...it's about the experience.
I want this blog post to be short. I know, it's a rarity for me.
Basically, my message today is to not be discouraged by your current job, if it's in your field but not really where you want to be.
When I took my first job out of school, one of my professors actually told me to look for something else. He knew I wanted to write the news, not be working in production, but I was willing to take my chances.
Although production was my job description, I didn't let that stop me from learning more. I started out writing some web stories and rather quickly moved into a position as an associate producer.
Before I got hired as an AP, I was filling in as one, under my title of PA. Even if I hadn't eventually gotten the job, I realized no one could take away what I'd learned while filling in. No matter where I went from there, I'd still have the new skills I picked up that could help me on my path to be a producer.
Now that I'm an AP, I'm hoping to train quickly and should be producing a show on my own here and there soon. Even though I'm not officially a producer, I can still pick up the skills I need to be one.
So, my conclusion- don't worry about your job title. Use the resources (either physical/technological or the people) around you to learn what you need to get where you want to go. Sometimes, getting into the position you want is more about your drive and being in the right place than having the correct job description.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
The Worst Thing They Can Say Is No
Today's lesson: ASK.
As a professional journalist (or at least a member of SPJ), I basically took a personal oath to "seek the truth and report it."
Most people who are seeking things ask questions: "Have you seen my keys?" "Where is the X building or the Y library?" "How do I program this equation?"
The same should be true in journalism.
I am one of 7 PAs at our station, but I get the perk of doing more. I also fill in as an associate producer a couple days a week. When I started filling in, I knew nothing about that position. Ok, I knew how to write decently, but as for getting aesthetically ready for a show, I was clueless.
So what did I do? Asked questions.
I always say it's better to ask a seemingly stupid question than to do something stupid that someone else may not catch before it airs.
By asking questions, I could learn new skills. I could also save the producer some time doing things herself and going back and fixing my mistakes. As would make sense, I gained a greater understanding of what's required to get shows off the ground.
The same mantra (ask questions) also applies when gathering information for the stories I write. Occasionally, I will have to call dispatches about blurbs heard on the scanners. I may have a press release or an email from an event organizer that leaves out important information (like the time or place) or that leaves a person wondering why they should care at all about a certain event. In that case, I'll troll the Internet. It seems half my morning is spent on Google. I'd probably spend more time on the phone if I weren't writing at 2 a.m. and didn't want to wake spokespeople from their night's sleep.
This interrogation has had its clear advantages. With the exception of a few typos, I haven't had any complaints about accuracy. Another tenet of the SPJ code of ethics is to be accountable. If anyone questioned the information I put in, I could defend it and give a source I trusted.
But now I want to change gears and show how asking will not only help you improve your own work but will also give you a leg up on competition.
As may be expected working at a news station, I worked on Election Day, gathering numbers. Unfortunately for me, the county I was assigned had no easy way to get these results. Regardless, I asked. When I called their board of elections, I asked multiple ways just to make sure I was understood. Even when my EP double-checked my phone call questions, I was still correct.
I ended up having to drive to the elections location to pick up the final numbers. Long story short, I was misdirected several times, but I never stopped asking. I eventually ended at the correct location because I asked. I could have wasted much more time and looked like "clueless PA" at the bottom of the newsroom totem pole if I hadn't been so inquisitive.
When I got to the correct location, I was still early (there before the numbers were in), so I don't know how any media outlet could have results from that county earlier than I did. I saw numbers scrolling on a projection screen, but I asked around and managed to procure the paper copy we'd been promised.
After returning to the station and inputting the numbers, another PA returned from a similar run. She told me she did have to write down the scrolling numbers. Maybe there wasn't a paper copy; I wasn't there so I can't be sure. But I have a feeling she didn't ask, and believe me, she returned much later and more frustrated than I did.
So, really, ASK. It saves time. It saves reprimands. It saves credibility.
As a professional journalist (or at least a member of SPJ), I basically took a personal oath to "seek the truth and report it."
Most people who are seeking things ask questions: "Have you seen my keys?" "Where is the X building or the Y library?" "How do I program this equation?"
The same should be true in journalism.
I am one of 7 PAs at our station, but I get the perk of doing more. I also fill in as an associate producer a couple days a week. When I started filling in, I knew nothing about that position. Ok, I knew how to write decently, but as for getting aesthetically ready for a show, I was clueless.
So what did I do? Asked questions.
I always say it's better to ask a seemingly stupid question than to do something stupid that someone else may not catch before it airs.
By asking questions, I could learn new skills. I could also save the producer some time doing things herself and going back and fixing my mistakes. As would make sense, I gained a greater understanding of what's required to get shows off the ground.
