What a Social Media Editor in Journalism Actually Does: Career Insights, Salary, and How to Break In
If you’ve ever wondered what a social media editor in journalism does all day—or how someone gets that job—this conversation offers a candid look. Ceci explains how she moved from digital journalism into a specialized social media role, what her day-to-day work involves, which skills matter, and why persistence can be just as important as a polished resume.
You’ll also learn what the job is not, how analytics shape social strategy, and what career growth can look like in a field where roles are constantly evolving. If you’re interested in journalism jobs, social media strategy, or digital media careers, this is a useful inside look.
How Ceci Got Into Journalism Social Media
Ceci didn’t follow a perfectly straight path. Before her current job, she worked at another newspaper in South Florida, taking on a broad mix of digital journalism work: newsletters, push alerts, local media, and more.
Eventually, she wanted to specialize. She had applied for a different role at the same company a couple of years earlier and didn’t get it. But she stayed in touch with the editors she met during the process. After attending a journalism conference and keeping up that connection, she heard about the social media editor role and realized it was a strong fit.
Her experience points to an important lesson about journalism careers: they’re often built through repeated contact, not one perfect application. Ceci described herself as persistent—or, as she put it, a “pestering person”—and that persistence helped open the door.
If you’re pursuing a career in journalism, especially digital journalism, don’t disappear after one rejection:
Send a thank-you email.
Follow up respectfully.
Stay connected with editors and recruiters.
Keep showing up at industry events.
What a Social Media Editor in Journalism Does Every Day
A common misconception is that the role is mostly about posting links to stories. Ceci says it’s much more strategic.
Her day usually starts around 8:30 a.m. She checks the newsroom’s biggest stories, sees which pieces are gaining traction, and considers how to adapt them for different platforms. That might mean finding an Instagram angle, turning a story into a text card, or deciding whether a question in the story would work better as a video explainer.
The job is about translating journalism for different audiences and platforms—not simply posting content.
A typical morning may include:
Reviewing the day’s biggest stories.
Looking at traffic and comment trends.
Matching stories to the right platforms.
Scheduling posts across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Threads, or Bluesky.
Meeting with the video team to coordinate coverage.
Working with the video team is an important part of the job. In daily stand-ups, Ceci learns what the team is planning and helps identify which stories need a video version, which topics deserve an explainer, and how social posts should be paced.
The other constant is change. A breaking story can upend the plan at any time, so priorities may need to shift quickly. No day is perfectly predictable—and that’s part of what makes the role both chaotic and exciting.
For anyone exploring social media editor jobs, the work combines editorial judgment, platform strategy, speed, and flexibility. It’s not just marketing or posting; it sits at the intersection of newsroom priorities and audience behavior.
Why Analytics Matter—but Not in the Way You Might Think
Ceci’s role involves data, but her team also has a dedicated analytics person who looks across the newsroom. She focuses on how content performs on social platforms.
Success looks different depending on the platform. Social platforms are controlled by outside companies, and those companies may want users to stay on the platform rather than click through to a news site. That creates a tension for publishers: newsrooms want people to read their stories, while platforms may reward on-platform engagement.
So what counts as success?
On video platforms, shares and saves can matter.
On text-based platforms, click-throughs may be more important.
Comments and engagement can reveal what readers care about.
Quarterly reports help identify patterns and adjust strategy.
One useful insight from the conversation is Ceci’s view of comments as qualitative data. Comments can’t always be measured neatly, but they can show whether a story resonated, changed someone’s mind, or sparked discussion.
That audience response can be rewarding and challenging. Ceci said reading comments can be one of the most meaningful parts of the job because it reveals how people respond to a story. It can also be one of the hardest.
If you’re considering a journalism social media career, expect to work with both numbers and nuance. Analytics matter, but so does interpreting what the numbers and comments actually mean.
The Hard Parts of the Job—and Why She Still Likes It
Ceci is candid that the role isn’t easy.
Breaking news can force sudden changes in priorities, requiring fast decisions and adaptability. Corrections can also be stressful: accuracy is non-negotiable, and it can be difficult to balance transparency with the pressure of the moment.
Then there are boundaries. Because she works in social media, work can still reach her when she’s supposed to be off the clock. She’s become more intentional about unplugging, and her team has improved at asking, “What is actually urgent?” rather than treating every issue like an emergency.
That’s worth considering if you’re thinking about social media jobs in journalism: the work can be energizing, but it can also follow you home.
Why does she still enjoy it? The unpredictability keeps the work interesting. Ceci likes being in a field where unexpected things happen and stories connect directly to people’s lives. She also enjoys the experimentation. Some days are messy and require a full reset, but that movement is part of what makes the job feel alive.
Salary, Career Growth, and What Comes Next
Ceci was open about pay, making this conversation especially useful for job seekers.She started her career making $38,000 a year as a digital producer in Florida. When she later got her current role, her salary nearly doubled. She now makes about $82,000.
