what is a personal statement in journalism

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• Journalism Personal Statement Examples

Your Journalism personal statement is a crucial element of your UCAS application . It is your opportunity to showcase your passion for journalism, your relevant experiences, and your potential to succeed as a journalism student. Check our journalism personal statement examples for UCAS , which can inspire and guide you in writing your successful personal statement . 

Whether you are interested in broadcast journalism , print journalism , or digital and online journalism , these examples cover a range of topics and styles that can help you stand out to admissions tutors.

Journalism Personal Statement Example

As an A-level student in Business Studies, English Literature, and Religious Studies, I have always been passionate about education and learning. I have always been fascinated by the power of the written word and the impact that journalism can have on shaping public opinion and educating society. That is why I am so excited to pursue a career in journalism and continue to make a positive impact on society.

My interest in journalism was first sparked during work experience placements at my local newspaper, The South Wales Evening Post, and a local radio station. During my time at the newspaper, I was allowed to work with experienced journalists and editors, assisting them with research, conducting interviews, and writing articles for publication. This experience taught me the importance of accuracy, objectivity, and the need to present balanced viewpoints. Additionally, at the radio station, I learned about the power of broadcast media and how it can be used to reach a wider audience and engage with listeners on a more personal level.

As a great believer in education, I see the role of the journalist as an educating force, an incredibly important one. The media has a responsibility to inform the public about current affairs and provide accurate and unbiased reporting. Through my work experience, I have seen firsthand how the media can influence public opinion and shape perceptions of different issues. I believe that journalists have a responsibility to provide truthful and accurate reporting, whilst also highlighting important social issues and driving change.

Outside of my academic routine, I have several hobbies and interests that keep me grounded and motivated. One of my favourite pastimes is reading, particularly books that explore different cultures and perspectives. I also enjoy running, which I find helps me to clear my mind and think creatively. By engaging in these hobbies, I can maintain a balanced lifestyle and stay connected with the world around me.

Throughout my academic career, I have strived to excel in all of my studies. During my secondary school years, I was one of the best students in my class, achieving high grades in all subjects. This has given me a strong foundation and the skills necessary to succeed in a career in journalism. Additionally, I have travelled around the world and visited 56 countries so far. This has allowed me to gain a wider perspective on different cultures and societies, which I believe will be invaluable in my future career.

I am excited to continue my education and pursue a career in journalism. I believe that my passion for education, my experience in the media, and my diverse interests and hobbies make me an excellent candidate for this field. I am committed to using my skills and talents to make a positive impact on society, and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Recommended for further reading:

• How to Write a Personal Statement for a Master’s
• How to Write a Personal Statement for a PhD
• UCAS Personal Statement: A Writing Guide And Tips For Success
• Tips for Writing a Personal Statement for the University
• How to Write a Personal Statement That Stands Out
• Personal Statement Examples UK
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• How To Write A Dentistry Personal Statement

Personal Statement Example For Journalism

I am driven by my passion for the English language and the power it holds to inform, engage and inspire people. With a deep-rooted affection for the written word and its ability to capture the essence of life, I have always been fascinated by how language has evolved. As a student of English Literature, History and Media Studies, I have been able to explore this evolution in detail and develop my unique voice as a writer.

Studying English has allowed me to think critically, analyse the techniques used by both fiction and non-fiction writers and express my ideas and opinions through a portfolio of work. Through this, I have learnt how to craft compelling narratives, convey complex ideas with clarity and precision, and engage readers through powerful storytelling. My studies in History and Media Studies have complemented my understanding of English, allowing me to appreciate the importance of context, perspective, and the role of media in shaping our understanding of the world around us.

Outside of academics, I am involved in many creative pursuits that allow me to develop my skills as a communicator and storyteller. I participate in a drama group, where I am honing my skills in characterisation, improvisation and public speaking. I am also working towards my Bronze Arts Award, which involves creating and performing a piece of original drama. Additionally, I enjoy playing the piano, which requires a large amount of patience, creativity and dedication – skills that I believe are essential for a successful journalist.

I am proud to have received Young Writers Award from my Secondary School, recognising my talent and dedication as a writer. These accolades have encouraged me to pursue a career in journalism, where I can use my skills to inform, educate and entertain readers on a wide range of topics. I am excited about the prospect of being able to tell stories that matter, whether it is through investigative journalism, features or opinion pieces.

My passion for the English language, combined with my academic pursuits and creative pursuits, have prepared me well for a career in journalism. I am eager to continue my journey as a writer and storyteller, and I believe that a degree in journalism will provide me with the knowledge, skills and experience needed to make a meaningful contribution to the world of media.

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Personal Statement: Applying for a Journalism/Media Degree

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A question I am frequently asked is what exactly you should write on your personal statement when applying for a journalism/media course. Putting together a great statement can be a pretty stressful task as it is difficult to gage what exactly universities are looking for. However, all graduates have been through it and there is no reason why you cannot secure a place on the course of your choosing. Here are some of my top tips on what exactly you should be writing:

Enthusiasm and passion

For me, I think this is the most crucial element to any application. Demonstrate just how passionate and enthused you are about the course. Perhaps pinpoint an element or a module that you are most excited about and why. Showing that you genuinely want to be studying that course always looks great and will put you in good stead with the admissions officer. Cardiff in particular has a fantastic student media department with its own newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV station. Make reference to these and emphasise how eager you are to get involved, maybe even mentioning that you aspire to be the editor-in-chief of the magazine, or a presenter on the radio station. Universities are always looking for people that want to get stuck in so convey this well.

Relevant experience

If you have done any kind of writing, editing, blogging etc. outside of school then absolutely put this in. This will show that you are not only able to use your initiative, but that you have the ability to work independently and have great time-management – all essential skills when studying at higher education. If you don’t already have a blog GET ONE. This is possibly the most simple and easy way to get journalism experience where you can write whatever you like, whenever you like, and wherever you like.

Even if you don’t directly have experiences like this, any part time jobs or qualifications you have will also be great for your statement as each will bring with them a useful set of skills for university.

A recent news story that has caught your interest

If you want to study journalism, you of course have to be up-to-date with all the latest happenings of the world. Writing a small paragraph on something in the news that has captured your attention and why will make your statement stand-out and show that you engage with the news. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion and articulate your feelings about something you feel strongly about.

Future goals

Why is it you want to study journalism/media? What do you hope to do with the degree you are applying for? Express that studying the course is a stepping stone for you to get into your dream career and that you truly believe the university will be able to support and facilitate that goal.

Finally, no human being is defined purely by work. Tell the admissions officer exactly who you are and show some personality. What is it you enjoy doing at the weekend? Do you have a hobby? No matter how common or unusual it is, put it in! If you play a sport then there is bound to be a society for that at Cardiff so let them know that you are desperate to get involved. You want to make it clear to the university that there is so much more to you than just academia, and that you will be an all-round great student to have study with them.

Thank you, this helped so much

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7 ways to improve a journalism personal statement

As a journalism student, the question I hear the most from people wanting to study the subject at university is, “ how do I improve my personal statement?” and understandably so. Aside from your grades, your personal statement is your big chance to prove (or sell) yourself to that dream university.

It’s an arduous process with every word being sweated over and making the most of the strict word count. Deciding what to include is a nightmare in itself, so hopefully the following tips will help you improve your personal statement.

1. Researching and Deciding

Knowing what you want to do can be hard, but making a decision can make things a lot easier. Your personal statement will be much easier to write if you decide on one subject to apply for. Applying for multiple subjects (Journalism, History, English, etc.) can lead to an unfocused personal statement. Researching each subject and their related courses and then deciding what is best for you can make life easier.

Why is writing my personal statement so hard? I’m applying for journalism and creative writing courses I should be good at it — Chloe Becca (@ChloeBecca_) October 20, 2015

2. Get Blogging

The internet provides a great platform to get your writing out there. Blogging sites such as WordPress, Blogger and Google Blogs allow you to publish content for free and, if you’re lucky, build a readership. Even if nobody reads your blog, its a great place to archive your work.

3. Writing with Passion

Your personal statement should scream that you are passionate about writing and dream of becoming a journalist. After all, this is what your personal statement is about: proving how much you want to study the course. Don’t be too over-dramatic, but make the administrations person reading know how much you love to write.

4. Writing for an Online Publisher

What’s an online publisher? You’re on one. Sites such as Kettle Mag offer an excellent place to get articles published to a wider audience. They also introduce you to people just like you. Make sure to follow any style guide that the online publisher may have.

5. Work Experience

Nothing looks better on a personal statement than work experience. It provides you with experience as a journalist and also proves your interest in journalism. You can organise work experience by contacting where you want to work directly or you can get help through your school or college. Local newspapers are always a good option.

ok so i wanna go into sports journalism and ive got no experience and nothing to write about on my personal statement how stupid can i be?? — rachel (@hwatsonfan) July 21, 2015

6. School Newspapers

Busy days at school and college don’t allow for much time to be a journalist. That’s why becoming involved in a school newspaper is such a useful opportunity. It allows you to work on your writing skills, while having your work seen by other people. It’s also a handy place to start building up an archive of your work.

7. Show Your Ambition

So, you’ve said why you want to study the course and what you’ve done. But, it’s also important to say what you want to do after university. Do you want to become a columnist, a court reporter or a television reporter? There’s a long list of what a journalism course can lead to in the world of work and there is no pressure to make a firm decision at this point, but a quick mention of what you hope to achieve after university will show you have put some thought into your future and taking part in this course is something you really want to do to achieve that dream job.

For information on what journalism courses are out there check out our Journalism course search 

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• Personal Statements
• Journalism personal statement

Journalism Personal Statement Example

Sample statement.

If you want to apply to study Journalism at university then it’s almost a given that you’re good at writing but all good writers suffer from writer’s block occasionally, right?

For those of you that are struggling with a personal statement to study Journalism – here is our example to help you out:

Having developed a passion for writing at an early age my writing skills have evolved over the years and I now feel that a career in journalism is right for me. However, I am not prepared to rest on my laurels and I am always striving to further develop my writing skills.

I enjoy the challenge of conveying a story, event, or thought to a reader in an interesting, engaging, and easily understood way. I write my own blog and look forward to expanding my topic range when I reach university.

To expand my knowledge and skills in journalism I undertook a work experience placement at my local newspaper, The Waterside Herald, whilst I was at school. This gave me the chance to develop my writing skills to suit a journalistic style and to gain an in-depth insight into the daily life of a journalist.

Outside of school I enjoy travelling and hope that my love of travel will enable me to gain experience working for publications in other countries during summer breaks from university.

I am also a keen sports player and regular runner. As well as my academic goals I also hope to complete the London Marathon next year, something that I have been training towards for a number of months.

I look forward to the new challenges that life at university will bring and having the chance to learn new skills and build on my already high standards of writing and communication.

I hope that by studying journalism to degree level I will be able to gain an entry level position at a national newspaper such as The Guardian or The Times. I am also interested in pursuing television journalism as a possible career choice whilst at university.

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How to write your UCAS personal statement

For those of you used to writing 280-character tweets, a 4,000-character UCAS personal statement might seem like your idea of hell.

The UCAS personal statement word count is 47 lines or 4000 characters – and trust us, you’ll want more.

Starring at a blank page can be really difficult so just start by writing anything – for example, why you want to study this subject and your best attributes – then you just need to structure it.

Your UCAS personal statement should be broken up into three main sections.

• Why you are excited about the course you are applying for

And how did you become interested in the subject – did you read an article or go to a lecture on the topic?

Make sure you have a punchy first sentence to engage the reader.

In this section you also need to show that you really understand the course.

• Evidence to prove your interest in the course

This can be shown through work experience and outside reading.

Here, you should also mention the skills you have that make you right for the course.

• What makes you unique?

Now you can write about your interests and hobbies, try and talk about something that you do that is unique.

Personal statements are very subjective but we’ve compiled a list of dos and don’ts to keep you on the right path.

UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENTS DON’Ts

• DON’T reference a specific university

The same personal statement will be sent to every course and university you apply for so avoid being too specific.

• DON’T be negative

You shouldn’t put down the course you are applying for eg ‘I am applying to be a nurse because it takes less time than training to be a doctor.’

• DON’T waffle

Now is not the time for verbal diarrhoea – you only have 47 lines so you need to be concise.

• DON’T be arrogant

It’s good to show off your skills and experience but be careful not to cross the line into arrogance.

• DON’T use clichés

Admissions tutors read A LOT of personal statements so avoid clichés such as ‘I have wanted to become a journalist for as long as I can remember.’

• DON’T exaggerate

Be prepared to back up everything you say in your personal statement in an interview.

• DON’T try and be funny

Admissions tutors might not have the same sense of humour as you.

• DON’T leave it until the last minute

Writing a whole page about yourself is harder than you think.

• DON’T copy anyone else’s

Universities use software to check for plagiarism.

UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENTS DOs

• DO show you’ve gone the extra mile

Talk about the extracurricular activities you do outside of school – for example volunteering or clubs you belong to.

• DO proofread your personal statement

Get a parent or a friend to read it too, a fresh eye is always good.

• DO save as you are going along

UCAS times out after 35 minutes of inactivity.

Unfortunately there is no definitive formula to writing your UCAS personal statement but stick to our guidelines and you can’t go too wrong.

Whether you’re currently in the process of writing your personal statement or have already gone through the pain, share your advice below.

If you need help with the rest of the form, take a look at our filling in your UCAS application blog.

Featured image courtesy of Francisco Osorio via Flickr, with thanks

More from the Blog

• JournoFest 2024: How to succeed in today’s changing media landscape  12th April 2024
• JournoFest 2024: In conversation with Daily Mail associate editor Stephen Wright 5th April 2024
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• JournoFest 2024: The story behind the story… Q&A with Karl Flinders and Balvinder Gill 5th April 2024
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Journalism – Boost Your Personal Statement

Thinking about studying journalism at university but not sure what to include in your personal statement?  

Journalism is a competitive industry, but if you’re considering studying a degree in this exciting discipline, it’s important that you convey your enthusiasm, capability and written communication well – your personal statement is therefore the best place to evidence these skills. Understandably, the current situation has made things very difficult for you to gain extra-curricular skills, but here are a few activities you may wish to do over the summer to research the profession more and to enhance your personal statement.

You may be undecided about the type of journalism you want to specialise in, be it newspaper, magazine, digital, TV or radio broadcast journalism, but that’s ok as a degree in journalism will give you the opportunity to explore different areas in more depth, so ensure that you check the content of your five university choices for variety.   Also ensure that you research the profession – click here for further information.   

After you’ve researched different careers, start researching influential journalists.   You may aspire to be the next Faisal Islam or Vanessa Kingori, or it may be someone who writes or broadcasts about topics that you value such as the environment, music, fashion, travel, food, equality or human rights for example.   Like artists, it’s always good to have a muse or a role model to admire from afar before you start developing your own style.   So start watching TED talks, collate inspiring journalists’ work and dig a bit deeper into their backgrounds.

A sk yourself, what makes a successful journalist, influencer or campaigner?

Build upon the skills of a journalist

Check out the NCTJ Summer School , which boasts a series of video clips outlining the different attributes that make a great journalist.   This has already started but you can check out the videos on YouTube and learn about a variety of journalistic skills such as news gathering, media ethics, law, sports reporting, fact checking and much more.   Click here for access.  

