A Life In Journalism

By Samantha Harvey

On Friday 12th October, Sarah Womack, renowned journalist, came to Wimbledon High School to talk about careers in journalism.

The talk was part of a series of lunchtime talks by the Careers Department at Wimbledon High, dubbed ‘Striding Out’. As well as imparting wisdom to students seeking a future in writing, Womack also spoke about her life as a political correspondent. Over her career, Sarah Womack covered three general elections, wrote for both the Daily Mail and the Telegraph and met with many influential politicians, including Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher. 

While she’s had an amazing career and considers journalism to be one of the most exciting jobs you can do, Womack revealed that being a journalist can have ups and downs. Throughout her course as a political correspondent, she found having a balance between work and having a social life very difficult. “You have to work late nights, and holidays, even Christmas Day if there’s a story to cover,” she told. Working in the politics side of journalism, Womack had to be prepared to get on a plane and travel across the world to cover a conference or meeting between presidents at any time. When asked how she balanced being a mum with her job, she explained that she waited till her forties to have children. 

According to the writer, it’s all worth it despite the potential drawbacks. “I could have worked for a big corporation earning much more money, but I wouldn’t trade the experiences I had”. And while some may view the job as anti-social, she said that it didn’t feel like a real job at all because it was so exciting and fun. Furthermore, despite the rise in technology and free news sites, she stays confident that journalism will always be around, and even if the pay is slightly less and there are fewer spaces to fill, if you are determined, anyone can make it as a journalist.