Clare Peterson
Punchy Productions
Posted via email from PunchyP
Posted via email from PunchyP
TIPS AND TRICKS for becoming a prominent journalist
Below is a list of our interviewees for this research project. You can also read the full Interview Summaries and Case Studies on the following people and their modes of journalism in the INTERVIEW SUMMARIES chapter.
David Hastie, journalist, Herald Sun
Jay Savage, reporter, Nine MSN
Jesse Hogan, sports reporter, The Age
Rafael Epstein, investigative reporter, The Age
Louise Connor, Vic branch secretary, Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
Stephen Carey, news director, Seven News
Colin McKinnon, editor, training and development, The Age
Robin Jacklin, former deputy news editor, ABC
Jason Whittaker, Deputy Editor, Crikey
Catherine Deveny, Ex Age columnist / freelance writer
Belinda Hawkins, Producer, Australian Story, ABC http://www.abc.net.au/austory/aboutus.htm
Steven Quinn, Assoc. Prof. Journalism , Deakin Uni
Robert Carey, journalism lecturer, Monash University
Edward Li, ex South China Morning Post (HK)
Billy Clarke, Offkey Productions (HK)
The tips and tricks that these industry heads and prominent journalists gave us have been compiled under the following headings:
INTRODUCTION
All interviewees agreed that the journalism industry is becoming very tough and competitive. More and more people are starting blogs each day, so you need to now do much more than this! if you want your blog and other social media sites to stand out you’ll need top stories and interesting content as well as following the additional steps that need to be taken, which I have explained in detail in the Social Media chapter.
Creating an online presence will help with your portfolio. This will enable your networking possibilities and show you have a hunger to write which is important when applying for a job. It will also showcase how well you can keep your fans entertained by the amount of followers you have is evidence your work has quality which adds bonus points when applying for a job. It is very important to not give up and keep working at your goal. Be prepared to take criticism and be positive about it. The Herald Sun emphasized the fact that even though you may get turned down numerous times, it is important to stay confident
Your folio as well as your blog is part of the recipe for becoming a journalist. Working on a folio shows dedication and initiative. It is evidence to your employer of what you have to offer, are capable of and what you are prepared to do. Everyone interviewed emphasized the same number one message, which was get your work published anywhere that you can.
When you go for an interview, these companies expect you to know some background about them as a sign of respect and also to show initiative. You can impress them and show them how keen you are for the job by talking about different writers styles and how you can understand the way they write and adapt if you need to. It helps to have an understanding of the target audience. The company will expect you to be able to do a good job about any story thrown in your direction, whether or not it is in your field, and you can’t be fussy in this business. Being able to adapt is one of the most important qualities you will need, as you will be expected to fill in at different areas within the company.
Be confident if you know your right and don’t be afraid to make your voice heard. It helps to pester a few bosses in order to get your way as this can show determination and motivation, however don’t come off as arrogant or a stalker!
Getting known and meeting people is a key task in gaining employment and finding stories. It is essential that people who want to be journalists create as many contacts as they possibly can and never loose them. You never know whom you will need to call up for a job, an interview, a lead or a contact suggestion. This includes networking, attending events and joining the MEAA http://www.alliance.org.au/
Make sure you work is good, clear, valid and punctual. Is it backed with the correct facts? And are there enough of them? These are questions journalists should constantly be asking themselves. It also helps to have your own particular style and genre and writing on subjects that you are passionate about will always make for your best writing.
A few interviewees mentioned that keeping their rejection letters was a good idea as they could read back on them and laugh later on when they were employed and successful. It also shows how well you’ve done and can keep you motivated, which was quite an interesting tip.
So read through the tips in their separate categories and start your journalism career now!
GETTING STARTED
The main point is to write every day. Getting published is far easier with the array of social media sites that writers can self publish on now but you also need to try and get your work published in university papers, newsletters, community newspapers, independent media (and mainstream if you have a breaking story), TV (free-to-air, community and cable), online publications, literary magazines and journals.