That’s a significant increase, especially in journalism, where compensation varies widely by market and employer. Ceci also noted that salary ranges can be inconsistent, and digital journalism roles may demand a lot without always paying enough.
Her advice is clear: negotiation matters.
Career progression in journalism isn’t always linear. Some people move from reporter to editor. Others stay on a reporting track. Digital roles may offer management opportunities, or a chance to deepen expertise in a specific area without constantly changing titles.
For Ceci, the future is open-ended. She doesn’t think she’s reached her ceiling, and she’s comfortable with the possibility that her next role might not exist yet. That’s a realistic outlook in modern media: digital journalism, social media, and audience roles continue to change. Career growth may look less like climbing a straight ladder and more like building flexible skills that can move with the industry.
How to Get a Job Like This
If you want to become a social media editor in journalism, Ceci recommends starting with real journalism experience.
A journalism degree isn’t necessarily required, though many people in the field have one. What matters is understanding how reporting works and being able to demonstrate your experience through clips, bylines, or portfolio pieces.
Here’s what she recommends:
Get journalism experience early. Work for a student newspaper, try freelancing, pitch stories, and build clips.
Learn how newsrooms operate. Understand reporting, editing, story structure, and how your role fits into the wider newsroom.
Build a strong portfolio. Save your best work and be ready to share examples in interviews.
Be specific about the work you want to do. Whether your interest is education, science, local news, or audience strategy, a clear focus helps editors understand your goals.
Don’t be afraid to cold email. Ceci’s story shows how respectful persistence can lead to opportunities.
She also emphasized the importance of cover letters in journalism. They’re often read closely because they show how well you write, organize your ideas, and communicate.
If you’re coming from another field, that doesn’t rule you out. Be prepared to explain how your background fits the work and how you’ve prepared for the role.
The main takeaway for anyone wondering how to get into journalism social media jobs: start where the work is, learn the newsroom, and make your interest clear.
Final Thoughts on Working in Journalism Social Media
Ceci’s interview makes one thing clear: being a social media editor in journalism is about far more than posting content. It means understanding the news, reading the audience, adapting stories for different platforms, and staying flexible when the day changes.
The role rewards persistence, curiosity, and a willingness to experiment. It also demands a lot—especially when it comes to pace, feedback, and staying calm when news breaks.If you’re interested in this field, start building experience now. Learn how newsroom storytelling works, create a portfolio, and pay attention to how platforms shape the way people consume information. The role may evolve, but its core purpose remains: helping good journalism reach the right audience in the right format.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a social media editor in journalism do?
A social media editor adapts newsroom content for platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Threads, and Bluesky. The role involves choosing which stories to promote, shaping them for each platform, and tracking how audiences respond.
Do you need a journalism degree to get this job?
No. A journalism degree isn’t required, but relevant experience, a strong portfolio, and a good understanding of how journalism works are important. Many people have journalism or related degrees, but career pivots are possible.
What skills matter most for a journalism social media job?
Adaptability, time management, curiosity, and comfort with feedback are all valuable. You’ll also need to understand analytics, write clearly, and tailor stories for different audiences and platforms.
How much does a social media editor in journalism make?
Pay varies widely by market and organization. In this interview, Ceci shared that she went from making $38,000 early in her career to about $82,000 in her current role. Salaries depend on location, employer, and responsibilities.
Is this a stressful job?
It can be. Social media editors in journalism work in fast-moving environments where breaking news, corrections, and public feedback are part of the job. For people who enjoy variety and fast-paced work, that can also be part of the appeal.
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speaker-1 (00:05)
Okay. Are you ready?
speaker-0 (00:07)
I'm
so ready. This is so exciting.
speaker-1 (00:11)
Hello and welcome.
speaker-0 (00:13)
Thank you so much for having me. I'm I'm so thrilled to be here.
speaker-1 (00:17)
Well, I'm so happy that you are here. Before we kind of dive in, I wanted to give you a moment to say your name, your role, job title, and industry, and kind of anything you wanted to intro about your job.
speaker-0 (00:27)
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'm Sessie Masnick. I work in journalism, but specifically I'm a social media editor within, the journalism industry. I work for like a newspaper, but I don't really do a lot with the paper itself, obviously because digital. yeah, that's me.
speaker-1 (00:45)
I love it. So how did you first hear about this company or find this job?
speaker-0 (00:50)
so before I was at this job, I was at another newspaper in South Florida. and and I was sort of looking for jobs that were a little bit more specialized because I was doing a lot of just digital journalism there, everything under the sun, like newsletters, push alerts, local media. so I was applying to a bunch of jobs because I was ready to leave my home state. and then this one kind of just surfaced.
speaker-1 (01:15)
Did he find it on LinkedIn or how did you kind of find it originally?
speaker-0 (01:19)
Yeah, so actually I applied to a fully different role at this company a couple years before I got this one. And I didn't end up getting that role, but when I was following up C through about the job, I kept pestering the editor there. so yeah, I didn't end up getting it. It went to someone else, but I think that he remembered me and maybe even liked that I was a pestering person. So
I went through a couple of phases where other jobs the company came up and they reached out. and either the job didn't work or it went to a different candidate until finally this one came along. I ended up going to a journalism conference, met up with one of the editors there because I stayed connected to a different editor. And when she told me about this role, it just sounded like a good fit. So it was kind of a couple of years of connections after not getting a role there.
