The Real ME
I know it’s been a long time since I posted on my blog. But I have been totally focused on survival in a world that is increasingly shaky for journalists and others in the media. Every day I read the trades and on-line newsletters about the hundreds if not thousands of people in the media who are losing their jobs. That’s only for one industry… not including the thousands being laid off, downsized and put out to pasture in other industries. Never in my lifetime have I seen such a negative economic situation. Regardless of who is eventually elected president (Barack), he will have his hands full dealing with the legacy of the Bushes. We are indeed in a new global reality and I’m not sure we have a total grasp of what that really means. When I see the thousands of people who are out of work, I thank God that I made my transition from the traditional newsroom ahead of the curve two years ago. I find myself thinking, where are all those unemployed journalists going to work? Some will make their transition into PR or academia. Others will be like me and try their hand at entrepreneurship. Despite the fact that I have been out here for two years, I am still facing a steep learning curve going from the confines of corporate America to fending for myself. I am learning something every day and I find out how much more I have to learn every day. So what is happening to others who find themselves in my circumstances? There just aren’t that many PR, teaching or otherwise journalism related jobs out there. I don’t presume to have the answers to all these questions, but it has caused me to pause and do some deep reflection on my life, my family and our world. Whether we like it or not, we are in the middle of a revolution. The result of that revolution will profoundly affect the way all of us live. The challenge for us is whether we are ready to deal with this new reality.
Tuesday,July 8, 2008 at 12:53 pm |
When the consolidation of media ownership first began many people said it would have catastrophic results. But those folks were shouted down by the supports of cross-ownership, supersized media groups, and the drive to maximize profits. Now we watch while the mainstream media speaks with fewer and fewer voices (figuratively and physically!) But, in a society where the top 1% has as much economic power as the bottom 90% it should hardly be any surprise.
Tuesday,July 8, 2008 at 2:15 pm |
Yes, times or tough, but we have no choice but to embrace acceptance. The industry is what it is. Those who fully embrace the changes will stand the best chance of reinventing themselves.
And speaking of makeovers, I saw this on another blog:
Tips on Keeping Your Print Journalism Job
1. Embrace the web. It’s going to be extra work, and you’re going to be on your own 24-hour news/opinion cycle. But that’s how it is; you can rest up when you’re dead. Management is keenly aware of the foot-draggers on this front. Don’t wait to be ordered to “serve other platforms” of the paper. Volunteer. Blog. Post photos. Consider video. Offer podcasts. Do web-only quick-and-dirty news stories. You’re a multi-media machine now!
2. Get a meat-and-potatoes job. This is an awful time to be an enterprise or general assignment reporter, or a graphics artist or just-another-copy editor. Those were important jobs, a decade ago; now, they’re fluff. Ask to take over the most basic beats. Cops. City hall. Schools. Recreational and prep sports. If you’re a production person, make sure you’re THE No. 1 copy editor; otherwise, make sure you’re a primary layout/pagination editor. If you’re a features person, consider taking a news-side beat. Hard news reporters and inner-circle production people will be the last fired.
3. Suck up. I never was any good at this, but it might have enabled me to leave when I wanted. Go to staff meetings. Speak up. Volunteer ideas. Send “attaboys” to your superiors. “Great paper today, Bob! I’m proud of the whole gang!” Make sure the person who makes the call on who gets fired next knows who you are … and is convinced that you believe him/her to be an inspiration, a visionary and a genius.
4. Flip side of No. 3, above: Stop whining. Journalism is a business notorious for its contrary and crabby people, for second-guessers and “that’s not how we’ve done it before” grousers. Five years ago you might have been overlooked as the Charming Curmudgeon. Now, you’re the Negative Nellie. When the call comes down to trash another 10 percent of the newsroom, don’t be the relentless kvetcher who immediately pops into the editor’s mind. Oh, and remember, “second-guessing” now consists of anything other than instant acceptance.
5. Produce. This is no time to coast. This is no time to insist you have more time to work on a story. Even at the metros. Get your byline in the newspaper at every opportunity. Like, daily. If your beat doesn’t lend itself to 3-4 bylines (at the least) per week … it’s time to switch beats.
6. Stop spending money! If your paper still travels, offer to stay in a budget motel. Rent the smallest car and eat fast-food meals. Never, ever “entertain” in the old-fashioned style of picking up the tab for other journos. As an editor, I always knew who would cost me the most to send on a trip, and it affected my decision-making. And, for god’s sake, stop padding your expense account.
7. Make sure your editor hired or promoted you. Some of you will say, “Hey, I was already here when Dave Dopey showed up.” Doesn’t matter. It’s your problem. Employers everywhere want “their” people around them. You become one of theirs by getting them to hire you, or by having them promote you. They then feel as if you are instinctively grateful toward them, and your open contempt for them might go unnoticed or dismissed as an incorrect reading. And if you can’t get New Guy to promote you … strongly consider changing papers. Yeah, it’s a hassle to move, but do you like getting regular paychecks? Thought so.
8. Keep your head down. When you’re not volunteering and sucking up and bustling about the newsroom looking busy … that is, when you’re not doing something overtly positive To Make the Product Better … keep a low profile. Don’t be the newsroom weirdo in terms of fashion or politics or religion. Don’t be the worst-dressed person in the place. Avoid being seen with known whiners or Enemies of The Editor (if any are left in your newsroom). Remember the Japanese proverb: The nail that sticks up gets hammered down … and left to consider part-time work at alternative weeklies.
9. Lose weight, tone up, get a haircut, consider cosmetic surgery. I’m serious. Quite. Layoffs are becoming unpopularity contests, and the obese, the flabby, the shaggy and the saggy are people decision-makers don’t like looking at. I worked for a guy whose loathing of overweight people was overt. I worked for another who made a guy city editor because he was handsome. You can save your ass by shrinking it.
10. Achieve excellence. Five years ago I would have listed this first. Now, it barely makes the list. Competence is a defense, but it no longer is first, second, third or ninth. But, all things being equal, if the cut is between you and someone else who is just as fat and bitchy as you are … the person who is better at their job will survive. (Till next time.)
See what you can do about those tips. I didn’t follow them all myself, and look where it got me! Do as I say, not as I did.
Tuesday,July 29, 2008 at 3:59 pm |
While I was employed full time at magazines for 12 years before leaving in 2005 for 3 years of freelancing and entrepreneurship, I am now (happily) in academia. I have plenty of friends who are in the same position in terms of trying to forecast just how long their full time positions as journalists in magazines will be around. And one editor in chief of a bi-monthly mag recently told me that they’re now writing all of their articles in-house, so I know it is challenging out there. I’m still freelance writing and editing for national mags. Those gigs are based on long held relationships. With fewer jobs and less freelance opptys, relationships and good work count more than ever. jd