When I do my free resume reviews for students and young journalists starting out, many times I either see gaps in employment or not enough internship experience or time on school media platforms.
When I discuss the findings of my reviews, I note the lack of experience or the gaps and ask what they are doing to continue to perfect their craft. I get vague answers about how hard it is to find freelance work, and the conversation peters out.
The lack of freelance work is NOT an excuse. With all the free and low-cost web-based platforms out there, there’s no reason why you can’t use them to showcase your work. I found a great article forwarded to me by one of my Twitter followers from the International Journalist’s Network blog: “Six tips for journalists on launching a successful blog.”
I blog here. I also created AviationQueen.com back in November 2010, and I regularly guest post on journalism and aviation blogs. My blog and others were godsends when I got laid off in October 2011. Some gigs were paid and some were not, but all of them got me exposure and led to job leads.
But blogging is not the only thing you can do. Create a talk show on BlogTalkRadio on the topics you hope to cover. I met Hezzie McCaleb, one of the founders of Barbershop Sports, at the NABJ convention in San Diego. Check out their website and how they use BlogTalkRadio.
Other ideas to get your work out and practice your craft:
I understand that we all have bills to pay, and sometimes we have to take that job outside journalism to make sure we have a roof over our head and food in the fridge. But with all the tools out there, you have zero excuse not to keep up your journalism skills. Good luck!!
Benét J. Wilson is the vice president of education for the NABJ Digital Journalism Task Force. She also serves on the board of the Online News Association. She is the coeditor of AirwaysNews.com and a freelance aviation journalist and blogger.
By Crystal Garner, DJTF Intern
The desire to build something that no one could ever take away from her is what fueled Rene Syler, former anchor of “The Early Show” on CBS, after her termination in 2006. What Syler wanted to create was a brand, and using the tools of digital media, she did just that and more.
She is now the author of “Good Enough Mother,” a book and supporting blog targeted at “imperfectly perfect” mothers, host of “Sweet Retreats,” a family travel show on the Live Well Network, and co-host of “Exhale”, a provocative talk show in its second season on Magic Johnson’s cable network, Aspire.
What am I going to do now?
A few weeks after losing her job at CBS, Syler underwent a preventative double mastectomy, a journey that was documented on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. “What am I going to do now?” she asked herself. “I had no job and my body was taking on a different shape.”
After telling her agent of 25 years that she did not want to do television anymore, he asked a similar question, “What am I going to do with you?”
Syler knew she would have to save herself.
“I had been relying on them to get me jobs,” she said. “I could either sit here and wait for the phone to ring or I could make it ring.”
Going digital to build a ‘bonafide brand’
Syler wrote “Good Enough Mother: The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting” and secured the website’s domain in 2005 while still employed at CBS. The following year, she was fired. In 2007, her book was officially published.
“The only skills I had was the ability to write and TV,” she said. “It started with a book.”
Harnessing the power of digital media, Syler began to build what she now calls a “bonafide brand.”
“Your brand needs to be in sync with yourself,” she said. “Good Enough Mother,” the blog, was born.
“I started on Facebook, then moved to Twitter. The more I did it the more I understood its power,” Syler said in regards to her overwhelming introduction to social media.
“After almost 10 years, I have built a bonafide brand,” she said. “People need to think of blogs as living breathing business cards.”
“Good Enough Mother” has partnered with both General Motors and Disney and Syler attributes her recent television success to her digital presence.
Looking back, she said “Good Enough Mother” became much more than a book. It became a movement based on what a lot of women are experiencing.
Not for the faint of heart
MAY
Are you interested in targeting audiences through social media (e.g., Twitter and Facebook) but challenged to identify or engage with them? The Johns Hopkins University MA in Communication Digital Social Advocacy online, 14-day workshop will address questions like these and more! The workshop is open to communication practitioners around the globe, regardless of whether or not they ever have been admitted to the MA in Communication program. They may work in various fields that aim to stimulate change, such as politics, advocacy, lobbying, social justice, health, digital technologies, and public relations. The workshop will be held May 09, 2014 – May 19, 2014 in Washington, DC.
JUNE
The best in the business will gather for more than 100 panels, hands-on classes and special presentations about covering business, public safety, government, health care, education, the military, the environment and other key beats at the 2014 IRE conference June 26-29, 2014 in San Francisco. Speakers will share strategies for locating documents and gaining access to public records, finding the best stories and managing investigations. Join the discussion about how to practice investigative journalism in print, broadcast, Web and alternative newsroom models.
JULY
The National Association of Black Journalists will hold its 39th Annual Convention and Career Fair in Boston July 30-Aug. 3, 2014. Thousands of journalists, media executives, public relations professionals, and students are expected to attend to network, participate in professional development sessions and celebrate excellence in journalism.
SEPTEMBER
If you have items you wish to include, please email them to me at benet AT aviationqueen DOT COM. Thanks!!
MAY
Are you interested in targeting audiences through social media (e.g., Twitter and Facebook) but challenged to identify or engage with them? The Johns Hopkins University MA in Communication Digital Social Advocacy online, 14-day workshop will address questions like these and more! The workshop is open to communication practitioners around the globe, regardless of whether or not they ever have been admitted to the MA in Communication program. They may work in various fields that aim to stimulate change, such as politics, advocacy, lobbying, social justice, health, digital technologies, and public relations. The workshop will be held May 09, 2014 – May 19, 2014 in Washington, DC.
JUNE
The best in the business will gather for more than 100 panels, hands-on classes and special presentations about covering business, public safety, government, health care, education, the military, the environment and other key beats at the 2014 IRE conference June 26-29, 2014 in San Francisco. Speakers will share strategies for locating documents and gaining access to public records, finding the best stories and managing investigations. Join the discussion about how to practice investigative journalism in print, broadcast, Web and alternative newsroom models.