Another useful skill is touch-typing and improving the number of words-per-minute that you can type and you can take a free online course here. You may have also heard about news reporters taking notes using shorthand when interviewing people.  This skill, used by many journalists is known as teeline and is great for when technology fails.  Have a go at learning some of the basics here as well as brushing up on your grammar from the BBC news style archives.

For a variety of free online courses related to Journalism and Media, try Alison , Coursera, or Open Culture all delivered from universities from all over the world.   This will give you a taste of learning beyond your current course and will equip you with research and independent study skills.   Just ensure that you check the time commitment of the course so that it’s feasible for you to complete.  It is also wise to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in the industry such as new technology, tools, apps and current affairs through the Journalism website – a go-to site for many journalists where you can read about current developments as well as listen to podcasts.

If you’ve not had any work experience yet, there are some virtual opportunities currently available.   Although these are not journalistic roles, you will still acquire employability skills such as time-management, planning and working to a deadline – all skills transferable to journalism.   View the following platforms on Chrome for opportunities: Inside Sherpa, Barclays Lifeskills and Speakers for Schools .  

For writing experience, you’ll have to be persuasive and seek out opportunities yourself, so approach your local newspaper and ask if there are any virtual tasks you can help them with or see if you can interview a journalist about their job. The worst they can do is say no! Or try writing competitions such as the BBC Young Reporter, Young Muslim Writers Award , or the Walter Scott Prize to name a few.  

You could also try blogging about issues that are important to you through sites such as WordPress or Blogger – don’t worry if nobody reads them, this is a way for you to collate your writing! 

Volunteering in roles such as tutoring English or campaigning for social action is also great experience, so try Vinspired .  You can always blog about your volunteering experiences too! Or why not approach other volunteering organisations and offer to write for them?   You could even ask your school or college if you can start a newsletter, newspaper or social media communication – this will build your personal writing portfolio.   Other ideas include volunteering for hospital radio when the situation becomes safer to do so. For information on this, click here.

These are just some cost-effective ideas for you to expand upon in your personal statement, but it’s not an exhaustive list so do keep your eyes open for other opportunities too.  

Remember, like a journalist, be tenacious and create opportunities!

For further advice on your personal statement, email: [email protected]

* Always be cautious and check any online forum or employer with your teacher or people at home first, as your safety is paramount!

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How to Write a Personal Statement

A personal statement can be a key part of your college application, and you can really make yours shine by following a few tips.

When you're applying to college—either to an undergraduate or graduate program—you may be asked to submit a personal statement. It's an essay that gives you the chance to share more about who you are and why you'd like to attend the university you're applying to.  

The information you provide in your personal statement can help build on your other application materials, like your transcripts and letters of recommendation, and build a more cohesive picture to help the admissions committee understand your goals.

In this article, we'll go over more about personal statements, including why they're important, what to include in one, and tips for strengthening yours.

What is a personal statement?

A personal statement—sometimes known as a college essay —is a brief written essay you submit with other materials when applying to college or university. Personal statements tend to be most common for undergraduate applications, and they're a great opportunity for an admissions committee to hear your voice directly.

Many colleges and universities in the US, especially those using Common App , provide prompts for you to use. For example, "Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea" or "Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time" [ 1 ]. If the school you're interested in attending doesn't require prompts, you will likely want to craft a response that touches on your story, your values, and your goals if possible.

In grad school, personal statements are sometimes known as letters of intent , and go into more detail about your academic and professional background, while expressing interest in attending the particular program you're applying to.

Why is a personal statement important?

Personal statements are important for a number of reasons. Whereas other materials you submit in an application can address your academic abilities (like your transcripts) or how you perform as a student (like your letters of recommendation), a personal statement is a chance to do exactly that: get more personal.

Personal statements typically:

Permit you to share things that don't fit on your resume, such as personal stories, motivations, and values

Offer schools a chance to see why you're interested in a particular field of study and what you hope to accomplish after you graduate 

Provide an opportunity for you to talk about past employment, volunteer experiences, or skills you have that complement your studies 

Allow colleges to evaluate your writing skills 

Bring life to a college application package otherwise filled with facts and figures 

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How to write a personal statement.

As we mentioned earlier, you may have to respond to a prompt when drafting your personal statement—or a college or university may invite you to respond however you'd like. In either case, use the steps below to begin building your response.

Create a solid hook .

To capture the attention of an admissions committee member, start your personal statement with a hook that relates to the topic of your essay. A hook tends to be a colorful sentence or two at the very beginning that compels the reader to continue reading.

To create a captivating hook, try one of these methods:

Pose a rhetorical question. 

Provide an interesting statistic. 

Insert a quote from a well-known person.

Challenge the reader with a common misconception. 

Use an anecdote, which is a short story that can be true or imaginary. 

Credibility is crucial when writing a personal statement as part of your college application process. If you choose a statistic, quote, or misconception for your hook, make sure it comes from a reliable source.

Follow a narrative.

The best personal statements typically read like a story: they have a common theme, as well as a beginning, middle, and end. This type of format also helps keep your thoughts organized and improves the flow of your essay.

Common themes to consider for your personal statement include:

Special role models from your past

Life-altering events you've experienced

Unusual challenges you've faced

Accomplishments you're especially proud of

Service to others and why you enjoy it

What you've learned from traveling to a particular place

Unique ways you stand out from other candidates

Be specific.

Admissions committees read thousands of personal statements every year, which is why being specific on yours is important. Back up your statements with examples or anecdotes.

For instance, avoid vague assertions like, "I'm interested in your school counseling program because I care about children." Instead, point out experiences you've had with children that emphasize how much you care. For instance, you might mention your summer job as a day camp counselor or your volunteer experience mentoring younger children.

Don't forget to include detail and vibrancy to keep your statement interesting. The use of detail shows how your unique voice and experiences can add value to the college or university you're applying to.

Stay on topic.

It's natural to want to impress the members of the admissions committee who will read your personal statement. The best way to do this is to lead your readers through a cohesive, informative, and descriptive essay.

If you feel you might be going astray, ensure each paragraph in your essay's body supports your introduction. Here are a few more strategies that can help keep you on track:

Know what you want to say and do research if needed. 

Create an outline listing the key points you want to share.

Read your outline aloud to confirm it makes logical sense before proceeding. 

Read your essay aloud while you're writing to confirm you're staying on topic.

Ask a trusted friend or family member to read your essay and make suggestions.

Be true to your own voice.

Because of the importance of your personal statement, you could be tempted to be very formal with structure and language. However, using a more relaxed tone is better than you would for a classroom writing assignment. 

Remember: admissions committees really want to hear from you . Writing in your own voice will help accomplish this. To ensure your tone isn't too relaxed, write your statement as if you were speaking to an older relative or trusted teacher. This way, you'll come across as respectful, confident, and honest.

Tips for drafting an effective personal statement.

Now that you've learned a little about personal statements and how to craft them, here are a few more tips you can follow to strengthen your essay:

1. Customize your statement.

You don't have to completely rewrite your personal statement every time you apply to a new college, but you want to make sure you tailor it as much as possible. For instance, if you talk about wanting to take a certain class or study a certain subject, make sure you adjust any specifics for each application.

2. Avoid cliches.

Admissions committees are ultimately looking for students who will fit the school, and who the school can help guide toward their larger goals. In that case, cliches can get in the way of a reviewer understanding what it is you want from a college education. Watch out for cliches like "making a difference," "broadening my horizons," or "the best thing that ever happened to me."

3. Stay focused.

Try to avoid getting off-track or including tangents in your personal statement. Stay focused by writing a first draft and then re-reading what you've written. Does every paragraph flow from one point to the next? Are the ideas you're presenting cohesive?

4. Stick to topics that aren't controversial.

It's best not to discuss political beliefs or inappropriate topics in your essay. These can be controversial; ideally, you want to share something goals- or values-driven with an admissions committee.

Polish your writing skills on Coursera.

A stellar personal statement starts with stellar writing skills. Enhance your writing ability with a writing course from a top university, like Good with Words: Writing and Editing from the University of Michigan or Writing a Personal Essay from Wesleyan University. Get started for free to level up your writing.

Article sources

1. Common App. " 2022-2023 Common App Essay Prompts , https://www.commonapp.org/blog/2022-2023-common-app-essay-prompts." Accessed January 9, 2024.

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How To Write a Personal Statement That Stands Out

Table of contents

Laura Jane Bradbury

A personal statement is a chance to highlight your unique qualities, skills, and experiences, all while showcasing your personality.

But whether you're applying for university, a job, or funding, it can be daunting to write about yourself. To increase your chances of getting accepted, it's important to know how to create an effective personal statement.

In my six years as a copywriter, I’ve written many personal statements that get results. In this article, I’ll guide you through what to include, what to avoid, and how to tailor a personal statement based on your application type.

Key Takeaways

• A personal statement is an opportunity to share your unique qualities, experiences, and skills.
• It should always relate to the course, job, or funding you are applying for.
• Include accomplishments and experiences that demonstrate how suited you are to the position or course you are applying for.
• Use clear and simple language to ensure your points are understood.

Your personal statement should be concise and demonstrate how you fit the position or opportunity you’re applying for. It’s important to keep information relevant, rather than listing all of your skills and accomplishments.

Follow these steps to accurately write and tailor your statement.

Understand your prompt

Before you start, make sure you understand what's expected of you. Are there specific instructions, keywords, or phrases that stand out in your prompt? Read through it thoroughly and note the requirements. You can then brainstorm ideas for each point.

Let's say I'm applying for a university journalism course. I've been asked to write a statement that shares why I'm interested and why I would be a good fit. I can use columns to plan my content:

Putting your ideas together first makes it easier to stay on track. Otherwise, you might lose focus and include irrelevant information. 

Show, don't just tell

Once you’ve listed your experiences, skills, and accomplishments, consider how you can demonstrate them with examples. Take a look at the list you created during the previous exercise and organize your points so you have clear examples and proof.

This technique helps you demonstrate your experiences and how they tie in with your application.

When telling anecdotes, use engaging stories that demonstrate your skills. For instance, a story about how I handled a fast-paced news internship proves I work well under pressure. 

Start strong

Recruiters, application tutors, and funders read lots of personal statements. You can make yours stand out with an engaging introduction.

Examples of a strong opening include:

A meaningful statistic

This draws readers in and increases credibility: 

"Communication is the key to marketing success, according to Business Marketing News. With five years of experience communicating and delivering campaigns to global clients, I have the skills and passion to add value to your team."

A personal story

Anecdotes connect the reader with the author’s real-life experience: 

"My first exposure to microbiology was during my time as a research assistant for a microbiologist. I was fascinated by the complex and intricate processes within cells."

An alarming statement

This piques the reader’s interest by making an issue seem urgent:  

“ The fashion industry churns out clothes at an alarming rate, causing mass production of synthetic fibers and harsh chemicals which have a detrimental impact on the planet. Funding my sustainability initiative is vital to mitigating this environmental impact." 

Avoid cliches such as "From a young age, I have always loved...." and "For as long as I can remember, I have had a passion for..."

Pro tip: Use Wordtune Editor 's Shorten feature to cut unnecessary fluff and make your intro sharper. Simply type in your sentence and click Shorten to receive suggestions.

Get Wordtune for free > Get Wordtune for free >

Admission committees and employers appreciate sincerity and authenticity. While it may be tempting, avoid exaggeration. You can better emphasize your skills and personality by being honest. For instance, rather than claiming I read every type of newspaper in my journalism application, I can focus on my dedication to reading The New York Times.

Your writing style should also feel genuine. Instead of trying to impress with complex language and fancy words, keep sentences simple and direct . This makes them more effective because they’re easier to read. 

Address weaknesses

Addressing weaknesses can show your willingness to confront challenges. It also gives you a chance to share efforts you have made for improvement. When explaining a weakness, exclude excuses.

Instead of saying "I didn't achieve my expected grades due to work commitments impacting my studies," try “While I didn't achieve my expected grades, I am now working with a tutor to help me understand my weak areas so I can succeed in your program.”

Wordtune’s Spices feature can help you develop counterarguments to weaknesses. In the Editor, highlight your text, click on Spices, and then Counterargument . Here’s an example:

Using Wordtune’s suggestion, I can highlight my eagerness to learn and provide examples to support my argument.

Highlight achievements

This is your chance to shine! A personal statement should highlight your best qualities — provided they relate to your prompt.

Ask yourself:

• What are your skills and strengths? Identify both academic and non-academic abilities such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork.
• What challenges have you faced? Reflect on how you have overcome significant challenges and how these experiences have helped you grow. For example, completing a course, learning a new language, or starting a business.
• What are your unique selling points? Consider what sets you apart from other applicants. For example, you may have a unique set of technical skills or experience learning in a different country.
• How have your achievements shaped your goals and aspirations? Sharing your goals shows that you think long-term and have taken the time to make sure you’re applying for the right opportunity.

Connect with the institution or company

Tailor your statement to the specific institution or company you're applying to — this shows you understand their values and have carefully considered where you want to seek opportunities.

To do this, head to the company or institution’s website and look for the About page. Many organizations include a mission statement on this page that conveys its purpose and values.

For example, universities often include their values under “Community” or “Student Life” sections. Here, Princeton University’s “In Service of Humanity” section highlights how they value using education to benefit society. Applicants can engage with this by explaining how they interact with their communities and seek to use their education to help others.

You can also research a company or institution’s social media. Look for similarities — maybe you both prioritize collaboration or think outside the box. Draw upon this in your personal statement. 

End with a strong conclusion

A strong conclusion is clear, concise, and leaves a lasting impression. Use these three steps:

• Summarize the main points of your statement. For example, “My experience volunteering for the school newspaper, along with my communication skills and enthusiasm for writing, make me an ideal student for your university."
• Discuss your future . Share your future ambitions to remind the reader that you’ve carefully considered how the opportunity fits into your plans.
• Include a closing statement. End on a positive note and offer the reader a final explanation for why you would be a great match. For instance, “Thank you for reviewing my statement. I am confident my skills and experience align with the role and your company culture.”

Tip: Learn more about writing an effective conclusion with our handy guide . 

Different types of personal statements

Now you know how to write a personal statement, let’s look at what to focus on depending on your application type.

The length of your personal statement will vary depending on the type. Generally, it should be around 500 words to 650 words . However, a university application is often longer than a statement for a job, so it’s vital to determine what is expected of you from the beginning.

Whatever the length, it’s important to remove and edit content fluff , including any repetition or copy that does not relate to your prompt.

Personal statement checklist

Use this checklist to ensure that your statement includes: 

• An engaging introduction.
• Clear examples of your experiences, skills, and expertise. 
• A commitment to improvement, if required.
• Any applicable achievements. 
• A direct connection to the company or institution’s values.
• A strong conclusion that summarizes information without adding new content.
• Authentic, simple language.

Personal statements are an opportunity to delve deeper and share who you are beyond your grades or resume experience. Demonstrate your ability with anecdotes and examples, address any weaknesses, and remember to use genuine and simple language. This is your place to shine, so follow our tips while displaying your unique personality, and you’ll be sure to stand out from the crowd.

Want to get started and create a powerful introduction? Read our step-by-step guide .

What is the difference between a cover letter and a personal statement?

A cover letter expresses your interest in a position and introduces you to an employer. It’s typically shorter and focuses on your qualifications, skills, and experience for a particular role. A personal statement, however, is common for a job, internship, funding, or university application. It explores your background, goals, and aspirations, as well as your skills and experience.

What is the purpose of a personal statement?

A personal statement is an opportunity to stand out by detailing your background, experiences, and aspirations. It should explain why you are interested in and a good match for the company or institution you are applying to.

