Friday, April 10, 2015

Full time reporter position, Norfolk, Nebraska

Reporter position available: Due to a retirement, the Norfolk Daily News has an opening for a full-time reporter to join our 19-person staff. If you like to write and report on a variety of topics and also be involved in multimedia and social media efforts, this may be the position for you. Competitive wages and excellent fringe benefits. If interested, please email cover letter, resume and writing samples to Kent Warneke at editor@norfolkdailynews.com

The Norfolk Daily News in Norfolk, Nebraska, is family owned and remains a very good newspaper. It has a full time reporter position open. The paper prints six days a week. Norfolk is a short two-hour drive from Omaha. It is a town of about 25,000 with a large rural population surrounding it.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Want a job when you graduate? Then don't shun the multimedia skills

Recently, a discussion took place on the College Media Association listserv regarding the value of multimedia journalism skills, spawned by some advisers complaining that their students refused to learn them and preferred to stay in their "silos" or print or broadcast. This post, I thought, encapsulated the beliefs of many of the hiring managers with whom I communicate for my Twitter feed. It is reprinted here with permission.

As someone who hires interns and later helps them get jobs, I think students who work in converged newsrooms and have multimedia skills are much more likely to get and keep those jobs. At larger publications, people are still more likely to specialize, especially those who are farther along in their careers. No editor I know expects everyone to be great at every skill. But if you are the first person at the site of a breaking news story and you don’t get the photos and video, can’t write the first online brief and can’t provide updates across platforms, you aren’t going to make it.
 
Here is the first of a list of key activities listed for a multimedia journalist at one of the Scripps papers: “Write articles, take photographs, and shoot video (or a combination thereof) as necessary to tell a story.” Here’s another one: “Proficiency in use of web publishing tools and ability to learn new technology quickly.”
 
Here’s part of the description of the work environment: “Moderate physical demands to include carrying a laptop computer and digital camera with equipment bag on assignments.”
 
This is a job at a newspaper for someone just coming out of school.
 
A job posting at a TV station in a small market for someone with one to two years of experience calls for broadcasting skills but also the ability to “report, write, capture quality visual content, edit and produce stories for multiple platforms on deadline, such as Internet and digital channels.”
 
We stress multimedia skills here. I recruit students who have them, but we also teach them to students who need them. Sometimes when my interns return to school, they are stymied in taking courses that would allow them to get better at these skills because they are majoring in print or broadcast and can’t get into courses in the other specialty.
 
I’m sure it’s hard to change the culture. But if students want to work in journalism, they need to be thinking of how to tell stories across platforms.
 
Jody Beck
Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
Director, Semester in Washington Program
Scripps Howard Foundation
202-408-2748
@JodyBeckDC
1100 13th St. NW, #450
Washington, DC 20005

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Sports Media/Sports Facility Management Internship

The Ultimate Baseball Academy in Omaha, Nebraska, is offering paid internships ranging between $8-$10 per hour to help manage the organization's facilities, as well as its 50 youth baseball teams and more than 600 full adult softball teams.

The internship will include team scheduling, facility management and some sports media management, marketing different camps and leagues to the public.

Contact Director of Operations Larry Vavricek for more information: http://www.ubanebraska.com/contact-us/

Friday, January 16, 2015

Paid summer journalism internship

Lewis County Press in Missouri offers an eight- to 10-week paid summer internship for college students to learn community journalism. By the end of the summer, the intern will have produced a community guide or magazine that will be mailed to all the residents in one of our counties. The intern will be responsible for all aspects of producing the publication: design, layout, taking photos, writing copy, editing and selling ads. The intern will be listed as both the editor and publisher on the masthead. Thus, the publication will be something tangible the intern can show future employers of what was accomplished in the summer of 2015.

An example: http://issuu.com/tejghosh/docs/communityguide8-22-2013online.

Also, the intern will be expected to interact positively with the publisher and team at the
assigned paper and, time permitting, help out as requested.

Compensation (1099 contractor):

  • $300/week
  • 25% commission on ad sales in excess of $2,000
  • Help with housing

Requirements:

  • Curiosity
  • Good social skills
  • Desire to work and succeed
  • Photoshop, InDesign, Word, Excel

Lewis County Press, LLC:
Lewis County Press’s mission is to strengthen communities by delivering proprietary local news and editorial supported by advertising and subscriptions. It has grown from one newspaper to its current portfolio of nine publications during the past four years and actively seeks additional acquisitions. It is the parent of the DeWitt Era-Enterprise, Arkansas County, AR; The Lamar Democrat, Barton County, MO; The Vedette and The Lake Stockton Shopper, Dade County, MO; The Messenger of Juneau County, Juneau County, WI; the Press-News Journal, Lewis County, MO; the Home Press, Macon County, MO; the Monroe County Appeal, Monroe County, MO; and the Ralls County Herald-Enterprise, Ralls County, MO. Its headquarters is in LaGrange, MO.

Contact:
E-mail resume to bob@lewispnj.com

Entry Level Job Seekers: Thank you Notes on Verge of Extinction

Mike McGuiness
mike@jobipedia.org
Follow us on Twitter: @jobipedia

In a digital age, the ability to connect with people and gather information is incredible. There are countless channels, platforms, services and hardware designed to make everyday life easier and better connected. However, even with all these tools to improve our ability to do everything faster, a once common and personal communication is becoming lost – sending Thank You notes.

Always Send Thank You Notes
While a Thank You note will certainly be appreciated for almost any daily interaction, it’s an imperative step when you’re on the job hunt. Unfortunately, it seems jobseekers are forgetting this practice altogether. Nicole, a hiring manager from Manpower Group who contributes to jobipedia.org said, “As a Recruiter it still surprises me how many people do not send a thank you note after an interview.”

There is almost no excuse to not send a Thank You note to each person you met during the interview process. A hiring manager from Merck named Francis who contributes to jobipedia.org said, “It’s a matter of politeness and professionalism.” It’s also a great way to show your written communication skills, while simultaneously making a good impression with the hiring manager.

The reality of handwritten Thank You notes
A common misconception about Thank You notes is they must be handwritten. Ultimately, send any form of “thank you” to show how much you appreciated the opportunity to interview for the available position and for the time you spent with the hiring manager. Jonathan, a hiring manager from Avery Dennison who contributes to jobipedia.org said, “It shows good character and can be done via a hand written letter, email, LinkedIn note, etc.”

However, while handwritten Thank You notes aren’t the rule, they are a great way to stand-out and impress the hiring manager. A hiring manager from Cardinal Health named Megan who contributes to jobipedia.org said, “Interviewers are typically impressed with handwritten notes because they are usually well thought out, take slightly more effort than e-mailed notes and the card selected can show a glimpse of a candidate’s personality which is sometimes rather difficult to do when following proper interview etiquette.”

Thank You Notes Best Practice
If you want to go the extra mile, and that should always be the case when looking for a job, send an email Thank You immediately following your interview. That way the hiring manager receives a note from you quickly. Then, send a handwritten Thank You note the following day. That handwritten Thank You won’t arrive for a few days and will be a great, non-intrusive nor pestering reminder to the hiring manager that you’re excited about the available position.

Whatever method or approach you decide is best for you regarding Thank You notes, always remember to send them.