Media does matter

Hello strangers. I know, I apologise, I have been a crap blogger/writter/whatever lately and I hold my hands up and say I've got no excuses to give. I just haven't felt like writing lately and to be fair I would rather write nothing at all than write something with no heart or effort in it. It has been in general quite an up and down month but fingers crossed things will start to pick up and you'll get some quality Sophie pieces very soon. For now you have this.

Anyway on with the blog post. This idea sprung to mind at a job interview I had the other week at a lovely cafe near my hometown. The woman herself with wonderful and someone I definitely would have loved to have as a boss had the circumstances been different. One thing she said in particular during this interview and stuck with me and during my dry period of ideas has been the only thing I could think of to turn into a blog post. I had informed her politely that I couldn't continue doing the job, that I later had to decline, at the same level of commitment as I would want to because I was starting my degree- to which she said bluntly "Oh you're doing a media degree, that's nothing."

First of all I am not doing a straight forward media degree. My degree is primarily journalism based with some modules in media because this is what my university specialises in and chose to feature in the journalism degree they created. To explain simply it's a major/minor degree, kind of like what they do in the US, where I focus primarily on journalism but do aspects of media to give me a rounded view of what it's like to work as a journalist in the media industry. Second of all media, god how many times do I have to stress this, is not easy.

Yes it isn't medicine or a BSC in Science, it isn't History or Classics with all of its books and essays- but it is challenging in its own way. While academically challenging subjects pose their own struggles media courses and degrees often have a lot of independent work and hands on activities that you don't see in a standard 'difficult' degree. 

My secondary school didn't do a media option so the first I heard of the hate media gets was at sixth form where media was an option. I didn't take media because I preferred the academic subjects that my sixth form had on offer but this isn't to say I never showed an interest. The subjects I did take led me to take journalism and yes I am well aware I could have done just that. I am lucky to have had a range of offers for university- a straight forward journalism degree, journalism and english literature, film and media and the offer I accept for journalism, media and culture. I chose the option I did because I wanted to go to Newcastle, I don't care if people give me shit for having media in my degree title.

I don't think people realise how key media is in our everyday lives. While you aren't performing live saving surgery or developing drugs to fight diseases with a media degree/qualification you are playing an important role in our everyday lives. Think how much of the day you spend watching TV, consuming film or being active on social media? Having any kind of media qualification or experience is hugely vital in the modern world. Media has grown so much in my lifetime, now having that experience and your foot in the door can open you up to a whole realm of possibilities in one of the biggest growing markets in the world. Like technology media jobs and growing and expanding and yes- you could do traditional qualifications and move into media later but why not do something you love to begin with?

Media does matter and it doesn't make you any less successful to pursue it.