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Does a degree in media production mean that you only work for news channels?
I am a video producer at my school's Multimedia Team. Iḿ looking to go to school at Colorado University's College of Media Communications and Information. #media-production #media #broadcast-media #entertainment #media-production
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Mandy’s Answer
Great question! Short answer is no. This is actually a pretty versatile degree and you can do many things with it, depending on your interests!
Media production is mostly a creative storytelling method. This can be applied to news, of course, but also can be a valuable skill for jobs in marketing, advertising, internal communications, public relations, and entertainment/creative content development.
I have an undergraduate degree in communications (focus in journalism) and a master's degree in broadcast journalism (production). My career started with internships in news, and that's where I learned that I do NOT like working in news! I instead realized what I loved was visual storytelling, and my first "real" job was as a video editor/camerawoman for an online magazine. I eventually wound up creating content on an internal communications team and acting as a content producer on a digital marketing team. These days I am an executive assistant, because I grew to love the project management aspect of production above all.
Media production is mostly a creative storytelling method. This can be applied to news, of course, but also can be a valuable skill for jobs in marketing, advertising, internal communications, public relations, and entertainment/creative content development.
I have an undergraduate degree in communications (focus in journalism) and a master's degree in broadcast journalism (production). My career started with internships in news, and that's where I learned that I do NOT like working in news! I instead realized what I loved was visual storytelling, and my first "real" job was as a video editor/camerawoman for an online magazine. I eventually wound up creating content on an internal communications team and acting as a content producer on a digital marketing team. These days I am an executive assistant, because I grew to love the project management aspect of production above all.
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Alona’s Answer
Hi Mahri, I studied broadcast journalism and worked in news for many years on the editorial side with production people. I then worked in communications roles at non-profit organizations and now a communications (PR/marketing/ad) agency. There are many applications for media skills across companies, organizations, government, everything really. All have social media accounts, websites that host content, they produce reports, training videos for employees and more. When you are looking at job postings, examine the sections that say what skills are needed. You can tailor your resume and cover letter to show how you have gain these skills in your education and can apply them to that particular job. You don't have to prove you've done everything before, just that you can adapt and apply what you know.
Alona is absolutely right. One important thing when you are exploring career options is to think about specific skills versus transferable skills. A degree in media production can be very helpful in getting footholds into the news world, but you can also leverage the skills learned in those areas to other fields and roles as well.
Jennifer Sargent
Thank you!
Mahri
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Ryan’s Answer
Mahri - good question. Just re-frame it a little bit. Instead of saying "Media production". Think of it as content creation, storytelling and "omnichannel". This opens up a world of possibilities beyond linear and/or broadcast news and allows you to collaborate and pursue opportunities to tell stories in a variety of formats and distribute them in different ways. You'll find things you like, and things you don't like and things you are good at. That will allow you to experiment and learn and expand beyond news only
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Susan’s Answer
Media production degrees could put you at a creative agency that needs media, you could be at a local news or tv station, or you might find wok with a production company.