English majors can become reporters

The argument

The link between an English degree and reporting is a link between two versions of the same skill. English majors are more familiar than most with the essential elements in creating stories from multiple sources like literature or journal articles — which means assembling an account out of material that does not arrive pre-organised, and holding those sources in relation to one another while doing it. Reporters must employ that same skill-set, only in a journalistic sense in which the story is purely based upon fact. The difference lies in the constraint on the sources rather than in the work performed on them: a reporter cannot select for resonance where the record says otherwise. But the underlying task — reading a body of material closely, judging what it will support, and building something coherent from it — is what a literature degree consists of. Complex analytical reading and writing are key aspects of reporting, and especially of investigative reporting, where the material is voluminous, partial, and sometimes deliberately obscured. A graduate trained to notice what a text implies as well as what it states, and to notice what it leaves out, is trained for exactly that. The description of the job bears the parallel out. According to Maryville University, "In our increasingly digital world, reporters sometimes contribute a more diverse array of content types... From there, investigative reporters interview sources, conduct in-depth research, and put together a story." In-depth research and putting together a story are the two halves of what the degree teaches, and the widening range of content types enlarges rather than narrows the opening, since each format still needs someone who can write. One incredibly viable option for any English major is therefore a career in investigative reporting — a field whose central competence is the degree's central competence.

Premises

Counter-arguments

As with other specific journalistic endeavors, English majors do not automatically mesh well with the world of investigative reporting. Not only do journalists have to write in a different style from English majors dealing in classic literature and analytical essays, but journalism in the form of reporting is even farther from the classic English archetype. Investigative reporting requires skills that do not pertain to writing or analytical reading like "videos [and] social media posts." There is a certain presentational quality of reporting that cannot be emulated within the average English degree. Public speaking in tandem with journalistic writing are closer to the requirements, so English majors should not necessarily enter into this career.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] Reporting and writing analytical essays in an English course are separate from one another. Reporting requires a set of skills like presenting, public speaking, and video-making that English majors do not naturally glean from their educational discipline. [Rejecting P3] English majors should not necessarily consider reporting as a viable career option.