A recent study conducted by Bankrate.com shows journalism as one of the worst return of investment for a bachelors degree. According to Bankrate.com, it will take 31.83 years for journalists to repay their student loans.
Ken Layne suggests that sailing would be a better career than journalism.
Journalism, however, is not dead.
Newspapers might be declining but storytelling continues to play an important role in our daily lives.
Nic Coury explains on Sports Shooter, an online resource for photographers and photojournalists, that he was a journalism major and loved it. According to Coury, who works as both a reporter and photographer for the Monterey County Weekly newspaper, even with the decline of newspapers there will still be crime, politics and sports that needs to be covered.
I was also a journalism major and to this day, I believe that it was a valuable investment.
The skills I learned through my journalism courses taught me how to become a better storyteller, a better communicator.
Earlier this week, I stressed that photography and journalism are different forms of storytelling and that we need them both.
There are also other important forms of storytelling, which will be discussed in future blogs.
Storytelling is an important form of media that teaches people how to think critically and to improve their communication skills.
This brings us back to the importance of media literacy.
Media literacy is about teaching people critical thinking skills and helping them understand the complex messages presented by the media. However more importantly, it is about teaching communication skills.
A journalism education teaches students how to become better storytellers, a skill that is useful in every field.
We need to emphasize the importance of journalism and photography as forms of storytelling.
In previous blogs, I stress how students used photography for storytelling, as a means to express themselves and to learn about others. I also explain how photographs can make a difference.
Stories can make a difference.
"Media Literacy Matters" 
do you really think that people need 4 years to study jounalism and then repay such a great sum?
A four year degree in journalism is not necessary but for those who choose to study the subject, they will learn skills that are useful in many different fields. I believe that it would be beneficial for everyone to take a few journalism courses to help them become better communicators.
I wrote an entire research paper on why I think everyone needs to take a media literacy class at minimum. I didn’t get the ‘journalism’ degree persay, instead going Communications where I had the flexibility to explain what I know instead of people assuming.