Alright, say you go and do some recon before starting your actual job search. A big part of this would be a newsroom visit. Remember when you were scouting colleges in high school? Just as the campus visit makes or breaks your decision, touring newsrooms is the same.
Here are some tips to immediately indicate a newsroom's work culture:
Use Your Reporter's Instinct
Naturally, a reporter tends to have a better-than-average intuition and possess a keen sense of his or her surroundings. You can also tell when people are feeding you bullshit. Beyond everything else, you must rely on your ability to sense an organization's culture. If it feels right, it probably is. If it feels wrong, it probably is.
Be insightful.
Pay Attention to Decibels
Noise level is paramount. A loud newsroom--where people are collaborating, cooperating and communicating--is the mark of a great cultured newsroom. It shows people who are comfortable enough to be very open and laid back, are enthusiastic about coming to work and love doing what they do. A unusually quiet newsroom is definitely a red flag.
Beware of Cryogenic Newsrooms
These are newsrooms that are very cold, very sterile and very high-pressure. Point blank, stay away from them--far, far away.
Judge Receptiveness Level
This can range anywhere from how you're greeted to the general attitudes and sentiments toward you. Did they seem happy to see you? Or were they stuffy and formal? Did they treat you like a serious journalist or a college kid who wasn't worth their attention? Did they act like their time was too important to talk to you? Or were they very attentive?
Try to vouch the level of warmth and respect they have for you.
Work the Room to Get Feedback
Talk to as many people as you can about what's important to you. Ask pertinent questions and listen critically to their responses. Perhaps someone will say something that really strikes a chord with you, or really turns you off. Most of the time, you only get one newsroom visit before making the choice to pursue it or not, so make sure to have every element of your communication count. Make sure you're "on" and ready to rock.
Above All...
Have fun. It's not a job interview. Relax, be yourself and see how they respond. Your first newsroom job will be your home for at least the first one to three years, so make sure it's as awesome as you are.
P.S.-A good editor will take you out to lunch and pay for it during a newsroom visit.
In terms of your first reporting job, there are pros and cons on both sides of these coins. If upward mobility is important to you, consider taking a job with a newspaper that is owned by a media giant.
For instance, USA Today is owned by Gannett, so even if you start at a small Gannett paper, you have the opportunity for advancement. Also, if it's a full-time position, salary and benefits are typically better when you're under a major publisher. They tend to be professional and organized newsrooms with powerful journalism stories. It's also known to look better down the line, because future employers--even if they might not know the newspaper (if it's small)--they know the company. So they'll raise their eyebrows and go, "Oh, it's a New York Times Co. newspaper" or "Wow, he/she was at Cox."
Vouching for the independent side, these newspapers are usually more invested into their workers--ya know, less corporate and better work culture. There could also be more opportunity for experience since they aren't known to have gigantic staffs. You probably would have more freedom, in terms of coverage, and practice more innovative approaches. Editors here tend to be more flexible and heavily involved with the personal growth of their reporters. It might be really beneficial to begin your career at a learning-oriented, entry-level-friendly newspaper, like so many independently-owned newspapers are. Then if you decide to make a jump to a company-owned paper, you'll be more prepared.
Understand that these are all basic generalizations. They won't always run true, and every newspaper has its own way of running a newsroom. These are all just things to consider.
If you're interested, the following are some of the largest newspaper publishers in the nation:
- Gannett Co. (85 dailies)
- New York Times Co. (18 newspapers, including the New York Times)
- E.W. Scripps (23 newspapers, 1 major newswire)
- Cox Newspapers (16 newspapers)
- Lee Enterprises Inc.(56 dailies in 23 states)
- Journal Register Co. (22 dailies)
- McClatchy Co. (31 dailies, 47 non-dailies)
- Tribune Co. (11 dailies, including the Los Angeles Times)
- Media General Inc. (25 dailies)
- Advance Publications (36 newspapers)
- Hearst Corporation (12 dailies, including the San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle)
- Freedom Communication (28 dailies, 37 weeklies)
- MediaNews Group Inc. (57 dailies in 12 states)
- Morris Communications (27 dailies)
- Horizon Publications Inc. (31 newspapers)
- Pulitzer, Inc. (14 dailies)
- Odgen Newspapers Inc. (40 dailies, 100 weeklies)
Ok, say you've just graduated and haven't captured that first reporting job, but you're eager to cover a story. You'd like to build some clips, get involved in a new newspaper, do some freelance work, get some post-college experience or all of the above. But you need time to job search as well. A great way to combine these is to hit up Facebook or MySpace, in order to build a source list of people in your chosen publication's area and dig up stories. Then you can pitch your ideas to an editor.
