A degree in journalism is the worst college investment you can make, according to Salary.com.  Fresh out of college, your kid could expect to earn $37,393 working as a reporter. That would add up to a measly $2.2 million over a 30-year career, for a return on one’s college dollar of about 17%. Even social workers, pastors and dieticians do better than that. At newsroom pay, it might take one 50 years to sock away enough for retirement. Of course, that’s assuming one keels over dead at 82, before one’s savings have been depleted. Death would have to come even earlier to leave enough for a decent funeral.

Actually, starting pay of $37,393 sounds pretty good to me, since my first job, working on the rewrite desk of the Atlantic City Press, paid $120 a week. That was in 1971, and I was living like a king, even though I owned a vintage BMW whose maintenance costs consumed about half of my discretionary income.  The apartment I shared was $225 a month and offered spectacular views of New Jersey’s marshlands and sunsets on the bay. I and my 20-Something cohort partied till dawn every night after the morning edition had been “put to bed.”  Gotham was just two hours north on the Garden State Parkway, and a big night on the town might have included a Broadway show, drinks at Sherry Netherland’s, and a limo ride to Lutece. Years later, after I became a family man, my big night on the town was Tuesday night.  That’s the night when kids ate free at Lyon’s.

Appetite for News Undiminished

My fellow reporters at the Atlantic City Press were the brightest and most talented bunch I’ve ever worked with.  Two of them, Joe Donohue and Tom Turcol, went on to win Pulitzers. But none chose to stay in journalism. Most left the newsroom for careers in law – a pragmatic choice, since the only reporters making enough money to support a family were network news anchors.  The irony is that opportunities in journalism have never been brighter. Sure, brick-and-mortar papers are dying. But the demand for news itself remains undiminished. In a city of 100,000, five good reporters could cover the news, and cover it well. Hire a managing editor, rent a storefront office, and the total cost of putting out an online edition would be around $350,000.  That’s relative pocket change compared to what brick-and-mortar papers spend on truck fleets, newsprint, machinery and office space.

This could spell opportunity for anyone with the entrepreneurial drive to start an online newspaper from scratch. If you think your kid, or a friend, has what it takes, have him or her get in touch with me.  I have two ideas he or she can use that would produce monster revenues in just a few years.  One involves building a network of stringers to cover local sports. The other is an action line-type feature that has yet to be executed correctly buy any news publisher or entrepreneur.