The same mantra (ask questions) also applies when gathering information for the stories I write. Occasionally, I will have to call dispatches about blurbs heard on the scanners. I may have a press release or an email from an event organizer that leaves out important information (like the time or place) or that leaves a person wondering why they should care at all about a certain event. In that case, I'll troll the Internet. It seems half my morning is spent on Google. I'd probably spend more time on the phone if I weren't writing at 2 a.m. and didn't want to wake spokespeople from their night's sleep.
This interrogation has had its clear advantages. With the exception of a few typos, I haven't had any complaints about accuracy. Another tenet of the SPJ code of ethics is to be accountable. If anyone questioned the information I put in, I could defend it and give a source I trusted.
But now I want to change gears and show how asking will not only help you improve your own work but will also give you a leg up on competition.
As may be expected working at a news station, I worked on Election Day, gathering numbers. Unfortunately for me, the county I was assigned had no easy way to get these results. Regardless, I asked. When I called their board of elections, I asked multiple ways just to make sure I was understood. Even when my EP double-checked my phone call questions, I was still correct.
I ended up having to drive to the elections location to pick up the final numbers. Long story short, I was misdirected several times, but I never stopped asking. I eventually ended at the correct location because I asked. I could have wasted much more time and looked like "clueless PA" at the bottom of the newsroom totem pole if I hadn't been so inquisitive.
When I got to the correct location, I was still early (there before the numbers were in), so I don't know how any media outlet could have results from that county earlier than I did. I saw numbers scrolling on a projection screen, but I asked around and managed to procure the paper copy we'd been promised.
After returning to the station and inputting the numbers, another PA returned from a similar run. She told me she did have to write down the scrolling numbers. Maybe there wasn't a paper copy; I wasn't there so I can't be sure. But I have a feeling she didn't ask, and believe me, she returned much later and more frustrated than I did.
So, really, ASK. It saves time. It saves reprimands. It saves credibility.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Make the Most of It
As you may or may not know, I recently got a position as a production assistant in a midsize market newsroom. (I will not identify the station because I don't want to appear to speak for the organization on this blog.)
I start this post with that statement for several reasons.
First, it changes my perspective. When I started this blog, I was a student journalist. Now, I suppose, much to my Peter Pan Syndrome chagrin, I am a professional. Don't worry, though. I still dedicate this blog to you, my readers, which means I'll still be sharing my personal "lessons learned" for your benefit.
Second, I believe it makes me an anomaly. On one hand, I'm employed in my field within a couple months of graduation, which is huge. On the other hand, I felt completely over-qualified for what I would actually be doing, and I even had one professor discourage looking for PA openings.
This harkens to the title of the post: Make the most of it.
When they met me, several people in the newsroom said something along the lines of "I remember when I was a PA. It's a great foot-in-the-door position!" Even after just a couple months, I realize how true this is and how wrong my assumptions were.
Sure, the pay and hours are less than desirable for someone toting around a summa cum laude bachelor's degree, but it's much like my unpaid internship. The job is not about the title. It's about what you do with it. I have required duties to perform as a PA, and then I have what I want to do. You have "down time," during which you can shadow and/or help producers, editors, reporters...anyone with the job title you'd eventually like to hold. Usually, these people have been in your PA/recently graduated shoes and are more than happy to provide feedback and get you your next job on the career ladder.
This is where I am now. I still plan to be a broadcast news producer one day, and I'll pursue that as soon as possible and as soon as I feel qualified to advance.
That's the future, but in this present, I look at the past, which leads me into "third."
Third, my position as a new PA allows me to reflect on what I think I did "wrong" in the past. I speak specifically to my experience as an intern.
Again, the title of this post: Make the most of your internships!
I really can't emphasize this enough. At my internship, I was granted many opportunities, but I didn't have much direction. I could blame the format and rationalize my choices, or I could just admit I wasn't proactive. Since I didn't know which news track I wanted to pursue, I should've talked to my superiors about how to address this. Maybe I could've spent one week with a reporter, then one with a producer, and on and on around the newsroom. I was definitely there long enough for that. Maybe I could've made a list of what I like to do and then figured out which job position used those skills the most.
Regardless, I had resources and didn't use them. Instead, I focused on trivial things like, "I'm using my summer to wake up early, commute and then work for 9 hours with no pay." (Ok, maybe not so trivial, but I was missing the point of being an intern.) Because I had shown initiative by being willing to work for no pay, I also showed dedication to my field and desire to advance myself. People in the newsroom take notice of that and want to help you get where you want to be.