And GETTING CONTACTS IS A CRITICAL STEP - it really is ‘who you know.’ However, leading industry heads highlighted the difference between being determined and being a stalker - so use your journalistic instincts to judge reactions and know when to back off!
HOW TO WRITE
The key point is to create good, clear, crisp copy in a unique voice and write what you know - it will always be your best writing!
WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT
I spoke to Catherine Deveny post her sacking from the Age and she stated the following in advice for what to write about…
“No do. Write from your heart, the truth is a rare delicacy, people want to hear the truth, edit it later if you need to get it published but never edit yourself when you’re writing”
And we also gathered the following more general tips for topics to write about
HOW TO GET A JOB
Don’t worry where you start, small regional places are the best places to start. All of the major editors said this is now an essential step before they will hire you. With budget cuts, they want someone else to train you before they poach you from them. Also, don’t bluff your way through if you are a novice – admit what you don’t know – people appreciate honesty and determination to succeed is more valuable than a ‘know it all’
INTERVIEW PREPARATION
With interviews - the most critical steps are adjusting your portfolio for the job that you are going for - don’t bring 2000 word features if it is a sports reporting job!
And prepare properly beforehand - Channel 7, and The Age were amazed that candidates came to interviews and knew no current headlines and had not read the papers that morning…. This is considered a Big NO NO.
Also, the news director at Channel 7, Scary (as he is commonly known) - said people even came to him for interviews and said ‘gee Hitchner is going well isn’t he’ - which he replied ‘yeah, maybe you should get a job at 9’…! So know your product and prepare thoroughly beforehand.
Be confident BUT don’t be arrogant
SKILLS NEEDED
Multimedia skills are the absolute must in today’s media industry and you also need to be energetic, flexible and resilient! But above all the technical skills you need - you also need to be passionate - if news and writing are your passions - this is the career for you!
WHAT TO EXPECT
Of course, there are certain elements that you need to be weary of if thinking about a career in Journalism.
Most journo’s start with instructions from their editor to do “death knocks” on a grieving family or other member of society…this is a hard task and you may be against it but u need to be strong, stay respectful and read signs for when you need to back off from the interviewees. You also cannot be too precious – as you will get abused from readers and/or the Chief of Staff when they are stressed – so don’t take it personally!
At the end of the day, if writing and news is your passion, MOST Of the time it will be a fun, fast paced, rewarding and interesting job!
And don’t forget our Social Media chapter for extensive advice on how to create your powerful online presence to gain employment.
So there is no more for me to say, there are the tips so go and make it happen!
1.7 JOB PROSPECTS
So what do all these changes mean for the type and number of jobs in journalism?
As you can see, workload has increased by about 70% and this is mainly due to the need for multi-media skills and reductions in staff. Journalists have to do everything now - write, design, film, photograph and publish all to endless deadlines in the new 24-hour news cycle. You also have to write for a number of sections, rather than your own specialised area. Currently when people are made redundant in print media, they are not replaced; their role is simply handed over to another journalist at the paper or individual stories offered to a freelancer who can be called in last minute. The changing climate in journalism with online media and 24 hours news cycles does mean that you no longer have slow days waiting for breaks, and you have to constantly seek stories. As Rafael Epstein, The Age comments, “We are living in the midst of a Revolution” and reporters such as Nick McKenzie (also at The Age) is constantly on his phone and email investigating and finding stories.
As Colin McKinnon, Editor, Training and Development, The Age confirms with this statement, “there has been a 20% cut in journalists in the last 18 months, and gaining a job is very competitive. More than 550 applicants competed for just three positions as trainees in 2010.” In 2009, the Herald Sun offered no cadetships at all, there were 3 available at The Age and the ABC normally has a few available each year.
