tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46357894111571855802024-02-20T08:33:03.564-08:00Journalism Expert AdviceNeed advice on becoming a journalist? Post your question here and have it answered by a journalism expert.adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04767018060348727320noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4635789411157185580.post-25175038976213779762011-03-08T09:53:00.000-08:002011-03-08T09:58:27.263-08:00How can foreign journalists get jobs in America?<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Q: I'm a journalist from South Africa with about five years experience. I'd really love to work in the US one day but I have no idea how to get my foot in the door. Would an internship be a good way to go for someone in my situation? And would US media houses consider foreign journalists for internships or are the internships listed on CubReporters generally reserved for American journalists?<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> <i>-- S.C.</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">A: It's not easy for foreign journalists to break into the U.S. market. But there are some possibilities.<br />
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Generally, internships at U.S. media outlets are for college/graduate school students who are either U.S. citizens or permanent residents with proper work documents. With the job market being as competitive as it is, it's unlikely that an American media organization would seek out foreign employees. <br />
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If you want to break into the U.S. market, your best bets are to:<br />
<br />
1) Work for an international news organization, such as Reuters, and try to get stationed in a U.S. bureau<br />
<br />
2) Attend a graduate program in the U.S. and network. <a href="http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/page/256/4">Columbia University</a> and other journalism schools offer scholarships for foreign journalists. <br />
<br />
3) Apply for a fellowship, such as a <a href="http://iie.org/en/Fulbright">Fulbright</a>, which will either place you in an internship in the U.S. or fund schooling here.<br />
<i>–Mark Grabowski</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04767018060348727320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4635789411157185580.post-37311089807721168992011-02-22T12:58:00.000-08:002011-02-22T13:08:26.713-08:00When should I start interning?<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Q: I am in my first year of college and I really don't know where to start. Should I be interning now or do I have to wait? What can I do to gain experience?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> <i>-- S.R.</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">A: The first thing you should do is get involved in campus media. Before you apply for internships at newspapers, radio stations, TV shows, etc., it really helps to get some experience working on school newspaper, TV station, etc. This way you'll have some work samples (newspaper articles, a reel, etc) to show when you apply for internships.<br />
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Ideally, you should try to intern somewhere every summer. Initially, you'll probably have to take an unpaid internship. But after you have one or two under your belt, you might be able to land a much-coveted paid internship if you have a good portfolio. <br />
<br />
When you apply for jobs, hiring editors and media recruiters probably won't even ask about your GPA. What they care most about is 1) where you have interned, and 2) your work samples. In addition, having multimedia skills is really important if you want to work in journalism these days. <br />
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Learn how to shoot and edit video, make podcasts, use a digital camera and Photoshop, understand basic HTML, etc. If your college does not offer courses in those areas, there are <a href="http://www.digitalmediaacademy.org/">summer programs</a> available and/or you could teach yourself through online tutorials and books such as "<a href="http://www.dummies.com/store/product/Building-Web-Sites-All-in-One-For-Dummies-2nd-Edition.productCd-0470385413.html">Building Websites for Dummies</a>." I've taught myself a lot about multimedia and convergence journalism through those kinds of self-help guides. <i>–Mark Grabowski</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04767018060348727320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4635789411157185580.post-28366795969317684212011-01-27T01:21:00.000-08:002011-01-27T01:28:50.622-08:00How to find a journalism job in Philly?<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Q: I am graduating Penn State with a degree in print journalism in May. I have extensive experience working at The Daily Collegian, along with multiple other internships. I want a reporting job in Philadelphia, but I need direction in terms of finding offers. What do you suggest?<br />
Thanks, I appreciate it.</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> <i>-- N.L.</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">A: Your best bet is to try small weekly newspapers in the area and <a href="http://www.patch.com/jobs">Patch.com</a>, the new hyperlocal websites being launched nationwide by AOL (they're starting to sprout up in the Philly suburbs, as well). Those are the kinds of places that are hiring right now. The <a href="https://www.formrouter.net/circulation@bucks/jobs/jobs.htm">Bucks County Courier Times</a> may also offer an extended internship for recent college graduates, but you'd have to investigate that (I know they used to offer it, at least). Unfortunately, I think the Philadelphia Inquirer eliminated their 2-year internship program a few years ago. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Also: look into paid summer internship opportunities. If you do a good job at the internship, they may hire you on full time. At the very least, it will provide a paycheck for 10 weeks, help you strengthen your resume and portfolio and buy you some more time in your job search.<br />
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While, as a Bucks County native, I can appreciate your desire to want to be in Philly, be sure not to limit your job search to that region. Getting that first job in journalism can be tough. So, the wider a net you cast in your job search geographically, the better chance you'll have at finding a good job. <i>–Mark Grabowski</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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</center>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04767018060348727320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4635789411157185580.post-19630836293111631122010-12-13T01:00:00.000-08:002011-01-12T23:25:37.564-08:00Is it bad to do the same internship twice?<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Q: I've been interning at a newspaper for the past semester and was invited to come back next semester. Would it be a bad idea to do the same internship twice or should I intern at a different place next semester?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> <i>-- F.S.</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">A: I can understand wanting to intern at a different place to get a new experience, diversify your portfolio and add a new line to your resume. However, it's not necessarily a bad idea to do the same internship twice. First, experience is experience. Second, since you're already familiar with the publication and they're familiar with you, you'll probably get more significant responsibilities and better assignments, which, in turn, will lead to better clips. If you go to a new place, you'll spend the first couple weeks just learning where the bathroom is and how to use the computers. So, in short, I don't think you can go wrong either way.. <i>–Mark Grabowski</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><center><br />
