I am Year 11 and personally, I love Media Studies GCSE. I am also aspiring to be a journalist and feel that the subject content really helps with this career path due to the new insight into industry and audience. Yes, it is perhaps seen as a 'softer' subject than say Science, however if you feel that you will enjoy it, why not do it? For me, alongside Media I take Double Science, French, Geography, History, RS Long Course (and obviously English and Maths) and I find it a great subject where I can relax a little but still learn a lot in lessons. As for taking the subject further, I am not sure if I will do it at A Level as like others have already stated, it is not a requirement to do Media at A Level to be a journalist as long as you go down the English route. Alternatively, you could always take it for your first year and drop it for A2.
Hopefully this was helpful to you and good luck making your option choices!