There are also shifts in the disparity between the numbers of male and female journalists in Australia. It was noted in the interviews that Channel 7 now has a lot of women and older women for that matter. Scary (Steve Carey, News Director at Channel 7) said the applications from males were lacking some crucial elements now, including communication skills. Other facts gained in our interviews with industry heads were:
70% of applicants to the ABC are women now
70% of trainees at The Age were female in the last 10 years
70-80% of the newsroom at the ABC is female.
Hence the majority of journalists will be women in the future if current statistics are indicative of future trends. Evidence of this changing landscape is seen with the Chief Editor of the Sunday Age being female (a traditionally male dominated role). What are the other future trends predicted?
1.8 FUTURE TRENDS
Source: Louise Connor, Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance
Here is a screen shot of a slide that Louise Connor sent to us from her presentation at the http://www.walkleys.com/media-pass-student-days
Social Media is having a big impact on Journalism. Look above and see what would it be like if news had been broadcast only in Tweets. These are some key news stories that have been converted to Twitter in an experiment. Yes journalism and media in general is changing, it will not be broadcast in Tweets only, but Twitter is an ever-growing contribution to news and a key research and networking tool for journalists. Currently 10% of traffic to the online NY Times is sourced from Twitter (that’s 2 million people per month). However, to the notion of social media replacing journalism, Jason Whittaker, Deputy Editor from Crikey states, “It is not the be-all and end-all. Twitter will not save journalism, as some may have you suggest. But as a self-marketing journalist it’s pretty powerful.” And it is expected that social media will continue to be a prominent tool for journalists in creating their individual online presences and by media companies in attempts to capture new audiences. To read more about this trend and its uses, check out our Social Media chapter.
Where exactly the print media industry will be going over the next few years is disagreed on mostly, but prominent opinions suggest fewer papers, a smaller size and less frequency. Also there will be more outsourcing (as already seen with the sub’s sections and the separate magazine publishing companies) and some say newspapers will transform to a more magazine style format. More and more companies will focus on their online content as this cuts printing costs. Taking into account Louise Connor’s comments, hopefully the Australian mainstream media companies will develop their online content in a more innovative manner than currently seen with their copy and paste style of the print media stories.
It is also expected that “smart” newspapers will use Twitter and other social media tools more effectively, as the NY Times has done. Stephen Quinn comments that the “Profession will continue, yet the product and delivery will change. The newspapers will shrink in size and frequency (i.e. Weekend Australian only) and the physical size will shrink”. Stephen qualifies this statement with raising the issue that the public transport problems in metropolitan areas actually prevents people from being able to read the current size of a newspaper and it needs to adapt to this and be more like a magazine (more color, less frequency).
As Collin McKinnon from The Age states, “The newspapers will survive but they will be different.” He also states that he is “optimistic about the future. There are many new and exciting opportunities for journalism in the multimedia age. And The Age wants people who are enthusiastic, energetic and full of ideas for the future of journalism.”
With regards to technology, it is clear that the iPad and similar portable devices are going to continue to transform how news is consumed. As seen on Mumbrella there are already applications for The Australian and The Age which will more than likely continue to shrink readership levels of print media, but will not reduce readership as a whole to these large mainstream media sources who are taking advantage of the new technology.
Mumbrella can exclusively reveal the first screen shots of The Age’s iPad app, after a prototype of the Fairfax Media newspaper’s application briefly appeared on the iTunes store on Saturday night. And the app will even read the stories out for those who find looking at text too much of a chore.
Designer David Curry was able to download the app for $7 a month – slightly more expensive than rival The Australian’s $4.99 app which made its debut on Friday to coincide with the Australian launch of the iPad.
Fairfax revealed last week that it was creating iPad apps for both The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. But it did not announce its pricing or when the products would be available.