Now as I work my shifts, I see our interns. One young lady was sitting at the assignment desk while also writing for and posting to the web. Another wrote, shot, tracked and edited a reporter package, with guidance from the professionals every step of the way. Neither of these women was afraid to interrupt someone doing *their* job to ask questions or request assistance.
I know I was so afraid as an intern to disrupt someone else's "job groove" to teach me something. Now I realize- that's why I was there.
On my final internship evaluation, I was told I wait for instruction, rather than seek out a way to contribute, and that I was not outgoing or type-A enough to make it in the news industry. It was a real wake-up call. Now I see what they meant.
If you are ever granted an internship (and seriously, try to get as many as possible- they're much better classrooms, and other job applicants will have several on their resumes so be ready to compete!), don't waste it. You're not being intrusive if you ask to be taught.
I always make it a point now to ask if anyone needs help. If not, just ask what they're doing and let them show you. (You can still gain skills...and no work for you!) Yes, it helps that I'm now officially part of a team, and I'm getting paid for it. However, this doesn't make the advice any less true. On some level, I never felt like I fit in at my internship site, but now, I love my job and my co-workers and plan to make the most of it.
I start this post with that statement for several reasons.
First, it changes my perspective. When I started this blog, I was a student journalist. Now, I suppose, much to my Peter Pan Syndrome chagrin, I am a professional. Don't worry, though. I still dedicate this blog to you, my readers, which means I'll still be sharing my personal "lessons learned" for your benefit.
Second, I believe it makes me an anomaly. On one hand, I'm employed in my field within a couple months of graduation, which is huge. On the other hand, I felt completely over-qualified for what I would actually be doing, and I even had one professor discourage looking for PA openings.
This harkens to the title of the post: Make the most of it.
When they met me, several people in the newsroom said something along the lines of "I remember when I was a PA. It's a great foot-in-the-door position!" Even after just a couple months, I realize how true this is and how wrong my assumptions were.
Sure, the pay and hours are less than desirable for someone toting around a summa cum laude bachelor's degree, but it's much like my unpaid internship. The job is not about the title. It's about what you do with it. I have required duties to perform as a PA, and then I have what I want to do. You have "down time," during which you can shadow and/or help producers, editors, reporters...anyone with the job title you'd eventually like to hold. Usually, these people have been in your PA/recently graduated shoes and are more than happy to provide feedback and get you your next job on the career ladder.
This is where I am now. I still plan to be a broadcast news producer one day, and I'll pursue that as soon as possible and as soon as I feel qualified to advance.
That's the future, but in this present, I look at the past, which leads me into "third."
Third, my position as a new PA allows me to reflect on what I think I did "wrong" in the past. I speak specifically to my experience as an intern.
Again, the title of this post: Make the most of your internships!
I really can't emphasize this enough. At my internship, I was granted many opportunities, but I didn't have much direction. I could blame the format and rationalize my choices, or I could just admit I wasn't proactive. Since I didn't know which news track I wanted to pursue, I should've talked to my superiors about how to address this. Maybe I could've spent one week with a reporter, then one with a producer, and on and on around the newsroom. I was definitely there long enough for that. Maybe I could've made a list of what I like to do and then figured out which job position used those skills the most.
Regardless, I had resources and didn't use them. Instead, I focused on trivial things like, "I'm using my summer to wake up early, commute and then work for 9 hours with no pay." (Ok, maybe not so trivial, but I was missing the point of being an intern.) Because I had shown initiative by being willing to work for no pay, I also showed dedication to my field and desire to advance myself. People in the newsroom take notice of that and want to help you get where you want to be.
Now as I work my shifts, I see our interns. One young lady was sitting at the assignment desk while also writing for and posting to the web. Another wrote, shot, tracked and edited a reporter package, with guidance from the professionals every step of the way. Neither of these women was afraid to interrupt someone doing *their* job to ask questions or request assistance.
I know I was so afraid as an intern to disrupt someone else's "job groove" to teach me something. Now I realize- that's why I was there.
On my final internship evaluation, I was told I wait for instruction, rather than seek out a way to contribute, and that I was not outgoing or type-A enough to make it in the news industry. It was a real wake-up call. Now I see what they meant.
If you are ever granted an internship (and seriously, try to get as many as possible- they're much better classrooms, and other job applicants will have several on their resumes so be ready to compete!), don't waste it. You're not being intrusive if you ask to be taught.
I always make it a point now to ask if anyone needs help. If not, just ask what they're doing and let them show you. (You can still gain skills...and no work for you!) Yes, it helps that I'm now officially part of a team, and I'm getting paid for it. However, this doesn't make the advice any less true. On some level, I never felt like I fit in at my internship site, but now, I love my job and my co-workers and plan to make the most of it.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Lessons from a Conference Attendee
As I mentioned in my last post, yesterday, I attended the training seminars for Region 5 of SPJ. I wanted to create a post sharing some of the lessons I took away from the conference. Enjoy!