Benefits
A tremendous benefit of social networking websites is that they enable long-distance reporting--they let you be there without "being there." You can meet people online, interview them over the phone, write your story and then E-mail it to an editor. Most social networking sites have tons of pictures to accompany your article, so you can just take your pick of the ones most fitting to your content and attach them in your E-mail. Be sure to ask permission to use them and attribute the photos in the newspaper.
Social networking websites are especially useful for generating story ideas in an area that's unfamiliar to you, but they are strong tools even if you are knowledgeable about the region. In addition to landing stories and impressing editors, the sources you contact through these sites will be appreciative that you sought them out. It will inevitably lead to more stories.
Clearly, this technique is also effective in your first actual job, but I don't want to get ahead of myself in the blog. The same concept applies, though--meet people online, get stories and then schedule interviews in person. Social networking websites make reaching a newspaper and getting published in it possible--all from the comfort of your own home!
Best Ones to Use
Some of the most popular general social networking sites (according to user count) are Classmates.com, MySpace.com, Friendster.com, Hi5.com, Facebook.com and Xanga.com. For sports coverage, Sportsvite.com is great. Flickr.com is heavily geared toward photo sharing, so it's a tremendous source for photos. LiveJournal.com is incredible for narratives or features, because the information is so personal and it allows you to see the personality of the source so strongly. And Twitter.com is a bit different from the standard social networking site, and honestly, I don't think it's very useful for reporting. But its popularity is exploding, and a major benefit of the site is that it thrives off of frequent updates.
Progressive Method
Let me clarify something. Nothing beats at-the-scene or newsroom reporting. It's irreplaceable, especially in breaking news such as crime. For this reason, traditional-thinking editors may be averse to distance reporting by way of social networking websites, or flat out turn it down altogether. But smart editors understand that journalism has evolved to accomodate different methods of reporting, and they will embrace new avenues.
Social networking websites are the wave of the future, and incorporating them into the reporting process (even a little) benefits the field. The ability to do an article for a newspaper in Minnesota, while you're sitting in California is a testament to the information age and a progressive technological society.
I'm beginning to preach. That's not my point.
My point is that you can definitely get your foot in the door by using social networking websites to land stories as a recent journalism grad. Through them, you have the potential to create clips, get involved with a new newspaper, distance report, impress editors, get some post-college experience, and build a local source list--all while you're job hunting!
It's a helluva sweet deal.
P.S.-Democratic candidate John Edwards uses social networking websites to campaign. Here's his Facebook picture:
I intend to post a few times about location, because it was so crucial to me when I graduated. I actually refused all job offers from in-state newspapers (even though I interviewed at some to get interview practice), because I wanted to move out of the state so badly. More on me later.
For this initial location post, I'd like to use Jessica Beym, staff writer for the Gloucester County Times (26,000-circ. daily in New Jersey), as an example. I met her when I interviewed at the GCT for a municipal reporter opening and had a trial day there. I was given a tricky story, and Jessica helped me out a lot with it.
I ultimately stopped pursuing a full-time position at the GCT, in favor of a freelance one there. However, Jessica is a smart and sophisticated journalist, who is still wonderful to talk to. Here's what her experience was with the location-selection process:
"(After I graduated from Rowan University), I lived about 10 miles south of (South Brunswick) in Hamilton township (outside of Trenton.) That was ideal for me, because it was where my parents were living. So after college, I just moved home to save money.