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Article contents

Professional identity and roles of journalists.

• Thomas Hanitzsch Thomas Hanitzsch Department of Media and Communication, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.95
• Published online: 26 October 2017

The study of journalists’ professional roles is a principal avenue to understand journalism’s identity and place in society. From the perspective of discursive institutionalism, one could argue that journalistic roles have no true “essence”; they exist as part of a wider framework of meaning—of a discourse. At the core of this discourse is journalism’s identity and locus in society. As structures of meaning, journalistic roles set the parameters of what is desirable in the institutional context of journalism: they are subject to discursive (re)creation, (re)interpretation, appropriation, and contestation. In other words, the discourse of journalistic roles is the central arena where journalistic culture and identity is reproduced and contested; it is the place where the struggle over the preservation or transformation of journalism’s identity takes place.

Journalists articulate and enact journalistic roles on two analytically distinct levels: role orientations (normative and cognitive) and role performance (practiced and narrated). The four categories of journalistic roles—normative, cognitive, practiced, and narrated roles—correspond to conceptually distinct ideas: what journalists ought to do, what they want to do, what they really do in practice, and what they think they do.

Normative roles encompass generalized and aggregate expectations that journalists believe are deemed desirable in society. Most normative roles of journalists are derived from a view that emphasizes journalism’s (potential) contribution to the proper workings of democracy.

Cognitive role orientations comprise the institutional values, attitudes and beliefs individual journalists embrace as a result of their occupational socialization. These roles tend to appear as evident, natural, and self-explaining to the journalists. They index their individual aspirations and ambitions and the communicative goals they want to achieve through their work. Practiced role performance captures the roles of journalists as they are executed in practice; narrated roles, finally, denominate subjective perceptions of and reflections on the roles that journalists carry out in practice.

Comparative research has demonstrated that journalists tend to subscribe to a variety of cognitive roles, largely depending on the political and social contexts they work in. Here, journalistic roles address six elementary needs of political life: informational-instructive, analytical-deliberative, critical-monitorial, advocative-radical, developmental-educative, and collaborative-facilitative needs. In a time, however, when traditional social institutions cease to provide a normative framework, journalism increasingly provides collective orientation in a multi-optional society. In the domain of everyday life, journalism’s normative roles therefore extend to the contexts of consumption, identity, and emotion.

Over time, researchers have shifted their focus from the analysis of journalists’ occupational values, attitudes, and beliefs to the study of journalistic performance and the way professional orientations are enacted in the world of practice. Studies of this type so far produced seemingly contradictory evidence: one the one hand, there seems to be a gap between the roles journalists aspire to and the roles they execute in practice, but at the same time, many studies also found a robust correlation between cognitive and performed roles of journalists.

• professional identity
• journalistic roles
• professional values
• discursive institutionalism
• comparative research

Introduction

Research into the roles of journalists is central to the understanding of journalism’s identity and place in society. Journalists define their service to society in various ways, which ultimately helps them give meaning to their work (Aldridge & Evetts, 2003 ). The study of journalistic roles is more relevant than ever: in the 21st century , journalism’s identity is existentially shaken, and journalistic ideals have become more ambivalent and liquid after the turn of the century (Koljonen, 2013 ). It is therefore not surprising that the inquiry into journalists’ roles and identity has a long tradition in the larger area of journalism and (mass) communication research.

Journalistic Identity and Roles as Discursive Framework

Professional identity and journalistic roles can be meaningfully studied from within the perspective of discursive institutionalism (Schmidt, 2008 , 2010 ). Journalistic roles have no true “essence”; they exist because and as we talk about them (Hanitzsch & Vos, 2016 , 2017 ). In order to be intelligible, they exist as part of a wider framework of meaning—of a discourse. In other words, journalistic roles—and professional identity by extension—are discursively constituted. As structures of meaning, they set the parameters of what is desirable in a given institutional context. Understood from within a discursive perspective, journalistic roles are never static; they are subject to discursive (re)creation, (re)interpretation, appropriation, and contestation. As expressive value set, journalistic roles are indicative of a certain journalism culture (Hanitzsch, 2007 ).

At the core of this discourse is journalism’s identity and locus in society. Here, journalistic roles represent and articulate discursive positions that compete in a relational structure—the discursive field. This field is the site where journalistic actors struggle over discursive authority in conversations about the meaning and role of journalism in society. In other words, the discourse of journalistic roles is the central arena where journalistic culture and identity is reproduced and contested, and it is the place where the struggle over the preservation or transformation of journalism’s identity takes place. As a result of this contest, dominant positions in the discourse of journalism crystallize as institutional norms and practices. The institution of journalism as it exists today therefore represents the “state of play” in an ongoing struggle over discursive authority.

Ultimately, the discourse of journalistic roles legitimizes and delegitimizes certain norms, ideas and practices. Although journalists are the central discursive agents in the articulation of roles (Zelizer, 1993 ), they do so in an exchange with interlocutors in the broader society and by using a discursive toolkit that the broader society recognizes as legitimate (Carlson, 2016 ). The discourse of journalistic identity and roles therefore extends well beyond the boundaries of journalism as a field of practice and journalism studies as academic subject. In this sense, journalistic roles perform a double duty—they act as a source of institutional legitimacy relative to the broader society, and through a process of socialization they inform the cognitive toolkit that journalists use to think about their work.

In other words, journalists think of their work as meaningful to themselves and others in a discursive construction. The discourse of journalistic roles is a major site of reproduction and contestation within the institution of journalism. As Christians, Glasser, McQuail, Nordenstreng, and White ( 2009 ) noted, journalistic roles are widely recognizable and have a fairly stable and enduring form. Journalistic roles most generally allude to a set of normative and cognitive beliefs as well as real-world and perceived practices of journalists situated and understood within the institutional framework of journalism. Journalists articulate and enact journalistic roles on two analytically distinct levels: role orientations (normative and cognitive) and role performance (practiced and narrated).

Role orientations refer to discursive constructions of the institutional values, attitudes, and beliefs with regard to the position of journalism in society and, consequently, to the communicative ideals journalists are embracing in their work. These orientations can be normative and cognitive. Despite sharing attitudinal features, normative and cognitive roles differ in important respects. Normative roles indicate what is generally desirable to think or do in a given context, while cognitive ideas provide the recipes, guidelines, and maps for concrete action (Schmidt, 2008 ).

Practiced and narrated roles belong to the level of role performance (Mellado, 2015 ); they capture the behavioral dimension of journalists’ roles. Role performance refers to the roles of journalists as executed in practice, or as practice as observed and narrated by the journalists. Practiced and narrated roles need to be distinguished simply, and importantly, because what journalists do, and what they think they do is not necessarily the same thing.

The four categories of journalistic roles—normative, cognitive, practiced, and narrated roles—tend to be confused in much of present research. In fact, they correspond to conceptually distinct ideas: what journalists ought to do , what they want to do , what journalists really do in practice, and what they think they do . The four categories of roles, and the analytical distinction between orientations and performance, are connected through the processes of internalization, enactment, reflection, normalization, and negotiation in what Hanitzsch and Vos ( 2017 ) proposed as the “process model” of journalistic roles.

Normative Roles

Norms are commonly defined as “the rules and standards that are understood by members of a group, and that guide and/or constrain social behavior without the force of laws” (Cialdini & Trost, 1998 , p. 152). Normative role orientations appear external to individual journalists; they encompass generalized and aggregate expectations that are deemed desirable in society (Donsbach, 2012 ). They speak to how journalists are expected to meet the aspirations and ideals of the general public.

Normative roles of journalists are socially negotiated and sensitive to context—they are in a constant flux. Being confronted with journalists’ actual performance, these roles are subject to discursive reproduction and conservation, as well as to contestation and struggle. It is here where the distinction between “injunctive” and “descriptive norms” becomes most useful (Lapinski & Rimal, 2005 , p. 130): Injunctive norms refer to journalists’ beliefs about desirable practice in a given context, while descriptive norms refer to their beliefs about what is actually done by most other journalists.

The context-sensitive nature of norms also explains why some journalistic roles (e.g., the watchdog or “Fourth Estate”) are socially desirable in some contexts (e.g., in democracies) more than in others (e.g., in authoritarian societies). Ultimately, journalism’s normative roles are discursively constructed through legitimizing these roles by borrowing ideas, scripts and memes from legitimate fields, such as law, science, diplomacy, education (Schudson, 2001 ; Vos, 2012 ). Roles such as the analyst, detective, missionary, or educator speak to the ways in which journalism is discursively indexed to other social fields or institutions.

Most normative roles of journalists are derived from a view that emphasizes journalism’s (potential) contribution to the proper workings of democracy. It comes as no surprise, then, that most of the roles advocated in the literature bear a close connection to citizenship and democratic participation. The news media is expected to provide surveillance of and information about potentially relevant events and their contexts, as well as commentary, guidance and advice, and the means for access, expression, and political participation. The media is also expected to contribute to shared consciousness and to act as critic or watchdog to hold the government to account (Christians et al., 2009 ; McQuail, 2000 ).

Normative perspectives gained momentum shortly after the Second World War when politicians and academics began to recognize the power of the media to shape public conversation. In the United States, it was the Commission on Freedom of the Press that pointed out in its 1947 report that democracy essentially depends on a free flow of information and a diversity of viewpoints. Siebert, Peterson, and Schramm’s ( 1956 ) bestselling book “Four Theories of the Press” became a milestone in the discourse of normative theories of the media. Based on the premise that “the press always takes on the form and coloration of the social and political structures within which it operates” (p. 1), the authors identified four models of the press—authoritarian, libertarian, Communist, and the social responsibility model. In all these models, journalists were expected to act in different capacities and embrace different normative ideals. Despite its fairly ethnocentric appeal, Siebert and colleagues’ premise still finds traction today: journalism’s role needs to be understood within the constraints of the relevant political, economic, and sociocultural contexts.

Even after many decades of studying journalistic roles, there is a remarkable consensus about the essential tasks of journalism in society: observation and information; participation in public life through commentary, advice, and advocacy; as well as the provision of access for a diversity of voices. Journalists are charged with acting in four principal roles (Christians et al., 2009 ):

The monitorial role entails the collection, publication, and distribution of information of interest to audiences.

The facilitative role promotes dialogue between different stakeholders in society and inspires the public to actively participate in political life.

The radical role is about providing a platform for views and voices critical of authority with the aim to support change and reform.

The collaborative role calls journalists to support authorities in defense of the social order against threats of crime, conflict, and natural emergencies.

These roles, however (with the possible exception of the collaborative role), were all articulated from within Western perspectives and Western notions of democracy. Such a view emphasizes individual liberties and freedom, while other societies may prioritize collective needs and social harmony. Traditional western accounts of media functions in political life do therefore not sufficiently account for the variation in political cultures and socio-cultural value systems around the world. Distinct sets of normative ideas may be at work in many non-western contexts. As developing and transitional societies are facing a number of unique challenges with regard to political, economic, and social development, journalists are often expected to act in the capacity of nation builders, partners of the government, and agents of empowerment (Romano, 2005 ). Development journalism as a normative approach calls for a more collaborative and constructive role of journalists in the public domain, and it places greater emphasis on the idea of social responsibility.

By acknowledging a revolutionary and developmental role for journalists, Hachten ( 1981 ) was one of the first to recognize the need for alternative concepts that are better suited to many countries in the non-Western world. Several scholars from Asia, for instance, link the media’s responsibility to the preservation of social harmony and respect for leadership, which urges journalists to restrain from coverage that could potentially disrupt social order (Masterton, 1996 ; Xiaoge, 2005 ). The discomfort that many scholars in the Global South felt with the adoption of Western normative ideas was perhaps best articulated by Mehra ( 1989 , p. 3), who argued that “unlike the individualistic, democratic, egalitarian and liberal tradition of Western political theory, some societies value their consensual and communal traditions with their emphasis on duties and obligations to the collective and social harmony.”

Cognitive Roles

Cognitive role orientations can be defined as the institutional values, attitudes, and beliefs individual journalists embrace as a result of their occupational socialization. Although normative roles are in many ways imposed on journalists, cognitive roles capture their individual aspirations and ambitions, as well as the communicative goals they want to achieve through their work. These ambitions mostly work in the subconscious and largely emerge from journalists’ internalization of normative expectations. Cognitive role orientations, therefore, tend to appear as evident, natural and self-explaining to the journalists (Schultz, 2007 ). A discourse shared by journalists as discursive community, these roles belong to a collective repertoire that is selectively activated by journalists, both in context-specific situations and as a marker of their professional identity (Aldridge & Evetts, 2003 ).

Normative roles do not directly translate into cognitive roles, however; they are selectively internalized by the journalists. In this process, journalists learn about the institutional norms, values, and roles through occupational socialization that can take place either within the news organization or during vocational education and training (Gravengaard & Rimestad, 2014 ; Singer, 2004 ; Tandoc & Takahashi, 2014 ). This way, journalists develop specific idealized expectations about work and news organizations that remain a pervasive standard against which daily practices are compared (Russo, 1998 ).

The socialization of journalists takes place in a specific community of practice in which the professional veterans have common goals and share a repertoire of myths and tales (Gravengaard & Rimestad, 2014 ). Here, occupational socialization works toward the preservation of an “institutional mythology”: the prescription that “the way we do” things becomes “the way one should do” things (Schudson, 2001 ; Singer, 2004 ). Forms of ritual solidarity that call on journalists to celebrate themselves as a professional community invigorate the articulation of institutional norms. Shared interpretations of and narratives about journalism’s key moments, such as the exposure of the Watergate scandal, feed well into the collective imaginary of journalists and serve to reinforce professional identity (Zelizer, 1993 ).

Cohen ( 1963 ) is usually credited to have proposed the first systematic classification of journalists’ cognitive roles by distinguishing between a “neutral” and a “participant” role. Janowitz ( 1975 ) a few years later identified two similar role concepts, the “gatekeeper” and the “advocate.” The first large-scale empirical study was undertaken by Johnstone, Slawski, and Bowman ( 1972 ), who surveyed 1,313 journalists in the United States. Their pioneering work was later continued by Weaver and Wilhoit ( 1986 , 1996 ; Weaver et al., 2007 ). According to the results, journalists tended to embrace a participant role more than a neutral role. However, despite the antithetical nature of the two value sets, most journalists also held patterns of beliefs that combined elements from each of the two perspectives.

Johnstone, Slawski and Bowman’s pioneering work was later continued by Weaver and Wilhoit ( 1986 , 1996 ; Weaver et al., 2007 ). In their first study, Weaver and Wilhoit ( 1986 ) identified three, rather than two, distinct sets of journalists’ professional attitudes: “disseminator,” “interpreter,” and “adversarial” roles. Ten years later, Weaver and Wilhoit ( 1996 ) added another role, the “populist mobilizer.” In the United States, the interpretive function remained the strongest perception among American journalists after the millennium, while the importance of the disseminator function had dramatically declined over time. The adversarial function remains a minority attitude among American journalists, whereas the populist mobilizer role seems to have increased its appeal (Weaver et al., 2007 ).

