Has journalism become a profession for the rich? – Chance to come to Publish

Mumbrella is offering 10 would-be or newly qualified journalists the opportunity to come to the Publish conference on Thursday, September 20.

The conference will include a debate on whether journalism is increasingly becoming a profession only accessible to wealthy young people – due to a combination of unpaid internships and pricey degrees.

Click to read Mumbrella’s longform investigation into whether journalism is becoming a profession for only the rich

The session is based on Mumbrella’s week-long expose that ran in August.

To enter, just send the author of the series, Adam Thorn, a 200-word email detailing your personal experiences of trying to break into the industry. Emails should be sent to adam@mumbrella.com.au with the subject line ‘Mumbrella Publish Competition.’ Entries close Tuesday, September 18.

We’ll publish some of the most eye-opening entries and give tickets to the ten best.

Whatever your views, we want to hear. Entrants must either have not landed a full-time journalism job yet or be in their first-year of full-time employment in the industry.

Mumbrella’s Publish event will take place next Thursday, September 20, at the Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney and the session, entitled ‘Has journalism become a profession for the rich?’  will begin at 2:10pm. 

Currently confirmed for the panel is Chris Wirasinha, co-founder of Pedestrian.tv; Rachel Smith, the founder of Rachel’s List; James Chessell, group executive editor of Fairfax; and Tilly South, the co-founder of campaign group Interns Australia. Adam Thorn, the author of the stories, will be moderating. 

This competition is for those either trying to break into journalism or who have only just begun their career.

Entrants should have no more than one year of full-time media industry experience and need to either have completed or be completing some form of higher education in an attempt to become a journalist.

In your entry, please clearly state your full name, level of experience and mobile number.

You can find out more, and buy tickets, by visiting mumbrella.com.au/publish.

Mumbrella’s series investigating the state of Australia’s journalism industry ran over one week in August. The full list of articles are below:

Monday (news): Broadcasters and publishers escape punishment for illegal internships

Tuesday (news): Just one quarter of journalism grads find a job in media

Wednesday (main feature): Journalism is becoming a profession for only the rich – so why won’t anyone talk about it?

Thursday (opinion): Degrees? Internships? No – all savvy journos require is ratlike cunning and a plausible manner

Friday (podcast – 28:30): Mumbrellacast – Illegal internships exposed