By Ameena Rasheed, NABJ Digital Task Force Intern
By Janine Mack, recent graduate, Syracuse University, master’s in broadcast and digital journalism
Editor’s note: Guest blogger Janine Mack offers tips to digitally prepare for the NABJ Annual Convention & Career Fair July 31-Aug. 4, 2013.
It’s that time of year when I urge those in my network to start getting ready for the annual convention. Successfully preparing for NABJ can make the difference between landing an awesome first job or internship and heading back home empty handed. Here are a few tips to get started now.
1. Get an online portfolio! If you do not have a website with at least 8 to 12 clips of either video stories that aired or published print articles, then you are already behind. Ideally, you want your firstnamelastname.com that way when people Google your name, your web presence will be the first thing to come up. I didn’t thing people Googled me until my website showed me otherwise. WordPress, About.me and Weebly are good places to start building a simple portfolio. Some great examples of each come from Vanessa Deggins, Sarah Glover and Kirstin Garriss, respectively.
2. Google yourself. I always thought people were crazy when they said this, but one day I found old comment I thought was deleted and pictures of other people named Janine Mack half-naked. Recruiters and prospective sources will look so should you. A good rule of thumb is to delete anything that you would not want on your website.
3. I have a website, now what? Make sure to put your resume, some details about what you do and your aspirations, your clips and a nice professional picture of you doing whatever aspect of journalism it is that you do. Some of my favorite examples of how it’s done are Wesley Lowery, Stephanie Siek, Fadia Patterson and Eva McKend. Don’t forget to update it whenever you get a new job or an internship, to have it critiqued BEFORE you head to the convention and that the link is on anything you hand out such as business cards, resumes, demo reels, etc.
4. Build up your social media presence. Start accounts with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Storify, etc. These accounts should also be as a fine balance of personal, but professional with of course no on grammar, spelling or punctuation errors. Every account should be customized with your first name, last name, a picture and a brief biography of you on it. Once the accounts are established, link them to your webpage and begin to familiarize yourself with each one. You want as many ways as possible for recruiters to search for you, to add you to their network and to keep in touch after the convention is over. Plus, it’s fun to live tweet at the convention.
By Ameena Rasheed, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force Intern
Editor’s note: the Digital Journalism Task Force is working on programming that will take us right to the annual convention. To that end, we’d appreciate it if you could take this quick 5-question survey to let us know what you want. Thanks!!
Webbmedia Group has a great mega calendar of events that catches things not covered below. If you want to subscribe to the calendar, click here. You can also subscribe to this calendar so the information appears on your personal Google Calendar. Just go to the Webbmedia Google calendar, click the “+Google Calendar” icon at the bottom right, and then click “Yes, add this calendar” in the dialog box). The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism has its training calendar posted for courses through July 2013.
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If you have items you wish to include, please email them to me at benet AT aviationqueen DOT COM. Thanks!!
By Benét J. Wilson, chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/eNewsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
You’ve bought your registration, booked a flight and hotel and are well on your way to your very first 2013 NABJ Conference in Orlando. But that’s just the beginning. The last thing you want to do is show up at the conference without knowing the lay of the land.
So on Tuesday, June 25 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST, NABJ Digital Journalist Task Force Secretary Kiratiana Freelon (@Kiratiana) be your guide to navigating the convention via a TweetChat.
Under the hashtag #nabj13prep, the @NABJDigital twitter handle will work with our panel of convention veterans to answer all your questions. They will also chat about their experiences at past conventions — all in 140 characters.
The panelists are: Brittany Geneva Cummings (@BrittanyGeneva), an associate producer for CNN; Michael Feeney (@mfeeney), a reporter for the New York Daily News; and Kirstin Garriss (@ReporterGarriss), a reporter at WHAG-TV.
The hashtag to follow along is #NABJPrep13. I strongly suggest using TweetChat.com so you can easily follow the conversation. And if you can’t make it? Don’t worry – there will be a Storify of the chat. So bring all your questions!
By Ameena Rasheed, NABJ Digital Task Force Intern
By Ameena Rasheed, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force Intern
Editor’s note: the Digital Journalism Task Force is working on programming that will take us right to the annual convention. To that end, we’d appreciate it if you could take this quick 5-question survey to let us know what you want. Thanks!!
Webbmedia Group has a great mega calendar of events that catches things not covered below. If you want to subscribe to the calendar, click here. You can also subscribe to this calendar so the information appears on your personal Google Calendar. Just go to the Webbmedia Google calendar, click the “+Google Calendar” icon at the bottom right, and then click “Yes, add this calendar” in the dialog box). The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism has its training calendar posted for courses through July 2013.
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
If you have items you wish to include, please email them to me at benet AT aviationqueen DOT COM. Thanks!!
By Benét J. Wilson, chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/eNewsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
By Benét J. Wilson, chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/eNewsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
I was every excited to see the workshops chosen for the NABJ Annual Convention and Career Fair in Orlando this year. Of course, I have a natural bias toward seeing more digital programming, since this really is where all of the journalism jobs are going.
The reporting, writing and editing will not go away, but having only those skills won’t be enough to keep journalists of color relevant in their newsrooms. And while a convention isn’t long enough to teach the most important skills, below are 10 workshops that will provide you with some skills you can bring back to your newsroom the Monday after the convention. Preregistration ends on June 15, so sign up today — and I’ll see you in Orlando!!
Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest: Oh My! Bringing Social Media Sanity to Your Newsroom
Photography and Video for the Non-Visual Journalist
By Benét J. Wilson, chair, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force & social media/eNewsletters editor, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Back on May 10, DJTF did a webinar with Pressfolios co-founder Marc Samson. Pressfolios is a pretty simple platform created to help journalists, writers, reporters, bloggers, public relations and other media professionals to back up their news stories, design a beautiful online portfolio website, and showcase their personal brand.
During the webinar, Samson said new features were coming, and now they have arrived. Among the updates:
Pressfolios is still in private beta, but use the code NABJ to bypass the wait for an invitation. Are you using Pressfolios? Please send us a link to share with our readers!
By Ameena Rasheed, NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force intern
1. Mashable – The 25 Best Free iPad Apps
2. Mashable – 14 Twitter Tips and Tricks for Power Users
3. PBS Mediashift – 10 Steps to Creating an E-Book Based on Your Blog
4. Webicy – [How To] Create Killer Blog Post Ideas Every Time
5. Bloggers Passion – 5 Viral Content Ideas For Your Blogging Success
NABJDigital Blog 