Journalism students, do you want jobs?
If you want a journalism job you better have the journalism skills that employers wants.
That users want.
That means more than writing and reporting, because there are a lot of veteran journalists with those skills and many of them are looking for work. Those journalists also have better clips than you and a lot more experience. And frankly journalism is going to need less writers moving forward, not more.
So, if you want a job you better have the skills that people actually want.
Here are two thoughts from professionals over at Innovation in College Media:
Paul Connelly isn’t looking for people who only know how to write. He gets plenty of applications from people who know how to write and have experience.
The other thing I find really disappointing is the resume, the skill set. It’s not where I want it to be … They don’t have the skills that I want to see young people have because the older people I work with don’t have them.
Does it really make sense for j-school students to try to compete with veterans in an ever-shrinking market place? Of course not. There will always be a need for dedicated writers, but those will be the best writers — the ones with experience, established contacts and a unique flare for writing.
Most j-school students will never be that good at writing, but they know how to be reporters. All it takes is a willingness to adapt those reporting skills to new platforms and media types.
Andrew DeVigal wants you to embrace multimedia story telling.
For students who are reluctant to embrace multimedia, it sounds horrible to say, but there are going to be a lot of other students who are - who are going to be smart in the storytelling, who are comfortable with the technology.
He correctly points out that journalists need to figure out the best way to tell each story, which means being media and platform agnostic. Media companies aren’t looking for people who can only tell a story one way, regardless if that way makes sense. They need people with a diverse skill set.
Journalists can’t keep forcing people to consume content they way they want to give it to them. They need to give people the content they desire in the format they desire. We became journalists to serve the public, not to serve ourselves.
All j-school students need to know something beyond reporting. Maybe its video, maybe its Web design, maybe its Flash, but it better be something.
If you haven’t done it yet, I recommend you check out My summer reading list for j-school students and any journalist who wants to add new media skills.
You’re smart, you know how to research, find leads and work sources. You know how to be a reporter.
Now it’s time for you to learn how to be a reporter in a myriad of different formats that users want.
July 14th, 2007 at 9:50 am
What you have said here is completely true. However:
“There will always be a need for dedicated writers, but those will be the best writers — the ones with experience, established contacts and a unique flare for writing.”
How is a young journalist supposed to GAIN experience with such a view? I’m sure it wouldn’t cost companies much for a junior reporter to shadow a more experienced reporter and gain invaluable experience.
A lot of young journalists, like myself, are aware of the need to have a multi-skilled portfolio to ’stand out from the crowd’ if you will. Maybe the ‘older and wiser’ journalists might just learn something in return, too? A good journalist never stops learning and adapting to the current market and its audience.
Apologies if this sounds like a rant, it’s just disappointing to see another viewpoint that keeps mentioning experience when it’s hard to gain it in the first place! Those journalists, like myself, who are hungry and have the drive to succeed will do anything to gain even the most mundane writing jobs, simply in an effort to build their portfolio’s and skill sets up.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Azeem,
There are several ways you can build up your portfolio. First, you’ll need several quality internships. A quality internship is one where you work every day (not just sit around surfing the net or getting people coffee) and they treat you as a real reporter. You’ll be able to add a lot of clips quickly and hopefully get some good feedback.
Internships are also a way to make contacts and possibly land a job. But it takes more than that. You need to make sure your clips are good, and that they demonstrate that you are special.
Writing for your school paper is another way to get some good experience. Once you get out, if you can’t find a job writing, freelance as much as possible. Just write and write.
You’ll make contacts, hone your skills and build a portfolio.
But if you are still in j-school you need to make sure you do all that plus add some other skills. I’ve met a lot of writers and remember my j-school classmates and very few of those people were really good writers.
Most were serviceable or good, but not head turners. Most weren’t memorable. Frankly, most writers aren’t.
If that’s not you, make sure you have new media skills to go along with your writer and reporting skills.
If you are in j-school don’t fixate yourself on being a writer. You need more.
July 17th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Pat,
My portfolio is very much in the process of being built. My apologies for not introducing myself properly - I am a twenty year old university student who has almost completed a three year degree in the UK.
I certainly am aware that experience is necessary, as I have secured many work placements, or internships, with companies in different sectors of the media market, i.e. Journalism companies, and PR companies.
I am lucky enough to have a lecturer who has spent many years in the industry who willingly shares his experiences and gives advice, Paul Bradshaw - whose blog you may have come across - http://onlinejournalismblog.wordpress.com/
The reason why I mention Paul is in relation to another point of yours -
“Writing for your school paper is another way to get some good experience. Once you get out, if you can’t find a job writing, freelance as much as possible. Just write and write.”
This is a point I wholeheartedly agree with. Paul has made me editor of our university news website and from September onwards, I solely will be responsible for its re-design, and re-launch. You will definitely hear about this in the near future.
I just wanted to clarify my position to you, hence my reply - I am aware of how one can build up a portfolio, the point I made in relation to your posting was ‘how can a young journalist actually GAIN experience if employers are only looking for people with (concrete) experience?’
Furthermore, I thank you for the advice you have given and for taking the time to reply to my post.