The rapid pace of change in the media market is bringing new expectations for journalistic candidates. This presents universities with programs focused on preparing graduates for media careers with a constantly evolving challenge: adapting their programs to diverse business requirements. The aim of this article is to present the expectations of professional media in Poland regarding job candidates. The research is qualitative in nature. The first involves an analysis of job offers published on a national media industry portal. The second, conducted via semi-structured interviews with editorial managers of professional media, serves to verify and clarify the topic. The findings indicate that professional editorial offices seek experienced individuals to carry out specific tasks within the organization. However, they are aware of operating in an online environment, which opens up access to young people for whom this is their natural environment. For those planning a career in newspaper or online media, for example, it's crucial to acquire skills and tools that enable things like video editing, social media engagement, and ongoing data analytics. It also requires engaging content creation, storytelling, and expert use of sources, along with practical skills in fact-checking and recognizing fake news. In professional newsrooms, the list of competencies required of job candidates is often much longer.

Keywords: Education, journalism, journalist education, journalistic competencies.