Syracuse University’s Hub Brown responds in the latest issue of Static, a newsletter for broadcast journalism educators, that the training journalism schools provide in ethics and standards is more necessary than ever. And he says the claim that you don’t need a degree to get a job, while technically true, really doesn’t apply to broadcast:

I don’t know a news director in an electronic journalism entity anywhere who would consider hiring someone who does not know how to write for the ear and not the eye, or does not know what pictures to shoot at the scene of something newsworthy or why to shoot them, or cannot reliably produce news content for audiences on deadline.These are not skills one just absorbs. Especially not now.

The proof, Brown says, is in the numbers. Broadcast newsrooms are hiring again and new journalism grads are benefiting. Of course, as a journalism professor Brown has a vested interest in the success of J-schools. In some ways, so do I, as the author of a textbook that’s used in many of them. But even if I didn’t, I’d still think Tracy is a little off base. Why? Here are three reasons:

1. While it’s possible to learn skills on the job instead of in J-school , most newsrooms are looking for new hires that can hit the ground running. They’re especially interested in people with strong technical and multimedia skills. And I can’t tell you the last time I heard a young journalist mention training as something his or her employer provides. Just doesn’t happen.

2. J-schools that do their jobs right give students a solid grounding in critical thinking and ethical decision making. Both are critically important in today’s busy and often under-staffed newsrooms. Young journalists need to know how to dig for the truth, not just how to write a coherent sentence, as important as that is. They need to know how to be fair and how to remain independent. Yes, they’ll get better at it with practice, but in many newsrooms they may have to make decisions quickly and without much supervision. They need to leave school with a well-calibrated compass to avoid serious ethical missteps.

3. As Hub Brown points out, students who graduate from accredited journalism schools are required to take a broad range of courses outside their major. Only a third of their total credits can be in journalism. I hear students complain about this restriction all the time, but the truth is that the liberal arts courses they are “forced” to take give them a broader understanding of the world they’re about to cover.

I’m more than willing to admit that not every J-school does a great job of preparing its students. Some professors, stuck in the past, don’t serve their students well at all. But is journalism school in general “bad for the craft”? I think not. What do you think?

Sourced from: Advancing the Story

Others in the top 20 include big hitters like Poynter and IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors), as well as SPJ’s own website and its Journalist’s Toolbox.  Media Bistro and its associated site 10,000 Words are on the list as well.  All of them are well worth bookmarking and visiting often.

I hope you’ll come back to the NewsLab site as well, even if you follow us on Twitter or Facebook. More importantly, I hope you’ll let me know what resources we can provide that you haven’t already found on the site. What do you struggle with? What kinds of tips and tools do you find most useful? As the character Jerry Maguire says in the movie of the same name, “Help me help you!”

What do employers look for when you apply for a job? Or put another way, what can you do to ensure you don’t get the job? Plenty, according to news directors at a recent conference sponsored by the Texas Association of Broadcasters. Here’s some useful advice along with a few cautionary tales.

Cover letter

Make sure you address the news director personally, not “To whom it may Concern” or “Prospective Employer”–seriously! If necessary, call the station and ask, “Who is the news director and how do you spell his/her name?” One news director was getting letters addressed to his predecessor six  months after the guy was fired. Another got a pitch reel with his correct address, but the news director named was the guy across town. Make sure you get the gender right, too. Kelly could be a man.

Personalize the letter, be creative. Tell who you are and what you want to do. This is the first example of your writing this news director will see. Make it GOOD: interesting, original, with correct spelling and punctuation. But don’t try too hard. One memorable letter read: “From murders to rapes to fires, I’ve done it all.” He didn’t get the job.

Also, no gimmicks, no gifts. The panel described job seekers who enclosed candy, toys and Starbucks gift cards–no, no, no.

Resume

One page is best. Do not pad, do not exaggerate, do not lie. Some employers like Time Warner demand an extensive background check on any prospective employee.  Don’t claim degrees or awards you don’t have. Don’t claim to have worked on a project you had no part in. Even if you’re well qualified otherwise, a lie on your resume makes you unemployable.

Contact information should be professional. Is your personal email address frivolous or offensive (bootylicious@aol.com)? Create a new, free address at Gmail or Yahoo or spend $10 and get your own domain name. Make it professional.

References

Give people you intend to list as references the courtesy of asking if you may list them. Also ask if their employer allows them to comment on past employees. Some can’t, as part of company policy.

Provide a name, title, phone number and email address for each reference. If the people you list work odd shifts or days of the week, indicate the best time to reach them.