Following the initial panic and denial of new media, the major players are now taking advantage of technology and how they can once again make more money, as Murdoch states,
“Mr. Murdoch said the Internet and technology was not the enemy, but complementary platforms that media owners could take advantage of.”
http://mumbrella.com.au/exclusive-the-ages-ipad-app-revealed-26914
This is in reference to the latest figures he had just received on people paying to subscribe to the iPad App’s for all of his newspapers. Hence, it is clear that the mainstream media owners (or should I say owner) will manage to pull through their crisis with the Internet and move forward into the future of online media. As of course, innovative and independent news sources such as Crikey proved several years ago when people agreed to pay a nominal subscription fee to read quality and un-corporatised news reports. The only question left to ask, is what sort of news will subscribers be paying for from Murdoch’s main papers? A question that I personally, or even the current editors of mainstream media cannot answer at this point.
To conclude, media companies will most likely adjust to this changing climate through focusing on their online media sites and their applications for iPhones and iPads. In the future, it would be expected that any surviving news companies would all have applications for these portable devices or they will be left behind, as some of them already have with the mis-management and weak adoption of online media opportunities.
Go back to the Introduction Page with links to the chapters
References:
http://www.walkleys.com/media-pass-student-days
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/jun/14/newspapers-downturn
http://www.presscouncil.org.au/snpma/ch01.html
www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/.../internet%20access%20at%20home%20final%20version.pdf -)
http://mumbrella.com.au/exclusive-the-ages-ipad-app-revealed-26914.
http://www.presscouncil.org.au/snpma/ch02.html
http://journalism-research.blogspot.com/2010/05/comments-made-on-deveny-blog.html
http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/02/newspapers-and-bloggers-isnt-there-room-for-everyone/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/community
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/asia/
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2009/s2565007.htm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flat-Earth-News-Award-winning-Distortion/dp/0701181451)
http://journalism-research.blogspot.com/2010/06/730-report-abc.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/feb/03/society
http://catherinedeveny.com/about/index.html
http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/130/2/year-2010/dokument_id-18599/index.html
http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/scca/staff-directory2.php?username=stephenq
http://mumbrella.com.au/exclusive-the-ages-ipad-app-revealed-26914
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Social Media: How to create a strong online presence, what precautions to take and what happened with Catherine Deveny
This chapter will explore social media applications and what resources are available to you (at no cost) to create a strong online presence for your journalistic endeavors. It will also discuss what precautions you need to take in forming this presence, as everything you write will remain in online search engines for years to come. And with this in mind, I will also discuss the recent Twitter incidence with Catherine Deveny and offer some first hand insight into why she was sacked – from Catherine herself.
Why is an online presence vital?
What precautions need to be taken?
Social Media is the perfect tool to show off your work and create a strong online presence which also allows you to join important online communities, keep up to date with the industry and create your own persona as a writer or as Jason Whittaker from Crikey says ‘create a brand for yourself’. And best of all it is all free!
HOW TO GET STARTED
Stephen Quinn is Assoc. Professor of Journalism at Deakin, Geelong, Australia and a freelance Journalist and Mojo. In this video
Stephen provides some important tips and details which social media applications you should be using NOW to improve your online presence and employment prospects in the media industry.
This interview was conducted via conducted via Skype and recorded it with a demo version of Call Recorder v2.3.10. The file from this recording is then transferred directly to a movie file in your chosen destination on your computer. I then uploaded my interview video file to my Postperous account http://filethis.posterous.com/ which automatically auto posted the link and description to my Twitter, Facebook and other personal blogs. Due to these functions, the finding of Postperous, which this report is posted on, is without a doubt the most useful social media tool, particularly as it makes you appear as if you are posting on numerous sites throughout the day, even though you are simply adding posts on the one site.
The main suggestions from Stephen were to use: Twitter, Linkedin, Skype, Delicious, Postperous, Blogging platforms, Google apps such as Buzz (a version of Twitter type application) and photo galleries such as Flicker, video editing programs and audio programs such as Audioboom.com (which can be updated via your mobile or web).