The work of Weaver and Wilhoit has notably become a blueprint for a number of studies outside the United States that largely followed their original questionnaire. Many of these surveys culminated in two seminal collections, Weaver ( 1998a ) and Weaver and Willnat ( 2012 ). The first book, The Global Journalist (Weaver, 1998a ) has become a milestone in the comparative analysis of journalists’ roles, as the volume documents survey evidence about altogether 20,280 journalists from 21 countries. In his analysis, Weaver ( 1998b ) found a remarkable consensus among journalists regarding the importance of reporting the news quickly and some agreement on the importance of providing access for the people to express their views. There was much less support, however, for providing analysis and being a watchdog of the government. Journalists largely disagreed over the importance of providing entertainment, as well as accurate and objective reporting. Overall, strong national differences clearly override any universal professional values of journalism around the world. Much of this variation seems to reflect societal influences, especially differences in political systems, more than influences of media organizations, journalism education and professional norms.

The second volume, edited by Weaver and Willnat ( 2012 ), largely echoed these conclusions. Journalists often disagreed over the relative importance of journalistic roles across societies, which seems to speak against the idea of a universal set of occupational standards institutionalized in journalism globally. It is hard to say, however, to what extent these survey results reflect real-world differences between national journalistic cultures. The surveys reported in both books were not based on a common methodological framework. Rather, substantive variation in interview methods, sampling strategies, questionnaire wordings and research periods makes this kind of comparison a “game of guesswork at best,” as Weaver ( 1998b , p. 455) himself admitted.

Many of these methodological issues were addressed in a large and growing number of comparative studies, notably driven by European scholars. Donsbach ( 1981 ) and Köcher ( 1986 ) were among the first to look into the cognitive roles of journalists on a considerably large and cross-national scale. Based on a survey of 450 German and 405 British journalists, their findings confirmed the initial expectation that German and British journalists differed substantially with regard to their professional roles. German journalists were more in favor of an active role of advocacy, whereas their British counterparts embraced a more neutral reporter role. The values of criticizing abuses and being a spokesman for the underdog, which stand for partisanship and advocacy, were more pronounced among German journalists than among their British colleagues. At the same time, however, journalists in Great Britain tended to claim political influence more than their German counterparts, and they were also more in favor of an instructor or educator role.

These findings led Köcher ( 1986 , p. 63) to conclude that British journalists resembled more the ideal type of a “bloodhound” or “hunter of news,” while their German colleagues perceived themselves in terms of “missionaries” acting on behalf of certain ideological positions in the political spectrum. Köcher, however, admitted that the differences between journalists from the two countries were not always as clear-cut as her somewhat catchy conclusion suggested. In practice, German and British journalists interpreted their roles more as a conglomerate of neutrality and advocacy. Patterson and Donsbach ( 1996 ) came to similar conclusions, comparing journalists from Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Sweden, and the United States. Based on interviews with 1,361 working journalists, they found, for instance, Germans and Italians to be keenest to champion values and ideas in their reporting. Journalists’ partisanship most strongly related to their news decisions in Germany and the lowest in the United States and Sweden.

These and other studies ultimately challenged assumptions about a universal journalism culture even for Western societies. In the largest concerted research effort of journalism researchers to date, the Worlds of Journalism Study looked into journalists’ cognitive roles on a global scale. A collaboration between researchers from 21 countries, the study administered identical survey questionnaires to 2,100 journalists in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, and the United States. The project identified a number of traits that seemed to have universal appeal, including detachment and non-involvement as well as the watchdog role and the delivery of political information (Hanitzsch et al., 2011 ). At the same time, the study established interventionism—that is, journalists’ willingness to actively involve themselves in social development—as a main denominator of cross-national differences in journalists’ professional views. Western journalists were generally less supportive of any active promotion of particular values, ideas and social change, while their colleagues from non-Western countries tended to be more interventionist in their professional views. On a global level, the surveyed journalists were classified into four global professional milieus a preferred set of role orientations (Hanitzsch, 2011 ):

Populist disseminators see themselves as detached observers who provide the audience with news that is most interesting to them.

Detached watchdogs are detached observers, too, but they primarily act in the capacity of watchdogs by holding powers to account.

Critical change agents drive social reform and political participation out of a critical attitude toward the government.

Opportunist facilitators see themselves as constructive partners, helping the government to bring about economic well-being and social development.

For the Pan-European context, comparative research yielded rather inconclusive results. Based on qualitative interviews with senior journalists in 12 European countries, Preston ( 2009 , p. 165) found journalists embrace a “strikingly similar set of professional values” across the continent. Likewise, Statham ( 2008 , p. 418) concluded from a comparison of European newspaper journalists that “journalism over Europe is emerging as a common transnational experience and practice.” Heikkilä and Kunelius ( 2006 , p. 63), on the other hand, did not find “much ground to assume that a European public sphere would emerge out of national journalistic cultures.”

In addition, a growing number of studies looks at journalists’ roles beyond the Western world. In a series of surveys, Arab journalists, for instance, conceived of their mission as that of driving political and social reform, thus acting as, “change agents” in the political arena (Pintak, 2014 , p. 494). Pakistani journalists found it most important to defend national sovereignty, preserve national unity, and foster societal development (Pintak & Nazir, 2013 )—a trait that was also pronounced among Indonesian journalists (Romano, 2003 ). These values correspond to the idea of “development journalism” identified in several countries that broadly belong to the “global South,” including Bangladesh, Nepal and Nigeria (Edeani, 1993 ; Ramaprasad & Kelly, 2003 ; Ramaprasad & Rahman, 2006 ).

A considerable number of studies point to remarkable similarities between journalists from Western countries and their “counterparts” in other world regions (e.g., Mwesige, 2004 ; Ramaprasad, 2001 ; Zhu et al., 1997 ). One might take this as evidence for a growing global professional awareness, or as proof of a transfer of occupational ideology from the West to countries in the Global South (Golding, 1977 ). At the same time, however, these similarities may well be an academic artifact, especially when the normative expectations of the Western model mold the questionnaires and in turn shape the journalists’ answers (Josephi, 2006 ). In some parts of the non-Western world, the idea of what Western journalism represents may even undermine the cultural code of the profession, as it has been demonstrated for Russian journalists (Lowrey & Erzikova, 2013 ).

The study of cognitive roles of journalists has been relatively thin on theory for a long time. One of the first attempts to extract a theoretical classification of roles from the literature and empirical work was undertaken by Donsbach and Patterson ( 2004 ), who identified two major dimensions of roles for Western democracies: passive vs. active roles and neutral vs. advocate roles. A globally more inclusive approach was suggested by Hanitzsch ( 2007 ), who distinguishes between three major dimensions:

Interventionism reflects the extent to which journalists pursue a particular mission and promote certain values. The distinction tracks along a divide between two types of journalist: the one involved, socially committed, assertive and motivated, the other detached and uninvolved, dedicated to objectivity, neutrality, and impartiality.

Power distance denominates the journalist’s position towards loci of power in society. One pole of the continuum captures classic “watchdog” journalism that holds the powers to account, while “loyal” or opportunist journalists, on the other hand, tend to see themselves more as collaborators, or “partners”, of the ruling elites.

Market orientation refers to the extent to which members of the audience are addressed primarily in their role as citizens or as consumers. Here, the division falls between journalistic cultures that subordinate their goals to the logic of the market and those that emphasize political information and mobilization, and the creation of an informed citizenry.

Practiced Roles

Most of the aforementioned studies have focused on journalists’ normative and cognitive ideas, and researchers are just starting to pay more attention to the way these roles are enacted in practice (e.g., Carpenter, Boehmer, & Fico, 2016 ; Mellado & Van Dalen, 2014 ; Tandoc, Hellmueller, & Vos, 2013 ). Practiced role performance as analytical concept captures the roles of journalists as they are executed in practice. They are indicated through the tangible behavior and performance of journalists when doing their work. Just like the other three types of journalistic roles discussed here, practiced roles also have discursive properties. They can be understood as behavioral expression—as a practical form by which journalists articulate their position in discourses of journalism’s identity and locus in society. In other words, by enacting a specific journalistic role, or a bundle of roles, journalists—often inadvertently—take position in the discursive construction of journalism’s identity.

Cognitive roles of journalists—and normative roles by extension—translate into practiced roles through a process commonly referred to as role enactment. Individuals tend to seek consistency between role orientations and role performance, which is why journalists are likely to enact roles that are in line with the cognitive roles they embrace (Tandoc, Hellmueller, & Vos, 2013 ). However, the process of role enactment is highly contingent on the contextual conditions of news work. Journalists are not always—or perhaps even rarely—able to fully enact their occupational ideas when external constraints impose limits on their editorial autonomy (Reich & Hanitzsch, 2013 ; Shoemaker & Reese, 2013 ). Little surprisingly, a number of studies do indeed point to a “gap” between the roles journalists aspire to and the roles they execute in practice (Mellado & Van Dalen, 2014 ; Tandoc, Hellmueller, & Vos, 2013 ).

Practiced roles of journalists can be most meaningfully studied through means of observation and ethnography. Most of the times, however, these roles are extracted from news content—an approach that gained popularity in recent years (Mellado & Van Dalen, 2014 ; Skovsgaard et al., 2013 ; van Dalen, de Vreese, & Albæk, 2012 ). Early research discovered that journalism students included more analysis and interpretation in their articles when they believed that journalism should play an active role (Starck & Soloski, 1977 ). In the United States, journalists’ self-reported roles correlated only modestly with the roles present in what they considered their best work (Weaver et al., 2007 ). In a comparison of five Western countries, journalists’ partisanship was found to be significantly—but weakly—related to their practice when the journalists’ survey responses were confronted with their news decisions in four hypothetical situations (Patterson & Donsbach, 1996 ).

Studies in the 21st century do not seem to bring much clarity to this issue: surveys of journalists in Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom point to a robust relationship between journalists’ role perceptions and journalistic practice (van Dalen, de Vreese, & Albæk, 2012 ), while studies in Chile and the United States point to a gap between professional role perceptions and role enactment (Tandoc, Hellmueller, & Vos, 2013 )—or as Mellado and van Dalen ( 2014 ) put it, to a gap between journalists’ “rhetoric and practice.” However, as discussed above, an inconsistency between occupational aspirations and professional practice is not surprising at all. The practice of journalists is likely to deviate from their occupational attitudes given the many constraints on their work, but there is little doubt that professional orientations substantively correlate with performance. Consistent with evidence from social psychology research (e.g., Bardi & Schwartz, 2003 ), the relationship between professional orientations and performance should be construed as one of correlation rather than correspondence. Future empirical research should focus on the strength of this relationship in a variety of situations and contexts. Van Dalen, de Vreese, and Albæk ( 2017 ) provide a comprehensive overview of the various techniques of studying the nexus between professional attitudes and practices of journalists.

Recently, researchers have started theorizing the roles of journalists as they materialize in news content. Esser ( 2008 ) has identified “journalistic intervention”—here understood as the extent to which journalists report in their own words, scenarios, assessments—as major denominator of cross-national differences. Mellado ( 2015 ) suggested distinguishing between three dimensions of journalistic performance: presence of the journalistic voice, power relations, and audience approach. These concepts nicely reproduce the three dimensions—interventionism, power distance, and market orientation—Hanitzsch ( 2007 ) had identified earlier (see above).

Narrated Roles

The last category in this fourfold distinction of journalistic roles is narrated roles, which denominate subjective perceptions of and reflections on the roles that journalists carry out in practice. To be clear, it makes a difference whether we look at the real practices of journalists, or if we study journalists’ recollections of and reflections on their own performance in retrospect. Narrated roles are filtered through journalists’ cognitive apparatuses and are ultimately reinterpreted against normative expectations and cognitive aspirations. In many Western societies, the omnipresent professional ideology of objectivity, detachment, and neutrality, for instance, makes it hard for journalists to admit that they are actually not able, or unwilling, to cater to what they conceive of being the highest normative expectations. In this sense, it is helpful to think of narrated role performance in terms of a discursive relationship between journalists and their audiences. Paradigm repair is a classic example of this, since it suggests that journalists reimagine their work based on how their role performance is perceived by the interlocutor-public (Berkowitz, 2000 ). It follows from the above that self-reports of journalists on their performance are little more than an approximation to journalists’ real practice.

One common research strategy to get hold of narrated roles is by asking journalists about the extent to which they think they are able to enact their cognitive roles in practice. Culbertson ( 1983 ) was one of the first scholars to look into the self-reported role performance of journalists. He found journalists’ role conceptions to be correlated with perceived practice. Also, from a survey of Danish journalists, Skovsgaard et al. ( 2013 ) concluded that journalists’ cognitive roles have substantial explanatory power with regard to how journalists implement the objectivity norm. Ramaprasad and Rahman ( 2006 ), however, discovered a substantial gap between perceived importance and performance for some roles. German journalists found it particularly difficult to enact a critical and monitorial role (Weischenberg, Löffelholz, & Scholl, 1993 ).

The process by which practiced roles of journalists translate into narrated role can be understood as role reflection. Reflection is a retrospective mechanism that puts journalistic practices—as well as their observation, interpretation, and categorization—into a coherent narrative. The reporting practices through which Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward famously exposed the Watergate scandal, for instance, were later framed in terms of “investigative journalism,” with journalists acting as detectives and watchdogs. Other narratives, such as the idea of objectivity, were used for strategic reasons to shield journalists from public critique (Tuchman, 1971 ). This way, the process of role reflection generates myths and tales about “good journalists,” or about practices that have led to professional failure. Some of the emerging narratives can become powerful tools that instigate introspection and may occasionally transform journalistic culture.

In the process of role reflection, journalists tend to reinterpret their practice so that it neatly maps onto the standard set of journalistic roles provided by an orthodox repertoire of collectively shared exemplars. Nowhere does this become more evident than in interviews with journalists when researchers find, sometimes to their great surprise, that people in the news business more or less resort to the same categories when interviewers ask for role perceptions and professional performance, no matter how they actually practice the trade.

The journalists’ imagery of their professional practice feeds back into discourses on normative and cognitive role orientations. In a routine setting, perceptions of journalistic practice serve to consolidate and reinforce established norms. Beliefs about what is actually done by most other journalists, which Lapinski and Rimal ( 2005 ) referred to as descriptive norms, work toward the normalization—or legitimation—of certain professional standards and ultimately lead to the preservation of journalistic cultures in which professional values are constituted as compelling objects of belief (Bogaerts, 2011 ). At the same time, certain perceived roles may also challenge—or delegitimize—the tacit professional consensus in the journalists’ community of practice and therefore contribute to destabilization of hegemonic journalistic norms. A popular example is the idea of “peace journalism,” which former BBC reporter Annabel McGoldrick ( 2000 , p. 20) advocated as a new form of journalism that looks “at how journalists could be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.” These and other discourses are continuously trying to destabilize predominant newsroom cultures by challenging the normative core of journalism.

Furthermore, the way journalists perceive and frame their own practice may also have consequences for the cognitive roles they embrace. Narrated roles may assimilate journalists into newsroom culture, or journalism culture more generally; they make journalists to become members of a social group with shared ideas about what it takes to be good journalists (Tandoc & Takahashi, 2014 ). Especially young journalists feel a strong push toward streamlining their practices to presumed expectations of their seniors (“the-way-we-do-things”) in order to become fully accepted members of a professional community. This way, journalists develop a professional identity that gives them a sense of self that is constantly reiterated and reinforced by the professional community (Aldridge & Evetts, 2003 ).

