It's been quiet for quite a while, so I just wanted to give a brief glimpse at a few of the resources I've discovered during the last several months:

- NextNewsroom (http://www.nextnewsroom.com/ -- not to be confused with the NewsroomNext project) - A college media group gets serious about modeling industry-wide change for others to emulate/adapt.

- News Videographer (http://newsvideographer.com/) - A good source of information for a new-to-video person like me.

- Shawn Smith's blog (http://www.newmediabytes.com/) - This fella is a producer at the news source for a good chunk of my old home state. Some of his ideas are intriguing.

- Wired Journalists (http://mediageeks.ning.com/) - If you have the google toolbar installed with Web Clips, this site's Yahoo-Pipes-based feed stream will get automatically installed, and it will keep you busy finding all sorts of new approaches to media. In fact, it's likely that if you watch this site's feed(s) for a bit, all three of the other sites will pop up.

Labels: journalism, media, multimedia, news, newspapers, newsrooms, organization, skills

Labels: newsrooms, young journalists

Two of my friends are doing what a lot of people wish they could do if they only had the nerve.



They quit their jobs and travelled to a foreign country. They will live there for anywhere from 6 months until forever, telling the stories of the people they meet there.



No deadlines. No health insurance. No line counts. Just stories.



John Sutter, a former reporter at the Oklahoman, has set up shop in Madagascar.

Jessie Bonner, a former reporter at The Naples Daily News, calls Guatemala her home.



They are chronicling their travels at Post-A-Card, a Web site they've set up. The premise is based on a seminar we all attended a few years ago at Poynter. All the space you need to tell a good story can be found on the back of a post card.



These two are great journalists and it would be an understatement to say that I'm a little bit jealous of them.



Check out their work and submit some post cards of your own. I know I will.

After all, everyone has a story to tell.

Labels: journalism, young journalists

It's quite in the newsroom today, with the exception of the police scanner squawking out random jibber-jabber. No phones, no printing fax machines, just:

'Suspect one is a black male, in his twenties, with dreads, baggy jeans, and large white t-shirt. Do you have a twenty on suspect one?'

The scanner is never turned off...and at some point today, I'm going to make calls (or possibly pay a visit) to all the "shops" (newsroom jargon for police departments) in our circulation area to see if anything newsworthy has transpired.

I'm actually the only one in the newsroom this morning because most reporters here file their weekend stories by Friday...or they at least do enough work so that they'd only need to come in for a few hours on Sunday.

In my first week at the Daily Review, I met three of the PIOs (public information officers) at three shops and the interim Hayward city manager...I covered my first fire, wrote cutlines (extended captions) for two stand alone photos, co-wrote a Fourth of July round-up with the only other black reporter at the paper, and began work on a story about a mother who wants the city to bar ice cream trucks from selling toy guns to kids in her neighborhood...

But today is slow. Luckily, there is a blues festival going on right up the street from the paper. I can grab a nectarine from the farmer's market one street over and then head to "B" Street. Or I can sit here, listen to the police scanner and start writing some inches on this toy gun story.

One thing is for sure: being here this first week has reaffirmed for me that I was made to do this thing called journalism.

Labels: internships

Andrew Donohue is executive editor of voiceofsandiego.org, a nonprofit, independent online newspaper focused on issues impacting the San Diego region. According to the organization's funding description, the publication is the only professionally staffed, nonprofit online news site in the state focused on local news and issues. Donohue oversees news coverage and reports on local politics. He also won the 2006 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Online Investigative Reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists. Donohue's examination of an affordable housing program in San Diego abused by participants and contractors showed "the value of cultivating sources and displaying integrity," according to contest judges quoted by SPJ. "Goes beyond just good reporting in dimension, documentation and results."



Bobbi Bowman is diversity director for the American Society of Newspaper Editors, one of the most active professional journalism organizations in North America. Recent printed works include articles on immigration and diversity issues for the San Francisco Chronicle and The Poynter Institute.

Labels: diversity, editors, education, gljjif2007, media, multimedia, newspapers, online, video, young journalists

In the courtroom, I almost lost my objectivity - and my lunch.

For the last few weeks, I sat in courtroom 4E at the Kent County Courthouse, chronicling the ups and downs of the murder trial of James Richardson, accused of killing Margaret Duffy-Stephenson in 2005.

I sit across the aisle from the family. A seat behind the defendant has my name on it. I chat with the family members about the climate in the courtroom, and joke that maybe tomorrow, I'll bring my parka.

I'm the only reporter who's been in the courtroom since day one. I sat through the motions to suppress, jury selection and opening statements. I detailed testimony in tight stories for the next day's paper. I made corrections when the family pointed out mistakes.

But mostly, I listened.

I listened when Margaret's coworkers told about how their friend was a great teacher's aide and always willing to help someone. I listened when her husband, James Stephenson III, told us about the last time he hugged his wife. I listened when her father told the court that when he found his only daughter covered in blood at the bottom of the stairs, he reached over and touched her face.