A great site that explains each of these tools and many more can be viewed here: http://www.quanrel.com/top-social-media-network-sites/
The main incentive for mastering these social media tools is the fact that to be a journalist in today’s media market, you must be entrepreneurial, market yourself by creating a brand for yourself, in addition to actually writing articles! And social media is a great way to find people to interview, request information from your followers and people you are following regarding interviews and leads for stories and it is a great research tool on trends and society
Case Study
Jeff Jarvis is a great example of how to use social media effectively to market yourself and create a strong online presence to gain employment. He is a media commentator, media adviser and paid blogger (last year he made $20 000 US from advertising alone on his blog). Why?
He is knowledgeable on his chosen subject, - you need to find your own niche market which you can write comfortably about or that you are interested in. Your best writing will always come from areas of interest. He is energetic, he markets himself effectively and he writes a minimum 2 blogs per day. Look at his followers: 43, 029 and his recent tweet that markets his latest book. Of course, you don’t always do this, it will become boring and people will not follow you, so you also need to retweet interesting comments/articles that you read, post videos, links and other information from yourself and others. This way you can build your community of contacts and followers effectively
HOW TO CREATE AN STRONG ONLINE PRESENCE AND WHY YOU SHOULD DO THIS
Jason Whittaker, Deputy Editor from Crikey and prominent freelance journalist, writes a great summary of his presentation at the Walkley’s MediaPass Student day in May 2010.
Jason has created his own prominent online presence in the media world and he admits that this is how he got his job at Crikey. He also offers some great tips and tricks in navigating through the social media applications on offer (primarily with Twitter and blogs) in order to participate in the media communities and to start branding yourself as a writer. He states you need to be “using social media as a tool to engage with the industry and promote your work. I absolutely know it to be true.” And here are his thoughts regarding his presentation on creating an online presence, which was sourced from his blog and discussed in my blog,
So I want to talk about the relationship between PR and journalism. Not as you may think. I want to talk about why journalists need to engage in their own PR. How, increasingly, you are all brands that must be marketed and commoditised. How you have to sell yourself, blatantly, shamelessly, in a market that is ruthlessly competitive.
Now, let me state one thing up front. I hate PR. It’s a dark art performed by many slimy practioners. And I only say that half-flippantly. But your ability to sell yourself — to devise a PR strategy, even — to win employment is crucial. You’re going to have to get your hands dirty.
The good news is the Internet and social media puts all the tools you need at your fingertips. But doing it well is a real challenge, and doing it badly will do untold damage to your reputation and employment prospects. It’s a fine line.
Getting your work read and seen is crucial, and ever-more-so in a greatly diversified and fragmented media environment. Fewer of you will have photo by-lines in the Herald Sun, or stand-ups on the nightly news, and fewer people will be seeing them anyway. At least initially you’ll be filing for online student publications, you’ll be writing for your own blogs, you’ll be pitching stories to be paid as a freelancer. You’ll be working on mediums and publications that don’t necessarily come with built-in audiences. The onus, at least partly, will be on you to go and find them. To build audiences for your writing. And, importantly, making sure the right people are reading.
Twitter is a great start. You need to be on Twitter. Trust me. I was a cynical as many of you know doubt are. It truly is white noise so much of the time. It’s dull people doing dull things. None duller than me. But as mass media goes it’s almost all that’s left. And anybody who you will ever want to employ you is reading and participating.
It’s the place to start to build your online reputation. Don’t treat it solely as a feed for shamelessly promoted links — nobody will follow you. It needs to have personality. It needs to be provocative and funny and engaging. You need to be following interesting people, re-tweeting interesting things, posting interesting information. And always, always, it needs to make you look eminently employable.
Use it to build your contacts list. Link it to your online profiles and work portfolios. Use it to drive people to the platforms you’re using to market your brand and publish your goods.
You should have a blog. There’s no excuse. When nobody will employ you, when nobody will publish your work, everyone can self-publish. Use it to compile any student or freelance work. And write well, write provocatively, write passionately about the things that interest you. Passion breeds the most compelling writing. It puts your best foot forward.
