If you are a journalist or a full-time student of journalism, you should consider becoming a member of a press club due to the numerous opportunities it presents. The benefits help you grow professionally as a journalist, and they also help the media house you work for to develop more based on the opportunity it offers you. Some of the reasons why you should consider joining a press club are as follows.
Networking
Journalists thrive best if they have an opportunity to network with one another and the world around them. Being a member of a club exposes you to other journalists who will share with you the projects they are handling, and even hint at story ideas that you can follow. They can also give you contacts of sources for a story you are pursuing.
Mentorship
Since press clubs are made up of journalists with different kinds of experience, you should join if you are looking for mentorship opportunities. This is especially for upcoming journalists who are still struggling to make a mark in journalism. You can hook up with a veteran journalist and ask them to mentor you. Students also use the press clubs to get mentors who can help them transition from schools to the newsroom.
Advancement of Journalism
Press clubs have many activities, including training on the elements of journalism such as media law and ethics. When you consume such information regularly, you become a better journalist, and you can use the information you learn to change how your newsroom operates.
Scholarships and Fellowships
There are opportunities such as scholarships and fellowships that come up specifically for people who are members of press clubs. This means that even though these clubs have a membership fee, the gains are many and cannot be quantified by the amount that people pay to join.