The "Final "Word (for now...)

One topic that I am interested in is how the general public views the media. A 2009 study from the Pew Research Center found that distrust in the media has grown. According to the results, 63 percent of those surveyed said that news articles were often inaccurate.
Check out the entire New York Times article at...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/business/media/14survey.html
So what can we, as future journalists, do to fix this problem? It's easy to say things like, "Be accurate, get both sides, etc." But sometimes it's not that easy.
What do you think?

Journalism is an exciting and field requiring perseverance and some aggressiveness by those hoping to become successful in the field. It is a competitive field that has changed dramatically over the last few years and is expected to continue changing as new technology is introduced. Careers in journalism require people who are independent, flexible, creative and highly innovative.
In your opinion, do you feel that these characteristics can be taught? Can someone be trained how to be aggressive, innovative or gung ho? In the Journalism field, is a person with an outgoing personality more likely to be successful than someone who is withdrawn?

What Are Your Expectations?

Jessica Ramsberger
This semester we’ve discussed resumes, interviewing skills, job hunting, etc. but we haven’t addressed what WE, as future journalists of some sort, should look for in an employer. We know what is expected of us (skills and such) but what do we expect from them?

Is pay the only thing that matters? Benefits? Training? Opportunity for advancement?


Danielle Breiter

With the economy the way it is, I think that many people may possibly be looking over seas for jobs or experience. We’ve also heard of multiple incidents that occur overseas, including terrorist attacks. Although the U.S. has had its share of attempts, I think that we all feel that the U.S. is still a safe place. We are comfortable here. I know that I have been thinking about going overseas to live for awhile after I graduate and I definitely have some fears. It would be interesting to see if other people are thinking the same or if they have any suggestions

Using Facebook and Twitter

Here's this week's blog from Kate Tawney. Others will follow next week, probably at the rate of two per week until all those who submitted blog ideas have theirs posted.

I've always wondered, in the midst of this crazy transformation in journalism and the hype of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, how can journalists embrace those sites and utilize them for their work, or should they not look to FB and Twitter at all?
I ask because I constantly hear about Twitter on ESPN, various athletes using it, and the reporters quoting their 'tweets' and I was just wondering if that is considered good journalism or just pure laziness.

An article pertaining to my idea:

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/04/02/more-journalists-using-facebook-and-twitter

We’ve gotten a lot of advice on what to do and what not to do on the job hunt. We should only have a one-page resume, with spare copies in hand. We should dress in our best clothes. We should try to stand out, but not stand out too much ­– we wouldn’t want to make a bad impression. We’re getting a lot of advice from a lot of different sources, so what should we believe?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/03/31/cb.job.search.myths/?hpt=Mid

This article on CNN.com talks about job search myths that we haven’t considered before. What do you think of what the article has to say? How does it compare with the other advice we’ve received and how will you apply it to your job search?

Having Your Say

All right, so you have all been forced to read my ideas about the state of journalism today, how to produce good resume materials, interview for jobs, and so on. Now comes your turn. For the rest of the semester, I'm asking you to submit your own blog writings for posting here on "Your Senior Seminar." They can be about anything related to journalism, the job search, the future of media, etc. For this week, I will select one blog to post on Monday morning, which doesn't give you much time. The deadline to send me your proposed blog is Sunday night at 9 p.m. As an incentive, the blog selected will result in extra credit for the writer on her/his final average for this class. If it's good enough, your blog could mean the difference between your numerical average for the course and the next highest grade. So, get blogging, people!

A Generation Gap in the Workplace

In an article titled "Uncommon Threads: Mending the Generation Gap at Work," Anderson University professor Brad Sago writes:

"Having difficulty understanding the perspective, work habits, and communication styles of those in another age group is common in the workplace. The challenge may come from interactions with your boss, an employee, co-worker, client, or even a vendor. As with other diversity issues, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and race, examining and understanding generations has become an increasingly important part of maximizing organizational effectiveness."

Read the full article, found at: http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/articledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=13100

Do you agree or disagree with the article's major points? What do you see as the biggest differences between your generation and previous generations? How do those differences create challenges in today's workplace?

