Why I chose to study journalism

Tell someone you study journalism and you’ll probably get a slightly concerned “oh” in return, often accompanied by a subtle frown. 

I hate to admit it, but I get it. Artificial intelligence (AI) is hot and journalism is not. With large language models capable of writing multiple paragraphs in a matter of seconds, who needs traditional journalists anymore? Bluntly put: why study journalism?

I recently graduated with a Joint Master degree in Journalism and International Affairs from the Paris School of International Affairs, guided by a lifelong conviction that journalism means the world. Without it, how would we form our ideas and opinions? I have always been fascinated by the thought that every person walking down the street carries a unique worldview and that this worldview largely stems from journalism.  

Perhaps journalism also felt like a natural choice because I grew up with a father who reads the newspaper every morning from front to back and a mother who watches the news every night at 8 p.m. On top of that, I have always enjoyed writing. 

In the years leading up to my decision, more and more people already flocked to social media for their snack-sized news. Then, just two months before my application deadline for the master’s degree, ChatGPT came out. “All writers will be replaced” was the overwhelming sentiment in the air at the time. 

Still, I went for it. A robot might be able to write a compelling piece about a major car crash, I thought, but how would it even know that the crash occurred if no one fed it the information? An AI model won’t meet with a confidential source in a dark parking lot, either. That requires a human.

When I entered journalism school, however, I was far from aware of the dangers a journalist can face. With world press freedom at a 25-year low and journalists being deliberately targeted – women in particular – it is only understandable that people are discouraged from pursuing a career in journalism. 

Regardless, I started my master’s in journalism in Paris. In our very first week, we were introduced to open-source investigation, using publicly available data to fact-check and verify information. It is a field that is expanding rapidly with the rise of AI-generated mis- and disinformation. 

During the semesters that followed, we dived into data journalism, podcasting, social media formats, climate change coverage, conflict reporting, freelancing, and the intersection of journalism and AI – alongside traditional courses in writing, interviewing, and shooting TV reports.

The most immersive course we took was called On the Ground and Local Journalism, for which every student was assigned a town outside of Paris where we would act as a foreign correspondent for the rest of the semester. Establishing yourself in a new place and building up a network of sources to capture local stories isn’t easy, but along the way it becomes fun. And it’s not something I see a robot doing anytime soon.

It also felt good to sit in a classroom surrounded by peers who chose this path simply because they care about journalism. What’s more, it’s a profession that allows you to explore many different topics, which makes the job extremely diverse.

It is clear that the overwhelming volume of content on social media platforms further complicates the work of journalists. But today, with so much mis- and disinformation spreading online – whether it’s political deepfakes or plane crashes that never happened – I suddenly see a new reason for the public to turn to professional media houses again. Though never 100 per cent foolproof, they are the only ones capable of guaranteeing verified and reliable content.

Public perception can change quickly, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few years from now, when someone says “I study journalism,” people’s eyebrows shoot up in excitement instead of plunging into a frown.