Comments on: Tools for young journalists

By: The Journalism Iconoclast » My advice for j-students who want to make a difference (and get a job)

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:40:09 +0000

[...] Mindy McAdams tells students to make sure they have a respectable online presence. The key there is respectable. Don’t waste your time with an ugly, mistake-filled Web site [...]

By: Ken Schwencke

Ken Schwencke — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:45:32 +0000

I know I already sent you a private message, but I’d just like to say that I went out and made a blog right after hearing Prof. McAdams’ lecture. Thanks again!

By: John Cutter

John Cutter — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:45:32 +0000

Pat said: “The vast majority of daily newspapers don’t care if their applicants are Web-savvy, because the people hiring them aren’t either.”

More newsrooms are putting Web-savvy journalists in key positions and meshing web and print operations. And we care whether the people we hire (and the one who already work there) have the skills to work in newsrooms that are doing more and more and more on the Web.

By: Mindy

Mindy — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:33:33 +0000

@Doug: I wasn’t teaching them how to tell a story. I was giving them job-seeking tips.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:29:34 +0000

These are great suggestions, but surely a journalist’s most valuable talent (not learned skill) is recognizing what is happening on the street and turning those observations into a compelling story.

Social networking may help a journalist find sources and conduct research, but I fail to see how creating an online presence improves his or her ability to tell a story.

Doug

By: 10 dicas para estudantes | 10 tips for students « O Lago | The Lake

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:08:23 +0000

[...] Tools for young journalists [...]

By: Notes from a Teacher: Mark on Media » Wednesday squibs

Notes from a Teacher: Mark on Media » Wednesday squibs — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:33:42 +0000

[...] Tools for young journalists. Seemingly tireless Mindy McAdams shares some notes, and helpful links, from a guest lecture. Good for aging journalists, too. [...]

By: de volta « Monitorando

de volta « Monitorando — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:27:10 +0000

[...] Mindy McAdams dá dicas de ferramentas para jovens jornalistas: http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/tools-for-young-journalists/ [...]

By: Pat Thornton

Pat Thornton — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:23:13 +0000

Mindy,

I applaud you for teaching this because, I think that all students should have an online presence, regardless if people ask them about it or not. It can’t hurt and certainly will help for a lot of jobs.

An online resume is so much better than sending clips around to people. I still remember sending my clips all over the place, despite the fact that I had them on my Web site.

Many jobs right now will want someone with an online presence, and students should be prepared for those jobs. I’d be willing to bet, however, that the majority of dailies still don’t get it.

The big issue is that the people hiring young journalists have to get it to and when they do, they can hire Web-savvy journalists.

But let’s be honest, not all personal Web sites or blogs are created the same. Mine site is hand coded and my blog has a custom theme, while many other young journalists grabbed a pre-made WordPress theme. Someone who doesn’t really get the Web won’t be able to tell the difference, but if I was hiring someone, I’d pay close attention to those details.

I bet I can name some pretty big papers that don’t really care if their reporters or copy editors have an online presence. I only have to take one look at the Plain Dealer’s Web site to know that top 20 paper doesn’t get it. Although, maybe a lot has changed since I graduated in May 2006.

I hope it has.

By: Mindy

Mindy — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:03:27 +0000

Fair enough, Pat, but as one of the premier journalism programs in the country, we really don’t want our students to aim that low. In other words, we don’t relish the idea of our graduates working at a struggling publication where no one “gets it”!

We have heard from members of our journalism advisory board (editors at newspapers and magazines) that THEY are looking for these skills and asking these questions.

THEY give us an earful when they interview one of our students and discover the student is not savvy about this stuff.