speaker-1 (02:04)
And you say pester, but is that something like texting them, emailing them monthly, annually, daily? What does that look like?
speaker-0 (02:12)
No,
for sure. Good question. that was like, I have been told that when you haven't heard back, it's like good to wait. I mean, you send a thank you email after the interview itself. So I did that. I interviewed with a bunch of people for this first role and sent a bunch of thank you emails. and then but he was kind of my point person. He was the person I had like reached out to originally when I had applied. so then after a couple of weeks of radio silence, I emailed him again.
one to ask about like what the status of the job was but also to share I believe like an idea I had like I was like I was thinking about this and you know just to offer something else that I maybe didn't talk about. and he replied back and said they're still in the process, but I kept getting radio silence. So I feel like I think it was a couple weeks after that I emailed him again. and then I think he took a l a while
to respond to that one. and then what he did, we sort of had just like this email back and forth. but I could tell I wasn't getting this job. but we had we had a good connection everything else.
speaker-1 (03:17)
That's impressive. I like the persistence that you have. I feel like that really
speaker-0 (03:21)
You know, he he actually said later, like when I ended up getting this job, he actually said like he thought it was a good quality. And I think that makes sense 'cause in journalism you do have to be persistent. sometimes people don't want to talk and it takes convincing or just like they need reminders. so I think it ended up being, even though it was kind of uncomfortable to do, it sounded like it was a good thing.
speaker-1 (03:42)
I'm impressed. Take courage, you know? And so why did you end up choosing kind of this job over any of the others or looking at this job or interested in this job even over the other jobs?
speaker-0 (03:53)
Yeah. I mean, I think that I honestly wasn't one hundred percent sure exactly what I wanted to do, but this fell within the ballpark. I think that I, felt like I had skills in, telling stories over platforms. But it I didn't ever feel necessarily like I was a social media person. So I think this job just happened to be a job that fell within that realm.
But was also a company that I was excited about within a city that I was excited about. So it just felt like those lined up.
speaker-1 (04:24)
Was there any hesitation before you took this role?
speaker-0 (04:29)
Okay, not really, I feel like not really until the last possible second where I just get those, nerves of is this the right thing for my life? but the job itself I felt like as it went on and the process went on, there was never a moment where I was like, Should I be doing this? It was actually the move, like the physical move itself that felt like the bigger hurdle rather than my career.
speaker-1 (04:53)
Yeah. No, that makes sense. That was such a big move, I feel like, across the country for real. It's impressive.
speaker-0 (04:58)
yeah.
speaker-1 (04:59)
So I kind of want to know about more of what you do in your job. So walk me through a kind of a day. What does it look like? What are you focusing on, working on? What are you doing?
speaker-0 (05:09)
That's a yeah, I you know, I get this question a lot. what do I do? it depends the day, but I would say an average day is, you know, I am sort of logging on around 8 30 AM and I, you know, sometimes have a sense of the like larger stories that we are publishing that day. but sometimes I don't. So I feel like I take some time in the morning to
look through and see what our like biggest talker stories are, our stories that are performing the best traffic-wise on site. And then I start making decisions about which stories fit which platforms, or is there like an angle in a story that we should be highlighting as like an entry way to get people to read? Is there something something that has an inherent question about it that people would want answered in a video format or a text card format? Or so it's just kind of, fitting
these stories into places on platforms. So I I begin doing a lot of reading of stories, mapping out sort of what what stories I want to highlight on what particular platforms. And then it's kind of running through that. it's saying, okay, so in the morning I'm gonna schedule out some Instagram posts. I think these two stories like seem to, you know, have a lot of comments or they're getting a lot of traffic or they fit what people have been talking about over the past few weeks. so it might be doing that
So that sort of thing across platforms. Then in the morning we have a stand-up meeting with our video team where you know we all sort of pitch ideas or learn about the ideas that they have in the works to see if there are things that we should have daily turns on. are there a lot of questions people are asking that we think makes for a good explainer? Are there projects coming our way that I should know about as I pace out, you know, social posts throughout the day?
This is usually specifically for like Instagram, TikTok, but also sometimes we do videos elsewhere depending on the platform or depending on the story itself. and then my day sort of goes on from there. it never is a perfect day because I work in news and inevitably something happens that day that is unexpected and we have to like reshift our full budget.