I'm not sure if I mentioned before, but the GCT offered me a job after college, as did the (Princeton) Packet. The Trenton Times offered me a freelance position immediately after college, and ultimately, that was what I picked.
I did so because I didn't want to work full time right out of college, and I wanted to move home. Then in the fall I reapplied to the Packet, and they hired me. After about a year, I moved back down to south Jersey, because my boyfriend (who is from south Jersey) and I decided to move in together.
So I guess you can say location plays into it as a major factor. If you don't have any ties to any specific place, then you have many more options, I would think."
As you can see, Jessica took many factors into account in choosing her first post-college reporting job. And location dictated a major part of that choice. Especially in reporting--a career which you will be interacting A LOT with the locals and be up close and personal with the community--I suggest considering location.
However, location may not be important to you, and you'll make different decisions based on factors that are important to you. Deciding what's valuable to you and what's not will determine how the whole job search will play out. It's completely up to you.
More on location soon...
When I first graduated in December 2006, I thought it was an act of desperation--posting your resume on online job sites. Of course, that was until I was visiting my best friend in Ft. Myers, Fla.
Her mom, Rachelle Crain, is the Marketing & Sponsorship Director of The Mall at Wellington Green. She has been in communication fields and has worked with media professionals throughout her entire career.
One day, Rachelle encouraged me to post my resume online.
"Is that effective?" I asked, out of surprise.
"Oh yeah, definitely," she replied. "When we need somebody, the first places we go to are online sites like Monster.com. It's a great move for you to make, Kim."
With a renewed perspective, I posted my resume on JournalismJobs.com. I figured that I could still pursue the newspapers I wanted, but posting my resume couldn't hurt.
Rachelle was right. It was a good plan.
Before long, eight editors had called me regarding their staff writer positions.
My advice would be to post your resume on Journalism Jobs in your final semester of college or right when you graduate. Don't exclusively rely on that alone though. Still go after newspapers you really want to work for, if you're in a position to do so. But hey, during a stressful job search in a highly-competitive field, it's always a nice thing to have employers come to you.
Let's go back for a minute to my very first post, where I mentioned goal-definition. When I graduated, I had the time and money to conduct a quality job search. Others may not be in the same position after receiving their degree and choose a quantity job search to increase the numerical probability of getting an offer.
Here was my basic gameplan:
1-Reconnaisance. Take the time to be selective and find quality places. I believe there's a higher success rate by doing things that way than shooting applications willy-nilly everywhere.
2-Input. Get input from people but trust my own methods as well.
3-Trifecta. Make sure I'm strong in every step of the application process--on paper/portfolio, during the interview, and have great references.
Donna Jenkins, editor of the Courier-Post (the fourth largest daily in New Jersey), labeled my approach as excellent. Then she added, "You don't want to send out tons of packets without thought -- doing some research and 'recon' makes sense. You want to know as much as possible about a potential employer before even applying."
Donna and I started communicating a couple months before I graduated, and she remains one of my go-to people for professional advice because we hold such similiar convictions and thought-patterns. Actually, she took my fiancee and I out to lunch and showed us around the newsroom for fun one day when we were visiting relatives in NJ.
On the quantity side, Joe Bonikowski (pictured), staff writer for the Palm Beach Post, encouraged me not to limit my options in any way. He said to send off as many as you can and see what kind of opportunities present themselves. When he graduated, Bonikowski sent off 50 applications and received 6 job offers.I met Joe when he spoke at a Leadership Conference, which I attended for high school SGA. He has been a major source of input for me since I was 17 years old. Like Donna, he took my fiancee and I out to lunch and showed us around the newsroom for fun.
The point of this post is to show that there's valid points on both sides of the quality and quantity debate. The choices you make will depend on so many factors and circumstances.
To reiterate my advice from my first post--Pick the path that's best for you, especially in the goal-definition process.
We've heard it a million times in our journalism classes, yet we still manage to miss it when we write: Use active verbs.