At the same time, journalists may eventually realize that their practice does not live up to the desired standards set by their cognitive roles. A young reporter might enthusiastically embrace the watchdog role when he or she graduates from a journalism school. But once confronted with the realities on the ground, that reporter might realize that various constraints keep him or her from carrying out this role in a way consistent with his aspirations. One way to resolve this dissonance is by appropriation (i.e., by adjusting one’s professional aspirations and bringing them in line with—actual or narrated—practice). Exit is just another option to resolve this conflict: journalists may come to conclude that their professional aspirations are fundamentally incompatible with real-existing practice and, thus, decide to leave the field of journalism.

Two Catalogues of Journalistic Roles

The above strands of research resulted in a notable variety of, partly overlapping and often disparate, catalogues of journalistic roles. Hanitzsch and Vos ( 2016 ) recently proposed to systematize these roles across national contexts and journalistic beats by organizing them along two major domains of people’s lives: political life and everyday life. For the purpose of this entry, I will treat these two domains as analytically distinct, although in reality, the news often caters to the needs of audiences in both the political and everyday life simultaneously.

In the first domain, political life, journalism addresses the audience in its capacity as citizenry. Here, the social contribution of journalism lies in providing citizens with the information they need to act and participate in political life and, if given a chance, to be free and self-governing (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2001 ). The universe of politically oriented roles of journalists can further organized into 18 specific roles that map onto a higher-order structure of six elementary functions of journalism, each addressing specific needs of political life (see Figure 1 ):

The informational-instructive function pertains to the idea that citizens need to have the relevant information at hand to act and participate in political life. Central to this function is the understanding of journalism as an exercise of information transmission, information (re-)packaging and storytelling.

The analytical-deliberative dimension encompasses journalistic roles that are politically more active and assertive either by making a direct intervention in a political discourse (e.g., by news commentary), by engaging the audience in public conversation, by empowering citizens, or by providing means for political participation.

The critical-monitorial function, sitting at the heart of journalism’s normative core in the West, is grounded in the ideal of journalism acting as “Fourth Estate,” with journalists voicing criticism, holding powers to account and, in so doing, creating a critically minded citizenry.

Roles that belong to the advocative-radical function compel journalists to conceive of themselves as “participants” in political life rather than as objective bystanders. Participation, however, is limited to the discursive realm, with journalists acting as missionaries of values and ideologies, as advocates of groups and causes, and as adversaries of the powerful.

The developmental-educative, by way of contrast, takes this intervention beyond political discourse into the real world, with journalists actively contributing to public education, enlightenment, social change, and social harmony.

The collaborative-facilitative dimension, finally, entails an understanding of journalists acting as partners of the government and supporting it in its efforts to bring about development and social well-being. In this capacity, journalists may serve as facilitators, collaborators, or mouthpieces of the government.

Figure 1. Roles of Journalists in Political Life

Most of the abovementioned roles rather exclusively pertain to journalism’s contribution to political life. However, modernity continues to extend the locus of journalism from the political arena to the domain of everyday life. In a time and in places where traditional social institutions cease to provide a normative framework, the media have to some extent taken over this role, filling the void through providing collective orientation in an increasingly multi-optional society (Hanusch & Hanitzsch, 2013 ). Journalism has, for a long time, provided help, advice, guidance, and information about the management of self and everyday life through consumer news and “news-you-can-use” content (Eide & Knight, 1999 ; Underwood, 2001 ). Given the historical, discursive toolkit available to them, however, journalists have been slow to articulate this role within journalism’s institutional framework.

It is therefore sensible to extend the existing set of journalistic roles—and journalism’s identity by extension—to the domain of everyday life. Here, Hanitzsch and Vos ( 2016 ) have suggested a separate set of journalistic roles that serve the public’s needs in the domain of everyday life. Seven additional roles map onto three interrelated spaces of everyday needs (see Figure 2 ):

In the area of consumption , journalism is addressing audience members in their capacity as consumers by featuring various kinds of purchasable products and patterns of leisure-time activities, thus contributing to the construction of consumer lifestyles (Chaney, 2001 ). Consumption is closely related to performative aspects of lifestyles that engender a great deal of consistency and authenticity in individuals’ behaviors (Taylor, 2002 ).

The area of identity becomes relevant for journalists as identity work in modern society is more than ever an individual exercise. Individuals are no more “born into” their identities; identity is transformed from a “given” into a “task”, charging the actors with the responsibility for performing that task and for the consequences (Bauman, 2000 , p. 31). People are not only confronted with an increased plurality of options, they also have more flexibility in choosing between them. This is where they need orientation for the management of self and everyday life, and for developing as sense of identification and belonging.

The area of emotion is concerned with the affective, emotional, and mood-related experience of news consumption, which is established as a major determinant of selective exposure to media content (Zillmann & Bryant, 1985 ). In this view, journalism contributes to affect regulation by helping individuals regulate mood and arousal and can stimulate rewarding social and cognitive experiences that contribute to emotional well-being in more complex and sustainable ways (for instance, by fostering a sense of insight, meaning, and social connectedness; Bartsch & Schneider, 2014 ).

Figure 2. Roles of Journalists in Everyday Life

Issues and Challenges in the Study of Journalistic Roles

Research on professional identity and journalists’ roles has always been at the heart of journalism scholarship. Despite a long tradition and a truly impressive number of studies, the area suffers from several shortcomings that are especially critical to the area of theorizing journalistic roles. Terminology varies considerably across publications and over time. Researchers refer to a wide range of concepts to denote roles of journalists as “press functions,” “media roles,” “role perceptions,” “role conceptions” or “journalistic paradigms” (e.g., Cohen, 1963 ; Janowitz, 1975 ; Pan & Chan, 2003 ; Donsbach & Patterson, 2004 ; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1986 ). An array of seeming synonyms, such as “ideology,” “perspectives,” “philosophy,” “orientations,” “school,” “belief-sets” and “mission,” add to a lack of conceptual clarity (Culbertson, 1983 ; Johnstone, Slawski, & Bowman, 1972 ; Starck & Soloski, 1977 ; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1986 ; Zhu, Weaver, Lo, Chen, & Wu, 1997 ).

More importantly, the area is still remarkably thin on theory. The study of professional identity and journalists’ roles lack a general theoretical framework that links journalists’ individual attitudes to the analysis of journalism as a social institution or field. Much of what we know about journalism builds on a methodological individualism: we try and arrive at conclusions about “journalism” by aggregating survey responses of journalists. At the same time, normative approaches and much of political communication research often treat journalism as “black box”; they are little grounded in journalists’ views, practices, and experience.

Perhaps as a consequence of the above two shortcomings, scholars until around the early 21st century tended to conflate the attitudinal and performative aspects of journalists’ roles, as well as their normative and empirical dimensions. As previously argued, journalists’ roles can be studied with regard to normative ideas (what journalists should do), cognitive orientations (what they want to do), professional practice (what journalists really do), and narrated performance (what they think they do). Not only are these dimensions often confused in much 21st-century work, journalists also find it difficult to respond to survey questions when it is not clear whether they are asked to report on normative, cognitive, practiced, or narrated roles.

Furthermore, it seems that both the normative and analytical traditions of conceptualizing journalistic roles have come to a point where they increasingly disconnect with journalism’s realities in a global world. The focus on journalists’ roles in democratic contexts, together with a concentration of scholarly resources in the northern hemisphere, has produced a Western bias that tends to pin journalism to the idea of democracy—despite overwhelming evidence for alternative roles exercised by journalists in non-Western contexts (Pintak & Ginges, 2008 ; Romano, 2005 ). To be sure, few would deny journalism’s centrality to democratic processes, but democracy is arguably not necessarily a prerequisite for journalism (Josephi, 2013 ). For a long time, journalism research has privileged a journalistic world that is narrower than that which exists in practice. Journalism has always extended beyond democracies—in fact, journalism within democracy is enjoyed only by a minority of the world’s population. The centrality of democracy has generated undemocratic journalism scholarship, by which variants of journalisms most germane to the core of democratic theory have been privileged over those that are not (Zelizer, 2013 ).

The global political economy of research and uneven distribution of scholarly resources has contributed to a normalization of Western ideals and practices of journalism as the “professional” standard against which journalism in the non-Western world was gauged. As scholarly doctrine, journalism’s existential relationship with democracy is hardly challenged. James Carey famously argued in 1996 : “Journalism is another name for democracy or, better, you cannot have journalism without democracy.” The Western model of journalism assumes that news media are relatively autonomous from the state and that journalists are independent agents engaged in an antagonistic relationship to power while representing the people (Nerone, 2013 ). The model was exported to the developing world along with many other Western beliefs and practices—a transfer of occupational ideology from the West to countries in the Global South (Golding, 1977 ).

In addition, journalism scholarship has been preoccupied for decades with studying the roles of journalists in the political context. Other forms of journalism, such as service or lifestyle news, have been marginalized in scholarly discourse and occasionally discredited as an unworthy other. In a world, however, where working on one’s identity is increasingly an individual exercise (Bauman, 2000 ), journalism is not just about providing orientation in the political arena. As discussed above, journalists are also expected to perform in the domain of everyday life by providing help, advice, guidance, and information about the management of self and everyday life.

Discussion of the Literature

Research into the professional identity and roles of journalists has a long and rich tradition in the broader field of communication and media studies. Early approaches were primarily normative, with the central roles of the press identified as surveillance, correlation, transmission, and entertainment (Lasswell, 1948 ; Wright, 1960 ). These early conceptualizations continue to serve as a backbone to normative discussions. The idea that democracy essentially depends on a free flow of information and a diversity of viewpoints achieved paradigmatic status after it was enshrined in the 1947 report of the Commission on Freedom of the Press in the United States. In the subsequent years, Siebert, Peterson and Schramm’s ( 1956 ) “Four Theories of the Press” deeply influenced normative discourse in large parts of the West at least until the end of the Cold War. Normative approaches continue to thrive in the field until today (see Christians et al., 2009 for a recent account), though they seem to have lost some of their steam in the late 1980s.

Empirical-analytical approaches to the study of journalistic roles gained importance with Cohen ( 1963 ), which distinguished between a “neutral” and a “participant” role. In the United States, Cohen’s work was followed up upon through a series of large-scale representative surveys of journalists starting in the early 1970 (Johnstone, Slawski, & Bowman, 1972 ; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1986 , 1996 ; Weaver et al., 2007 ). Scholars in other countries followed suit, though research tended to be concentrated in the West.

Comparative studies of journalistic roles gained importance in the 1990s, most notably with a five-nation study by Patterson and Donsbach ( 1996 ). Until the turn of the century, most comparative work was based on collections of surveys based on rather idiosyncratic methodological designs and procedures (Deuze, 2002 ; Weaver, 1998b ; Weaver & Willnat, 2012 ). These limitations were overcome by newer studies that were based on a common methodological framework specifically tailored to the purpose of tight cross-sectional comparison. One major example is the Worlds of Journalism Study , which in its second wave carried out surveys in 67 countries ( http://www.worldsofjournalism.org ).

Recently, researchers are shifting their attention from the study of cognitive roles to the investigation of role performance. While early studies of role perceptions simply presumed that journalists’ professional views had some impact on their practice, 21st-century research tests such assumptions by comparing journalists’ survey responses to the content they produce or to journalists’ self-assessments of their enacted roles (Mellado, Hellmüller, & Donsbach, 2017 ; Mellado & Van Dalen, 2014 ; Tandoc, Hellmueller, & Vos, 2013 ; Weaver et al., 2007 ). Studies of this type so far produced seemingly contradictory evidence: on the one hand, there seems to be a gap between the roles journalists aspire to and the roles they execute in practice. But on the other hand, many studies also found a robust correlation between cognitive and performed roles of journalists.

Further Reading

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SOP for Journal...

SOP for Journalism: How to Write a Statement of Purpose for Journalism, Mass Communication, or Media Studies?

Do you have a background in communication sciences, social sciences, or literature? Do you aspire to pursue an MA/MSc in Journalism and Mass Communication or Media Studies abroad? Writing an effective SOP plays a crucial role in the initial steps of the application process for some of the top media schools like Amsterdam, Southern California, and LSE.

Media schools assess capabilities like critical thinking and creativity through writing samples, along with communication skills evident in your portfolios. Similarly, the capabilities of an appropriate candidate are highlighted through your statement of purpose for journalism.

But how do you write an effective statement of purpose for a mass communication program? Connect with Yocket Counsellors , and they will help you with everything that comes along the way! Get personalized assistance on your SOP, LOR, and application process and get it all sorted.

Read ahead to understand the intricate facets of a good SOP for journalism.

How to Draft an SOP for Mass Communication, Journalism, and Media Studies?

To start writing your statement of purpose for a mass communication sample, brainstorm, free-write, and collect your thoughts. Your SOP should dive into relevant life experiences, academic and professional background (if applicable), career goals, co-curricular activities, volunteering/community involvement, and more. Get more information at Yocket’s SOP Builder.

So, refer to the effective guidelines given below to draft a stellar SOP for mass communication, journalism, and media studies programs:

Introduction

What motivated you to choose Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies as your interests? What is the strongest experience that led you to choose this field? For example, a community event in your neighborhood was misrepresented in the media, or a progressive children’s campaign against abuse did not get any coverage in your national media. Depict how this formative experience provoked a thought for you and eventually translated into your passion for Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies.

• Begin your introduction with an attention-grabbing experience that is evocative of your journey into the field.
• Alternatively, you can also begin with a research problem statement that you consider exploring in your future Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies programs.
• This is because some programs directly seek an SOP for mass communication that is more of a research proposal than it is otherwise.

Second Paragraph

Building on the onset of interest in Journalism, Mass Communications, and Media Studies, discuss relevant academic and life experiences that have augmented this interest. How has each of these experiences impacted your thought process, streamlined it, or transformed it?

• Here, you can discuss relevant undergraduate experiences or courses in which you developed a particular interest.
• For example, you must have developed Journalism, Mass Communications, Media Studies, or Media Psychology.
• Touch upon a few course specifics and how these led you to develop your portfolio and inspired to work on projects relevant to these interests.
• You can discuss interesting projects you have worked on or relevant co-curricular experiences worth sharing. Make sure that your experiences align with your interest in the Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies program you’re applying for.

Third Paragraph

Have you faced any setbacks in your academics? You can mention that if you just made the cut or have fewer scores.

• Have you faced any other unique challenges or setbacks that have redefined your perspectives or interests?
• How did you overcome these challenges, and what is/are the positive outcomes of these experiences?
• It’s essential to reflect on the lessons from these experiences to underscore your resilience. To learn more about how to make your SOP stand out, schedule a free consultation call with Yocket’s experts. 

Fourth Paragraph

You can discuss extracurriculars in this paragraph. Remember that universities are interested in learning more than just academics. So, go ahead and speak about your hobbies, social work, volunteering, etc. here. You can also discuss workshops or certifications that you have taken to upgrade your skills.

Fifth Paragraph

If you have work experience, add it here. If you do not have work experience, you can also discuss your internship experiences, reflecting on your specific learnings and take-aways. Identify a knowledge gap or the need for you to go for an MA/MSc in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies.

• How has the work experience/s influenced your career goals? Why do you wish to go for an MA/MSc in Journalism now?
• Define your short-term and long-term goals.
• How will the MA/MSc program in journalism or mass media from a specific design school help you achieve these goals?
• How does the program align with your areas of interest?

Your conclusion for a statement of purpose in mass communication or journalism needs to be equally engaging as your introduction.

• What capabilities do you have to contribute to the university?
• How can you be an asset to the university?
• What activities, clubs, sports, student associations, groups, etc, piqued your interest?
• What diverse experiences do you bring to your future graduate community?

