Masters in Journalism

[Golden E. Pump]

@Jockice were you still working in music journalism in the '00s? And was the town you worked in Sheffield? I think we've met - I played in a South Yorks bands for a number of years and met every other music journo.

@GEPump - how long ago did you graduate? Would you be a mature student? Part of me wants to try going back for an MA but I don't really know what I'd do and I only got a crap 2:2 because I was an idiot at university so I'm a bit ashamed of having transcripts provided to a graduate school.

I graduated ten years ago. I feel the same way, I discovered women and alcohol at university so it wasn't my best performance.

[The Culture Bunker]

I graduated ten years ago. I feel the same way, I discovered women and alcohol at university so it wasn't my best performance.

Two biggest distractions for me at uni (which explain the Desmond) were getting back into video games (blame Final Fantasy VII) and really getting into music. I came from a small town where you had the limited selections in Woolworths and WH Smiths and that was it. Suddenly I was within walking distance of a couple of proper record shops.

Learning stuff like shorthand seemed a bit of a needless distraction from all that.

[garnish]

Like others have said, at MA level, they really won't care about a 2:2, it's just a numbers game for them to get in as much money as possible.  I know that sounds cynical but that's the state of UK universities the last 20 years or so.

[Golden E. Pump]

Think I may do it at OU. I can't really afford to move away right now, unless I can get some funding.

[Jockice]

By asking us lot, does that make us your sources?  I've never gotten to be a source before.

What's source for the goose is source for the gander.

Or something.

[Peru]

Like others have said, at MA level, they really won't care about a 2:2, it's just a numbers game for them to get in as much money as possible.  I know that sounds cynical but that's the state of UK universities the last 20 years or so.

This is really not true. Most Russell Group universities will require a 2:1 for MA entry. Some ask for a First. It does obviously depend on the course but in any decent uni apps will be fully vetted and transcripts will be fully read, and there will be a marks criteria for entry.

[thecuriousorange]

Getting a job with a local/regional newspaper, as a news reporter, is a good place to start. Sub-editor posts don't really exist anymore. But once you're in you can get befriend the right person on features and do occasional live gig/album reviews. You'll get no extra money for it, but you'll have free tickets and something to tweet/add to your portfolio. I think the people who contribute to music mags are well-established freelancers and I don't think a university course in music journalism will achieve much. Try to find a niche for a music blog/video content and once that's popular can get ad revenue and make it a job that way, not that I have any idea about how to do that.

[Mister Six]

A local/regional magazine/ents site would be even better, I think, as junior reporters will most likely still require, or need to swiftly acquire NTCJ accreditation (although the paper might sponsor that and let them get it while on the job).

Might be speaking out of my arse there as I've transitioned to news rather than starting off in it, but it's something to look into.

[Jockice]

Getting a job with a local/regional newspaper, as a news reporter, is a good place to start. Sub-editor posts don't really exist anymore. But once you're in you can get befriend the right person on features and do occasional live gig/album reviews. You'll get no extra money for it, but you'll have free tickets and something to tweet/add to your portfolio. I think the people who contribute to music mags are well-established freelancers and I don't think a university course in music journalism will achieve much. Try to find a niche for a music blog/video content and once that's popular can get ad revenue and make it a job that way, not that I have any idea about how to do that.

That's basically what I did.  But it was a long time ago, before multimedia stuff (we still used typewriters when I started!) and i started doing the odd review and interview.Then when the music reporter left I got the (unpaid) job even though he had apparently recommended someone else who didn't even work for the paper (he was at a local radio station) but he was big mates with and shared more musical tastes with than with me. I don't think it was because of any great talent that I got the job though. It was probably easier
(and cheaper) for the bosses to have someone who already worked there doing it than having to sort out freelance rates etc

Which leads me onto the befriending bit. I think it's more a case of showing willing than creeping up to whoever is in charge. I hated that when people (from work and outside) would practically be up my arse when they wanted something specific but left me to do all the stuff they (and I) didn't like. It's no fun having to go and see Saxon on your own on a Sunday night in November. Or Brother Beyond. Twice. It got to the stage a few years later that I went to see U2, a band I've never liked, just to annoy all the people who had tried to scrounge tickets for them off me.

I think my first live review was Tangerine Dream, which I remember as one of the most boring nights of my life. I'd probably quite like it nowadays but to a 20--year-old punk fan it was hell. But I still did it. It's okay to let whoever is in charge know what your tastes are  (I was very indie so I got to see early shows by The Wedding Present and Primal Scream) and maybe ask in advance if it would be possible to review an act. But then don't sulk if they say no and then ask you to do someone you don't like. Because they might tell you to fuck off next time someone you want to go and see is in town.

And finally, if you do get in this position, don't ignore the local scene. You'll find that bosses of regional newspapers would rather cover whoever is famous at the time rather than The Nonentities from down the road. But they're wrong. Very wrong. Of course if they ever become famous you'll then find others on the paper claiming that they knew about them all along and any coverage is down to them. But they're also wrong. Not of course that anything like that has ever happened to me. Cough, Pulp

[drummersaredeaf]

This is really not true. Most Russell Group universities will require a 2:1 for MA entry. Some ask for a First. It does obviously depend on the course but in any decent uni apps will be fully vetted and transcripts will be fully read, and there will be a marks criteria for entry.

It's my understanding that to Russell Group cut to 2:2 to sweep up all the international students a year or so ago. It's a money game now.

[marquis_de_sad]

It's my understanding that to Russell Group cut to 2:2 to sweep up all the international students a year or so ago. It's a money game now.

I think this is probably true in general but it might not be a hard and fast rule.

[Peru]

It's my understanding that to Russell Group cut to 2:2 to sweep up all the international students a year or so ago. It's a money game now.

This is incorrect. Russell Group don't operate as a single entity, especially in entry criteria. You'll see entry criteria on websites, and many stipulate 2:1. I randomly looked at Cardiff's website and it stipulates First or 2:1 for an English MA. This may differ for certain courses which attract a preponderance of international students, but overseas degree grading can only be matched approximately to the U.K. system anyway.

[drummersaredeaf]

I know this. I work in a non Russell Group uni that has seen numbers decimated by the tariff being reduced by a large number of the big players. I appreciate it's not necessarily going to be applied across the board, but there is an obvious incentive for them to sweep up the international student dividend.