BI: Are more or fewer minorities, particularly African Americans, still interested in pursuing journalism jobs. Why or why not?
Sutton: A lot of students of color are still interested in pursuing journalism as a
career. Unfortunately, we don't see enough Black males looking at journalism as a career option. We need more brothers in all aspects of journalism, and not just sports journalism.
Still, pay can be an important issue for some deciding whether to pursue journalism as a career. There's no denying that there are not many people of any ethnic background who get rich in journalism — unless they own the media outlet. But I suggest that Black students look at the first 10 years of any career, look at the survival rates and look at the enjoyment and fulfillment. You might make as little as $15,000 to $25,000 a year as a starting journalism salary, depending on the market size and location.
But if you've had two or three summer internships, focused on one of the special skill areas such as copy editing or design and continue to develop your skills, you could make as much as $40,000 to $60,000 a year in less than five years. That's not a bad income, and there's a lot of fulfillment, and usually a set schedule.
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