I’ve developed love for journalism since childhood. My mom always used to buy magazines and newspapers, both for her and for me (mine were obviously children’s magazines and comics), and I adored reading them, trying to grasp every information I got. In times when there was no internet in my life, reading magazines was the only way of finding out something cool, learning about new trends or news in general (of course, there’s also TV, but we didn’t have any good channels back then).

Later, in my early teenage years, I even started making magazines myself (on a very amateur level), and I dreamed about having my own publishing company. And now, years later, I haven’t betrayed my childhood dream. I don’t have my own company (at least yet), but I do enjoy writing articles for others’ magazines.

I think one of the best ways of finding out what’s your dream profession is via films. When you watch a movie about any kind of job, and you instantly feel inspired, connected to that profession and you feel like that’s what you want to do, that’s when you find your soul’s desire. At least that’s how it was for me. I adore watching movies about writers and journalists, seeing their journey and struggles. If I remember right, I’ve already written a post with films about writers, so now it’s journalism’s turn.

These films aren’t completely about journalism, not gonna lie, each of them has their own story related to other things. They are somehow connected though with this sphere of life, and even hearing someone talk about my dream’s job made me truly inspired and motivated. So, here are some of the films that revolve around journalism (and sorry in advance for using this world so much).

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The most famous movie in this sphere happens to be my favorite, as it motivates me to work hard for my goals. Andy always dreamed about becoming a journalist, and one day she gets a job in one of the most popular magazines. Now she has to either fight the new glamorous lifestyle of become a part of it. Spoilers a heads – it kinda pisses my off, how lots of people misinterpret the real message of this film, thinking that Andy traded her “cool career” for a “toxic boyfriend”, when in reality she understood that she’s in a toxic environment with no morals or human values, where there’s no friendship, dignity or honesty. In reality she traded her crappy job of being someone’s assistant to fulfill the purpose of her life and start writing – something that was her primary goal and dream.

27 Dresses (2008)

Just another romcom about a girl, who only attends other people’s weddings, but never gets to have her own relationship. She meets a guy who could potentially be her knight on the white horse, but discovers that he’s a journalist who was secretly writing an article about her and all the weddings she’s been to.

13 Going on 30 (2004)

This is another of my favorite comfort films, that I can rewatch again and again. 13-year-old Jenna makes a wish to grow up and suddenly wakes up to discover that she’s already 30. Now she has to correct all the mistakes she’s made without even remembering them, face the consequences of her poor choices and to create the most amazing magazine issue.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 days (2003)

Andie and Ben start dating, each having their own motives for their romance: Andie is writing an article about things that repel men, so she’s constantly doing some crazy stuff to see if Ben will dump her or not. Ben, on the other hand, made a deal with his boss, that he can make anyone fall in love with him within 10 days. And believe me, their battle is really hilarious.

Beauty and the Briefcase (2010)

This is probably the worst movie from this list. I still included it because it tells the story of a girl who dreams about working in Cosmopolitan. Suddenly her dream comes true – if she passes the trial period and writes a great article, she’ll get the job. And what do you reckon she starts doing? She becomes obsessed with a guy and instead of focusing on her life’s most important dream, she ignores her responsibilities and only daydreams about this guy. I was so irritated with the main character, that it made me automatically hate the film.

The Women (2008)

This is one of those must-watch movies for every woman, as it shows many different situations that women can face – failed marriage, adultery, betrayal of a friend, trying to get along with your teenage kids, starting your own business, finding your place in life… One of the main characters was working in a magazine, so this film definitely qualifies for my article. Also, one of the most interesting things about this movie is that it doesn’t have a single male actor, even among the extras. We hear about someone’s husband, lover or boss, but we never get to see them, so this was something new and peculiar, at least for me.

Set it Up (2018)

A fun romcom about two assistants who are trying to set up their horrible bosses, so they’ll start dating, and the matchmakers will have more free time and less responsibilities. Harper works in a magazine and dreams about writing her own article. Only in the end she realizes, that by being someone’s assistant she’ll never fulfill her goal. So, it’s time she takes matter in her hands and start acting.

Not Okay (2022)

This movie was so problematic but I sort of liked it simply because it was realistic, showing how ignorant and oblivious people (especially younger generation) can be. The main character doesn’t have any friends, she’s a looser who dreams about fame. She decided to lie everyone about seeing a terrorist attack, which suddenly makes her famous. Her fake tragedy inspires her to start writing, and she ends up creating the best article. It’s interesting how the movie doesn’t really give us a closure or a character arc, so everyone has to figure it out for themselves.

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

I watched this films more than 10 years ago, and don’t remember much about it, so I’ll definitely need to rewatch it. It’s about a shopaholic who spends all her money on stupid things she doesn’t even need. Since she’s run out of money, she becomes a journalist in a finance magazine. Now she has to overcome her obsession with shopping and hopefully learn to save her money.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008)

My first impression of this film was pretty bad, cause it seems like a cheap comedy with some weird humor at first sight. But working in the same sphere as the main character, I felt sympathetic to him. Sidney didn’t understand all the hype about celebrities and hated the hypocrisy and fake appraisals of not talented people. He wanted to stay true to himself and express his honest opinion, something that is quite rare in this field.

It Boy (2013)

Another very poor movie that I regret watching. I usually like french movies as they’re funny, but this was just so pointless and boring. The main character is a 40-year-old woman who works in a magazine, and in order to get a better position in her office, she starts dating a young guy who’s still in college. I hoped to see more about the process of her new fling influencing her writing and inspiring her, but that sadly never happened.

Oh boy, this was a long article. It lived in my drafts for months, because each time I discovered a new film about journalism and wanted to watch it in order to write about it. I could have also included one of the most popular tv-series, where the main character is a journalist as well. I’m talking about “Sex and the City”, which has a few sequel films and a new show “And Just Like That”. But since I haven’t seen it, I couldn’t possibly write a review about it.