1. Figure out the value of YOU. Anyone can report, that is, share images with the public. However, not everyone can be a journalist. Only we, as journalists, have the training to properly interpret and provide perspective on stories. Our lunch's keynote speaker Dave Lindquist of the Indianapolis Star said, "80% of success is being there." Eventually, someone is going to call you because he/she needs a journalist who is in your vicinity to report on events occurring around you. Make yourself indispensable to any employer. Also, figure out your niche expertise, so that you're the person an editor has to call on topic X or Y.
2. Use the Internet to your advantage. There are numerous sites to analyze your social media reach and to help you generate story ideas and sources. The Internet also offers great resources for compiling information so that you don't have to scour sites all day by yourself. It can effectively organize data for you and can even send you alerts before other people have jumped on a story. For some of the most helpful sites, check out the list compiled by Jeff Cutler, a social media specialist for SPJ who spoke at 2 of the sessions I attended. My short list: make sure you have a blog, your own domain and, if you're a photojournalist, a Flickr account.
3. Freelance. You'll want clips from publications beyond your school paper or primary news outlet. It's part of getting as much experience and exposure as possible. It's easy to take what you're really passionate about and find a niche publication that needs your expertise in that passion AND in good writing. You'll be able to present a future employer with different types of writing, as well as a network of several editors who can vouch for your work ethic. It can also be a great way to make some money on the side, whether you're between jobs or just want some extra income and want to prevent rustiness in your writing.
4. Get to know your followers. Figure out what your readers are interested and what will keep them coming back to your writing. Make sure they're following YOU, not your outlet. Also, figure out when you have the greatest reach. According to social media experts, 7-10 p.m. is a good time to post on social media. 2-6 p.m. (or 3-5 p.m., according to Jeopardy) sees a lot of Twitter traffic, so you may want to schedule your tweets then.
5. Write with the assumption that no one trusts you. If you depend on the reputation of your news outlet, your writing will get lazy, and YOU (as a brand) will blend into the background. You need to write in a way that no one can deny what you're saying. You're only responsible for what you say, not how people perceive you. Be sure people know your sources. Make social media a conversation where you ask questions and retweet criticisms or quotations publicly and respond to followers' comments.
I want to close with a paraphrase of Amy Bartner of the Indianapolis Star talking about journalists and the direction journalism is taking to merge personal and professional.
We're all humans. We all have personalities. We all have opinions. We can't just pretend we're robots that sit at computers and type our stories [and don't care].
1. Figure out the value of YOU. Anyone can report, that is, share images with the public. However, not everyone can be a journalist. Only we, as journalists, have the training to properly interpret and provide perspective on stories. Our lunch's keynote speaker Dave Lindquist of the Indianapolis Star said, "80% of success is being there." Eventually, someone is going to call you because he/she needs a journalist who is in your vicinity to report on events occurring around you. Make yourself indispensable to any employer. Also, figure out your niche expertise, so that you're the person an editor has to call on topic X or Y.
2. Use the Internet to your advantage. There are numerous sites to analyze your social media reach and to help you generate story ideas and sources. The Internet also offers great resources for compiling information so that you don't have to scour sites all day by yourself. It can effectively organize data for you and can even send you alerts before other people have jumped on a story. For some of the most helpful sites, check out the list compiled by Jeff Cutler, a social media specialist for SPJ who spoke at 2 of the sessions I attended. My short list: make sure you have a blog, your own domain and, if you're a photojournalist, a Flickr account.
3. Freelance. You'll want clips from publications beyond your school paper or primary news outlet. It's part of getting as much experience and exposure as possible. It's easy to take what you're really passionate about and find a niche publication that needs your expertise in that passion AND in good writing. You'll be able to present a future employer with different types of writing, as well as a network of several editors who can vouch for your work ethic. It can also be a great way to make some money on the side, whether you're between jobs or just want some extra income and want to prevent rustiness in your writing.
4. Get to know your followers. Figure out what your readers are interested and what will keep them coming back to your writing. Make sure they're following YOU, not your outlet. Also, figure out when you have the greatest reach. According to social media experts, 7-10 p.m. is a good time to post on social media. 2-6 p.m. (or 3-5 p.m., according to Jeopardy) sees a lot of Twitter traffic, so you may want to schedule your tweets then.