So when the prosecution showed a photo of Margaret's wounds on the projector screen in the courtoom, I almost lost it. My mouth gaped open as I stared at her wounds. I swallowed hard as the medical examiner explained Margaret's killer had cut her throat so deeply her backbone was visible through the hole in her neck. Of the 11 wounds on Margaret's body, more than half were stab wounds.

My stomach started to churn.

I looked at those pictures and no longer was Margaret just another victim in another homicide. She was Margaret. The mother of Robert. A teacher's aide at a local elementary school. The only daughter amongst a gaggle of brothers. That was Margaret's body on the autopsy table.

I glanced over at the family when the pictures went up - instinct. To my left, Margaret's sister in law was visibly shaken, tears streaming down her face. Her husband - Margaret's brother - comforted her.

I glanced down at the wooden pew, almost ashamed for having witnessed the family at such a vulnerable time. I took a deep breath and focused on the notes I was writing. I had a job to do.

After court recessed for the day, I went to my car and stared out the windshield in silence. It was all I could do to hold back the tears.

Labels: courts, ethics, young journalists

(Not to be confused with ask the recruiter)

Here's the most up-to-date (as of mid-June, 2007) list of employers whose registrations have been processed for GLJJIF 2007. Read it fully: Some singularly listed employers are actually groups of publications that could include a paper you've been looking to contact. If you're an employer who has been left out of this list, please e-mail us at bgsuspj@gmail.com. Here's the list, organized first by frequency, then alphabetically:

— DAILY NEWSPAPERS —

Ashland Times-Gazette
Ashland, Ohio
Circulation: 12,500
Ownership: Dix Communications
Representative: Ted Daniels, editor
Interested in: interns and full-time reporters, copy editors, designers, photographers, and Web
About: The T-G is a community newspaper with an emphasis on local-local. Just because we focus intensely on local news, that doesn't mean that we don't continually strive for excellence. We are consistently among the top award-winners for newspapers our size in Ohio.
Requirements: A year's experience or at least one good internship and experience at a college newspaper or Web site.
www.times-gazette.com


Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois
Circulation: 576,000 daily, 937,000 Sundays
Ownership: Tribune Co.
Representative: Sheila Solomon, senior editor for recruitment
Interested in: reporter, copy editor, designer, photographer interns
Requirements: Minimum of one internship at a professional — not college — daily newspaper. Must be college junior, senior, very recent graduate or grad student.
www.chicagotribune.com


Dayton Daily News
Dayton, Ohio
Circulation: 160,000
Ownership: Cox Ohio Publishing
Representatives: Ron Rollins, Jana Collier
Interested in: interns, part and full-time reporters, copy editors, designers, photographers, Web
About: Major metropolitan newspaper in Dayton. Cox Ohio Publishing owns 9 dailies and weeklies combined as well as their Web sites.
www.daytondailynews.com


Newspaper Network of Central Ohio
Newark, Ohio
Circulation: n/a
Ownership: Gannett
Representatives: Shannon Waters, HR rep, and two editors.
www.centralohio.com


The Advertiser-Tribune
Tiffin, Ohio
Circulation: 11,600 daily, 12,600 Sundays
Ownership: Ogden Newspapers Inc.
Representatives: Rob Weaver, editor, Ryan Good
Interested in: interns and full-time
About: The Advertiser-Tribune is a morning daily. The news staff is ambitious yet the newsroom atmosphere is relaxed.
www.advertiser-tribune.com


— NON-DAILY NEWSPAPERS —

Great Lakes Publishing Co.
Cleveland, Ohio
Circulation: n/a
Ownership: Great Lakes Publishing Co.
Representative: Shannon Gilfillan, director of human resources
Interested in: interns, full-time copy editors, designers, advertising/sales, marketing, Web
About: Great Lakes Publishing publishes: Cincy Business, Cleveland Magazine, Custom Publishing, Elegant Wedding, Feast!, Home Decor, Inside Business, LongWeekends, Ohio Magazine, Web Development and West Shore
www.glpublishing.com


La Prensa
Toledo, Ohio
Circulation: 12,000 bilingual weekly print, 11,000 online
Ownership: Culturas Publications Inc.
Representative: Rico Neller, editor
Interested in: interns, full and part-time reporters, copy editors, photographers, advertising/sales, marketing, and Web
www.laprensa1.com

Labels: gljjif2007, job search, newspapers, recruiters

Have you ever had your heart set on something, arranged things so they'll turn out well and then had circumstance and poor planning just blow your plans to smithereens?

Yeah, that happened to me yesterday.

I pitched a story about the practice of putting smashed cars on high school lawns for prom season a few weeks back. My goal was to have it run on June 1, the day of my high school's prom and just before graduation season began.

But when I walked into the office on Wednesday, my boss told me that we needed my story for the centerpiece today.

Oh Crap.

I still needed to talk to an official, go to the school, see the car and interview kids. I'd planned to do all that today, but take some time to write it and give it some of my trademark detail and spunk.

Somehow, through the day, I got ahold of my town official (a feat in and of itself), and then trekked down to the high school, where I spent many minutes in the sun trying to pull quotes out of nonchalant teenagers. Then, I went to the SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) meeting and talked to some kids there.

By the time I got back to my office, it was 3 p.m.