JULY
The National Association of Black Journalists will hold its 39th Annual Convention and Career Fair in Boston July 30-Aug. 3, 2014. Thousands of journalists, media executives, public relations professionals, and students are expected to attend to network, participate in professional development sessions and celebrate excellence in journalism.
SEPTEMBER
If you have items you wish to include, please email them to me at benet AT aviationqueen DOT COM. Thanks!!
APRIL
The Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) is working with Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) to offer two-day Watchdog Reporting Workshops for journalists from your region. If your team is chosen, there will be follow-up training opportunities (google meet-ups, webinars, etc) and ongoing story consulting for a limited period of time. The sessions and the follow-up training are free, thanks to the support from Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. You’ll be responsible for any travel costs. We want to ensure that we work with news organizations that not only desire to do better work, but are committed to the effort. Training will take place in Chicago, April 28-29, hosted by Columbia College.
MAY
Are you interested in targeting audiences through social media (e.g., Twitter and Facebook) but challenged to identify or engage with them? The Johns Hopkins University MA in Communication Digital Social Advocacy online, 14-day workshop will address questions like these and more! The workshop is open to communication practitioners around the globe, regardless of whether or not they ever have been admitted to the MA in Communication program. They may work in various fields that aim to stimulate change, such as politics, advocacy, lobbying, social justice, health, digital technologies, and public relations. The workshop will be held May 09, 2014 – May 19, 2014 in Washington, DC.
JUNE
The best in the business will gather for more than 100 panels, hands-on classes and special presentations about covering business, public safety, government, health care, education, the military, the environment and other key beats at the 2014 IRE conference June 26-29, 2014 in San Francisco. Speakers will share strategies for locating documents and gaining access to public records, finding the best stories and managing investigations. Join the discussion about how to practice investigative journalism in print, broadcast, Web and alternative newsroom models.
JULY
The National Association of Black Journalists will hold its 39th Annual Convention and Career Fair in Boston July 30-Aug. 3, 2014. Thousands of journalists, media executives, public relations professionals, and students are expected to attend to network, participate in professional development sessions and celebrate excellence in journalism.
SEPTEMBER
If you have items you wish to include, please email them to me at benet AT aviationqueen DOT COM. Thanks!!
APRIL
The Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) is working with Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) to offer two-day Watchdog Reporting Workshops for journalists from your region. If your team is chosen, there will be follow-up training opportunities (google meet-ups, webinars, etc) and ongoing story consulting for a limited period of time. The sessions and the follow-up training are free, thanks to the support from Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. You’ll be responsible for any travel costs. We want to ensure that we work with news organizations that not only desire to do better work, but are committed to the effort. Training will take place in Chicago, April 28-29, hosted by Columbia College.
MAY
Are you interested in targeting audiences through social media (e.g., Twitter and Facebook) but challenged to identify or engage with them? The Johns Hopkins University MA in Communication Digital Social Advocacy online, 14-day workshop will address questions like these and more! The workshop is open to communication practitioners around the globe, regardless of whether or not they ever have been admitted to the MA in Communication program. They may work in various fields that aim to stimulate change, such as politics, advocacy, lobbying, social justice, health, digital technologies, and public relations. The workshop will be held May 09, 2014 – May 19, 2014 in Washington, DC.
JUNE
The best in the business will gather for more than 100 panels, hands-on classes and special presentations about covering business, public safety, government, health care, education, the military, the environment and other key beats at the 2014 IRE conference June 26-29, 2014 in San Francisco. Speakers will share strategies for locating documents and gaining access to public records, finding the best stories and managing investigations. Join the discussion about how to practice investigative journalism in print, broadcast, Web and alternative newsroom models.
JULY
The National Association of Black Journalists will hold its 39th Annual Convention and Career Fair in Boston July 30-Aug. 3, 2014. Thousands of journalists, media executives, public relations professionals, and students are expected to attend to network, participate in professional development sessions and celebrate excellence in journalism.
SEPTEMBER
If you have items you wish to include, please email them to me at benet AT aviationqueen DOT COM. Thanks!!
Crystal Garner, DJTF Intern
As part of a series of Twitter chats hosted by The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, Mira Lowe, CNN Digital’s Senior Features Editor, discussed careers in journalism and diversity in the industry.
The TweetChat, which took place on Wednesday, featured Lowe, a media diversity leader who previously served as editor-in-chief of JET magazine.
According to The Maynard Institute’s website, the organization aims to “promote diversity in the news media through improved coverage, hiring, business practices, and training programs that equip journalists with leadership, multimedia skills and subject expertise for news organizations across platforms.”
Under this description, Lowe was the perfect Twitter guest to answer questions on employment and diversity in journalism.
As the Tweets rolled in, so did Lowe’s responses.
For the full Twitter conversation, follow TeamMije on Twitter.
The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education recently hosted a Twitter Chat with a group of female journalists of color who took their entrepreneurial dreams and turned them into reality. This panel of journalistic businesswomen included: Bobbi Bowman, (left) a former editor for The Washington Post and USA Today, who made the leap into entrepreneurship when she launched the hyperlocal news site, The McLean Ear, which later became McLean Patch; Kelly Virella, a former investigative reporter and editor who is about to start a long form digital magazine called The Urban Thinker, (right); Tomoko Hosaka, Chief Operating Officer at Plympton (parent company of Rooster, a reading app that picks books for users and delivers them in installments to mobile devices; Karen Lincoln Michel, who blogs at A Digital Native American and is former president of Unity Journalists; and Marisa Trevino, creator of LatinaLista, a news portal for the Latino community. Here are their insights via storify.– Staff Reports
NABJDigital Blog 