is a viable option for independent writers and journalists. A journalist could be then defined as a person who collects information that may be in the form of written text, audio recordings, video or photographic images, then processes this information into a newsworthy form to disseminate it for public consumption in a news medium. A journalist is typically trained, this does not necessarily mean tertiary education, instead on-the-job learning is acceptable.

When you look at certain professions such as medicine, engineering, law, science and teaching all require degrees and professional practice for acceptance into a professional body. There are registration boards and/or professional associations, and let’s face it, who wants to receive medical advice from a non-certified doctor, drive across a bridge designed by a non-engineer. There is no required professional registration body in Australia, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance [MEAA] is about the closest professional organisation for not just journalists, but all performers. The MEAA is not a required professional body registration for journalists and offers benefits such as insurance for members.

These days, accountants require a degree and registration with a professional body such as Certified Practising Accountants [CPA], and Chartered Accountants [CA]. However, there are grandfather clauses for accountants who were qualified prior to the university requirements who can register as a CPA or CA. A tax agent registration has an age requirement [minimum 18 years of age], be fit and proper person, satisfy qualification and experience requirements, and hold professional indemnity insurance. This is not the case for journalism, there is no organisation that issues press passes in Australia, you publish news content and you are a journalist.

In a free and democratic society, participation by non-formally trained journalists allows broad participation of journalists in Australia that do not necessarily follow organisational and editorial guidelines, this allows freedom of expression. Journalists need to build a body of work, they can do this by a multitude of methods such as print media, online media and blogs, photojournalism and news reports. I have found writing for magazines is not a lucrative business for a general writer, you get paid per article and unless you are an in-house writer, there is no retainer. Sure, you have the ability to build a body of work and that is positive, it is hard to live on though.

A journalism degree is sometimes offered as part of a Bachelor of Arts, or a Bachelor of Communications by some major universities, even a Bachelor of Laws with journalism as a major, that makes sense if they are undertaking investigative duties. As I was reviewing this post, I was able to view a Bachelor of Broadcast Media where journalism is just a small number of units in the complete qualification. So what we see is journalism is this tends to be an amalgamation of qualifications that may offer major or minor specialisations. You learn to write at university, that is positive, ethics is learned in a variety of qualifications. When I review potential careers, a Degree in Journalism is an entry-level pathway for a journalist, freelance writer, a foreign correspondent, media liaison officer, documentary producer, tv reporter or producer, or a newsreader. So really, a journalism degree indicates to a potential employer that you have the skills to write professionally.