Journalism

For Journalists Who Need an Escape Plan (Even If You’re Not Ready to Admit It Yet)

May 6, 2013

Working at newspapers isn’t what it used to be. We know this from Allyson Bird’s post on why she left news, and we know it from a recent survey on CareerCast.com, which ranked “newspaper reporter” as the worst job of 2013. And if you’ve had the experience of working in a newsroom, you know it […]

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Want a job in journalism? Learn biz

June 6, 2011

Over the past year, I have not only looked for a job in journalism, I’ve also covered hiring trends. I spend my days browsing job boards and Facebook groups dedicated to hiring and job-opening listserves and LinkedIn company updates — basically sniffing around anywhere people post jobs. My beat isn’t focused on journalism, but my […]

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How Newspapers Played Bin Laden’s Death

May 2, 2011

On my lunch break today, I headed over to the Newseum — a fabulous museum about news — to see Today’s Front Pages. It’s an outdoor exhibit near the building entrance that features the front page of one newspaper from each state each day. You can see them online, but it’s not the same as […]

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What I learned during 2 years away from the work force

March 1, 2011

I’ve been working full time now for five months. And though I’m loving my new lifestyle and job, I don’t want to forget all that I learned during my two years away from the mainstream work force. I say “mainstream” because I was working for much of those two years. After traveling for six months, […]

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An idea to get your writer’s foot in the door

January 24, 2011

Writers who don’t have many published clips often ask me how they can get their foot in the door. By this point, they usually have decent writing skills, but don’t know which publications to approach to get their first few stories published. Here’s what I tell them: Try your alumni publication. Alumni magazines are often […]

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In defense of Helen Thomas

June 7, 2010

Note: I was editing this post when the news broke that Helen’s retiring. I debated whether to post it at all, because I’m no doubt throwing myself into the lion’s den here (and ironically writing above a post about things that are better left unblogged), but this is something I believe needs to be said. […]

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How to use social media to look for a job

April 21, 2010

Update: I’m now offering a social media course that will help you reach your job-search goals. It’s called Make Your Own Luck. Would love to have you! A lot has changed since the last time I was in the market for a job. Fresh out of j-school in 2005, I gave my resume and clips […]

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Considering journalism school? My advice.

April 12, 2010

A woman who follows my blog wrote to me last week asking whether she should go to journalism school. This question comes up a lot. The pros and cons have been covered again and again and again (ironically, this U.S. News & World Report story was published in 1996 — when a master’s at Medill […]

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Five cool ways news organizations are using social media

March 30, 2010

Yeah, I usually blog about writing or travel. But since I’m looking to dive back into full-time journalism, my mind has been wandering into news land. Specifically, social media news land. I’ve been watching how journalists and news organizations use social media (and playing with some of those approaches myself). By now, most media outlets […]

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Writers' Roundup: March 5

March 5, 2010

Happy Friday! Some weekend reading for y’all: Math of Publishing Meets the E-Book, from the New York Times. Just how much does it actually cost to produce a printed book versus a digital one? At True/Slant, a great list of the Best Journalism of 2009. A few of Conor Friedersdorf’s categories: exceptional storytelling, short essays […]

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