I sat down and began organizing my story. I had some statistics and an interview from our local MADD (mothers against drunk driving) chapter so I began writing in chunks. Then, I pulled in the stuff from the interviews from earlier yesterday and did a clip search to find some teens who'd died in drunk driving accidents recently.

It was approaching 5:30 and I still didn't have my lede.

Normally, I wouldn't have been stressing. However, yesterday, my paper hosted a graduation day for all of the state valedictorians. They all came to our offices, got their picture taken and were available for us to interview. I was told I needed to be there.

The picture started at 6 p.m. I could get there at 6:30 at the latest.

So I hustled. I called some journo friends -- most of whom didn't answer. I needed to talk this story out. I IM'd my lede to a friend and got her opinion, and then finally got a hold of another friend to talk things through. I struggled through the lede, spell checked and CQ'd my names and sent it to the copy desk.

6:32 p.m.

Then, I rushed upstairs and found my valedictorian. We talked and I found out that in addition to wanting to be a brain surgeon, he was also a talented fire juggler and ping pong player. Who knew? By the time I finished my interview, I was so exhausted, I just left the office after stopping in to check with the desk.

All night I stewed.

I tried not to, honest. I know I did the best I could under the circumstances, but this was MY story. And I wanted it to be great. Now, the best it could be was good. I tried to shrug it off and instead told myself that I had another opportunity to get it right tomorrow. That is the beauty of my profession I said. But inside, I knew that I was hurt.

This morning, I got up and went to an assignment. When I came into the office, a co-worker pulled me aside and asked me why my story didn't go all editions -- it was that good.

I shrugged, told her that I was disappointed in the story and that I didn't even broach the possibility of having it go all eds to my editor. I sat down and as I placed my story for tomorrow's paper on the budget, my boss came over to me.

"I think your story came out good," she said. "Are you happy with it?"

I wanted to stop the words as they came out of my mouth but I couldn't.

"Not really," I said, looking at my keyboard.

"Why," she asked. "What wasn't in there that you would have wanted in there?"

"Nothing," I said, glancing up to face my boss. "But I don't feel I had the time I needed to finesse the story the way I wanted to. It turned out fine, but I'm not happy with it."

She stared for a moment and then walked away.

I turned back to my computer and continued typing.

Labels: newspapers, story_planning

Need to go a distance to come to the Great Lakes Journalism Job and Internship Fair? No problem. We've worked out a discount for all fair-goers at the Best Western Falcon Plaza, just down the street from the our locale.

Their rate for the night of November 16 will be $76.95. Be sure to use the discount code #1047, and to tell them your with the Great Lakes Journalism Job Fair.

The discount will be available until 30 days before the fair, so don't wait too long! For more information, visit their Web site.

Labels: gljjif2007, logistics, recruiters

BRAVO USA Today! I still have faith in you.

Labels: journalism, newspapers, online

I know it's a competitive market for career growth in this field, but our generation needs to take the lead in teaching younger students -- even now, while we're still technically competing for entry-level jobs ourselves.

That's why I find this offer from the Winston-Salem Journal to be very encouraging. If you're working or interning at a media outlet, see if your editor has a similar program. If not, think about starting one.

Labels: clips, college_media, editors, education, internships, journalism, portfolio, skills, teens, young journalists

While this is not exactly an impartial story, Northwestern has always been the leader in college journalism web development. The web journalists at Ohio U were always secretly jealous of them. Of course, we would never admit it out loud and make the same lame excuses: "We don't have the money" and "We don't have the talent."

But it's always easy to look back and criticize the past, isn't it?

Last night I attended a discussion with Aaron McGruder, the Boondocks comic strip creator, at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in San Francisco. In light of the recent media controversies, I was determined to ask McGruder about his thoughts on where things like media and free speech are in America. (Yeah, I know, a broad topic to ask a cartoonist.) But McGruder, like Don Imus (who deserved it), has felt the wrath of Al Sharpton and others who indulge in media-circus-like tactics to silence the voices who make them uncomfortable.

I'd initially heard about the McGruder event on local radio. And earlier in the week I attended hip hop journalist Jeff Chang's book release and discussion. Prior to Chang's event, I was asked to go and photograph the event for Oh Dang Magazine with a writer who was interested in a possible online/multimedia component to what he would write. Chang was to lead the conversation with McGruder, so I thought it wise to introduce myself to Chang at his own event in hopes that he would be able to give me insight on how to get an interview with McGruder.

McGruder, I've been told, has been turning down interviews ever since the New Yorker ran an unflattering article about McGruder's character. The communications company coordinating the event for the JCC also informed me that the local NPR, ABC, and NBC stations had also called them requesting an interview with McGruder. So it seemed like the only way a journalist might see and hear from McGruder is at an event like this. You're acknowledged as media, but herded with the rest of the cattle (fans and enthusiasts, that is).

I did not want to take no for an answer. I believed that somehow if I approached McGruder with a humble spirit and my campus publication press pass taped to my forehead, I'd gain his sympathy and score an interview.

I had done well, I think, to introduce myself to Chang at his event. He remembered me when I approached him as he sat just feet away from McGruder, who was signing copies of his comic strip books.