The package

Whether sending tape or a DVD, label it neatly and professionally. A messy package goes to the bottom of the pile.  No cute hearts or sticky stars on the labels either. News directors do not have time to fool around. One said he is currently reviewing 200 to 400 applications for one reporter position. So make the first thing on your pitch reel your absolute best work. Chances are, they will not look past that first piece. Show your real experience and do not include an anchor audition you’ve done on the set at a station or network where you interned. As one news director said, “Send it to your friends and your mother but not to me.”

Also, if you have a job and are seeking another one, do not include anything from college. If your college work is still what you are most proud of, what have you been doing?

Follow directions on the job application. If it says send it to the human resources department, do that. Don’t send it to the news director, and for Pete’s sake, don’t send it to the general manager or the news director’s wife, asking him/her to put in a good word for you.  Yes, this really happens. Bad idea.

A hint: Even if you want to work in TV, don’t be afraid of doing radio.”Come to us for a year, then these guys [the TV ND's] will hire you,” one radio news manager said. The TV news directors agreed. But don’t send a radio news director a video.

Social media

These days, it’s mandatory for anyone in the news business to have an online presence. But if an employer Googled your name, what would she or he find? Employers are checking you out on Facebook, Twitter and the Web. “If you tweet about being drunk, I’m not going to hire you,” said one news director.

When another news director visited one applicant’s Facebook page, he found a picture of her face down in a thong, passed out, surrounded by empty beer bottles. Deal breaker, right there.

Clean up your online act and do it now.

The interview

Dress professionally, as if you were on TV, or being asked to represent the station. No t-shirts, no cleavage, no flip-flops. A presentable haircut. No outlandish facial hair. Dress professionally for the job you are seeking. You might even call the station and ask if there is a dress code.

Do not bad-mouth your current or previous employer. Be a team player before you tell a prospective boss that you are one. If you are high maintenance or have an attitude in your current job, they will find out.  ”Do I want to bring a cancer into my newsroom?” one news director asked. “Negative Nelly–I don’t want anything to do with them,” said another.

Be prepared. Some news directors may give you a pop quiz, asking who the local member of Congress is, or the difference between a county or state district attorney or where the Dow Jones is right now. Know these things!

Lastly, it is your interview too.  Have an agenda. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Will I work weekends? Is there overtime? What would be expected of me?  As one news director put it, “Being really desperate for a job is one thing. Being really miserable in a job is to be avoided.”

Shapira is no rookie; he’s been at the Post for 10 years and was the lead reporter on the team that won a Pulitzer two years ago. But he’s brand new to audio and video, and he’s still discovering the different skills he needs to tell stories with these new tools. No, he’s not the first print reporter to go through this learning curve, but he may be the first to write candidly about it and share his student work on his own paper’s website.

On the Post’s StoryLab page, Shapira writes of his experience shooting a profile of a veteran DJ:

My transition from writer to video journalist has not been comfortable. I constantly fumbled with the tripod — right in front of my subject — which was about as embarrassing as getting caught with one’s fly open. And I spent so many hours late into the evening with the video editing software Final Cut Express that I wondered whether I was even doing journalism anymore, or computer science.

The video Shapira produced isn’t brilliant but it does show he’s trying. He ‘s also experimented with audio slideshows on his class blog, Curb Your Journalism. And he’s opened himself up to being critiqued in public; I hope he pays attention to the useful comments on his video.  But as he struggles to learn a new medium, Shapira wonders if it’s worth the trouble:

Does it even make sense for writers like me to learn how to shoot and edit video? For video journalists to become writers? Shouldn’t news organizations such as The Post invest in more specialists? Or, given our industry’s financial upheaval, is a more versatile staff better?

You can probably guess where I come down. Yes, it makes sense for journalists to be more versatile.  And as Shapira’s learning, getting there is not a snap. How would you advise him?

But if you’re serious about teaching journalism, we have some advice. Having done it myself–I left the newsroom to teach for a year at American University in the mid-1990s–I feel qualified to say that it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever attempted. It’s also very rewarding to share what you know, and to watch students learn and improve.

If you’re thinking about teaching, either as an adjunct or full time, here are some tips to get you started from Tom Bowers of UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Be sure to check our list of textbooks to consider for broadcast journalism courses.

Getting started

• Find names of schools that offer journalism courses or programs in your area.
• Write the dean, director or chair of journalism program and include your résumé, or CV (Curriculum Vitae)
• Show that you understand what teaching entails–the time commitment and the limitations of the schedule.
• Be prepared to teach an existing, entry-level course. Ask for the syllabus others have used and expect to follow existing course objectives, but use your own strategies to get there.
• If you propose your own course, make sure you have spelled out objectives telling what students will be able to do after taking the class. Arrange topics in a logical order for a semester or quarter, and create regular assignments. Know how you will evaluate those assignments. Consult this syllabus checklist for more suggestions.
• Find out the grading philosophy of the school. Meet with a veteran teacher to discuss his/her approach to grading.
• Visit classrooms–if possible, the one you will use–to check the set-up and capabilities.
• Investigate the technical support provided by the school.

