Since the 1990s, journalism has become the staple career for female protagonists in romantic comedies (rom-coms). From Josie Geller in Never Been Kissed (1999) to Jenna Rink in 13 Going on 30 (2004) to Poppy Wright in People We Meet On Vacation (2026), the profession remains a timeless backdrop for these feel-good, butterfly-inducing films.
In rom-coms, female journalists are often portrayed as independent, confident, and career-driven, with a chic sense of style, whose professional ambitions and curiosity lead them into unexpected romances. On-screen, their high-demanding careers, combined with their big-city lifestyles, offer the perfect blend of glamour and relatability.
According to a 2025 article from Meer Magazine, journalism is a “fool-proof template” for rom-coms. With story assignments that spark chance encounters and built-in tensions around deadlines, workplace conflicts, and work-life balance dilemmas, the profession sets up a natural, romantic storyline with rich opportunities for character development.
The profession also gives the protagonists control over their narrative voice, signifying their independence as the storyteller. In this role, female characters can easily narrate their shifting perspectives on love while highlighting the successes and hardships of their careers. As a female journalist, I find that these films show that you can chase a story and a little romance without missing a deadline.
To celebrate the month of love, I’ve curated a list of seven rom-coms featuring journalists as the lovable leading ladies, starting from the 1990s to the 2020s.
- Never Been Kissed (1999)
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Starting off with a classic 90s rom-com, Never Been Kissed stars actress Drew Barrymore as Josie Geller, a 25-year-old hopeless romantic still dreaming of her first kiss. Currently working as a junior copy editor at the Chicago Sun-Times, Josie finally gets her big break when her boss (John C. Reilly) sends her undercover as a high school student to report on the modern lives of teenagers.
As Josie returns to the halls of her former high school, she is forced to relive her awkward adolescence, which involved bullying, insecurity and unrequited love. Her investigation becomes even more complicated when she unexpectedly develops a crush on her English teacher (Sam Coulson), blurring the lines between her work assignment and her personal life.
With her secret identity at risk and her dream job on the line, Josie must overcome her past insecurities and find her confidence to write an impactful story and finally take a chance on love, if she ever wants to get her first kiss.
- How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
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Next up is another rom-com favourite featuring actress Kate Hudson as Andie Anderson, an advice columnist for a women’s magazine. Determined to write more hard-hitting pieces for the column, Andie makes a bold decision to write an article showing women everything they should do wrong in a relationship to get the man to leave them in just 10 days.
As Andie sets out on her social experiment, she meets Benjamin “Ben” Barry (Matthew McConaughey), a charming advertising executive who secretly made a bet with his friends that he could make any woman fall in love with him in just 10 days. Unaware of each other’s ulterior motives, the two see one another as the perfect bait for their conflicting schemes.
However, as the two spend more time together, their plans backfire when their hilarious, calculated games turn into a real, heartfelt romance.
- 13 Going On 30 (2004)
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What journalist can forget the timeless rom-com classic, 13 Going on 30? In a moment of frustration at her 13th birthday party, Jenna Rink, played by actress Christa B. Allen, wishes to grow up and become one of the “thirty, flirty and thriving” women she idolized in magazines.
Moments later, Jenna, now played by Jennifer Garner, finds herself as a 30-year-old magazine editor living in New York City. Unaware of how she got to this point in her life, she confides in her childhood friend, Matt Flamhaff (Mark Ruffalo), to help her put the pieces together.
As Jenna navigates new social situations and relationship dynamics of adulthood, she also finds herself in a career crisis as the magazine she works for continues to be sabotaged by a rival publication, putting its future in jeopardy. In an effort to save the magazine from closure, she works to rebrand the publication, which unexpectedly brings her closer to Matt and leads her on a journey to rediscover what truly matters to her in life beyond her desire to grow up.
- Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
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Based on Sophie Kinsella’s novel, this rom-com adaptation follows Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), a journalist at a fashion magazine who struggles to keep up with her shopping addiction and mounting debt.
With dreams of working at a high-end fashion magazine in New York, but unable to get her foot in the door with corporate, she ends up taking a job as an advice columnist for a finance magazine owned by the same company, an ironically imperfect position for a shopaholic.
When Rebecca’s witty finance column becomes an overnight success, her life is thrust into the spotlight, catching the eyes of her charming editor Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy) and the editor-in-chief of her dream fashion magazine, Alette Naylor (Kristin Scott Thomas).
However, this recognition comes with more price tags than paycheques for Rebecca. As her secret shopping obsession and financial debt threaten to unravel her career and love life, Rebecca must confront her impulsive spending habits to find a way forward.
- Letters to Juliet (2010)
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Set in the romantic city of Verona, Italy, this rom-com follows an American fact-checker named Sophie Hall (Amanda Seyfried), who stumbles across a 50-year-old love letter while visiting the city’s courtyard dedicated to William Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Juliet Capulet.
The letter tells the heartbreaking story of a young woman named Claire, who, out of fear, leaves the love of her life and pleads with “Juliet” for advice. Moved by Claire’s words, Sophie decides to respond to her letter, encouraging her to seek out her long-lost love. Sophie’s response ends up sparking a journey through the Italian countryside to reunite the elderly Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) with her long-lost love Lorenzo (Franco Nero).
With aspirations to become a writer at the New Yorker, Sophie joins Claire on her quest, believing the romantic reunion will make for a compelling story. Accompanying Sophie on her investigation is Claire’s love-cynic grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan), whose initial disapproval of the search heightens tensions. However, as the trip continues, the two form an unexpected bond that transforms their views on romance.
- Set It Up (2018)
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This staple 2010s rom-com features two overworked assistants in New York City—Charlie Young (Glen Powell), who works for a power-hungry sports agent, and Harper Moore (Zoey Deutch), who works for a commanding editor of a sports publication in the same building.
Harper aspires to become a sports journalist, but the overbearing demands in managing schedules, running errands and fetching food for her boss put her dreams on hold. With little to no time to write and the confidence in her talents slipping, she confides in Charlie, who’s equally desperate for a better work-life balance.
In hopes of lightening their workloads, the two hatch a plan to set up their overly demanding bosses, but in their attempts to orchestrate a romance, they end up fostering one between them.
- People We Meet on Vacation (2026)
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A new rom-com adapted from Emily Henry’s bestselling novel tells the story of two best friends—Alexander “Alex” Nielsen (Tom Blyth) and Poppy Wright (Emily Bader), who have taken summer vacations together for the past 10 years.
Thanks to Poppy’s job as a travel journalist for an upscale New York magazine, the two spend one week a year visiting a new place in the world, from Squamish, Canada, to New Orleans to Tuscany, Italy.
When an incident in Tuscany ends their annual tradition, Poppy is left to travel the world on her own. Without someone to share her travels with, she is left unfulfilled and disconnected from the experience, putting her travel writing career in jeopardy.
Two years after their falling out, Poppy and Alex reunite in Barcelona, Spain, where they reflect on their past vacations, which forces them to confront unresolved feelings and fears keeping them apart from a future together. On top of navigating her complicated friendship with Alex, this trip also leads Poppy to a career-altering decision.
Four years ago, if you had asked me whether I enjoyed journalist-focused rom-coms, I would have said no, as these films often overlook the low pay and job insecurity that come with the profession.
However, as a journalist about to enter the workforce, these films offer a warm reminder of the joy of chasing a story and the importance of celebrating the success of female journalists in the industry.