You know, say, this happened, so we're moving everything down, we're cutting this out, we're rewriting this because the story has changed, the conversation has changed.
speaker-1 (07:27)
So do you enjoy the fact that every day you're kind of on your toes as what's to come? Is that been part of the part of the job that you enjoy? Or what is that like?
speaker-0 (07:34)
It is. It's chaotic, but I think that makes it exciting too. Some days I really wish that we could predict all the news so that we could have like this easy day that goes exactly the plan. But I also just generally speaking, like working in a field where the unexpected happens and you know where we like are really thinking about like the lives people live and how they are changing every every second according to like
you know, policy news that happens or like things happening around the city or just like fun lifestyle stories that influence how you live your day to day. So I I think it is fun that we are always, you know, experimenting.
speaker-1 (08:13)
Yeah, I think it definitely makes the days go by faster, probably.
speaker-0 (08:16)
Definitely
does. Definitely does. Yeah.
speaker-1 (08:19)
Then with you knowing how to put things on a certain platform, are you analyzing data a lot or are other folks doing that and passing it off to you?
speaker-0 (08:27)
Yeah. So we have I it's a mix. We have someone within like our team whose specific job is analytics, but this person does analytics across the entire newsroom and my job looks specifically at analytics for social media platforms. So I we are doing that. It is not always like a day in my day to day, but we often have like quarterly, you know, reports where we like look back or you know, there are
I I feel like you develop some like gut sense of like understanding how like you know, metrics this day influence what you post the next day. So absolutely we have to look at that because that tells us everything about our readership, you know. And I think also it influences like particular platform growth. Like we always think about how how the goals for the entire I don't know if this getting too nitty gritty, but like
The goals for the entire newsroom are different from the goals on my team, right? Because when we think about social traffic goals, we are kind of stuck in place because we sort of operate on platforms owned by tech companies that are not companies that we own. And so algorithms change and and what people want from these platforms change. And often these platforms
you know, the goal is to keep people on platform, right? So that inherently means that people aren't used to this pattern of like clicking out and reading stories. And that means that our goals are not always having them read stories. The goals are like engagement metrics. You know, that like specifically when we look at some like video platforms, we're looking at like shares and saves because that tells us reader patterns. It tells us if readers liked something so much that they wanted to tell a friend about it.
It tells us like they like something so much they want to come back to it. Whereas on other like text based platforms, you know, like, you know, Facebook or X or Blue Sky or Threads, like some of our goals are more we we do want them to click on things. so so it's an odd thing where it's based on the platform itself, but also like subscription goals and wider things for the industry don't always apply to this particular thing.
speaker-1 (10:44)
So then are you making the graphics that people would see on X or on Instagram or things like that?
speaker-0 (10:50)
Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes. It depends on on what they are. You know, we do like on on some particular platforms we do mostly link posts. So that is, you know, a an image pulled from the story itself. But yeah, for some graphics, like I can do basic ones, yes. but we sometimes work with like we have we're very lucky to have a design team and a graphics team. So sometimes when we want to pull in things like that, it's a team effort.
speaker-1 (11:19)
No, that's cool. That's helpful to kind of understand where the where the str it starts with you and ends with you and kind of the in between. Yeah. in terms of kind of your experience here, what is there been a moment that's been very rewarding or what is the most rewarding part of your job?
speaker-0 (11:35)
The most rewarding part of my job is when I am this is like the the worst and best. You could get both of it, but I feel like when you are reading the comments and and you see yeah, you can you can have like the worst parts of your job there too, but also the best parts because, you know, I feel like we can only understand how a story, you know, really affects people by like having them tell us that. And I think that's the beauty of social media is that we have this
this place for people to like tell us things directly or to have conversations with each other. So I think the most rewarding part is when you are sort of in a comment section and you realize that story is really resonating with people or changed people's minds or just like gave people joy or made them think differently.
speaker-1 (12:21)
That's awesome. I'm impressed that you read the comments. I think that can be intimidating. So that's awesome.
speaker-0 (12:25)
Like you you really have to in this role though. I mean I think when you think about like when you think about data, it is we think about like quantitative and qualitative data and I think about qualitative as being some these comment sections. Like you can't like numerically calculate them, but they mean something. Yeah.
speaker-1 (12:44)
yeah.
So I've kind of seen you in this role over the last couple of years and I I know you work some events or sometimes there's something happening and you have to go. But what would you describe as a busy week versus a normal week in this role?
speaker-0 (12:58)
Yeah, I think a busy week is when we are when we have a lot of projects stacked up too. Because I think in some ways like it is a quote unquote easier when it is, you know, a the daily grind of like these stories come out, we do our job with them, we move on to the next day, we do our job. But when we have larger projects stacked on top of e stacked on top of them, or just like big news events.
those those shift everything. because often, you know, you're you're working with other teams to get things proofed or to create things on the side or to think about rollout in a way that feels different than the daily. So yeah, I think I think a busier week would just be when you have more things on your plate that are outside of that.
speaker-1 (13:49)
And then this question kind of goes back to you answering what you do all the time. But is there anything that people think that your job is that's actually not your job at all?
speaker-0 (13:57)
Yeah. When I it was funny thing is when I first started this particular role, I remember telling a family friend about it and she was like, my gosh, you're just like Emily in Paris. And and I was like, wow, that is a fascinating media representation of this that I feel is not like totally accurate. but but a funny way that people, you know, think about this. So
I feel like sometimes people think the job is is just the posting part, right? Or that the posting itself is like a one-to-one. Like you take a photo and you post it. You put the story online and you post it. and forget about the like strategy part that can be like a pain in the butt. But but that there's a lot of planning that goes into these posts and that there's a lot of like language tweaks and particularly when we're doing projects.
