Does anyone have any tips for a person who would like to be a journalist?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/11/09/top-10-tips-for-young-aspiring-journalists/
http://college.usatoday.com/2014/06/03/5-tips-for-job-seeking-journalism-students/
http://www.collegemediamatters.com/2012/03/27/tips-for-journalism-students-how-to-land-a-job-and-impress-people-journamaven/

The key to journalism success if to gain experience before graduating, even if just for a campus newspaper or a blog, and find your unique voice and way to tell a story that is engaging but credible. People love reading interesting news and attention getting headlines. A blog or freelance writing to web publications is a great way to hone these skills and to create a robust portfolio before interviewing for a larger publication. Being factual and maintain the integrity and confidentiality of your sources is also important, as well as making sure you're reporting in a fair or unbiased fashion. In the world of social media, critics are quick to fact check and to voice complaints publicly, so it's important to make sure you're sources and citations are accurate. In general, just writing about interesting topics or writing about regular topics in a compelling way, can set you apart from other journalists, especially in the increasingly more crowded digital media space.

Start by getting a good education in English through writing and literature courses. But outside of formal courses, you should simply READ A LOT, regardless of whether it seems "important" at the time. That includes books - old and new, fiction and non-fiction - as well as newspapers and magazines. The more you read, the more you will understand the language and become better at writing. A wide array of reading material will also introduce you to different voices and perspectives from which you can learn.

For journalism, be curious and aware about what is going on in the world. And do not rely on just one type of journalism, such as television or other visual outlets (You Tube, etc.) Read the news (newspapers, magazines, online) as much as possible. Also listen to radio news, since they have to carefully choose their words to fit all the information possible into a short audio report.

For general education (not only to be a journalist, but to be a well-informed person) get a good grounding in history. While working as a reporter or editor, you will be amazed at how many times you will think, "This sounds familiar." Often something similar has occurred before and you will have a greater understanding of the subject and why it is important if you have a broad knowledge of history.

Also, it would not hurt to take some classes in political science and economics (micro and macro). These subjects are touched upon to some degree every day in journalism investigations and news stories. Even if you intend to write about something unconnected, like a science or sports story, you may discover there are political or economic angles - "How is climate science being used in politics?" or "Why does soccer make so much money as a global business but still generate so little interest in the United States?" When you start crossing academic areas with different journalism areas, the possibilities for new angles - even on old stories - are endless.

Good luck.