Do’s and Don'ts of an SOP for Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies

Your statement of purpose should be truthful, concise, engaging, and well-written. Remember that every experience that you present should be coherent and well-connected. This leaves no space for grey areas. Follow these dos and don'ts in the statement of purpose for the journalism sample.

Suggested: Common Mistakes in Writing SOPs and Application Essay

Skills to Include in Your SOP for Mass Communication, Journalism, and Media Studies

Your statement of purpose for a journalism sample should be in-depth and research-intensive. Journalism, communications, or media studies is a creative and fascinating field of study. From information design, campaign graphics, and digital entrepreneurship to filming, news production, and academia, the career opportunities are diverse.

Therefore, an SOP for journalism should portray these skills to make it unique and more appealing than the rest. Let’s check!

• Investigative Skills
• Through Knowledge
• Communication Skills
• Professionalism and Confidence
• Research Aptitude
• Academic/Research Writing Skills
• Knowledge of Platform Specialisation applying for (television, digital, print, and so on)
• Relevant Technologies/Software
• Experiential Mindset
• Critical Thinking
• Problem-solving

Suggested: Remove Your SOP Writing Fever!

SOP Requirements of Top Universities for Journalism, Mass Communications, and Media Studies

Most universities have a similar statement of purpose mass communication requirements as part of their respective applications. We’ve shortlisted a few top universities for MA/MSc in Journalism, Mass Communications, or Media Studies with their requirements.

1.  University of Amsterdam

If you are applying for an MA in Journalism, Communications, or Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam , follow these guidelines:

• What are your reasons for applying to the course?
• How will you contribute to your future classes and beyond?
• A succinct narrative of your background with emphasis on clearly defined academic and career goals.
• The SOP should focus on ideas rather than extensive background/personal information and should be forward-thinking in vision.
• Evidence of motivation for the proposed area of study.
• Applications to specializations within Media have specific prompts that need to be addressed in the SOP.

2.  London School of Economic and Political Science

The London School of Economic and Political Science requires a personal statement as part of an MSc in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies.

• The personal statement should be 500 words.
• Elucidate your reasons for applying to the program and the university.
• What is your current creative practice or your Journalism, Communications, or Media Studies career, and how will this help you achieve your future career goals?
• If you cannot substantiate formal educational background or qualifications to apply to the program, describe relevant academic and professional experiences underscoring motivation to apply to the chosen Journalism, Communications, or Media Studies program.

3.  University of Southern California

The University of Southern California requires an SOP of 500 to 750 words in length. This statement should demonstrate the following aspects:

• Your interest in applying to the chosen program
• Clearly defined goals (in the program and after the program)
• What are the expected outcomes of the program, and how do these align with or help achieve your career aspirations?

Apart from these general instructions, SOPs for different specializations have unique requirements and different word limits.

From the Desk of Yocket

However, the SOP writing style for most countries remains the same. But in the case of a program-specific statement of purpose for Journalism/Mass Communication/Media Studies, you can re-engineer the original draft to suit the University/program requirements.

We understand that writing an SOP can be daunting. But don’t worry, Yocket is here to help you comprehend the nuances of an actionable SOP in terms of the format and guidelines. Therefore, choose Yocket Premium and bring your educational dream to life. Our counsellors are transparent with the rules, cooperative, and provide unique services. Become a Yocketeer and make your study abroad journey a hassle-free ride!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the accepted word count for an MA/MSc in Journalism, Communication, and Media Studies SOP?

Keep the length of the SOP for journalism within 800-1000 words. However, universities abroad have word counts defined as part of the online applications.

What can lead a statement of purpose for mass communication to be rejected right away?

Plagiarism and poor syntax can get your SOP for mass communication rejected.

What is the best writing style for a Journalism and Mass Communication or Media Studies SOP?

Conversational writing keeps the narrative engaging. So, write your SOP effectively maintaining a positive tone.

How many SOPs to write for Journalism and Mass Communication or Media Studies?

Each university requires a separate and original SOP. Hence, you need to write a different statement of purpose for the mass communication sample for every university applying to. Along with SOP, Universities require program-specific writing samples as part of applications.

How to save and submit your SOP for mass communication and journalism?

SOPs have to be uploaded in PDF as part of the applications. This makes your SOP look professional and eliminates the possibility of any formatting inconsistencies. Universities may also provide forms to paste contents of SOP as part of applications with or without the option to upload it.

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How To Apply Successfully For A Journalism Masters In The UK

December 16, 2022 (Updated December 21, 2023 )

For many of us, our last memory of applying to a university course probably involves UCAS — and you were probably pretty peeved when it destroyed all the formatting for your personal statement. You’ll be happy to know the process of applying for a journalism masters degree goes nowhere near that website.

However, if you are thinking about applying for a postgraduate course in journalism, you will need to put together an application that involves multiple parts. We spoke to the lecturers who sift through your applications and the students who’ve successfully applied to work out how to stand the best chance of snagging a place.

Is A Masters In Journalism Worth It?

Before you even think about putting in an application, it’s worth taking the time to work out if an MA in journalism is the right route for you and which one would suit you best. Research is key — City, University of London’s journalism department, for example, offers 10 different options , so it’s well worth taking the time to see which course fits you.

Don’t just assume you know what each individual course will entail. Instead, take the time to understand the knowledge and skills you will learn during each course, and think about whether those are suited to your interests and passions.

One example is how City’s International Journalism course isn’t a programme only for international students but is a course designed for students aiming to become foreign correspondents or hoping to work on a foreign news desk — a common misconception made by those who haven’t looked at the course information in detail.

Jason Bennetto, City’s senior lecturer in Magazine Journalism , recommends attending an open day if possible — you can see upcoming dates at City here , as well as what they involve. As well as being able to meet course tutors, students and alumni, and see the facilities, it’s an excellent place to ask a tonne of questions: Ask how much practical experience you’ll get, what kinds of guest lectures you can expect, and where alumni have ended up working. Some universities will also offer ‘virtual’ open evenings too — at City, there’s offer both a virtual open evening in April , as well as a session about journalism skills and jobs that’s open to all on January 31, 2024.

Many universities will also offer remote event options for those who can’t make it in person too — and we can’t stress enough how useful they are to understanding the resources open to you and the people you’ll be working with.

Asking where alumni work is one of the best questions to ask of potential courses. Rather than just telling you how many of their past students are in work, it gives an insight into the types of places you could end up working, where the course has industry links, and what kind of relationships they have with their alumni.

At City, University of London, more than 6,000 alumni are now working in respected positions within the industry, from newspapers and magazines, to broadcast and digital positions. Names  you may have heard of include:

• Sunday Times columnist Dolly Alderton (Magazine Journalism, 2010)

• Author and broadcaster Gary Younge (Newspaper Journalism, 1993)

• BBC political editor Chris Mason (Broadcast Journalism, 2002)

• Former gal-dem editor and New York Times journalist Charlie Brinkhurst–Cuff (Newspaper Journalism, 2016)

• Fay Schlesinger, head of national news at  The Guardian.

You can see even more alumni by looking through their annual  XCity magazine here and more about their courses here .

What Are Courses Looking For In Applicants?

According to City’s senior lecturer in Magazine Journalism, Jason Bennetto, anyone who has a genuine passion and commitment to becoming a journalist should consider applying for a MA in Journalism at the university.

“We want people who want to be journalists and like asking questions,” explains Bennetto, when asked the kind of things they look for in applications. But he also urges people to be open about what they still need to learn.

“People with lots of ideas, who are curious about other people and world events, who are prepared to work hard and learn. But we aren’t looking for the finished article — remember, you come on the course so we can help you become a fantastic journalist.”

Zahera Harb, the head of City University’s MA International Journalism course, agrees. “If you are thinking of applying for a MA course in International Journalism, ask yourself if you really are interested in the news. You need to be up to date with what’s happening in the world to be a journalist. If you are curious, you should apply. If you’re not someone who reads, watches the news, or surfs online for news — or if you feel disconnected with that word — then perhaps this profession is not for you.”

In short, you want your application to show curiosity about the world, how you consume the news yourself, and that you’re open and willing to learn more.

“We offer support services and allowances to applicants with mental and physical health conditions,” Bennetto adds. “For example, we can offer extra time and support for students with dyslexia or dyspraxia. The campus also has wheelchair access and has catered for students with visual impairments. As with all our students, we always strive to make sure everyone is comfortable and looked after.”

What Do I Need To Apply For A Postgraduate Journalism Degree?

Aside from your mindset and personal statement, courses will typically ask you to submit your academic record, proof of proficiency in English if it is your second language, as well as proof of any journalism work experience to date. The exact requirements will vary from university to university and even course to course, so do check what you need before you sit down to apply.

“The requirements [at City] are a good second-class undergraduate degree or above in any subject,” says Bennetto. “We also welcome applications if you have relevant experience but without this level. And we have had people who have studied everything from humanities to maths, and even law.”

In addition, applicants should have an IELTS academic test of 7 and above, or an equivalent certificate in English if they graduated from a country where English isn’t an official language. A personal statement, proof of an undergraduate degree, and a CV will also be needed for the application. Finally, applicants must demonstrate having an interest or practice in journalism, best shown by already having completed work experience or similar.

“The latter is because we want evidence that students have genuinely thought about journalism by gaining some experience,” Bennetto explains. “Typically, people have worked on a student magazine, website, or radio station.

“They may have even gained work experience on local websites or professional publications — but working for a professional outlet isn’t necessary. We simply want to see you are curious about the world and have already shown a commitment to journalism.”

“Applicants sometimes refrain from applying altogether because they feel they don’t have enough work experience,” explains Harb. If you feel this way, she advises spending a week or two experience building before you apply. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount and is another reason to start thinking about your application early.

“If you do want to become a journalist, then engage with journalism by writing a blog or pitching to local or student media before you start your application.”

As previously mentioned, every course will have slightly different requirements for applications. But, as a rule, most will include a short written exercise. Depending on what is required and the student, applications can take from one day to a few weeks to put together.

On City’s MA Magazine Journalism , for example, students are asked to interview someone of interest in their local area and write a 250-word article based on the interview. The idea is to see if the applicant can find someone to interview, talk to them, and put it all together in a cohesive article, like they would have to in a newsroom.

Applications for City’s journalism courses are now open and run until the start of the next academic year — but early applications are encouraged.

They offer 10 courses tailored courses, all giving up-to-the-minute industry insights and access to specialist journalism facilities developed in consultation with BBC and ITN experts.

• MA Broadcast Journalism • MA Digital and Social Journalism • MA Global Financial Journalism • MA International Journalism • MA Investigative Journalism • MA Journalism, Media, and Globalisation (Erasmus Mundus) • MA Magazine Journalism • MA Newspaper Journalism • MA Podcasting • MA Television Journalism

You can find details on their Postgraduate Open Evenings on their website , as well as a virtual event in April and a journalism skills session in January .

A regular mistake made when applying is students not following instructions, warns Bennetto. People leave out things like their personal statement or the short written piece that many courses require, or they provide far too much information. “Remember, accuracy is important in journalism, so I recommend sticking to the course application brief on our website and making sure someone else checks your application for grammatical errors,” he says.

What Is The Deadline For Postgraduate Applications?

While most masters courses do not carry a specific deadline for applications, the recommendation is to start your application as early as possible — this will give you time to ensure your application ticks off all the requirements for your particular course, and that you have work experience to demonstrate your commitment to journalism.

Archie Earle, 23, a student in MA Newspaper Journalism at City, began his application in May, giving him time to consider his application assignments. “I spent three weeks on the application which involved a brief personal statement of 200 words and an interview with someone in the local community.”

Though we don’t necessarily recommend it, there are also applicants for whom taking a risk with time has paid off. Hridika Nandra, 22, completed her Master’s application in one day.

“After submitting my application, I heard from them the next day to arrange an interview. From then, it only took 48 hours to receive my official unconditional offer for the course!”

What To Write In A Personal Statement For A Masters

Whatever course you’re applying for, the chances are they’ll want a personal statement. The purpose is to introduce yourself to the course leaders, helping them to learn more about you and to get a snapshot of your background, experience, and motivation. In addition, it should show why you want to be a journalist and why you have chosen the university to undertake your particular programme.

“Be honest and straightforward,” Bennetto advises. “Address your chosen MA and tell us why you want to come to City to study that specific course. Demonstrate those things with examples of the work experience or other relevant work.”

Harb adds, “A common mistake is when students write one personal statement for a string of applications. Make sure you show us why you are interested in this specific course — and in us as a university.”

Almost all courses ask for a statement that gives a snapshot of why you want to apply for that specific course.

You’ll also be asked to provide proof of your academic records — such as a degree transcript from your previous institution.

This could be writing your own blog or curating an Instagram page, student media, or something more formal.

Some courses will ask you to complete an additional test to show your skills, like a short news piece.

Earle gave us a look into his personal statement: “I used my 200-word personal statement to talk about how I had wanted to be a journalist for a long time and how, since studying Politics and International Relations as my undergraduate degree, I had got experience at a student magazine and gone on to work on the data desk at the Times and Sunday Times.”

Nandra also demonstrated how a personal statement doesn’t have to be long-winded to be effective. “My personal statement was less than a page and included four paragraphs summarising my interest in journalism. The first outlined my work as an undergraduate student in Psychology and Consumer Marketing, and how the skills from the course could apply in a journalism setting.

“I then ran through my previous experience in a TV presenter role for britasiatv, such as covering the Commonwealth Games and going to red-carpet events. I didn’t just list what I had done, but also the skills I had learnt and show that applied to journalism. Finally, I explained why I looked forward to learning at City and why I had chosen the course I had.”

What Happens After The Application?

After you submit your application, it will then be sent for review by the team at your chosen university.

If your application ticks most of the boxes, you will typically take at least a month to receive an email offering you a one-on-one interview with your course leader , which will either be conducted in person or via Zoom.

Alternatively, some courses may offer you a place straight away. You can find out more about what to expect during an MA course interview here .

And as we promised, no UCAS was involved whatsoever.

Wherever you are in the world, on any given day you are likely to see, hear or read journalism from graduates of  City’s Department of Journalism .

Each year hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds apply to us who want the best education to enable them to get a great job in the media.

Here at City, we provide an intense and highly focused education to help you acquire the up-to-date journalism skills needed to enter your chosen area of the media.

• International

April 30, 2024 - US university protests

By Rachel Ramirez, Chandelis Duster, Samantha Delouya, Tori B. Powell, Aditi Sangal, Amir Vera, Deva Lee, Kathleen Magramo, Dalia Faheid and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

White House condemns takeover of campus buildings after overnight protest at Columbia

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

The White House says taking over campus buildings is wrong following protests at Columbia University overnight that saw protesters take over a university facility.

"President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful. Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America," Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said.

“President Biden has stood against repugnant, antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life. He condemns the use of the term 'intifada,' as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days," Bates said.

Columbia University — the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests in the United States — is advising "members of the University community" to  stay away from its main Morningside Heights campus  Tuesday as protesters barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall.

Here’s the latest on the protests at major US universities

From CNN staff

Pro-Palestinian protests  and encampments on college campuses have entered their second week, as law enforcement arrest hundreds and remaining protesters occupy campus buildings.

At the heart of the demonstrations, protesters are demanding universities to divest from Israel-linked companies that they say are profiting from the war in Gaza.

Here's what you need to know:

• White House weighs in: The White House says taking over campus buildings is wrong following protests at Columbia University overnight that saw protesters take over a university facility. "President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful," Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said. "Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong."

