The old philosophy of journalism may be to know a little about many things, but author, columnist and editor Jeff Selingo told students at the last Must See Monday of the year to know a lot about just one.
Selingo, a contributing editor for The Chronicle of Higher Education and a former top editor for the publication, described how he, like many journalism students, aspired to work as a reporter and eventually climb his way into a position at a large newspaper, such as the Washington Post or The New York Times.
He did not initially consider a career in specialty journalism, Selingo said, but now he considers it one of the most promising areas of journalism. Specialty journalism focuses on one topic, such as higher education, and provides in-depth coverage and expertise on it.
“Specialty journalism is not only good for individuals, it’s where the jobs are going to be,” Selingo said.
He said many journalism students envision themselves as part of a traditional newsroom and covering different beats, but said he considers having an in-depth understanding of a subject matter as the future of journalism. He said there is a demand for expertise and focused news by both readers and advertisers, which is why specialty news publications are thriving.
“People are willing to pay for that expertise,” Selingo said.
Selingo used The Chronicle of Higher Education to illustrate the demand for expertise and said the publication, which has been in existence for more than 40 years, has never lost money. He also said 60 percent of college faculty and 40 percent of college administrators read the publication and its readership has continued to grow, as it is known for focusing on higher education.
“The great thing about specialty journalism is institutions … are able to have convening power because they’re so well known within that specific market,” Selingo said.
Although expertise is in high demand, Selingo said those pursuing careers in specialty journalism should be highly interested in what they are covering, as they are expected to learn more about it extensively on a daily basis.
He also said part of specialty journalism is explaining subject matters to readers through data and hard evidence.
“Explanatory journalism to me is also about visualizing data in a way that most publications can’t,” Selingo said.
Junior journalism student Taylor Neigum said he came to the event because he would like to specialize in entertainment journalism, and found Selingo’s talk to be logical and easy to grasp.
“He had a lot of insightful stuff to say … he made sense to me,” Neigum said.
Sophomore journalism student Erica Lang said she came to the Must See Monday event because she found the subject of education interesting and liked Selingo’s perspective on it.
“What I found interesting is that oftentimes as journalists we’re told to know a little about a lot of things,” Lang said. “Tonight it was about knowing a lot of about one thing.”
Contact the reporter at kuntharasp@gmail.com