Sometimes we are tweaking language like again and again and again because in journalism it is so important that the words are exactly correct and that you mean exactly what you say and that they're not misinterpreted. So so I think that is the that is the the part of it that is misunderstanding.
speaker-1 (15:09)
That's honestly so impressive. That's hilarious that you you got compared to Emily and Paris.
speaker-0 (15:14)
Yeah, yeah, I love it, you know. I wanna be embarrassed.
speaker-1 (15:19)
Is there anything kind of in this role that's either really stressful or kind of the hardest part of the job?
speaker-0 (15:25)
Yeah, I think as I've I think that news and and being in breaking news situations can inherently be stressful. But I think that I think that I've been in these roles long enough that they you can like have stress but not let it affect your work process, right? There's a level of like, I need to get this done quickly or get this out. But I feel like I feel like more stressful moments are when
I don't know. We've we've had moments where we have had to like issue corrections on things. And there's something about like you know having to be transparent about you know wrongness that is that feels stressful even though it's the right thing to do. So yeah, I I feel I feel that there are definitely parts of it that are stressful, but but you kind of learn that they can't they can't change your workflow. Yeah.
speaker-1 (16:22)
Love it. That's I mean, I think it's a good way to learn overall in life. So Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
speaker-0 (16:25)
Yeah, exactly,
right?
speaker-1 (16:28)
getting into more of the balance that you have with this role, how many hours do you find yourself working each week on average?
speaker-0 (16:35)
Who would this I really try my best for technically speaking, 37.5 is my you know.
speaker-1 (16:45)
Uh-huh.
speaker-0 (16:45)
So right, right, right. It depends on it depends on the week. You know, I think also as I've gotten older and been in this career longer, I have gotten better at putting up through like the end of the workday boundaries. But I don't know. I I really don't feel like lately I've been going so overboard.
and when I do I put in either comp time or overtime to anyone who's listening because legally I can and I'm allowed to. so I don't know, maybe maybe lately like I've I've done some weeks where I have put in like, you know, forty five or something, but I really tried to hit this like thirty seven point five forty forty limit. Yeah.
speaker-1 (17:31)
So once you log off at your thirty seven point five hours YouTube, are you do you feel like you're actually truly unplugging? Or what does that look like?
speaker-0 (17:40)
this is the the issue with working in social media is that it it happens that the place that you used to be able to unplug is also a place where I come across our work and then think about it a lot. So yes, you are able to unplug. I think I have found just like non device things help me unplug. But then also it's a job
that sometimes you are forced to be on because of the nature of news. When huge news events have happened, you know, I've gotten a, you know, a call from an editor, and I have like logged on, or sometimes there are things that need to be done out of hours. That being said, I think I think we have gotten better about saying,
What is the priority? is this the thing that can be fixed tomorrow? Have we trained up enough people that, if they spot something, they are able to fix that? And I think that's the true part of it, is being able to delegate so that you can unplug.
speaker-1 (18:36)
No, that's great. And that's a good call out that working in social media is tricky when you go on social media and everyone's like on I don't know. I think that'd be harder. But good bad thing.
speaker-0 (18:46)
And
then I'm reading it and then I'm like, my gosh, do people hate this? And then I don't know. Yeah.
speaker-1 (18:52)
Yeah, that's stressful.
And so the next thing we wanted to talk about is who makes a good candidate. So is there something that you've seen the quality in someone who makes one really succeed in this role?
speaker-0 (19:05)
I think someone who's really able to pivot is important and I think I've gotten a lot better at that. I don't think I was always good at that. And I still think I could be better at it. But I think good candidates are are people who, you know, are able to be okay with dropping something to move on something else, but then to be able to come back to it. And and people who are able to balance their time well.
because there's just a lot of moving parts. I also think someone who likes to experiment, you know, I think these platforms, like it can feel like a daily grind of making sure they're all like quote unquote said, you know, we feed the beast, make sure these platforms like have enough stories on them that people are constantly entertained or like that they're being able to read things. But people who can just like have fun, because at a at this nature, I think these platforms
I hope that they still are, but definitely used to be also just places where you could go to, see things that you like or are interested in or see, humor within this daily spin of the algorithm. So yeah, people who like to experiment and and have fun with words.
speaker-1 (20:12)
I love that. That describes you so well, honestly. Yeah, okay. Is there anyone? No, it does. I feel like that's exactly you.
speaker-0 (20:19)
That's so funny.
speaker-1 (20:21)
Is there anyone who kinda would hate this job then on the other side?
speaker-0 (20:24)
Yeah, I think people who hate social media would hate it. I think people who don't like I I think I mean this is hard to I think people like don't like reading comments or who shy away from feedback. and that sounds like a bad thing. And I don't think that's a bad thing to be a person who is like, I don't like want to see the way people talk about all these things.
