<p>i've narrowed my possible majors list down to basically "something to do with the world and writing". so i'm going to minor in journalism. I'm interested in languages and I was thinking maybe Russian. Does it seem that there would be a "need" for journalists with a specialty in a language such as Russian. I've thought about Arabic too, but frankly I'd rather not be sent to the middle east to do correspondence, at least not at this point in time. So probably Russian or history. I'll be at Notre Dame and they have a strong journalism program, and with the school's reputation I figure that the internships I could gain would be pretty good starts to get me into the business. Plus with a foreign language major I could always teach if i decided to not do journalism (or government for that matter) any ideas? thanks.</p>
<p>Idk. Languages, do things you would be interested in for area news. So, i guess if you are interested in russia you could take it, but i dont think it would be too useful since russia is not exactly a very happening place we hear about in the new alot. I think Latin would actually be helpful if you want to become a better writer/reader because it has tons of roots and stuff, where if you know a good amount, you can often understand english words out of their corresponding latin roots. My dad took years of latin, and he can often see a word he has never read before, and give you a pretty accurate definition because he knows what all the root/suffixs/prefixes and how they relate to the latin meanings. Its not useful at all though in modern civilization. Nobody speaks it pretty much.</p>
<p>I can relate to what your saying about latin. i took 2 years in high school and it really helps with english vocab.</p>
<p>A lot of journalism students choose to double major in history. It might fit nicely with your desire to learn Russian - you could specialize in Russian history and learn the language as well, but when you graduate, you'll likely have more career options with a Journalism/History degree than a Journalism/Russian degree. But, you'll still have thorough knowledge of the Russian language and Russian history.</p>
<p>It depends what kind of journalism you plan on doing, what subject you plan to write about. A foreign language would be very helpful, but also consider a more specialized major. If you want to be a film critic, major in film. A science magazine writer would find engineering or science helpful. With specialization and another language, you'd be marketable. Also note that you don't have to major in a language to learn it well.</p>
<p>russia IS in the news these days. if you like russian, there will be a use for you.</p>
<p>But remember it is way harder to learn languages that don't use "letters" - learning Russian well enough for it to be useful to you as a journalist will take a lot longer than learning, say, German. After three years of college German, you would really be able to speak German. After three years of college Russian, you would not be able to speak Russian very well, unless you spent a semester or more in a Russian country or you have a great gift for languages.</p>
<p>A friend I have who's planning on majoring in Journalism says she's also planning on going with a minor in Spanish. She's planning on going into Sports Journalism and thus figures that knowing Spanish would help with that. In your case, I'd say Russian could definitely be a nice addition to journalism, if you're interested in being a news reporter, that is.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with some of the posts.</p>
<p>1) Russian does use letters... lol... In fact, it even has an alphabet! It's called cyrillic. Haha... Sorry... I know the poster meant Russian doesn't use THE SAME letters we do; it was just a cute mistake. Anyway, Russian isn't tremendously difficult to learn. First-year students at my university learn the alphabet within two weeks. Russian even uses a fair amount of the same words we do. Humor is "yumor." Garage is "garazh." Not to say you won't need to spend time on vocab, but don't be scared either. With that said, you probably will need to study abroad to gain the high proficiency needed for a career in communication. But a lot of language students do this... even Spanish students who have probably heard Spanish growing up. Besides, I really would not be disappointed to have to travel. </p>
<p>2) Lots of stuff going on in Russia, esp. with the new US-Russian relationship strains over defense.... commitment to democracy.... etc. etc. I think we don't hear much from Russia because we've been at war for the past six years now.</p>
<p>Another thing, you say you'd rather not be sent to the Middle East to correspond... hate to break this to you... but after Iraq, Russia is the most dangerous country for journalists. I'm not sure, though, if that applies equally to foreign journalists as home grown Russian journalists. It probably wouldn't matter if you just plan on reporting for CNN... But still, if you want to go there to expose corruption in the government or report on the situation in chechnya... I'd be careful. It would definitely be an interesting career though!</p>