"Would you have any idea what he's up to after he's done signing books," I asked, kneeling down just below his eye level as if to signal that I know I'm asking him for privileged information.

He, of course, made it clear that he could not "broker" me an interview with McGruder. And I understood that, assuring him that I was only asking if he knew what McGruder's plans were after the crowd and book signing line had died down. And I hoped, journalist to journalist, he'd recognize my determination to get the story. He recommended I wait around until after the crowds clear. So I did.

Meanwhile, I got crowd reaction quotes and photos. I got some shots of the crowded lobby from a balcony. I even interviewed legendary Black cartoonist Morrie Turner, who came to the event to meet McGruder. And once I'd gotten Turner's picture, I was certain that the story would be great if I got McGruder to talk to me.

Once the crowd began to thin considerably, I sat near the signing table. As the last few folks waited in line, it seemed as though McGruder had one foot out the door. He appeared to be ready to go. And I got nervous. So I approached Chang, who was still sitting a few feet away from McGruder. And again, kneeling just beneath his eye level, in an act of desperation, I asked:

"Do you think you could introduce me to McGruder after he's done signing that last book?"

"Don't put me in that position, man...why don't you go ask him yourself? Be a journalist."

Ouch.

Chang didn't know that I'd spent most of Tuesday calling everyone I could: people who'd hosted McGruder for talks and lectures at universities and community centers in Maryland, in Stockton, Calif. and even in New York. I had been trying to reach his rep. With no luck, and a discouraging call back from a Stockton Record reporter, I still didn't give up hope.

Fact was, McGruder himself had not yet told me no. So I stood feet away from McGruder with my M-Audio recorder in my hand, my Canon Digital Rebel around my neck, and a reporter's pad and pen.

"I'm sorry, but he doesn't do press," a lady, who sat next to McGruder, said before I could move my lips to even begin introducing myself or ask McGruder for a few minutes of his time.

"I only want to ask a couple of questions," I uttered sternly, halfway stuttering.

McGruder lifts his head after scribbling his signature on the inside cover page of a Boondocks comic strip book, looks directly at me and says, "I'm sorry, man. Nothing against you, I just don't do press."

If I was a dog, my tail would have stopped wagging and I would have limped away with my tail between my legs. I had held out hope. But at least I'd heard it from the horse's mouth.

Now, what will I make of the reporting that I've already done?

Labels: rejection

Many newspapers decided to use photos of the Virginia Tech shooter in today's newspapers. Does it glorify the killer? Check out some of today's papers at http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/

This past weekend I attended the SPJ Region 4 conference in Detroit and bought my new favorite book, "The Dictionary of Concise Writing" by Robert Hartwell Fiske. I'm not usually the type to give free advertising but this book is wonderful.

I, like many young journalists, have a bad case of the wordiness. This dictionary is the solution. It allows you to look up more than 10,000 wordy phrases and find less cumbersome words to replace them. Some examples: "many" or "numerous" instead of "a lot of" and "disagree with" or "oppose" instead of "not in favor of." This book is my new best friend and I know I'll be passing it around the newsroom.

Labels: clips, education, journalism, skills, writing tips, young journalists

Okay, I know this is a student journalism blog, and there have been plenty of posts about post-collegiate work, but Patrick found a gem with this link.

Being an online journalism major with dreams of working in the buzz of breaking news and innovative multimedia, I never thought I'd end up doing for a living what I'm doing now: online advertising for a newspaper.

I know nothing about commission-based selling. I know nothing about marketing or accounting. I know nothing about online advertising industry trends. Bottom line: when it comes to impressing people at my job, I have my work cut out for me.

More than likely, though, this will happen to you. When you get that degree, you'll start looking at locations, salary packages, your big fat college debt and where your loved ones live. There's a very good chance you may end up starting anew in a field you've never imagined you'd find yourself in. I'm telling you, the sooner you get to graduation, the sooner you realize that this is the reality.

Lucky for me, I have a very understanding and patient boss. And lucky for me, I really, REALLY like what I'm doing. And even more luckier for me, online advertising is a very valuable field to master when it comes to gaining ground in the online journalism industry.

If you end up outside of you "dream job" like I have, don't be disappointed. You'll get there some day. Be excited that you are going to be jack of all trades and master of some. Actually, be grateful that you've even landed a job somewhere. It's a rat race out there.

So click on the link keeping in mind that starting your first job is very humbling, no matter where you end up. (But it's fun and exciting, too!)

It had been about six weeks since I mailed off an internship package to my number one choice. I, being confident that I'd already built up a good rapport with the "key folks" within that organization, banked on this being the most promising prospect of the several internship programs I'd applied to for the summer.

I had a phone interview with this organization's recruiter about a week after I mailed in my application. The phone interview seemed to go well:

"I'm really interested in working with "so-and-so", I really admire their approach to multimedia. And I'm especially impressed with the "such-and-such" story that you all published about "such-and-such" topic."

I was confident that I'd at least demonstrated that I knew several things about the organization and the folks responsible for producing the aforementioned work. I was then told I would be contacted in about a week or two, whether or not I was to be brought on as an intern.