I think that's like a helpful unplugging thing. But I also think that this would be a difficult job because you just sort of have to understand that sometimes people really don't like a thing or have criticisms and sometimes they are fair and sometimes they are not, but it's good for you to to like take those in. So I think that that would be tough.
speaker-1 (21:10)
Yeah, no, that's a good call out. And people who hate social media.
speaker-0 (21:15)
Yeah, yeah. If you don't like it, probably not the best job you work for, but
speaker-1 (21:20)
Is there any mistake that you've seen people ent make when they're trying to enter this field?
speaker-0 (21:27)
I mean, I guess it would just be I I think people who like are successful are able to like do a lot of things within the journalism sphere, right? So I think that maybe maybe a mistake would be not having experienced those other parts of it. Even if you're I yeah, if you're like maybe limited in understanding like how a story by nature is put together.
I think that's so helpful, even if that's not my current job. So I think maybe I would just sort of suggest rather than say it's a mistake, that they understand like the different aspects of everyone's job within the newsroom because they really all tied together so well. And it's so helpful to understand how other people do their jobs to be able to like jump in and help help them share their stories.
speaker-1 (22:18)
Yeah. No, I could totally see that. Was there ever a time where you realized that this was kind of the right or the wrong role for you?
speaker-0 (22:29)
I'm still I'm still thinking about it.
speaker-1 (22:32)
That's good either.
speaker-0 (22:34)
I don't know. I think that I feel like I have to assess how I feel big picture about it. And and that's an assessment that is always happening. But I feel like I leave enough days feeling like I have like energy during the days and that I'm excited about what what's happening that it feels like it's a good spot for me. But I'm also open to the fact that
that energy might change. And and I don't know if I that means like a shift in like the industry I'm in, or if it just means trying a new thing. But but I sort of feel like honestly, people who are in digital roles in journalism, I feel like I talk to so many of them and and so many of them make it sound like they are not sure what their future careers will be and they are open to to that job.
or role that they have in the future not existing yet because things constantly change. Like social media roles did not exist a while ago, or like particular audience roles and the way we think about audience didn't exist. So yeah, I think it's just kind of being open to to to what is my interest and and how does that shift how we tell stories in in today's, you know, in the technology we have today.
speaker-1 (23:51)
Yeah, that's a good answer. And I feel like it leads into kind of the next things we were going to talk about was your career progression. So it's interesting. I feel like I haven't heard of a role where you don't know if the career even exists when you're thinking about it.
speaker-0 (24:03)
Fascinating. It's such a thing people really say is that they, you know, you'll ask what they want to do in the next five years and they're like, I'm not really sure of even what this role will look like in the next five years. But but I think that's kind of an exciting thing. Yeah. Yeah.
speaker-1 (24:17)
No, that's so interesting.
when you're thinking, is that kind of your mindset looking forward of what is next for you? Just is that kind of how you see it too?
speaker-0 (24:25)
Yeah, I think in some ways I don't fully know. I think in journalism as a whole, I will be able to say, and so this applies to me as well, I'll just say reporting first. I guess you sort of begin as like an entry level reporter and you might
cover things that are you know that are easier to hop on and develop sources and then as you advance you kind of you know might take a different beat that is you know harder to source on or like has more stakes in it and then I think some people think that advancement is like editor roles like where then you are like overseeing and editing reporters and it's it's funny to realize that's not always the case, right? That that it's a fully different role
And sometimes people really want to be editors. And sometimes I have met people whose career progression is reporter through the end. I think sort of in my team that's the case too. there are like more advanced managerial roles that you can grow into, as you master what strategy looks like and how to manage a team and and and all of these things. But I also think
you could, exist just becoming more advanced in a particular role So I don't know if this answers your question because I don't really know what career progression for me specifically might look like. Like I hope that it is, becoming better at my job and and possibly like having more responsibility with like experimentation and project work that we're doing and community work. But but I don't know fully.
speaker-1 (26:01)
No, that's a great answer. And I think that kind of just plays nicely into the fact that your future role might not exist now. And that's interesting too.
speaker-0 (26:09)
Yeah. Who knows?
speaker-1 (26:13)
So you've been in this role for a few years now. And I guess the next question that I wanted to talk about was in terms of your pay,
speaker-0 (26:20)
Mm-hmm.
speaker-1 (26:21)
if you're comfortable, whatever you're comfortable sharing, kind of like where you started and where you're at now, and if you're or if you feel like you're paid fairly in your role.
speaker-0 (26:29)
Yeah, so I I guess I will say when I first started out like in Florida, I as a as a digital producer now looking back, I'm like, how did I do this? I started making thirty eight thousand dollars a year. and then yeah, that's very fun. I think also it was it it did I I feel like I'm sounding so old.
