ABSTRACT
Anyone who is thinking of becoming a journalist will have considered how to get into the profession, where they might find work, what employers are looking for and what journalists earn. This chapter focuses on these employment-related issues. A small percentage of journalists still enter the newsroom direct from school, or without any tertiary education, and receive their entire training on the job. But it is more common for entry-level journalists to have some tertiary education, and this will most likely include studies in journalism—though some come from other disciplines. Suburban and regional newsrooms usually hire staff as they need them, rather than conduct a formal intake. Indeed, the pay rates for the majority of Australian journalists are one of the reasons a move to public relations eventually becomes so attractive to so many. The term 'freelance journalist' conjures up an image of adventurous individualism and a lifestyle sustained by royalty cheques—the 'Ernest Hemingway syndrome.'.