Two weeks pass and I meet with my multimedia coach, who happens to work for the organization to which I had applied. She suggests that I call the recruiter and then, if I didn't hear back, send an email.

I had already called, left a message and did not get a response. So, per my coach's advice, I sent an email. And still I got no response.

Four weeks pass, and then five and then six. At this point my anxiety level had reached its highest heights. I was tired of being patient. I wanted to have some idea of what my summer would have been like.

So I hastily picked up the phone and dialed the recruiter's direct line. The phone rang twice and I heard a voice on the other end:

(paraphrased) "I'm sorry, but we did not choose you for the internship. Our multimedia editor is looking for someone who has all the skills required for producing multimedia and just hadn't had a chance to do it at a daily paper. You mentioned that you had not yet learned Flash."

I held the phone to my ear in complete shock (though my voice and tone did not express this to the recruiter). Not only was I disappointed that my ideal summer would not come to fruition, I also didn't understand how my not knowing Flash seemed to be the deciding factor in why I didn't qualify for the multimedia internship.

I immediately wished I went to school as a Flash design major or computer programming major, on top of majoring in journalism. If ever I've felt inadequate, it was after that phone conversation. It was hard for me to swallow the fact that I had worked so hard to learn every other skill involved in online media; and the one skill I have yet to learn has me wondering what else is out there for the multimedia producer who doesn't yet know Flash.

Labels: internships, multimedia

This, by far, is the most addicting thing ever.

It brings up an interesting topic, though. Do you guys at BGSU consider this type of work journalism? At Ohio University, they put the students who aspire to do this type of work in the in the school of telecommunications or in visual communications, which in no way has any affiliation with our J-school. I think it's bull.

If you watch a good one, let us know by posting it in comments.

Labels: college_media, flash, journalism, media, multimedia, online, video

Former journalist Carl Sessions Step, who teaches at the University of Maryland and is senior editor of the American Journalism Review, wrote an interesting piece for this month's edition. The story focuses on the increasing frustration among young staffers at the Charlotte Observer about their paper's slow evolution. The Observer's under-30 workers seem scared about their futures in journalism. They wonder, will they still have jobs in 20 years? The layoffs and lack of job security in the industry, coupled with their paper's "discouraging progress" (read: few A1 stories that attract younger readers, more talk than action and editors' apparent refusal to adapt at the reader's pace ), seem to be making these young journos question their industry despite their passion for it. Toward the end of the article, Step gets a little more positive by focusing on some of the staff's efforts to have more impact in newsroom decisions and become part of the solution, rather than dwelling on the problems but I was a bit sad after I read this.

What do you think about the article? Do you think young journos should be as scared as those at the Observer? I'd like to think if we focus on the future possibilities available on the Web in the form of video, flash presentations, etc., we won't need to stress as much as elder journos would tell us.

Labels: career_advise, editors, journalism, media, newspapers, organization, teens

As some of you are aware, since graduating I have been applying solely to papers in Florida. The Sunshine State provides both an excellent climate and market for a budding journalist and has great opporutunities for my girlfriend's career as well -- music education.

It also, however, has a very competitive job marketplace. I just got off the phone with the state's "#1 ranked weekly," the High Springs Herald. Unfortunately, this is about the 20th job in the past two months that I have not been hired for.

Mr. Ronald Dupont, Jr., who has previously worked with the New York Times and other large papers, had some very interesting things to say. I bought all of them and I would like to share them with you.

The first thing I asked after hearing they had gone with somebody else is, of course, "why?" And he replied to me with wisdom beyond what I have heard from all others.

"Well, Matt, one of the things that stuck out to me was that you provided some color clips, which was rare for the applicants," he said, referring to the 70 applications he received from all over the country.

But what he didn't like was how I presented those clips and how many I sent. In his long job description posted to JournalismJobs.com, he insisted that applicants send at least 10 clips, but that he preferred 20. This is highly unusual, and is certainly the first time I have heard of an editor requesting so many. What he told me, though, was that all editors want that many, but they just don't know it.

Who knows where the idea of sending only five or 10 clips came from, but that idea is wrong. I know this now, after talking with Mr. Dupont. And, even though some of you may have received jobs or internships with that many, I would still argue that a different approach will result in more bites. Especially when you are competing with 70 applicants that have as much as 30 years experience.

He said, "now, Matt I noticed you have just sort of paper-clipped these together, and that certainly did not stick out."

Why, on earth, would someone paper-clip a cover letter, resume and 10 clips together? Do they really think this is what an editor wants to do is fumble through 13 pages of clips for each of the 70 applications they receive? No!

If it's not in a three ring binder, it nearly gets thrown away from the start. And with the use of a three ring binder, you can use sections that divide all of your clips into features, news, columns, etc. The editor can just kick back in his chair, put his feet up and read YOU Magazine. Only interested in features? Well just tab over my friend. You don't have to read every headline to find one, you just read one tab.

And now back to the five clip rule. Job description says only send five clips? Send 20! Or 50! Or as many good examples of your work that you can find. There is absolutely no reason to listen to an editor that says only send five clips. This is not failing to meet an expectation, this is exceeding it.

