So, you want to work in media?

Do you want to get paid to travel the world, drive fancy cars and meet fascinating people? While that is, on the surface, some of the great aspects my job, there’s more to it than that. In fact, if you haven’t mastered ‘the subtle art of not giving a f***’, you may want to reconsider.

Every two years or so, I attend the careers night at my old high school and talk to students about my job, my industry and all the ups and downs of a career working in the media. While some of the questions I get asked in these talks have changed over the years (mostly the bit about working for a car company – apparently teenagers couldn’t care less about cars anymore), many of the major considerations for students looking to start a career in media remain the same. Here’s what I usually tell them:

Is it a hard industry to get into?

Yes. But in many ways it’s a meritocracy and hard work is usually recognized. While many industries are rightly critical of unpaid internships, which is absolutely a form of modern slavery, the reality is most in media won't hire you unless you have some experience; and for a young upstart, finding your way onto a publication or newsroom with an already shrinking headcount is extremely tough, and getting tougher.

While I’m not suggesting anyone work for free, a good portfolio of work is a real asset for media practitioners at all levels. I was fortunate enough to live in Sydney and have family that supported me while I was at uni studying (a poxy arts degree, but more on that in a moment), which gave me the chance to work part time in retail to earn some pocket money, and contribute once a week at women’s commuter mag. I never received a cent for my time at the mag, but what I got in return was invaluable – regularly published feature articles, entertainment reviews, and at the end of my tenure there (I was graduating and had to get a real paying job), a trip to New Zealand for a travel yarn, which ran in full with my copy and photos when I got back – I used this to leverage my first full time gig as a staff writer.

What are your career prospects like?

Not good, if I’m honest. I’ve had more media friends lose jobs than those who go on to get new ones. On my side of the fence in Corporate PR World, there are even fewer jobs going, but typically they get filled by the same people, which sets off an industry-wide game of musical chairs between other car company PRs. Having said that, if you’re on the PR side of things, a portfolio is less necessary to justify your worth as your brand’s presence in-market is there for the world to see (i.e. how much coverage and, increasingly, content you’ve generated for your brand/s). More often than not, your chances of getting a new job in corporate PR is dictated by whether you’re a cultural fit for the company, and whether your strategic approach is a match for that business. I suspect I’ve been ruled out for roles in the past because of that one – my belief that good comms is about getting tangible results and not pouring champagne at media launches are at odds with some of the old corporate paradigms. That, and I’ve been told that I’m adversarial – companies that still pay for and listen to so-called industry media ‘Opinion Leaders’ survey prefer not to have that trait in their comms team.

What’s the difference between a journalist and PR person?

That depends on who you ask. According to some I’m the worst kind of PR because I talk to customers directly rather than via the media conduit. I’ve appeared on TV to talk about cars (and yes, spruik my employer’s products) several times; a job some believe only belongs to ‘real journalists’. Problem is, many of them are tied to networks and products themselves because of pre-existing commercial arrangements. One particular ad salesman in a t-shirt once told my marketing colleagues to not think of a website’s journalists as journalists, but rather “as content creators”, unbeknownst to the journalists themselves. Volkswagen is approached constantly by publications offering ‘branded content’; read: paid editorial. This holds no value for us.  

The reality is, my job has the same objective as everyone else at Volkswagen Group Australia: to sell cars. At times, my team and I use the media to have conversations with customers to highlight the benefits of our cars over competitors, and sometimes we communicate with customers directly. As the number card-carrying journalists and publications continue to decline, we have had to find new avenues to converse with fans and would-be buyers of our cars. That’s why I do Motor Show stand wrap-up videos, trudge Tiguan SUVs through wet mud to raise awareness for a charity drive for the Cancer Council, and prattle on at marketing and media conferences.   

Is the money good?

Well, I think it is. For many in the media, being able to travel the world for car launches and get to write about it is payment enough (which I respect immensely those who think that, by the way); and for people like me with a corporate salary, it can be particularly lucrative – but I am almost 20 years into my career and have a Master’s degree in journalism in communications. I have been at the lesser end of the pay scale for more than half of my time in media and have had to work to get to where I am.

The reason I got out of journalism was particularly transformative. On a work trip with a number of my colleagues in the editorial team, our usually affable publisher had a few too many and told all of his journalists what he thought of them and, more to the point – what they cost him. We were seen as a drain on the budget, rather than the makers of the platform for which the publisher sold ads and commercial arrangements against. It took me another 12 months or so to get out of editorial properly, but I mostly haven’t looked back. I miss the camaraderie of an editorial office, but I no longer feel like my livelihood is constantly in peril, which has been a godsend while my darling wife suffers from a debilitating condition for the past two years. The last two publications I worked for no longer exist in Australia.

Is media a cut-throat industry?

Definitely. I once had dreams of being an actor (funny, because I sort of am one now) but deferred it because I didn’t trust the industry politics and public scrutiny. Turns out, media is probably worse. In the age of personal blogs and still-murky, largely unpoliced online media, people can get away with saying just about anything. Worse still, unless you’re prepared to drop $100k-plus on defamation lawyers, things said against you can largely go unchecked.

I’ve been fortunate up until now – while much of my profile is now in full view of the public eye, I’ve managed to dodge most of the industry scuttlebutt. I did, however, feature recently in a segment on the ABC’s Media Watch program for the car segments I’ve been doing on Channel 10, which pinned the network for not declaring what I do for a day job (for the record, 10 has always known, and for my part, I’ve been more than open about how I pay my mortgage - which isn't from breakfast TV appearances). While people I trust and respect said not to be fazed by the segment and that, if anything, it showed me doing my job, it didn’t stop a small contagion of the industry’s image dysmorphics from decrying my apparent desecration of the sanctity of the fourth estate (people in glass houses). Still, that’s media for you – don’t get in the ring if can’t take a hit.

If anything, at times like these you learn who your friends are. A legend of the auto PR world even tweeted the Media Watch segment to his fan-base with the missive “Shock horror - PR doing job!” That meant a lot to me. 

Why do you do it?

Because I love it. Because I think I’m pretty good at it. I’ve made life-long friends, seen the world and, since joining Volkswagen at least, I’ve been well rewarded for it.

As the industry moves towards electric mobility, I intend to be leading the, ahem, charge. Holding a position on the board of the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) and a seat at the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) Emerging Technologies Committee gives me a voice to affect change that benefits Australia. That’s an honour I don’t take lightly and care deeply about.

Sadly, the days of an independent free press (or the public perception of one) are largely finished - car brand websites now frequently outrank review sites in public trust rankings. While that in itself is a travesty, we as a society have become smarter, more savvy when forming our own opinions of the world. A bit like the ‘Stranger Danger’ mantra we instill in our kids, we’ve learnt to question the media – that means that for those wanting a long career in its ranks, reputation is everything.

In my corner of the world, I’ve long since realised that my paycheck is largely predicated on not what I DO say in public, but rather what I DON’T. Haters gonna hate – you’ve just got to let them.  

As I tell those high school students ever two years, a career in the media is not for the faint of heart or the thin skinned, but it is highly rewarding and, I think, a great privilege to work in.

Sound like a bit of you, kids? Put up your dukes and get writing.