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Yes and no. Certainly they have programs, but you don’t walk into a prime internship as your 1st job. You do other ones first, build up a resume that lets you apply to the prestige slots. And no matter where you go to college, you have something that NYU students and the like don’t have – access. They can apply for a summer job, but you have 9 months during the school year to work at the local station thats hundreds of miles or more from them. So they aren’t competing with you for those positions.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, too, that the people with the best connections in journalism are journalists. Work at your local station and they’ll have contacts elsewhere, people will move to take new jobs, etc. Work hard and do a super job at everything you can, and they’ll be happy to help you get in touch with people they know professionally.</p>
<p>As for major, I’d suggest flipping it around. Major in something else, minor in journalism. A journalism major doesn’t get you a job, the experience you get thru your college years does. You don’t even have to major in journalism as long as you get the right set of experiences.</p>
<p>One other suggestion – post on the Parents forum. Ask how to prepare to become a broadcast journalist. Several parents who post regularly work in journalism and can help you understand how to get started. You might also want to look for career books and other web resources. Finally my best tip: informational interviewing. You’re going to be in the journalism field, you must enjoy talking to people. As popularized in the book “What Color is Your Parachute”, get in touch with a few reporters at local stations. Tell them you’re a HS student interested in getting into the field (which makes it non-threatening, you’re not going to be asking for a job) and ask them if you can meet them somewhere for coffee and a 15 minute conversation on what THEY recommend you do to prepare.</p>