But it did feel different then because housing was less like I could still like afford like housing with that, even though a lot of my paycheck is going toward that. and then I, had a raise while I was there, like pushing past forty. And then when I got this role, I nearly doubled it. and then I am now sitting at about
eighty two K. Yeah. Nice.
speaker-1 (27:20)
Wow, that's more than double than when you started. So congratulations.
speaker-0 (27:23)
Yeah. So I mean, I feel like some would still say, you know, for like larger cities that is maybe not like up to par with it. and and I think these can vary a lot. I feel like it's a it's a big thing on Twitter to see like or X, shall I say? when you know when roles are posted and they are like roles that are in this social media sphere, but they demand so much of people, but they also like pay so little. So I think that range can really
of be vast, which is bad. I think this is maybe an industry that like if you don't work at one of the top like national papers, the pay is not not good. but I feel like right now I feel that I am being paid fairly at the same time.
speaker-1 (28:11)
Definitely. And I feel like that's very just impressive to start s like as thirty seven or whatever and kind of get all the way up is a huge accomplishment in so few years.
speaker-0 (28:21)
Yeah, but also for folks out there, you should demand more. Always negotiate.
speaker-1 (28:27)
I always love that plug. Yeah.
speaker-0 (28:29)
Yeah.
speaker-1 (28:30)
Is there anything that your lifestyle has changed as this role? So I mean you just said you doubled your salary. Is your lifestyle different because of that doubling or how does that look?
speaker-0 (28:38)
I mean, I think I definitely have yeah. I mean, I I don't think I'm like a this is not a salary to be a crazy spender on. So I mean I also live in a much more expensive city. So I think in some ways, yes. I I feel like I'm at a place where, I do live with roommates, but I also feel that I am not like constantly burdened by like
bills that I have to pay. I feel very fortunate and and comfortable to not feel like I'm hitting that wall. so I feel like in some ways it has changed where I don't feel stressed about like rent or or daily, budgeting or monthly budgeting. but I'm also not like going going crazy.
speaker-1 (29:24)
Then with this role and your experience, what doors do you feel like have been open because of the work you've been doing?
speaker-0 (29:32)
I mean, I feel I feel in journalism also there's there's something to be said about the company and connections as well. So I feel like in some ways it has opened up those things where I feel like people maybe want to connect more than they did at my past place, which is always helpful. I love chatting with people. and meeting people. But
I feel like one of the biggest stories is it's made me more like confident. I feel like I'm at a point in my career where I feel confident making decisions about things. And if I were to, go somewhere else, I think I would feel that I have an understanding of how this works, which feels like the bare minimum. I'm guessing.
speaker-1 (30:14)
No, I think that that's huge. The confidence that you gain and just knowing that you can trust yourself. And yeah, I think that's not even close to bare minimum. I think that's like the best thing you could get out of a job, to be honest.
speaker-0 (30:24)
Fair,
fair. I know it's it's funny to think about the way I feel like I used to, like in specifically in breaking news situations, the way it used to feel like so much more of a panic and and now I kind of understand understand how to move in those.
speaker-1 (30:38)
Yeah. No, I'm impressed. I think that's not even the bare minimum at all, to be honest.
speaker-0 (30:43)
Wow, thank you so much, Katie. This is so affirming.
speaker-1 (30:48)
And I was curious, you kind of mentioned this, but you said folks can either stay in their role at the same org, move around roles a little bit at the same org. Is that the most common or do folks typically jump from organization to organization? What do you see more often?
speaker-0 (31:02)
Yeah, I mean I think
It depends on the company itself. I feel like, you know, when I was starting out, a lot of young people for pay reasons, like you jump around a lot. and so that makes sense. You also are flexible in like cities you can live in, even though sometimes it does feel like journalism is limiting in that in particular cities. But I feel like it depends.
I think the company I'm at now, I feel that we have both. We have people who seem that they're in it for the long run and people who have been here for decades and decades. But we also have people who ship rent. So I I don't really have an answer for that. I think it depends on the person, but I think a lot of it is pay related.
speaker-1 (31:48)
Yeah. do you ever see people to go to a role that's not journalism at all? Or is that less?
speaker-0 (31:52)
For
sure. No, no, for sure. I think it depends on kind of the life stage you're at, I will say. Like some of it is pay related because you can use these skills and make a lot of money in other and I have seen people do that, there's like corporate communications or like marketing roles or things like that. But
But I also think I've seen a lot of it because of the life stage they're in. There's like a element of like even if you are able to unplug going back to that conversation. it's a job that like can be can be high stress and can be demanding of time. I mean there we have a lot of mothers who work here, but like sometimes I've seen people, you know, when they choose to have kids, not in this company, but like maybe elsewhere, like shift because they want a level of balance.
