March 25, 2009

Is it time for Internship or multimedia training?

In the midst of the newspaper layoffs and buyouts, it was refreshing to see that something that might actually help you get a journalism job, even in this rotten economy.

Rob Curley is pretty specific in saying what he wants, especially noting that skillset is important. but mindset is most important. He also says:
"It means we’re looking for at least a couple of people to help us on the news side of lasvegassun.com, a journalist to help us with lasvegasweekly.com, a sports journalist to help us across all of our sites, and a video journalist to help us with our upcoming, new daily television show.

"We want solid journalists who can write their backsides off. (Unless you’re applying for the videographer position, and even then you should still be able to write well, as well as be able to shoot and edit your backside off.)

"We’re also looking for programmers with an understanding of Django. And if you’re a designer with killer Flash or motion-graphics skills, we want you."
Those positions are internships and details about length, pay, etc. are in the post.

Pay, imagine that. So different from what the former managing editor ofthe TV Guide is getting, according to the The Los Angeles Times. Lois Draegin, who was laid off from her TV Guide job in spring 2008 ,is an unpaid intern at wowOwow.com, the Women on the Web site aimed at those over 40.

She took the internship as a way to fill out her resume and learn more about URLs, SEO and other Internet items, reports Geraldine Baum. . Her first first story received 200 clicks, whereas her second drew 5,000. The Times story talks about what she's learning and what a much younger intern is learning. wowOwow sees Executive Interns as a way to fight recession. A separate wowOwow items suggests that others should consider creating Executive Interships.

If you are laid off or furloughed, you might want to listen to Angela Grant who suggests on News Videographer that you become a multimedia wizard.

She was inspired by a blog post on a free six-week training opportunity that teaches you "to produce cutting edge content for TV, radio, online and mobile." First, one week of intense training. Second, four weeks getting paid to produce multimedia for a real news organization. Third, another week of intense training. The only catch — INFUZE is in the UK and the deadline is past.

But Grant said it gave her an idea:
"If you were unfortunate enough to get laid off recently, this may be a good opportunity to take the time to teach yourself how to shoot video. No pressure, plenty of time. It would certainly sweeten you up and make you stand out in the harsh job market."
I suggest you start with reading NewsVideographer and look for the Training Sites listed on the right site of the blog. She includes a number of possibilities, including:
FUZE suggested that folks should look at I still like the Mastering Multimedia blog, especially this entry: "Stop bitchin' and just train yourself." And despite the gloomy outlook for many right, now the blog author is still optimistic about newspaper video surviving.

And I'm sorry that I don't remember who shared this link first, but you can find 100 free open courses on journalism, bloging and new media here.

By the way, Kmart has the Flip video cameras on sale this week. They are not the world's best cameras, but you can do a lot with them. A quick start at a low price.

And this just in from Mostly Media: KSU's Center For Sustainable Journalism Hiring A Director

Hey Atlanta journos - especially recently laid-off ones: KSU’s Center For Sustainable Journalism, co-founded by SoCon co-founder, Leonard Witt, is hiring a director. This is an exciting opportunity for the right person. Details are here.


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