Planning

• Prepare to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject and to share your experience.
• Decide how you will help others learn the subject and its skills.
• Create a syllabus that spells out clear policies and expectations, including assignments and due dates, whether late work will be accepted and what the penalty will be, attendance policy, grading policy and test dates.
• Be available to students
  –Office hours (for full time teachers, usually 6 hours per week)
  –Email contact
  –Phone numbers

In class

• Get to know your students ASAP.
  –Names
  –Something about them
• Start each class with a preview agenda. Explain the value and importance of what you will be teaching that day.
• End each class with summary.
• Engage students as much as possible.
  –Ask questions.
  –Stimulate discussion.
• Show enthusiasm. Show that you are excited about the subject and your students.
• Have students work together.
  –Collaborate on an assignment.
  –Grade each other.
• Give them lots of practice. Allow students to practice and make mistakes before you grade them. Return assignments promptly.
• Create realistic assignments. Use deadline pressure.
• Give as much detail as possible in advance about how you will evaluate their work.
• Show exemplary work of others.
• Ask for feedback after 3-4 weeks.
  –Adjust if appropriate.
  –If you cannot adjust, explain why.

Be prepared for:

• Students who don’t want to be journalists.
• Students with weak writing skills.
• Students who don’t read newspapers.
• Students who are late to class.
• Students who want to surf the Web.
• Elation of coaching students who “get” the point you want them to learn.
• Immense satisfaction of shaping lives and careers.

Search for full time job openings in the Chronicle of Higher Education or at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World by NewsLab’s Deborah Potter and VCU’s Deb Halpern Wenger, CQ Press. 2008.

A Writer’s Coach: An Editor’s Guide to Words that Work, by Jack Hart, Pantheon, 2006.
Useful and funny–a great read and an essential reference from the Oregonian newspaper’s writing coach.

Aim for the Heart, by Al Tompkins, Bonus Books, 2002.
Storytelling advice from a veteran journalist, now on the Poynter Institute faculty.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Ann Lamott, Anchor, 1995.
Inspiring guidance: “Good writing is about telling the truth.”

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, by Anne Fadiman, Farrar Strauss and Giroux, 1998
Personal essays on a love affair with words.

In Search of Light: The Broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow, 1938-1961, edited by Edward Bliss, Jr., New York: Da Capo Press, 1997
A collection of Murrow’s brilliant work.

Make it Memorable, by Bob Dotson, Bonus Books, 2002.
Tips and lessons from NBC’s Emmy-award winning national correspondent.

On the Road with Charles Kuralt, by Charles Kuralt, Putnam, 1985.
A collection of TV pieces by one of the best broadcast writers ever.

On Writing Well, 30th anniversary edition, by William Zinsser, Collins, 2006
Reissued in paperback, this informal guide to writing is studded with practical advice.

Read to Write: A Writing Process Reader, by Donald M. Murray, Dryad Press, 1993
A mentor to many writers, Don Murray deals with the barriers writers face and offers a guide for getting over them.

The Elements of Style, 4th edition, by Strunk, White and Angell, Longman, 1999
A classic, still useful after all these years. This edition has an index, which is essential. You can also find it online at http://www.bartleby.com/141/

The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work, edited by Marie Arana, Public Affairs, 2003
A collection of short pieces originally written for the Washington Post by writers about writing.

Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud, Harper Paperbacks, 1994
Recommended by news director Scott Atkinson. “The single best explanation ever about the relationship between words and pictures, and one of those books that never, ever fails to give me a fresh set of eyes.”

Woe is I, 2nd edition, by Patricia T. O’Conner, Riverhead Trade, 2004
A fun-to-read guide to English grammar. Honest.

Words On Words: A Dictionary For Writers And Others Who Care About Words, by John B. Bremner, Columbia University Press, 1980.
Easy to use; explains meanings in a way that helps writers make choices.

Writing for Story, Jon Franklin, Penguin, 1994
Advice from a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner on writing non-fiction.

Writing to Learn, William Zinsser, Collins, 1993.
Another Atkinson recommendation. “If On Writing Well is the how of writing, WTL is the why,” he says. “It’s also deeply subversive, in that it explains how the act of writing changes you.”

Click the links if you want to buy from Amazon. (Note: NewsLab makes a small commission on each sale.)

