It was a great pleasure to get to spend a few minutes with Paul Conley during our New York sojourn. Conley is outspoken, forthright, and very astute in what he says. I know some people who find those characteristics a little off-putting. But for me, they are a breath of fresh air for our industry. We need more Paul Conleys. #

Exhibit 1: Three job tips for students Go read it. #

Three things every student should have: youth, entrepreneurial spirit, and self-taught. Youth is a state of mind as much as anything. And I heartily agree with Paul about all of these things. Furthermore, I think we in college media need to be encouraging these attributes. That’s what innovation is all about.

Entrepreneurial spirit: How much time at your college media outlet do you spend coming up with new story ideas? That’s good. Now, how much time do you spend thinking up innovative ways to use your online site? To tell stories with greater depth online? To engage your community? How much do you value students who propose new things, new experiments in journalism? I think I’d actually faint if a student asked me: “How could we use citizen journalism in our newsroom?” That student would be the new cit-j editor for the paper. #

And more than college media, the news industry needs that kind of spirit – desperately. #

Self-taught: I’m a big believer in figuring things out without reading the manual. That’s not always the easiest way to do it, but it’s the way I learn. Others learn differently. The key is that people are learning things on their own. How much do you facilitate that spirit? Does someone on your staff seem to want to learn Flash? How much do you encourage that? Do you provide funds for training beyond conferences? What about a subscription to Lynda.com, for instance? If a student wants to experiment with Twitter, do you encourage it? More importantly, do you applaud such efforts at self-learning? Because recognizing such efforts will build further efforts. It sets a tone. And that’s probably the most important thing an adviser or editor can do: set the tone. #

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