So I think I think a lot of people do leave but the good thing is that there are a lot of communication related roles that seem like they really value roles you acquire in journalism.
speaker-1 (32:52)
Yeah. That's awesome. And that's kind of good to know what's a potential path.
speaker-0 (32:56)
But
yes, no, absolutely.
speaker-1 (32:59)
In terms of your role specifically, do you feel like you are at the ceiling or do you feel like there is a ceiling for what you could make or the title that you could get?
speaker-0 (33:08)
I don't think I'm at the ceiling. I I feel like in some ways I think I feel my age and I we're I think like mid career. Are we late career? I don't know what we are now.
speaker-1 (33:16)
I think we're early. We're
late. We're thirty, but we're early.
speaker-0 (33:23)
Whoa, revealing my age. But I think that sometimes we still feel like we're entry, in some ways. But I no, I I feel like it's definitely not the ceiling. I feel like there's a lot of places to go.
speaker-1 (33:38)
Okay, that's good to know too. And then my final questions are just if someone wants to get this role, how do they do it? So what is the fastest path to get a role like this?
speaker-0 (33:49)
The fastest path to get a role like this, I think I don't know fast. because so many people have sort of different paths. A common one is to either, study journalism or have like done things in college related to journalism. But I've also seen people who have totally done career pivots outside of that. So I feel like the fastest.
way I guess would be to sort of understand like specifically what you want to do within this industry. like if you are a person that wants to cover education, like making sure that you one, you know, have some sort of background in reporting or journalism widely, but also really can dial in on what it means to report on education. So I think that if you have like a beat you're seeking
Or like a specific job in the digital journalism world, like really being able to dial in. Cause I think when you talk to editors, that's so important. I will also say I think like one of the fastest ways to just like reach out to people. I feel like when I was applying to jobs, one of the things that felt like it really moved it for me was was being unafraid to to just like cold email people. Yeah.
speaker-1 (35:06)
That's full circle moment. That's impressive. Yeah. And do you need a degree in general or need a degree in journalism to get into this industry?
speaker-0 (35:15)
You don't need a degree. I I have found most people have one, whether it's either like I feel like most people I've met have an undergraduate degree, but I've met people who got a master's degree instead. So most people do go that way, but I think there truly is such a value in in having a degree in a specific area that you're interested in too. like when when people, you know, studied science and
they become like a science reporter or they they have a a specific area. So you don't need one. I feel like it does seem to be the pattern, but but no, you don't need that.
speaker-1 (35:55)
And then is there any when you were going through interviews, were they asking for portfolios of work you've done or what is that like?
speaker-0 (36:03)
Yeah, I think that's very common to have to send things along. Often when you were like even just doing the original application, like you will be asked to like obviously send your resume, send a cover letter, and I would I would say they really do read the cover letters because that's such a mark of whether you can write or not. so that's very important in this field is is a well written, well structured cover letter. But also they often ask you to attach
examples of your past work. and if they don't then they will later. so I feel like it's great as you're doing work and you've just started out to to have a folder or keep a place where you have the work you're most proud of because you will be asked about it.
speaker-1 (36:44)
Something funny that came to mind. when we were applying to jobs out of college, we compared cover letters and I also had an engineering background and obviously your journalism. And the differences in these is staggering. Yours were written so differently than my like very literal. This is my experience. Yours had a hook, yours had a lead, yours was entertaining. It was so funny to look back at that and see the differences.
speaker-0 (37:05)
Yeah. Is that like they they're totally different I feel like they just have totally different goals depending on the industry too. Like 'cause you're trying to like prove yourself and link stuff but all yeah, it's so strange.
speaker-1 (37:20)
I always laugh at that. I I don't think your essay or your recovery letter was actually like this, but my he memory is like Boom, how, I'm sassy. That wasn't actually it, but
speaker-0 (37:29)
That's
exactly what I said. Thank you for remembering it. I love it.
speaker-1 (37:37)
And final question is, if I'm trying to get this role, are there any skills or programs or areas I should practice or take a course in or try to learn before I start my application process?
speaker-0 (37:48)
Yeah, I think everything about this role is based on your past experience. So I think that if you are truly coming from a place where you have no experience working in journalism before you apply to a role, you should try and gain that experience. So whether that is, freelancing, working with editors to just like be pitching things, to be able to acquire bylines.
Like I feel like that would be a goal if you are in college and they have options for student newspapers, student organizations. I would say to try that out because you can begin clips from that, but it also tells you where especially like where specifically you want to go. So I think before you even like narrow in on applying, like I would just make sure that you understand the field itself because I think that is so valued.
speaker-1 (38:34)
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time today. Is there anything else you wanna share or advice you wanna give about folks who are entering this industry?
speaker-0 (38:43)
I don't have anything, but I love that you ended with that because that's a classic journalism thing, you know. I feel like you sometimes reporters will tell you they ask that question at the end, just open ended questions. Sometimes you get your best quotes out of that because people just, have I dunno, they they say the things that they haven't said in in their own words, not guided by your questions. But I don't have anything, so I won't give you my best quote of the day. But
speaker-1 (39:07)
Well, I'm honored to be referred to as a journalist. So thank you.
speaker-0 (39:11)
Yes,
Katie, thank you so much for this podcast. This is so exciting. I feel so famous right now.
speaker-1 (39:17)
Wait, thank you for coming on. Wow.
Outro (39:21)
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