Why would an editor be displeased with 20 well-organized and presented clips? It's not like they will have to hunt for what they want. If they want an example of a community feature, they just tab over and read a couple of features. No matter what type of clip they want, they can get it instantaneously. TRY doing that with five clips paper-clipped together!

With 30 clips all the work you have done is represented. The editor will not be overwhelmed, they will be pleased. They will think they made a mistake in only requesting five clips. You will have changed their mind.

So, from now on, I am sending a spiral bound book with a table of contents, tabs, a few color clips, and at least 20 clips that represent all the flavors of writing I have done. I am going to send it to the editors that only request five clips, and they are going to set mine aside to read after they have been through all the "others" who just send a simple envelope with loose sheets of paper inside.

Sure, I'll spend $5 to $10 more per application, but that's not as bad as the more than $100 I have already wasted.

Mr. Dupont shared multiple stories with me of times when he walked into offices where 50 applications had been stacked and his was on top. He also told me of a presentation given by a Miami Herald editor who gave everyone in the presentation an applicant's envelope. He told them to tear them open, and then toss aside any with less than a half-page cover letter or 10 clips. At the end there was only one left.

Talk about separating yourself from the rest of the pack.

I'll keep you posted on the results of this new tactic.

Labels: applications, applying, career_advise, clips, editors, job hunt, job postings, job search, job_posting, newspapers, portfolio, resumes

This could be an interesting story to follow:

Best way to put controversy to bed

"... editor Cortney Carpenter and at least two fellow staffers quit rather than follow Yoder's order to follow -- and publish -- the [school's new prior review policy] edict."

I have to congratulate Carpenter and her staff for hanging onto their integrity. Keep it up, guys. This will ultimately pay off.

Read this New York Times story, titled All the World's a Story, and start the debate in our "Comments" field below.

Is journalism, reporting and news organizations better off as a free agency model? No real newsroom, no full-time reporters, instead you outsource the story. A free agent reporter is picked up for an assignment pitched by readers, who contribute the initial facts and lead maybe. They're calling it "Wiki-journalism."

I dunno man. What do you think of the pro's and con's?

Labels: journalism, media, multimedia, news, newspapers, online, organization, story_planning

If you haven't seen it, check out SPJ's Generation J portion of their Web site. It's a fairly new creation, but they already have a lot of really good content on there.
Go spend a few minutes looking around, and you're bound to find a story that'll be helpful, like the "Wish I'd known then..." by Christine Tatum, sharing career life lessons with rookies, or
"Reading, Writing & Reality: Will Your Next Job be Online?"

We're finally getting soundslides down here at my mid-sized paper. If you don't have it, you most likely will within six months: It's cheap and handy.

Since we're getting it, I figured this was a good time to put a bit of a public service message out there to anyone going into newspapers: You'll likely be using this product, so spend a few minutes to use it correctly.

I've been looking at soundslides presentations since The State News at MSU started doing their own groundbreaking, home-grown versions, and one thing has disturbed me a ton: Most papers leave captions turned off. For example: This or this. They're nice, but they lack default access to a layer of information that would be easy to provide.

I had always thought that this was a flaw of the soundslides software until I saw this. In the first two (and most other examples available), captions are hidden behind a button, if they're available at all. In the third, captions are automatically turned on.

Now I know that we have a choice (which, incidentally, is what convinced us to finally purchase the product).

We can try to be TV stations (we'll fail), or we can be the next step in what was formerly known as print media, with a blend of images, sounds, text to provide information and links to even more information. Newspapers' strength has always been their ability to provide exactly as much context as a reader wants, whether he or she is browsing the headlines or reading a 48-inch story all the way through, complete with breakout boxes. Now it's up to us in the next generation to keep that context available instead of letting it wither.

Do you think we're up to the task?

Labels: career_advise, college_media, education, flash, journalism, maestro, media, multimedia, news, newspapers, online, story_planning, student_press, video

Actually, you'll look like a goober if you DON'T read this.

PEJ's 2007 State of the Media report

Labels: interviewing, journalism, multimedia

It's important to have your references lined up long before you need them. Here's a quick look at how one person suggests doing it.

http://www.wikihow.com/Ask-Your-Professor-for-a-Letter-of-Recommendation-Via-Email

Labels: career_advise, education, resumes

Planning on coming to the 2007 Great Lakes Journalism Job and Internship Fair?

Of course you are. So re-mark your calendars, because there are changes afoot...

Actually, nothing terribly serious. But you should know that the date of the fair has changed, from November 10 to November 17, 2007.

Got that? NOVEMBER 17. Bigger and better than ever. Be there.

Bookmark/RSS/make us your homepage/do whatever you need to do to keep checking back for updates and tidbits between now and the fair.

Start preparing those packets of clips now. You know you want to.

No, you don't. It's far too early to start making those! Who knows what neat things you'll write between now and November?

One of the great things about covering college sports at your student paper is that, after doing it for a few months, you can jump into design. I'm talking feet-first, big-decision, "how do you like my section front" design -- much faster than most news-side folks do it, based on what I've seen at several small papers.

