As the Online News Association annual conference unfolded last weekend, my coworkers and I were eagerly watching and griping at the same time. It would have been awesome to be there.
As tightly scheduled, financially struggling journalists, these big industry conferences seem more and more out of reach to attend but they also offer the greatest payoff in an industry where networking and skill sharpening is nearly the only way to stay afloat.
Lori Todd and I coauthored …

Read on »

Inspired by this blog post at Journalistopia from Danny Sanchez (@dannysanchez) of the Orlando Sentinel, I was forced to come face-to-face with reality.  As an online producer, what I do isn’t exactly technical rocket science. I am lucky to have a job at a transition time when most people have not had the chance to keep up with the online learning curve. And for most people, it’s no fault of their own, in my opinion.  Reporters are busy digging up …

Read on »

After a long and patient wait spent folding clothes at Banana Republic, ladies and gentlemen, I have landed a job. Actually, I’ve been at said job for about a month now and every week gets more and more exciting and challenging. You know all the stories and photos and videos that are posted on your favorite newspaper’s Web site? Well there isn’t some robot there posting all that content.  Computers aren’t doing it either. Producers who monitor, edit and select …

Read on »

I don’t trade stocks. I don’t have a 401K. I get a bi-weekly paycheck from my part-time job that keeps me from having to ask my parents for spending money while I’m on the job search.  I just got hired and Banana Republic hasn’t announced job cuts to their sales support team.  Does the economy effect me? Not in these ways.
But…
The lack of career-starting jobs in media and journalism has decreased in the last month or so, as evidenced by …

Read on »