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</center>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04767018060348727320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4635789411157185580.post-31764623169427995032010-10-21T13:16:00.000-07:002010-10-21T13:20:49.725-07:00Should I attend graduate school?<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Q: I'm halfway through my senior year as a journalism student and starting to think about grad school. The problem is I am having a really hard time deciding whether to go to J school, law school, or enroll in a joint-degree program that combines the two (though the latter will no doubt take longer and accumulate more debt). Journalism is my passion, but I'm worried that I won't be able to find a job in the industry even if I go to J school and ever since I was a kid I've always been interested in the prospect of law school. As a person with legal training who has sought a career in journalism, how were you able to negotiate the two? If I go to law school what are my options in securing a journalism-related job?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> <i>-- R.H.</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">A: Whichever route you choose -- be it journalism school, law school, both, or some other graduate program -- it will be a big investment of money, time and energy. So, you want to be 100 percent sure and not make any hasty decisions. <br />
<br />
Keep in mind, there are no job guarantees when you graduate. Even law school isn't the golden ticket it used to be to. There are recent graduates from Ivy League law schools who can't find jobs. I wrote a <a href="http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-are-law-schools-scamming-students/19673138">column</a> last week about this. Basically, I'd go to law school only if 1) you can go for free or 2) you really want to practice law and don't care how much (or little) you make. <br />
<br />
There's a misconception that a law degree gives you flexibility and options. It really doesn't. If you go straight from undergrad to law school, the only thing you're going to be trained to do is to be a lawyer. And, with all the debt you'll likely incur to pay for law school, practicing law will be your only option to repay your loans. A law degree will only give you career mobility if you've had a substantive career in something else prior to law school. For example, I was able to get a job as a journalism professor after finishing law school, but that was only because I had practiced journalism for several years. If I just had a J.D., I wouldn't have been able to get my job in academia. <br />
<br />
Attending j-school, likewise, is fraught with uncertainty. Certainly, j-school can't hurt. It will make you a better journalist and make you more marketable. It may open doors that otherwise wouldn't be open for you. On the other hand, there are no job guarantees. In this economy, even grads from top programs are having trouble landing good jobs. I'd hate to see you spend $25,000+ for a master's degree only to land a minimum wage job at a tiny weekly newspaper in the middle of nowhere. I wrote an <a href="http://journalism-advice.cubreporters.org/2010/08/is-journalism-school-necessary.html">article</a> about this, too.<br />
<br />
I think the best thing to do is to take some time off after college graduation and work before applying to grad school. Grad school will always be there, so there's no harm in waiting a year or two or even several years. On the other hand, if you go immediately after college and decide you made a mistake or change your mind about your career goals, you can't reverse it -- and you may be $150,000+ in debt.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, you have to make this tough decision on your own. There are pros and cons, and you have to decide whether grad school is worthwhile and worth the risk. Good luck. <i>–Mark Grabowski</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04767018060348727320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4635789411157185580.post-82655018194498428272010-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:002010-10-09T11:36:24.927-07:00How to get a journalism internship without clips?<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Q: I just transferred to my journalism major second semester of my sophomore year. It's now first semester junior year, and I would like to start applying for summer internships, especially ones for investigative journalism, ASAP. The problem is I haven't been on the newspaper staff long enough to have many published articles, and the articles that I have written so far are pretty dull (you know how it is, the newbies get last choice of beats). I need to build up my portfolio quickly. What can I do to get more quality work samples in a short amount of time, especially if I can't rely on the newspaper articles I've written?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> <i>-- Cassie</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">A: If you don't like the stories you're being assigned and want to cover something more interesting, come up with a good investigative story idea -- there's nothing stopping you from pursuing that as a freelance journalist. You could also start a blog to show off your abilities or get a letter of recommendation from someone, such as a journalism professor, who can attest to your talent and potential. Recommendations from the right people can go a long way in this profession.<br />
<br />
That said, it's important not to focus so much on the future that you miss out on what you need to do in the present. If you just switched your major to journalism, you must be relatively new to the field. Investigative journalism is a pretty advanced specialization within the profession. No one really starts out as an investigative journalist. First, they learn the ropes and earn their stripes covering news, crime or something else, and then they get assigned to the investigative beat. So, for now, focus on learning the nuts and bolts of journalism and developing a diverse portfolio of clips. Joining the school newspaper is a good starting point.<br />
<br />
Spend this semester learning the fundamentals and getting bylines, and look for summer internships next semester. There will still be opportunities available in January. You'll probably have to get at least one unpaid internship under your belt before landing a paid internship. <i>–Mark Grabowski</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04767018060348727320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4635789411157185580.post-24231293223395718032010-08-29T01:08:00.000-07:002010-08-29T01:21:33.661-07:00Whom to address journalism job application to?<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Q: When I send out my cover letter and resume to magazines, should I send them to the managing editor of each publication?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"> <i>-- F. L.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">A: I would call each magazine and ask who's in charge of hiring writers or editorial staff. Be sure to get the correct name spelling. At many magazines, it will be the managing editor but some magazines may have someone else handle hiring. It's important that your cover letter gets to the right person. <i>–Mark Grabowski</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04767018060348727320noreply@blogger.com