That said, I know a good half-dozen sports folks who should definitely explore this:

http://www.snd.org/jobs/jobs.lasso?ID=39707

Hopefully another half-dozen qualified applicants, whom I don't know, are reading this as well. Click the link. It might even help you set up your March Madness bracket.

Read this very good story on Poynter.org about a bill moving through Washington's state legislature that would make students responsible for content in school-sponsored student publications in high schools and colleges.

Here's the gist: "The bill would make newspaper advisers responsible for teaching journalism, style and grammar, but even they would not be responsible for content. Nor could they be disciplined or fired for something that appeared in print. If problems arise, or if the journalism adviser lacks the training to help student editors make appropriate decisions, the principal could still exercise prior review -- just not censorship, Washington Rep. Dave Upthegrove, who sponsored the bill, said in a phone interview."

College papers aren't facing this pressure much -- yet. It's primarily high schools. But this is an incredibly progressive, and important, move in Washington that's gaining lots of support.

I remember in my high school newspaper class, our teacher/adviser never had to censor our work, she'd just often repeat "Be sure this can get across the principal's desk at the end of the month." As a total ignoramus about the importance of journalism, I just wrote fluff and didn't think twice, like all the other writers. Imagine what I could have learned if my teacher could focus on educating us about the importance of an aggressive, inquisitive student paper.

Please read this whole thing, and even check out the feedback comments at the end. Maybe you can add your own memories of a high school newspaper situation.

Labels: ethics, journalism, law, student_press

This is by far, the coolest job post I have ever seen. It looks as though the position is a little out of an entry-level job seeker's league, but it's exciting for anyone interested in the multimedia industry to know how much newsrooms are investing in these positions.

Click here and turn on your sound.

By the way, if you are a print reporter, you can easily become a self-proclaimed multimedia journalist. Utilize your school equipment that is available for rent, shoot some photos, video, or audio, and find a computer equipped with multimedia software and play around. If you need a little guidance what software to use with certain types of media, email me. I'm not sure if BGSU has an available multimedia lab, but if it doesn't, I can suggest some tried and true freeware to download to your own computers.

Beware, though. Once you start playing around with posting multimedia, it's hard to stop.

Labels: east_coast, flash, job_posting, journalism, multimedia, video, virginia

For better or for worse, most of our readers live in relative proximity to Cleveland. I urge you to check this event out:

In Their Words: Teens as Media Consumers and Predictors

It's also on the calendar at right.

You'll want the information this event provides. You might not want it now, but you'll want it when you're trying to argue with veteran newspaper reporters about why they need to adapt. You'll want it when you're interviewing for a job. You'll want it when you're trying to convince your editor to send you on that cool assignment. This stuff comes in handy.

Labels: cleveland, conference, journalism, media, spj, teens

We talk a lot about looking for internships at newspapers, but for students who are interested in other types of journalism there are plenty of options out there. You just have to know where to look.

Here is the job board for Magazine Publishers of America. If you spend some time searching through the sections, you'll see most of the postings there are for intern positions this summer. Some may have expired, but others you can still pursue.

If you think you're interested in magazines or online publications, don't let the traditional internship boards hold you back. Seek out those publications and ask them directly about summer internships. Or find big magazine ownership chains, like Crain's Communications, and look at their Web sites. Contact these people and ask if you can work for them this summer. Few people are hunting down these hidden opportunities. If you just make the effort, it may be rewarded.

http://pixelpharmacy.com/2002/

The largest newspaper company in America (90+) will place 30 graduating seniors in internships this summer, specifically tailored to train for the company's multi-platform "Information Center" work environment.

Gannett wants young talent that can step in and adjust to the new demands they've made of their newsrooms: Reporting for online first, trained in video/multimedia, and drawing readers in to participate in the reporting process. And so these 30 interns will be placed at specific, progressive newspapers for the summer, and guaranteed a position with the company at the end of the summer.

It doesn't say what intern positions would be included, but from the language I'd guess it favors reporting. Ad sales interns are also mentioned.

It also says none of the pre-existing intern programs will be killed because of this company-wide program. I'll refrain from commenting on that, since I work for a Gannett paper. But I can say that individual papers ultimately decide if they want to set aside money for an intern each summer or not.

I think this shows you what big-time Gannett is looking for in their next generation of journalists. Are your professors preparing you for these skills? If not, demand they do. And in the meantime, teach yourselves, seek out veterans to learn from, and experiment like hell at your college paper.

See details for the Gannett program here, and see the list of papers and tv stations that students would likely be sent to here. I work at one of those papers, in Lafayette, La. BG News alum Bridget Tharp works at another, in Rockford, Ill.

So you're on your first multimedia reporting gig. You've got your story, several videos of your impassioned interview subjects, three PDFs of competing neighborhood planning reports, a map of the affected area ... and absolutely no clue how to make sense of them all.

If you play your digital cards right, you can keep your readers from feeling equally confused. Check out these tips: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070210ruel/

As the OJR article demonstrates, it's not enough to have multimedia anymore: Writers, photographers, designers, editors and yes, even programmers need to work together in planning and organizing how a story will be told. If this sounds familiar, it's because it's essentially the gist of the Maestro process that became popular a few years back. Examples in your portfolio of this type of collaboration are likely to be the difference between getting your desired job and a facing a long search for employment.