I got my job at Crikey because I nagged the powers that be to the point of annoyance. But also because they knew me. I existed in this sphere of media influence that is quickly developing online. They might have followed me on Twitter, they might have read my blog, they might have seen the online publications I was writing for; they saw me engaging with their products and participating in their community. I simply wouldn’t have got the job without it.
You cannot afford to be outside this community. You need to be incredibly, shamelessly conspicuous. You need a beachhead, a brand, a presence. And when everyone else finally catches up and joins you in the pool, you need to be more professional and, yes, more popular than anyone else. You need to sell yourself harder and faster than the rest.
At least for the moment, you need to be really good at PR. Don’t be ashamed.
And Jason also suggested in his presentation, the following tips for marketing your blog:
Case Study
Tom Cowie set this site up http://tomwantsajob.wordpress.com/ and his subsequent Twitter @tom_cowie during an internship at Crikey. As the name of his blog suggests, it was created, solely for Tom to get a job. As described in http://www.upstart.net.au/former-upstart-editor-tom-cowie-wants-a-job/
Tom Cowie, former editor of upstart, has taken the idea to the next level with his new blog Tom wants a job. The blog, which was conceived by Tom in the wake of his internship at Crikey, will detail the ins and outs of his hunt for a job in journalism.
The blog will act as a diary, attempting to document life after uni for Tom as he goes through the processes of searching for an elusive job in print, radio, television and online journalism. Tom wants a job will also act as an experiment, investigating the possibilities of building a personal brand through blogs, social media and the digital grapevine.
The applications, the interviews, the knock backs. Tom’s life will be laid bare in what he calls a “part online documentary, part shameless self-promotion”. Be sure to check in regularly to see how he is progressing down the rocky road to gainful employment.
Tom’s blog is called Tom wants a job. You can also follow Tom’s journey on Twitter and Facebook, and hear him talk about his quest on the episode five of upcast.
And as of today, he is now officially employed as a full-time junior reporter at Crikey. As he states,
It only took three years of tertiary studies at La Trobe University and 38 days of social media campaigning.
Therefore, this case study clearly shows that creating an online presence and as Jason Whittaker suggests “shamelessly” marketing yourself will undeniably lead to work, so get started today…after you read the important precautions section below!
PRECAUTIONS
With all these new social media tools and recent headlines on Catherine Deveny’s sacking from The Age it is important to analysis the do’s and don’ts for these applications and know the implications that can occur if you plan on working professionally in the media industry, particularly a mainstream publication or even for the government or for any other organization or individual that may not appreciate your style, commentary or opinion now or in twenty years time.
The following tips were collected from our interviews and should be considered when developing your online profile:
Case Study: So what happened to Catherine Deveny?
If you have not heard that she was recently sacked from The Age due to her Twitter comments on the Logies night (and contributing factors discussed below), you clearly do not have an online presence and should carefully follow the previous steps before you read on…
I did not say you would like her but if you are conversing in the media communities and engaging with online forums you would certainly have heard her she was and what happened recently on Twitter. Here is the story from Catherine herself:
How her career at the AGE began and ended:
Ø She asked for work at the Age after working on ROVE and other freelance jobs. She was offered a temporary column commenting on TV for 4 weeks and the last column was writing on the Logies (which she has done every year since). At the end of this contract she was offered an ongoing column and she was later moved to Opinions section where she was a columnist for 10 years. She wrote her controversial commentary on the TV industry and other topics as she states, “all I can do is tell the truth”.
Ø When she was offered the ongoing job in the opinions section she stated to the editor,
“I’m just a suburban mum”
The editor replied, “perfect, the suburban perspective“
Catherine responded, “but I don’t even read the newspapers, I skim the headlines from international papers online”
The editor replied “perfect, the global perspective”.
And Catherine jokes, “yeah the suburban, global perspective, a real niche market.”
So of course, this leads me to ask, what should upcoming writers talk about if the current environment is so fearful?
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