More arrests and developments:

• At  Columbia University  — the epicenter of the protests — at least 200 students have barricaded the entrance to Hamilton Hall, one of the buildings occupied during 1968 student protests. Overnight, protesters on campus made their way from the West Lawn encampment to Hamilton Hall. In the last few hours, there has been some destruction of campus property including a smashed glass door. The New York Police Department told CNN it had no plans to enter Columbia without an official request from the university.
• Roughly 30 pro-Palestinian protesters at the  Chapel Hill campus of the University of North Carolina (UNC)  have been detained Tuesday morning, after refusing the university's demand to vacate their encampment. Video from CNN affiliate WRAL showed police moving in on the encampment, with some people being bound with zip ties. Some remaining protesters have "escalated their tactics" and attempted to “forcibly enter” UNC’s South Building by shoving officers, according to a university update.
• Law enforcement arrested roughly 35 at the Cal Poly Humboldt campus in Northern California early Tuesday morning, clearing buildings occupied since last week and "restoring order," according to the university's website. At the time of the arrests, the university issued a shelter-in-place order for students living on campus and urged people living off campus to stay away from the premises, due to "continuing criminal activity." The college also urged people living off campus to stay away from the premises, noting it is "dangerous to be out on campus at this time."
• Nearly 80 people have been arrested at the University of Texas, Austin, with nearly all booked on criminal trespass charges and one facing an interfering with public duties charge. Travis County Jail Spokesperson Kristen Dark said 95% of those booked were arrested by campus police, while the rest were made by the Austin Police Department.
• Meanwhile, another 80 people were at Virginia Tech "for trespassing after occupying the Graduate Life Center lawn for three days and repeatedly refusing to comply with university policy and public safety regulations," according to a  statement  from Tim Sands, the university president. 
• About nine people were also arrested Monday evening at the  University of Florida  campus protests in Gainesville, Florida. In response to the arrests, the University's spokesperson Steve Orlando said, "this is not complicated: The University of Florida is not a daycare, and we do not treat protesters like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they’ll face the consequences."

Cal Poly Humboldt tells students living on campus to shelter in place due to ongoing "criminal activity"

From CNN's Rachel Ramirez

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, a small college in Northern California, issued a shelter-in-place order for students living on campus, due to "continuing criminal activity" early Tuesday morning, according to the university's website .

The university now known as Cal Poly Humboldt closed its doors for the rest of the semester amid escalating pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Law enforcement arrived in the early morning hours Tuesday and made some arrests.

The college urges people living off campus to stay away from the premises.

"It is dangerous to be out on campus at this time," the college website said. "In order to protect life and safety, residents on campus should shelter in place in their residence halls and remain alert to their surroundings."

Columbia directs students, faculty and staff to vacate university’s journalism school building, citing “safety concerns”

From CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones

Students, faculty, and staff at Columbia were directed to “immediately vacate” Pulitzer Hall, the building housing the university’s journalism school, early Monday citing “safety concerns related to the situation on campus,” a message sent to students early Monday morning read.  

The email noted that all classes will be remote and that “It will not be possible to enter the building. Everyone must leave.”

No further information was provided as to the cause for the evacuation.

UNC Police detains around 30 during Pro-Palestinian encampment break-up at Chapel Hill campus

From CNN’s Rebekah Riess

The University of North Carolina Police detained roughly 30 people who refused to leave the Pro-Palestinian encampment on campus, after the school issued a demand to vacate the area at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, according to an update from the university. 

At 6 a.m., the university said campus police "calmly approached the group and detained approximately 30 people who refused to leave." Protesters then attempted to block the UNC Police vehicles by standing in front of them and throwing things at officers, the update said. 

The encampment at Polk Place was cleared in about 45 minutes, according to the UNC update, noting that remaining protesters “escalated their tactics" and attempted to “forcibly enter” UNC’s South Building by shoving officers and refusing to comply. 

NYPD currently has no plans to enter Columbia campus without an official request

From CNN's Mark Morales

The New York Police Department currently has no plans to enter the Columbia University campus, a law enforcement official tells CNN, since the University has not yet made an official request.

Overnight, protesters made their way from the West Lawn encampment to Hamilton Hall. In the last few hours, there has been some destruction of property on the private campus including a smashed glass door. But in order for NYPD to enter and make any type of arrest, it needs a complainant.

The university, as the complainant, would have to call to the police department and request assistance, but the official said they have not yet done so.

Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have entered their second week – just as many universities prepare for graduation ceremonies in the coming weeks.

Hundreds of students have been arrested by law enforcement on various campuses.

A  central demand  of protesters is for universities to divest from Israel-linked companies that they say are profiting from the war in Gaza.

Here's what you should know:

• At Columbia University — the epicenter of the protests — at least 200 students have barricaded the entrance to Hamilton Hall, one of the buildings occupied during 1968 student protests, and about a dozen are occupying the building. Overnight, protesters on campus made their way from the West Lawn encampment to Hamilton Hall. Hours earlier, the university announced it had  begun suspending students  who refused to leave the encampment before a 2 p.m. Monday deadline.
• Pro-Palestinian protesters at the Chapel Hill campus of the University of North Carolina (UNC) are being detained Tuesday morning after the university sent them a demand to vacate their encampment. Video from CNN affiliate WRAL shows police moving in on the encampment, with some people being bound with zip ties. Others were being kept back from the area by a cordon of police.
• Portland State University (PSU) officials have asked the city's police department to help remove dozens of protesters who they said had broken into and occupied a university library on Monday evening, blocking campus safety officers from entering the building. Between 50 and 75 protesters broke into the library building, said Portland police chief Bob Day. He did not indicate when officers would enter the library to remove the protesters.
• At least six protesters were arrested at Tulane University Monday. Nine people were also arrested in the evening at the University of Florida campus protests in Gainesville, Florida. Earlier in the day, Texas State Police in riot gear arrested at least six people at the University of Texas in Austin.
• Officers arrested over 90 people, including 54 students, at a protest encampment on the lawn at Virginia Tech's Graduate Life Center , according to the school. The demonstration began on Friday and progressed over the weekend.

Divestment negotiations:

• The University of Pennsylvania put "Notice of Trespass" signs surrounding the on-campus encampment Monday morning after negotiations between protest organizers and university leaders over divestment broke down over the weekend.
• Brown University said it will hear a group of students and faculty members’ “arguments for divestment” in May if the campus’ encampment "is peacefully brought to an end within the next few days and is not replaced with any other encampments or unauthorized protest activity.”

Schools weigh graduation ceremonies:

• A pair of speakers set to address master's and doctorate graduates of the University of Southern California 's Rossier School of Education have withdrawn citing the school’s dealings with war protesters and cancellation of valedictorian  Asna Tabassum’s  commencement speech.
• Columbia University said it wants “to reassure our community who are trying to make plans that we will indeed hold a commencement.”

Portland State University asks police to help remove dozens of protesters from its library

From CNN’s Emma Tucker

Portland State University (PSU) officials have asked the city's police department to help remove dozens of protesters who they said had broken into and occupied a university library on Monday evening, blocking campus safety officers from entering the building.

Between 50 and 75 protesters broke into the library building, said Portland police chief Bob Day. He did not indicate when officers would enter the library to remove the protesters.

Speaking at a press conference Monday evening, Day said the demonstrations had “become a criminal event."

"(The protest) is no longer considered to be a public order or free speech event, and requires a different type of response,” he said.

Speaking at the same press conference, PSU president Ann Cudd said pro-Palestinian protesters had begun to gather at the campus last week and that by Monday morning the encampment had grown, resulting in damage to property and a risk to safety on campus.

After a peaceful protest Monday afternoon, a group “broke into Millar library, the main PSU library, and entered the building. Other protesters remained outside the building, blocking access,” Cudd said.

The university called in the Portland Police Bureau after campus police were unable to enter the library, she added.

“Given the growing health and safety risk to our campus community, and interference with our university operations, this afternoon we, the PSU leaders, asked the protesters to vacate the library portico,” Cudd said.

The university sent out a campus-wide alert around 7:30 p.m. about police activity at Millar Library, telling people to “avoid the area.”

Police break up pro-Palestinian encampment at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

From CNN’s Dianne Gallagher and Andy Rose

Pro-Palestinian protesters at the Chapel Hill campus of the University of North Carolina (UNC) are being detained Tuesday morning after the university sent them a demand to vacate their encampment.

Video from CNN affiliate WRAL shows police moving in on the encampment, with some people being bound with zip ties. Others were being kept back from the area by a cordon of police.

UNC-Chapel Hill's interim chancellor Lee Roberts and provost Christopher Clemens said in a statement Tuesday that student protesters must leave their encampment at the Polk Place quadrangle. The statement was acknowledged by UNC Students for Justice in Palestine in a photo posted to Instagram .

UNC said in its statement: “During events in recent weeks, the student demonstrators abided by our policies. That changed Sunday evening when protesters – including outside activists – backtracked on their commitment to comply with these policies, including trespassing into classroom buildings overnight.”

The statement went on to say:

“By 6 a.m. today the protesters assembled in Polk Place must remove all tents, tables, and other items and depart from the area. Failure to follow this order to disperse will result in consequences including possible arrest, suspension from campus and, ultimately, expulsion from the university, which may prevent students from graduating.”

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Joe Biden Is Days From A Key Statement On Israel and Gaza. Here’s What The Ally Who Sought It Expects.

Senior Diplomatic Correspondent, HuffPost

WASHINGTON — With the Biden administration days away from issuing its opinion on whether Israel is violating international and U.S. law in Gaza, the lawmaker who pushed for a State Department probe of that question doubts he’ll get an honest answer.

Starting in December , Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) rallied 19 senators to support legislation demanding assurances that all countries receiving American weaponry — including Israel — are complying with international and U.S. statutes barring violence against civilians and efforts to block humanitarian aid. In response, President Joe Biden in February issued a new policy known as NSM-20 , which required federal agencies to send a report to Congress on Israel’s conduct during its Gaza operation by May 8.

The report poses a test for the White House: Will it acknowledge the alarming actions taken by its ally, strengthening calls for the U.S. to reassess its support for Israel, or will the administration risk embarrassment and outrage by misrepresenting Israeli behavior?

The administration appears to be split. The U.S. Agency for International Development and several State Department bureaus believe the administration cannot credibly say Israel is respecting either international law or the U.S. laws that require recipients of American military support to allow the free flow of U.S. humanitarian aid, according to Reuters and Devex — raising the prospect that Biden would have to withdraw military assistance. But the State Department team leading the report side-stepped the question of whether violations are occurring and instead emphasized the risks of cutting off support for Israel, per Reuters .

Meanwhile, other top State Department officials, like U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, are internally endorsing Israel’s promises to abide by the law, despite broad skepticism of those claims from outside analysts, as HuffPost revealed in March.

Van Hollen said he’s alarmed by the disclosures about the administration’s handling of the report.

“The credibility of the U.S. government depends on it being honest and based in fact and law,” the Biden ally told HuffPost in a Thursday interview.

So far, Van Hollen said, “the reporting on the internal dynamics at the State Department clearly indicated that those who were most expert in applying the facts and the law were ignored and overlooked by those pushing a particular policy agenda.”

Together, the recent developments represent “a big warning sign, like a big flare,” with respect to the upcoming report, Van Hollen said.

The senator spoke approvingly of an alternative assessment of Israel’s actions that is already public: an independent analysis performed by an ad-hoc group of outside experts that investigated scores of examples of Israeli military actions in Gaza — incidents which, the authors said, violated international law and U.S. directives in “a clear pattern.”

Van Hollen called that assessment “a very important yardstick against which to compare what the Biden administration comes out with.” He told HuffPost he asked five of its authors to brief senators on Wednesday in a previously unreported private meeting.

“We had a total of 13 members — that’s more members than you get for a regular hearing in the United States Senate. So I think it was an expression of the depth of concern,” the senator said.

The assessment’s authors in attendance included former State Department official Josh Paul, who quit over Biden’s policy in a development first reported by HuffPost , and prominent Palestinian American attorney Noura Erakat.

The lawmakers’ openness to the assessment’s conclusions, even if they prove to run counter to the State Department’s, is extremely notable because of the pathway that Paul and his colleagues endorse. They say Israel’s military is showing “systematic disregard” for the international and U.S. norms, note “grave concerns” that the Biden administration is violating the law via prolonged backing for Israel’s offensive and urge “appropriate steps to prevent further violations” — which could range from limiting the procurement of weapons for specific Israeli units to a broad reset in U.S.-Israel cooperation.

In February, HuffPost broke the news that U.S. officials at a number of government agencies, including the State Department, the Pentagon and the National Security Council, were investigating possible Israeli war crimes like strikes on overwhelmingly civilian targets — despite public claims from Biden administration spokespeople that there was no basis for questioning Israel’s actions.

And on Friday, 88 Democratic members of the House of Representatives wrote to Biden saying that they believe Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid for Gaza violate U.S. law, a view shared by Van Hollen and several other senators.

Israel has been pummeling Gaza with near-total U.S. support for nearly seven months, in an offensive that’s killed close to 35,000 people per local authorities and initiated a famine there, in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Van Hollen told HuffPost observers should also look to another outside deep-dive into Israeli conduct as a point of comparison to the eventual report from the Biden administration: an April 29 brief that Amnesty International prepared in response to NSM-20. That brief focused on American-provided weapons, saying Israel has used them “in serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and … inconsistent with U.S. law and policy.”

“The Biden administration and the United States loses credibility when we point to reports by Amnesty or Human Rights Watch where [they] serv[e] our political interests, and sometimes ignores them when they don’t,” Van Hollen said. “In order to be credible, you need to be consistent.”

The U.S. government regularly cites those watchdogs, among others, in its own annual human rights reports and in condemning geopolitical foes like Russia and Iran.

The senator is not seeking to “prejudge” the administration’s report, he told HuffPost. He said he has been clear to “very senior” members of Biden’s national security team about what he sees as the intent of the process: “to lay out the facts and the law.

“What policies are derived from that, we can debate. … We can have an ongoing discussion and we may have differences.”

Asked about Van Hollen’s comments, a State Department spokesperson told HuffPost: “ We do not want to get ahead of any official announcements or decisions. ”

Action On Capitol Hill

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted calls from Biden and others to temper his offensive against Hamas, instead saying the campaign must expand to Rafah, the final refuge for more than a million Palestinians displaced by the U.S.-backed campaign and the hub of aid efforts for Gaza.

Democratic lawmakers worried about the humanitarian and strategic toll of the policy have steadily become more assertive in discussing steps to rein in Israel, which is reliant on American support for its operations.

Some congressional staff have been tasked with preparing menus of options that legislators could use to pressure Netanyahu if he does go ahead with an invasion of Rafah, a senior Democratic aide told HuffPost this week.

One high-profile prospect the aide identified: forcing an up-or-down vote in the Senate on the next major proposed sale of weapons to the Israelis. The Biden administration has sought to dodge congressional scrutiny by funneling arms shipments to Israel through packages that are below the threshold for advance congressional notification, by relying on transfer authorizations that date back years and by citing emergency powers to bypass normal oversight procedures.

Though Congress last month passed a national security funding bill which authorized $15 billion in additional military aid for Israel, lawmakers and the Biden administration have significant flexibility in deciding how the country can use that money, such as what kinds of American equipment it can buy, said John Ramming Chappell, an advocacy and legal fellow at the nonprofit Center for Civilians in Conflict. His organization and 24 other humanitarian and human rights groups issued a statement after the passage of the April funding for Israel, arguing: “Congress has the responsibility to ensure that the use of appropriated funds, including for the purchase of weapons, is consistent with U.S. law and policy.”