5. Write with the assumption that no one trusts you. If you depend on the reputation of your news outlet, your writing will get lazy, and YOU (as a brand) will blend into the background. You need to write in a way that no one can deny what you're saying. You're only responsible for what you say, not how people perceive you. Be sure people know your sources. Make social media a conversation where you ask questions and retweet criticisms or quotations publicly and respond to followers' comments.
I want to close with a paraphrase of Amy Bartner of the Indianapolis Star talking about journalists and the direction journalism is taking to merge personal and professional.
We're all humans. We all have personalities. We all have opinions. We can't just pretend we're robots that sit at computers and type our stories [and don't care].
Revoir- C'est maintenant (A Resurrection and Lesson in Branding)
Hello, blog world! I know it's been a long while. I must first apologize for that. I lost track of my account and just recently found the login information. Lucky for me, it was right after the Region 5 spring conference for the Society of Professional Journalists, something about which I wanted to blog.
There is much irony in this post. I wanted to blog about the biggest lesson I took away from the conference: YOU MUST BRAND YOURSELF.
Every session I attended talked about how best to sell yourself and how to use social media to most effectively create a following for yourself. Gone is the age of working for a brand, a masthead (a media outlet). Now, YOU are the brand.
I realized how true this has become for me. I am a self-proclaimed Joel Stein addict. If you don't know him, look up some of his writings. You'll know you've found him if it's sarcastic, ironic, Jewish and probably mentions either his wife Cassandra or his son Laszlo. Yes, Stein writes for Time magazine, one of my favorite weekly publications, but I don't read him because he writes for Time. I read him because he's funny; he's Stein. I'm subscribed to him on Facebook, and I follow him on Twitter. Even if he left Time or it went out of business (as often occurs in the media today), I'd still find him and read him.
I also realized how poor a job I've been doing of branding Rachel Manning. I met many students at the conference who had been producing radio newscasts or writing in-depth news series throughout college. One of the speakers said she had freelanced in college and had been published out of New York before even getting a diploma. I, on the other hand, barely have a YouTube presence after my Honors capstone and oversee a Twitter account with a measly 19 followers. It was after this epiphany that I knew I had to restart my blog.
I know it may be too little too late for me, but I titled this "Musings of a Young Journalist." It's perfect. I can still muse. My thoughts must have some value. I'm still young. I'm allowed to make mistakes. I'm still a journalist. I'll call it "doing story research...for several months." The SPJ Code of Ethics' first tenet is "Seek the truth and report it." I've been discovering many truths recently about the news industry, so I will continue to report them, and maybe, just maybe, someone even younger than myself can gain something from it. Maybe, just maybe I can save one amateur journalist from being as lost as I am and feeling as behind in the game of making a name and eventually making a career.
So, take a seat. Grab a pen and notebook (as if you didn't always carry those). And take note. Thank you.
There is much irony in this post. I wanted to blog about the biggest lesson I took away from the conference: YOU MUST BRAND YOURSELF.
Every session I attended talked about how best to sell yourself and how to use social media to most effectively create a following for yourself. Gone is the age of working for a brand, a masthead (a media outlet). Now, YOU are the brand.
I realized how true this has become for me. I am a self-proclaimed Joel Stein addict. If you don't know him, look up some of his writings. You'll know you've found him if it's sarcastic, ironic, Jewish and probably mentions either his wife Cassandra or his son Laszlo. Yes, Stein writes for Time magazine, one of my favorite weekly publications, but I don't read him because he writes for Time. I read him because he's funny; he's Stein. I'm subscribed to him on Facebook, and I follow him on Twitter. Even if he left Time or it went out of business (as often occurs in the media today), I'd still find him and read him.
I also realized how poor a job I've been doing of branding Rachel Manning. I met many students at the conference who had been producing radio newscasts or writing in-depth news series throughout college. One of the speakers said she had freelanced in college and had been published out of New York before even getting a diploma. I, on the other hand, barely have a YouTube presence after my Honors capstone and oversee a Twitter account with a measly 19 followers. It was after this epiphany that I knew I had to restart my blog.
I know it may be too little too late for me, but I titled this "Musings of a Young Journalist." It's perfect. I can still muse. My thoughts must have some value. I'm still young. I'm allowed to make mistakes. I'm still a journalist. I'll call it "doing story research...for several months." The SPJ Code of Ethics' first tenet is "Seek the truth and report it." I've been discovering many truths recently about the news industry, so I will continue to report them, and maybe, just maybe, someone even younger than myself can gain something from it. Maybe, just maybe I can save one amateur journalist from being as lost as I am and feeling as behind in the game of making a name and eventually making a career.
So, take a seat. Grab a pen and notebook (as if you didn't always carry those). And take note. Thank you.
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