Side note: The article makes note of Eyetrack III near the bottom. Some information on that rather cool study can be found here: http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/main.htm

Labels: flash, maestro, media, news, online, organization, story_planning

Wanna explore on the other side of the world this summer, earn journalism credit, pad your resume and get experience with hot new multimedia skills?

Check this out, a program through the Temple University School of Communications that any college student nationwide can take part in. You'd spend four weeks in Italy or Northern Ireland with other journalism students, building a Webzine for small communities that don't get much journalistic coverage.

Click the link above to learn more. There's no defined application deadline, they accept until the openings for this summer are full. You probably should hurry though.

For photographers and page designers, there are quite a few Web sites on the Internet where you can build your own online portfolio.

Doing this will help your internship hunt tremendously. It's a low-cost way to organize and present your work. When you get an editor's attention, they can quickly see your work online instead of waiting for the mail, and losing focus of you in the meantime.

It's also an easy way to show off your work to family and friends who don't get to regularly see the print versions.

The most popular page design site is News Page Designer, this is where all the professional designers have their portfolios.
One very nice up-and-comer is College Front Page. There both photographers and designers can build their own CFP Personals Page, which shows off your work in a very nice revolving slideshow, complete with detailed captions you can type explaining your thoughts for each piece.
CFP Personals also is a bit more fun, it's sort of like the Facebook of journalism portfolio sites.
Photobucket is one of the more popular free sites for amateur photographers.

Regardless of where you build an online portfolio, you'll need to make your pages into much smaller jpg or pdf images. News Page Designer has a tip sheet on how to do this.

Labels: applications, applying, career_advise, clips, college_media, editors, flash, internships, job hunt, media, multimedia, newspapers, online, portfolio, resumes, skills, snd

For most student journalists, the dreamy goal that drew us into this major was writing or broadcasting for some big, extravagant city newspaper or television station. But at the end of 2006, those were the media outlets going through more financial pains than any other in the U.S.

And so it makes a late January piece by the Poynter Institute, titled "Tighter Budgets Slashing Internships," all the more logical. Big metro papers especially are reporting cuts to their internship programs for 2007, unlike any in recent memory. Metro tv news stations aren't making the same slashes, primarily because broadcast journalism students have been willing to work unpaid internships for much longer than print students have (click the title link above to read the complete story, in all its grueling, interesting detail).

We could debate why it's foolish for these papers to cut intern slots -- they're basically failing to train us youngsters properly, and we're the people who may feasibly bring new ideas that could save their sorry butts. But let's focus on what we can control: Pursuing the internships that are available, and learning how to separate ourselves from the pack, in an ever-growing crowd of competition.

Since the mid-1990's, the number of students who've majored in journalism nationwide has increased every single year, through today in 2006-07. That's odd don't ya think? It directly contrasts the dwindling job openings, as this profession goes through a big transition. Most of these students come in dreaming of being the next Anderson Cooper, but will later embrace a public relations opening, or non-profit work (both growing job sectors). But right now, a majority are in the same competitive internship race that you may be in.

So how do you stand out? By starting earlier in college, and realizing the big prize won't be handed to you. Those small community dailies and weeklies are a great place for a freshman or sophomore to work at during the summer. Develop a strategy where you target the papers around your home, or in the cities where relatives live (those you could stand to crash with for the summer, anyways). The days of a sophomore or junior being accepted at a big metro paper after one, or zero previous internships will be gone soon. You will be at a great disadvantage if you wait until junior year to get serious about internships.

Also, print students who do start early should realize a lot of these small papers may not be able to pay much, if at all. That's ok, work there anyways. Broadcast students have been working unpaid for more than a decade. Nobody likes this, even some editors in the Poynter article say hell will freeze over before they don't pay an intern. But it's the reality of working your way up in life.

The Poynter article also says that online and multimedia skills are considered gold by the editors when they choose an intern. That's not really a news flash. Our generation is supposed to be the pioneers of these "new media" efforts. If your journalism program isn't aggressively trying to train you in online, multimedia and convergence efforts, then they are stealing your money. Stand up and demand this training, and go work at the student newspaper and try to figure it out yourself in the meantime while the professors get their acts together.

This week, the beginning of February, is the hottest time for internship application deadlines. If you read this article and feel like you need to get your act together, there's still time. Go to a veteran editor at the student newspaper, or a professor you trust, for advice on how to develop an internship hunting strategy immediately.
Or feel free to e-mail me at bobmoser333@yahoo.com. I'm eager to stay up late into the night to help you polish a resume, craft a killer cover letter, and blow your competition out of the water.

-- Bob Moser
Business Reporter, The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, La.)
Bowling Green State University journalism grad, May 2006

Labels: college_media, internships, job hunt, resumes, skills, young journalists

New calendar item added to the side-rail: March 31 is the application deadline for the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute. It looks like a pretty cool event, with about three weeks of class and internship work. College credit is available.