Van Hollen told HuffPost lawmakers are engaged in “an ongoing effort …independent of the May 8 report” to refuse to send more offensive weapons to Israel until Netanyahu changes his policies to address American concerns. The senator noted that those efforts would not affect Israeli defense materials like the Iron Dome missile defense system and that the legislators involved agree on Israel’s right to self-defense.

“We’ve had months and months of President Biden making very reasonable demands, only to be mostly ignored by Netanyahu,” the senator said.

“I will say the administration has told us repeatedly that they have found NSM-20 to be a useful tool in moving the Israeli government in the right direction,” he continued, indicating that public pushback to U.S. support of the war in Gaza has not been for naught. Yet Netanyahu has yet to budge on major policies, like denying electricity to Gaza, and has not loosened the sharp limits on what aid Israel allows into the Strip. “Clearly, incremental steps are not enough when you have people literally starving to death in Gaza,” Van Hollen said.

Activists hope next week’s delivery of the Biden administration report will strengthen interest on Capitol Hill in measures to ease pain in Gaza and prevent further alleged war crimes. They are widely promoting the outside assessments related to NSM-20 and other substantial collections of data — like a tracker of incidents since October run by the American Friends Service Committee — that could have legal implications for U.S. backing for Israel.

“If the Biden administration disregards extensive evidence of the Israeli military’s violations of their assurances, it will be up to Congress to step in and make clear that unconditional arms transfers to the Netanyahu government must end,” said Chappell.

Annie Shiel, CIVIC’s advocacy director and a former State Department official, called accountability and a shift in the U.S. approach desperately overdue — and unlikely to come unilaterally from Biden.

“The Biden administration has abjectly failed to enforce U.S. law and policy, which would have required the U.S. to end its support for catastrophic harm in Gaza many months ago,” Shiel told HuffPost. “So while we sincerely hope that the May 8 report will mark a turning point in U.S. policy towards Israel, the administration’s actions to date have given us little reason to trust that this is a good-faith process.”

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Jewish and pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University accuse school officials of discrimination in competing complaints

Students at Columbia University have filed dueling discrimination complaints as confrontations between pro-Palestinian protesters and counterprotesters continue.

Combined, the two complaints underscore how political tensions over Israel’s military operations in Gaza since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7 have become personal for thousands of students in the U.S.

A class action lawsuit filed Monday in the Southern District of New York accuses the university of violating safety protocols by allowing "extremist protesters" to intimidate Jewish students and “push them off campus” because of safety concerns.

A separate complaint filed Thursday with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights accuses the university of failing to protect students “who have been the target of extreme anti-Palestinian, anti Arab, and Islamophobic harassment on campus since October 9, 2023.”

The harassment includes receiving death threats, being called “terrorists” and other slurs, experiencing harassment while wearing keffiyehs or hijabs and being the targets of doxxing campaigns, according to the complaint.

Columbia students first set up protest encampments on April 17 calling for the university to divest from companies tied to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Within days, the New York City-based protest spread to campuses across the country, sparking hundreds of arrests and drawing the attention of national and international leaders. 

On Thursday, after more than 100 people were arrested at protests at Columbia, Palestine Legal, a Chicago-based advocacy group, filed its complaint demanding an investigation into what it calls the university’s “discriminatory treatment of Palestinian students and their allies.”

The complaint filed Monday on behalf of several Jewish students requests an emergency injunction requiring Columbia trustees to better enforce the school’s code of conduct to allow class members to safely complete the semester in person.

“Indeed, despite its supposed commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Columbia has allowed a small group of fringe demonstrators to target Jewish students and faculty with harassment, hate speech and violence for the sole reason that they are (or appear to be) Jewish. Columbia’s inaction and willingness to allow for such vile conduct is antithetical to fostering an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” according to the complaint. 

“Since its formation, the encampment has been the center of round-the-clock harassment of Jewish students, who have been punched, shoved, spat upon, blocked from attending classes and moving freely about campus, and targeted by pro-terrorist hate speech,” the complaint reads in part.

The plaintiffs seek a jury trial and unspecified punitive damages.

University officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the complaints. Last week, the school began offering virtual learning options for students.“I know that many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks. Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy,” university President Minouche Shafik said in a statement Monday. “To those students and their families, I want to say to you clearly: You are a valued part of the Columbia community. This is your campus too. We are committed to making Columbia safe for everyone, and to ensuring that you feel welcome and valued.

Shafik’s statement did not mention Muslim students or Islamophobia.

Antiwar protesters have cautioned against conflating criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza with hate speech. Demonstrators have posted signs at the encampment outlining policies for treating everybody, including counterprotesters, with respect. Their ultimate message, according to student activists, is one of peace. 

But as demonstrations have escalated, both Jewish and Muslim students have said they feel targeted because of their beliefs. 

Some Jewish students told NBC News that they moved off campus or no longer wear items that identify their faith after having been spit on, shoved and harassed. Some Palestinian students say they have been targeted while wearing hijabs or keffiyehs.Columbia student Maryam Alwan said in a statement included in Palestine Legal’s complaint: “As a Palestinian student, I’ve been harassed, doxxed, shouted down, and discriminated against by fellow students and professors — simply because of my identity and my commitment to advocating for my own rights and freedoms.

“I’m horrified at the way Columbia has utterly failed to protect me from racism and abuse, but beyond that, the university has also played a role in this repression by having me arrested and suspended for peacefully protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” she added.

It is difficult to quantify what some have described as a rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses. Columbia, which has been a hotbed of protest activity, declined to provide numbers on reported incidents. 

Itai Dreifuss, 25, a junior studying financial economics and neuroscience, served in the Israeli Defense Forces for nearly three years until 2020. Columbia was the only school he applied to after he completed his service. “If it wasn’t going to be Columbia, I didn’t want to go to college,” he said.

His school pride dimmed as confrontations between students supporting the people of Gaza and those supporting Israeli forces escalated. 

Dreifuss, who is not involved in the lawsuit, said that in one instance, shortly after the war started in October, he was walking with an Israeli friend near the campus library speaking in Hebrew when a man spit on his back. 

“It took me a second to realize,” Dreifuss said, adding that he turned to ask the man whether he had spit on him intentionally.

Dreifuss said the man kept repeating, “I know what you’re saying.” He said the man then muttered under his breath that “I would kill you” if they were not in a pair.

“I was just shocked that entire time,” he said.

In another incident, Dreifuss said, a man on Columbia’s campus pulled out a Hamas flag and waved it in his face as he and his friends sang songs of peace.

“He just looked at me and said: ‘Let’s go, Hamas! Let’s go, Hamas!’” Dreifuss said, adding that it was not clear whether the man was a student. “He was in our faces, trying to get a reaction.”

Dreifuss said that his friends sought help from the police and the school’s public safety officers but that they did not receive any support.

“We went to the NYPD, and we went to public safety. Both the physical public safety officers and the office, and nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing to do. They said they couldn’t help with that.”

Campus public safety officials did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.

A New York police spokesperson said the agency does not track data or complaints specific to the university. 

Antisemitism has been rampant across the U.S. since October, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The human rights group said it recorded 3,291 incidents from Oct. 7 to Jan. 7, including assault, vandalism, written and verbal harassment and hate speech.

Anti-Muslim hate incidents — such as employment and education discrimination, hate speech and physical assaults and threats — have also increased, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The nonprofit advocacy group said it received 8,061 complaints nationwide last year, the most in its 30-year history. Nearly half of them were reported in the final three months of the year, the group said.

Chaya Droznik, 22, a junior at Columbia who is not part of the lawsuit, said a demonstrator recently told her that “Oct. 7 is about to be every day for you guys.”

Supporters of the antiwar movement say the antisemitism some students described is not indicative of their broader message. Many of the protesters camped out at universities across the country are Jewish and have hosted large Seders and other actions to denounce Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Cameron Jones, an organizer for Jewish Voices for Peace at Columbia who has been a visible presence at the protest encampment, said he has not experienced antisemitic harassment. His group, which does not support the Zionist movement, observed Passover and Shabbat at the encampment.

“I am a Jewish student right here. I am very present in this environment, and, as a Jewish person who is an organizer for Palestinian liberation on campus, I have felt nothing but safety and love being involved in these spaces,” he said.

Doctoral student Nadia Ali, who is calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, denounced antisemitism and said antiwar messages are increasingly confused with hatred for Israel.

“Palestinians would be the first to relate to that pain,” she said. “It is unacceptable to feel unsafe on campus. But it is important not to conflate the call for justice and peace with antisemitic actions or hate speech.”

Alicia Victoria Lozano is a California-based reporter for NBC News focusing on climate change, wildfires and the changing politics of drug laws.

Melissa Chan is a reporter for NBC News Digital with a focus on veterans’ issues, mental health in the military and gun violence.

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Panama Supreme Court rejects challenge to candidacy of presidential frontrunner days before vote

Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino holds a press conference after meeting with members of the Electoral Observation Mission, in Panama City, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Panama will hold general elections on May 5. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Supporters of Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino attend a campaign rally in Panama City, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Panama will hold general elections on May 5. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A dog dons a face cutout of Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino during a campaign event, in Panama City, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Former President Ricardo Martinelli sends a video message to supporters of presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino during a campaign rally’s closing event in Panama City, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Panama will hold general elections on May 5. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to the candidacy of leading presidential contender José Raúl Mulino on Friday, removing an element of uncertainty two days before the May 5 vote.

The court was ruling on a challenge from lawyer Karisma Etienne Karamañites, who argued that Mulino was not eligible because he had not been selected through a primary by the Achieving Goals party of former president Ricardo Martinelli.

Magistrate María Eugenia López, the Supreme Court’s president, read a statement on behalf of the court Friday, noting that there had been eight votes to reject the constitutional challenge and one dissent.

“What has moved this constitutional tribunal in the historic moment in which we find ourselves is the defense of our country and democracy, as well as institutionality, social peace, the right to elect and to be elected, political pluralism, and let’s not forget the important role played by the political parties,” she said.

Panama’s Electoral Tribunal in March barred Martinelli from standing , cutting short his attempted political revival, because he had been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering. Panama’s constitution bars anyone sentenced to five years or more for a crime from holding elected office.

When Martinelli was blocked, Mulino, a 64-year-old maritime lawyer and former security minister, instantly became the frontrunner, despite not having Martinelli’s charisma or popular appeal.

Martinelli has campaigned for his former running mate from inside the walls of Nicaragua’s embassy, where he took refuge in February after receiving political asylum from that government.

With Mulino still in the race, seven candidates will compete in Sunday’s election.

Another candidate, Melitón Arrocha, who had been trailing in polls, announced he would end his campaign and throw his support to ex-President Martín Torrijos.

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Journalism personal statement example 5.

Askoxford.com defines a journalist as 'a person who writes for newspapers and magazines or prepares news or features to be broadcast on radio or television'. This to me is a hollow definition, being a journalist is much more than just writing for a newspaper or magazine. Being a journalist is to go into the world and find stories which will educate, inform,evaluate, uncover, expose and trigger people's interests and emotions. The passion and enthusiasm to go out into the world and find stories sometimes from nothing, and turn them into a publication is much more than just writing. My passion within journalism is much more than just writing the articles, I take great interest in researching the target audience and profile, by using primary research such as interviews and questionnaires I can create more accurate and interesting articles which will use quotes and are easily referenced. Utilizing all the information from my research I can trigger different emotions in people and make people think differently. Being a journalist means being socially, legally and ethically aware, I also have to keep in mind the Press Complaints Commission when writing any of my articles.

Since studying for my BTEC National Diploma at college I have had the chance to study a variety of different units which have given me an insight into the structure of various media industries. After working on different units I found my passion was in units that I had to write articles for, my best unit so far was Writing and Editing Copy. This unit gave me a chance to write a number of articles for different publications and audiences. This unit enabled me to utilize my skills to the fullest. I also enjoyed Photography because I learnt the semiotics of a photograph can express a story with just one look and how much more powerful an article can become with a photograph. The course has been a vital step to further education giving me the confidence, determination and discipline to become a journalist.

As a mature student I have already experienced "the real world" and although I have worked in jobs that I was only in to earn money, they have given me valuable skills that I can take with me on my journey to becoming a journalist. I worked in a packing company and worked my way up to a production supervisor. In this role I had to run a group of people to meet targets and deadlines, brief my colleagues and help out where required. I have also worked in the role of assistant manager at a night club, this has given me excellent communication skills as I often have to talk to a diverse group of people, which will help me while researching my articles. In my first year of college I was also nominated to represent my class, I had to be the voice of the class and to help solve any problems my peers had. From all of my jobs I have gained some skills that I can take on and utilize in my career as a journalist. I can work to targets and deadlines with ease. From all of my jobs it is clear to see that I can take on the roll of leadership well and solve problems not only for myself but for others as well.

I have a keen interest in reading nonfiction books. My favorite nonfiction books being the Harry Potter series, as it adds a new dimension of imagination. I also like to keep up to date with the news, watching various news programs and reading newspapers. My favorite news paper to read is The Sun, I also like to read The Guardian. I enjoy listening to a diverse range of music from indie to electro. I am highly motivated toward a career in journalism, and I believe I have the skills, qualities and passion needed in order to cope with the demands of your course. Doing a degree in journalism would be a stepping stone to my future career and I am looking forward to doing a degree which will enable me to achieve this.

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This personal statement was written by jenni66 for application in 2008.

jenni66's Comments

After many drafts of my persoanl statement this is the final product. I made the begining a little different than ones i had researched, this was simply so it would stand out from the rest and seem fresh from all the other personal statments. I made it personal to me and althought you might find things wrong with it i am proud of it, and so far it has worked for me, getting offers from the universtites i want to go to.

I hope it helps you out when your writing your personal statment.

This personal statement is unrated

Related Personal Statements

Thats a great personal.

Sun, 18/01/2009 - 20:47

Thats a great personal statement, to use as a layout guide. sums up everything that would be required in a journalism personal statement!

Harry Potter, Non-Fiction?

Mon, 04/05/2009 - 19:00

I enjoyed the intro, how you

Sat, 15/08/2009 - 07:55

I enjoyed the intro, how you challenged their statement of a journalist. You clearly showed enthusiasm for this. Perhaps you could have shown interest in the history of journalism too, it may have solidified that you are dedicated to all its aspects not only the modern ones. Harry Potter is Fiction.

hope you dont mind me asking

Thu, 16/09/2010 - 09:54

hope you dont mind me asking but what uni's did you apply for and get offers from?

Some feedback:

Sat, 02/10/2010 - 15:22

Do you not know the difference between "roll" and "role"?

Saying that your favourite "nonfiction" book is Harry Potter is akin to saying It’s like saying your favourite food is I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Or your favourite song is an ad jingle. (the wizardry world of Harry Potter, by-the-way, is FICTION, it does not exist, and no editor will take you seriously if you shared that opinion.)

"I also enjoyed Photography because I learnt the semiotics of a photograph can express a story with just one look and how much more powerful an article can become with a photograph." This is like saying how much a pizza is tastier with extra cheese. Duh!

I understand you are passionate about journalism, but unless you can differentiate between fact/fiction, and fix up your spelling, I'm afraid you will be having a tough time competing against so other equally passionate and ambitious journos.

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