Here's a trick I taught myself in college, in order to train my eye. Go into Microsoft Word and set it to pick up passive voice. So every time you use non-active verbs, it will insert a green squiggly line underneath it.
After awhile, you'll train yourself to eliminate passive voice naturally, or at least significantly reduce it.
Active verbs excite content, strengthen diction and save words. They bring justice to good reporting.
So hey, give the Microsoft Word trick a shot and see if it works for you too.
Reading literary and narrative journalism books as an entry-level journalist can inspire you to strive for greatness in this field. To make your work important and have the courage to tackle unpopular issues and bring them to light, as well as tell extraordinary accounts of people who truly matter.
These journalists show you the kind of reporting and writing that's possible and even just for a second, makes you believe that someday...you might just be able to do it too.
Here are some of the best that are in my personal library:
*Please Note* Some books are compilations of articles
*Please Note* Some books are compilations of articles
"There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children" By Melissa Fay Greene
Book Description from the inside flap of the hardover:
"With the grace of a novelist and the reportial instincts of a seasoned journalist, two-time National Book Award nominee Melissa Fay Greene gets to the heart of the AIDS crisis in this powerful story of a woman working to save her country's children, one at a time.
There Is No Me Without You is the story of Haregewoin and her children: a story of struggle, but also of the triumph of saved lives and the renewed happiness of children welcomed by adoptive parents in Ethiopia, America, and around the world. It is the story of what one human being can do in a time of crisis. And at heart, it is a book about children and parents, wherever they may be, however they may find each other."
"Somebody Told Me" By Rick Bragg.Book Description from the back cover:
"Rick Bragg has spent the last 20 years establishing himself as one of the most interesting and influential journalists in America. Moving yet unsentimental, his stories depict the struggles of ordinary individuals at the moments that they are most revealing.
Here are men and women who have survived the cruel whims of tornados, bombs, and other injustices. Sometimes they prevail, sometimes merely endure, but they always exhibit remarkable resilience, courage, and humor. Written with incisive, unadorned prose, these memorable pieces rise above journalism to become literature."
"There Are No Children Here" By Alex KotlowitzBook Description from Library Journal:
"In this powerful and moving book (an expansion of his 1988 Wall Street Journal series), reporter Kotlowitz traces two years in the lives of 10-year-old Lafeyette and 7-year-old Pharoah Rivers as they struggle to beat the odds and grow up in one of Chicago's worst housing projects.
Confronted with violent gangs, persistent poverty, and personal tragedies (a beloved older brother is convicted on robbery charges), the brothers differ in their attempts to survive. Lafeyette replaces his frequently absent father as the man of the house, trying to help his mother and to protect his younger siblings from the dangers of the project. Sensitive and imaginative Pharoah seeks escape through his daydreams and schoolwork. Unless they have hearts of stone, few readers will fail to become emotionally involved with these boys, as Kotlowitz did..."
"Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival" By Anderson CooperBook Description at BarnesandNoble.com:
"Few people have witnessed more scenes of chaos and conflict around the world than Anderson Cooper, whose groundbreaking coverage on CNN has changed the way we watch the news.
But recently, during the course of one extraordinary, tumultuous year, it became impossible for him to continue to separate his work from his life. Writing with vivid memories of his childhood and early career as a roving correspondent, Cooper reveals for the first time how deeply affected he has been by the wars, disasters, and tragedies he has witnessed, and why he continues to be drawn to some of the most perilous places on earth.
Striking, heartfelt, and utterly engrossing, Dispatches from the Edge is an unforgettable memoir that takes us behind the scenes of the cataclysmic events of our age and allows us to see them through the eyes of one of America's most trusted, fearless, and pioneering reporters."
"Alcohol: Cradle to Grave" By Eric NewhouseBook description at Amazon.com:
"This disturbing book is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper series on alcohol abuse and its social impact. This book is a diary of Newhouse's reporting, including interviews with alcoholics as they struggle day-to-day with their illness.
