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About me and about Journalism.co.uk
I'm the editor of Journalism.co.uk, which for those of you who don't know us is a news andinformation website for the journalism industry.Just to give you some brief info about how I came to be there: I graduated from a postgraduatecourse in newspaper journalism in 2007 and after a couple of months of odd shifts I was taken on asa reporter by the site and am now editor.To give you a brief overview of Journalism.co.uk and the type of publication I work for:
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We are online-only and launched in 1999. The site started out as an email newsletter andthen became a home for this on the web. It has grown into a five-day week news operation.
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money comes from advertising (display and classifieds); training courses; press releaseservice and now events;
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eight full-time staff.
To give you an idea of what my day involves, on an average day I will be involved in:
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Newsgathering and reporting
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Blogging
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Editing and commissioning
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Event management
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Marketing
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Tweeting
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Moderating
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Networking (both online and in person)
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Customer serviceI didn't learn how to do all of these things during my journalism training. Indeed some of themaren't things you learn I suppose! But this leads me on to what I'm really here to chat to you about:the new skills you might need to get on as a journalist in today's workplace.
The old model of getting into the workplace is changing not dead:
As I'm sure you are well aware the shape of the workplace and the journalism industry is changing:
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the newsrooms of traditional, big media groups and therefore employers are by and largegetting smaller;
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there are more and more graduates and would-be journalists each year competing for jobs;
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BUT, on a more positive note, there are a wealth of new opportunities being created by journalism experiments and online developments, and with those organisations who areweathering the storm by diversifying what they do as publishers.Some people will tell you that the traditional ways of getting into the industry are no more. Butthat's not entirely true: you will come across people who work their way up from a reporter positionat a local newspaper; just as you will find people given a job because they've got a family friendsomewhere higher up.But in all seriousness, as trainee journalists about to enter the fray you need to be aware of newways to get yourselves noticed and employed. If you're in journalism to get rich quick, think again!And while there's nothing wrong with setting your sites high – on an investigation, a job, a salary – you need to be prepared for the marketplace your entering and make yourself as employable as possible.I also think you need to be prepared for a life as a multimedia, multi-platform journalist. Fewer andfewer journalists are expected to file for just the newspaper or just the magazine any more. So on
that basis, here are my tips:
Get online
I'm sure most of you are already and I know that courses at Journalist Works cover journalism for the web and multimedia.But while you're a student and have the time, create a blog or set up a website. Use it as a contact point for potential employers – so include Cvs, relevant work etc. Use it to promote yourself and if you have a particular subject or area you are passionate about in journalism, show it off byexploring it here. Specialisms in journalism are not to be sneered at.
Realise the power of social media
Twitter is an accelerated contacts book. It won't replace the contacts you make in person or over the phone, but it is another network that can be extremely valuable. Learn to organise it so you caneffectively find the people you need to speak to when you need them; and as with any socialnetwork, don't abuse it. Remember to be civil, sensible and that the word 'social' is involved – sodon't keep asking questions in the hope that your work will be done for you.Of course social media isn't just Twitter – can mean blogs, forums, Facebook and much more. Allthese things can have professional as well as personal benefits. But if you don't feel comfortably inusing Facebook to promote yourself professionally, then don't. But do look at what employers mightfind out about your by googling your name and edit your privacy settings accordingly. This willhelp you appear more professional and credible.Social networks can promote you and your work; give instantaneous feed back and help newsorganisations build a more 'engaged' following, which has interesting potential for business andfuture news products they might launch.As news organisations and publishers build their own social media strategy they are going to belooking for these kind of skills more and more, so showing you are familiar with these tools is a bonus.
Be aware of 'new' media law
Similarly, new developments in online publishing are throwing up new legal issues for publishersevery day. Showing an awareness of these issues will be a plus for potential employers, who areincreasingly investing in online and online roles such as moderators and community managers. I'man editor, but these roles come under my remit too, so I'd recommend keeping abreast of developments in this area it will show you are ready to hit-the-ground running. A couple of goodsites for this:OUT-LAW.comhttp://davidbanks.blogspot.com/
Beware of new for new's sake; multimedia for multimedia's sake
What do I mean by that? You may have been trained in video; you may be social media-savvy, butmake sure your medium fits your message. Learn when is best to use video, audio, images, text or acombination of all when telling a story – the best way to do this is by looking at other good and badexamples by news organisations online. If you can show a potential employer that you understandthe skills involved in producing these types of content and what kind of stories and work they are best used for, you will show efficiency and editorial judgement.Similarly, new skills shouldn't necessarily replace the old. Just because two people tweet somethingon Twitter doesn't make it fact – fact-checking, ringing round, getting your story straight, are allclassic journalistic skills and all still vitally important, if not more so given the speed of
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