The Job Interview

One of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the job search for many of us is the face-to-face job interview. It's the goal of your resume, cover letter, and portfolio to prompt a phone call from a potential employer asking you to come in for the interview, but how do prepare? What questions can you expect to be asked? How should you answer? What should you wear? These are all aspects of preparation for the job interview. For those of you who already have experience in job interviews, what has that experience taught you that might be helpful to others? For those who have had limited experience in job interviews, what would be most helpful to know before you meet with a potential employer?

Ask a Professional

What are your biggest unanswered questions about the job search process? Do they involve lingering doubts about how to approach or refine your resume? How about what to include in your portfolio or how to dress for a job interview? All these are areas we will continue to discuss for the rest of the semester, but this Tuesday, February 23rd, you will have an opportunity to ask a professional for her views. Our guest is Kathy Curtis of CBS radio, known here in Tampa Bay as the morning drive personality of WSJT, Smooth Jazz 98.7.

In advance of Tuesday's class, please acquaint yourself with Kathy's biography and background. Obviously, this can be researched on-line. Then, by no later than 10 a.m. that morning, post at least two specific questions that you would like Kathy to answer in class.

Hopefully, this is the start of a number of "Ask a Professional" sessions we will have before semester's end!

Writing an Effective Cover Letter

This week you begin learning the art of writing an effective cover letter. Along with your resume, the cover letter is one of the ways in which you make a strong case for an employer to interview you. There are many approaches to composing a cover letter, but most suggest that its most important aspect is how you begin. Should you tell a compelling personal anecdote, a story that helps define you? Some employment experts endorse this approach. Read what the Poynter website has to say about cover letters:

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=77&aid=164873

What do you think? Is there a personal story you can tell in your cover letter that will help draw your reader into the narrative?

The Job Search: Where Do You Begin?

How do you find your first job? Where do you look? What are the major media sites for posting jobs? How about for entry level, as opposed to mid-level jobs? The suggestion has been made by Megan that we spend a class in our news lab looking at different job posting sites to see what they have to offer and evaluate how useful they are for new (or soon to be) graduates. What process are you currently using to search for a job after graduation? No doubt it involves visiting certain websites. What are they? Why do you think they're helpful (or not)? As part of your post, be sure to include the URL of your favorite sites. If you don't have any favorite sites, use this as an opportunity to explore what's out there and include your findings in the post.

Can Young Entrepreneurs Save Journalism?

There's a debate underway, in newsrooms, boardrooms, and classrooms about how to save journalism. That's right: save journalism. Here's why, according to a recent article in the New York Times:
The American Journalism Review estimates that 15 percent of the nation’s newspaper newsroom jobs were lost in 2008 as news consumers continued to gravitate to online sources and as traditional revenue streams dried up; so far this year, major newspapers in Denver and Seattle have folded altogether.At the same time, the shift from a print-based, scheduled world of media to a digital, on-demand world of options is changing how journalists do their jobs...At stake is a generation of reporters, and the continued role of journalists as the eyes, ears and questioners for the public."

The full article can be found at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/education/edlife/journ-t.html?_r=2

Journalism's future depends on those who can come up with a new business model to support journalism; it may depend less upon those who create content and more upon those who devise new ways of getting the audience to pay for that content, in other words, those with both journalism and entrepreneurial skills.

After reading the whole article, what's your take on this? (by the way, note that it contains a good number of quotes from Chris Callahan, the dean of ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, who some of you met last week when he was here as the leader of our accreditation site team).

How do I find a job as a young journalist?

This week we discussed in class how perhaps the toughest job you'll ever get is the first one; this is especially true in journalism and media jobs, where the hires are few and the competition is increasingly fierce. We discussed how to focus upon the things you can control during the job search instead of those that are beyond your control. The website for our neighbors, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, has a blog titled "Ask the Recruiter," giving advice to young people like yourself regarding the job hunt. A recent posting addresses the question that I've used as the title of this particular blog entry. Check out the link below:

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=77&aid=176030

Here's what I think. It seems to me that some of the advice given is practical, logical, and maybe even intuitive. What do you think? How can you apply the suggestions to your own specific situation as you near graduation, even if you do not plan to get a job in journalism or media ?

Managing Change in Today's Media Workplace

A lot has changed in the media workplace since this photo was taken of a newsroom in the 1950's. Obviously, technology has played a significant role in bringing about that change. For one, it has redefined the job of "journalist" in today's society. How do you think your first job will be different from those who entered the journalism profession sixty years ago? What do you believe is the toughest challenge you will face in your career as a journalist?