Mindy McAdams forces me to write this. This afternoon, she writes a passionate (if that’s not an overused word) weblog post about training future generations of journalists: Getting (and Keeping) a job in journalism. Her advice is right on:
- Get off of MySpace and Facebook and start making Web sites from scratch.
- Quit wallowing in the verbiage of Slate and Salon and start searching the blogs. Get an RSS reader and learn to use it.
- Stop watching YouTube and start making videos of your own (and then post them on YouTube).
- Take the earbuds out and buy a microphone.
- Stop mixing music and start mixing interviews and natural sound.
- Start figuring out why this Web site is easier to use than this one.
In short, start generating some content! She talks about some of the changes taking place in major newsrooms around the country. I had to write this because I had literally just finished an IM interview with Howard Owens in which he sounded many of the same themes. The transcript of that interview will be posted Monday morning.
In the meantime, you might want to print out Mindy’s post and tape it to a wall in your newsroom somewhere where every would-be Hunter Thompson and Eddie Adams can read it.
on Jan 12th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
You know, I was going to IM you again this afternoon after our interview and expand on the “do content” meme … I concentrated on blogs, but every journalist, pro or student, should carry a camera all the time, take lots of stills and video and post — create content, be all about creating content. I always carry a P&S. I tend more toward stills, cause I’m too shy to interview people as a “citizen journalist,” but students have even more compelling reasons o use the tools.
on Jan 13th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
[…] UPDATE: You could consider Bryan’s post at Innovations in College Media, McAdams: Unplug, Plug In, and Create Some Content!, a companion piece. […]