By Cassy van Eeden

But as a number of media professionals recently argued, that this is not the case. In fact, there are several more misconceptions and stereotypes that surround the industry that need to be straightened out. Here, the media speaks for itself:

Myth 4: Deadlines are flexible

Everything about the media is based on deadlines. If newspapers do not meet their printing deadline they will not hit the shelves on time. If a news segment is not edited within a certain period, it’s not going to make it to TV. Without deadlines, the industry wouldn’t function at all.

“I think the biggest thing that people don’t get is deadlines,” says Tamsyn Jantjies, a journalist at the Woester Standard. “People don’t grasp the fact that we work according to time and that after a certain time the article will not be eligible for print.”

Ineke Coetzee, a multimedia journalist at Die Burger and Netwerk24, says that she deals with people who do not understand deadlines on a daily basis. What people outside the industry don’t understand, she explains, is that deadlines cannot be moved.

Myth 5: There’s money to be made

From the outside, the media industry might seem like a glamourous one, with VIP passes and VIP salaries. But this is not the case.

Gino Shelile, a TV producer at Ignition, says that a career in the media is not financially viable. “The number of people who attribute their financial success to media alone are few and far between,” he says. “For the rest of us, at some point you will require other means of income not only to keep up with your peers but to be financially comfortable,” he adds.

Jo Munnik, a news and current affairs producer for Carte Blanche agrees. “It does not pay well. No matter how hard you work,” she says.

Myth 6: The industry offers job security

Contrary to popular belief, getting into the media industry is difficult. Staying in the industry, however, is the hardest part of all. Because the media landscape is constantly changing, certain departments are upsizing and others are retrenching. This means that – no matter what your role in the industry is – there is very little job security to rely on.

Shelile explains; “Permanent positions are a thing of the past. A new trend is to employ media personnel as independent contractors – a kind of fixed-term contract that gets renewed every year.”

This new trend of contract-based work leaves professionals with very little chance of stability as they never know when their contract might be cancelled.

In general, people aren’t advised to move around too much in their industries. Longevity demonstrates loyalty, persistence and commitment. Often, however, media practitioners are forced to move around.

As Munnik says, things work differently in the media landscape. “The idea of longevity or loyalty does not necessarily apply.” She adds that it is almost normal for people to bounce from one job to the next in the media profession.

Click here to view Part 1 of this series.

Do you work in the media industry? What else do people misconstrue about the industry? Let us know in the comments below.