His subjects reveal their darkest secrets and frightening recollections of alcoholism in their families. He includes statistics on the overt and hidden costs of alcoholism in hospital and program treatment, police enforcement, social services, and the proliferation of one of the most dangerous legal substances taken by Americans."
OTHER IMPORTANT READS
"With God on Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military"
By Michael L. Weinstein and Davin Seay
"With God on Our Side is shocking exposé of life inside the United States Air Force Academy and the systematic program of indoctrination sanctioned, coordinated, and carried out by fundamentalist Christians within the U.S. military....An important book at a critical time in our nation’s history, it is the story of one man’s courageous struggle to thwart a creeping evangelism permeating America’s military and to prevent a taxpayer-funded theocracy in which only the true believers have power." -from Amazon.com
"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America"
By Barbara Ehrenreich
"To understand life beyond boom-time America, Barbara Ehrenreich spent months laboring as a cleaning woman; as a waitress; and as a Wal-Mart sales clerk. Her revelations about these hard, supposedly "unskilled" jobs and the difficulty of making ends meet in the U.S. gives this book a powerful, personal edge.
Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity--a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor."
-from Barnesandnoble.com
I can't emphasize how important this is when you're first entering the field. A good or bad editor can make or break your decision to continue in journalism. That's why it's vital to try to start your career under an intelligent and encouraging editor who will ignite the talent and skills within you, instead of stiffling them like many are known to do.
Think about it in terms of teachers or professors. Ever take a great class but had a terrible teacher? It makes the whole experience awful, and even makes you hate a subject you used to love.It's the same concept in journalism. But unlike in school, where you couldn't pick your teachers, you can pick your editor when you get out, at least to a point.
Mac McKerral (pictured), professor of the School of Journalism & Broadcasting at Western Kentucky University, provided great insight on what makes a great editor and how journalists can work to maintain a strong relationship with him or her. He has spent more than 25 years as a journalist and journalism educator and has been a reporter and editor at newspapers in five states.I met McKerral at an SPJ conference, where he gave a seminar on this topic. While attending, I frequently found myself shaking my head in complete agreement with what he was saying. We ended up talking a lot at the social that night, and I was impressed with his down-to-earth approach to journalism.
Here's some traits of a good editor, according to McKerral:
- LISTENS MORE, TALKS LESS
- Believes in his/her writers
- Helps people discover things rather than telling them
- Asks questions that don't provide defense mechanisms
- Always remains open
- Sets high expectations
- Encourages them often
- Leads by example and practices what he/she preaches
- Is always honest
- Shares sucesses and failures
- Constantly challenges his/her writers
- Asks good questions and acknowledges strong responses
- Gives praise, praise, praise
Also, his Tangerine Rule was a concept that I was amazed at, because I believe it whole-heartedly. McKerral stated that any great editor will follow the Tangerine Rule. It says:
"Lead people to the point of success while all the while making them believe they reached that point by themselves."
Wow. Awesome stuff.
Another tremendous piece of advice McKerral gave was to make sure that your editor was a journalist for many years, so he/she understands what it's like to be in your shoes.
-Kim Hartman
How liberal, conservative or neutral a newspaper is might be important to you in choosing if a newsroom is right for you, especially when you're just starting out.
Richard Benedetto (pictured at the right), national political correspondent for USA Today, addressed this topic when I met him at a forum in college. By the way, he's one of the most charismatic, intelligent and articulate people I've ever encountered.
Anyhow, although thorough research and reading editorial pages helps, Benedetto offered a specific way of determining a newspaper's leaning (he admitted that USA Today favors a liberal perspective).
He suggested that readers cut out all the headlines in a newspaper, and place them into categories: liberal, neutral and conservative. Whichever pile has the highest number will probably indicate its bias, according to Benedetto.
I thought it was a really smart idea.
If you don't have the time to cut out each headline, you could probably achieve the same by going through a newspaper and placing tallies in the three categories on a piece of paper. Either way, I think Benedetto's idea is worth practicing, if bias is a concern to you.
-Kim Hartman