(Essential information is marked *)

Information about the course
_____Name of the course *
_____Number of the course and course section number*
_____Current semester *
_____Meeting location *
_____Meeting days and time *
_____URL for online syllabus or online course site* (if available)

Information about the instructor
_____Name *
_____Office location *
_____Office telephone number *
_____Office hours *
_____Email address *
_____URL for personal web site
_____Information about teaching assistants (if appropriate)

What students will learn
(Use the perspective of what students will learn, not what the course will cover.)
_____Purpose and objectives of the course *
_____Course prerequisites–what they should already know *
_____How they will be able to use the material they learn
_____How the course fits with other courses in the curriculum

Materials that will help students learn
_____Complete citations for required and optional texts, including web addresses *
_____Explanation of appropriateness of used copies or earlier editions
_____Coursepacks and other photocopied materials
_____Computer programs, disks and manuals
_____Email lists, etc.
_____Reserve readings
_____Art supplies and similar materials
_____Magazine or newspaper subscriptions

Attendance policies
_____Expectations about regular class attendance *
_____Policies about missing exams *
_____Policies about meeting deadlines *

How students will demonstrate what they learn
_____Expectations about class participation*
_____Examinations
_____Dates of exams *
_____Nature of exams
_____Availability of old exams
_____How exams are graded
_____Pop quizzes (if appropriate)
_____Projects and written assignments
_____Details about individual projects and homework assignments *
_____Details about group projects *
_____Explanation of how grades will be determined for these projects*

How the course grade will be determined
_____Elements of the course grade and their weights*
_____Exceptions and borderline cases
_____Consideration of improvement, if appropriate

Schedule of events
_____Day-by-day listing of course sessions *
_____Topics and goals for each session *
_____Assigned reading for each session*
_____Due dates for assignments and exam dates *

Consider these items in your syllabus
_____Policy about spelling and grammar errors
_____Policy about academic dishonesty
_____Explanation of requirements for using computers
_____Background information about yourself
_____Your policy about students coming to class in inclement weather
_____A request that students turn off their cell phones and pagers in class

Consider these hints
_____Be personal; use personal pronouns.
_____Be positive, not threatening or scolding.
_____Avoid boldface, underscoring and exclamation marks.
_____Make the syllabus visually attractive.
_____Eliminate all errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.

The good news is that your fellow journalism educators are more than willing to share. Look on the school’s Web site for syllabi from previous semesters. And consult these online resources to develop your own course outline without reinventing the wheel.

BEA-Poynter Syllabus Project
(http://www.newsu.org/tools/syllabus-exchange)
The Broadcast Education Association has teamed with Poynter to produce a syllabus exchange center for educators at NewsU.

Computer Assisted Journalism
http://powerreporting.com/syllabi.html
Extensive collection of syllabi on computer-assisted and database journalism, and news research.

Diversity
http://newswatch.sfsu.edu/diversity_syllabuses/
Collected by the Newswatch project at San Francisco State University.

Indiana Syllabi
http://www.journalism.indiana.edu/syllabi/
Multiple versions of journalism course outlines.

IRE Syllabi
http://www.ire.org/education/syllabi.html
Computer assisted, online research, and investigative reporting syllabi.

UNC Syllabi
http://www.ibiblio.org/journalism/jomcsyllabi.html
Wide-ranging list of links to journalism and mass communication course outlines.

Visual Journalism
http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/abacon/syllabi.html
Syllabi on photojournalism and Web design.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started. Our number one recommendation should be no surprise:

Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World (2nd edition) by NewsLab’s own Deborah Potter and Deb Halpern Wenger, University of Mississippi. CQ Press, 2011.
One reviewer called it “the first post-TV news-era textbook in the field.” Comes with a unique online workbook, making it “a multimedia-journalism textbook that is truly multimedia.”

Associated Press Broadcast News Handbook by Brad Kalbfeld. McGraw Hill, 2000.
A style guide that also includes tips on broadcast writing.

Broadcast News, 4th edition, by Mitchell Stephens. Wadsworth, 2004.
Widely used overview text for broadcast journalism courses.

Broadcast News and Writing Stylebook, 4th edition, by Robert Papper. Allyn & Bacon, 2009.
A style guide designed for broadcast journalists.

Broadcast News Handbook: Writing, Reporting, And Producing in a Converging Media World, 3rd edition, by C. A. Tuggle, Forrest Carr, Suzanne Huffman. McGraw-Hill Companies, 2006.
Comprehensive text for introductory broadcast courses.

Principles of Electronic Media 2nd edition, by Bill Davie and Jim Upshaw. Allyn & Bacon, 2005
Surveys the field: history, technology, business and ethics/law.

Television Field Production and Reporting, 5th edition, by Fred Shook, John Larson and John deTarsio. Allyn & Bacon, 2008.
An introduction to the art of visual storytelling

Television News, 3rd edition, Teresa Keller and Steve Hawkins. Holcomb Hathaway Publishing, 2009
Covers writing, reporting, shooting and editing TV news.

Writing News for Broadcast, 3rd edition, by Edward Bliss, Jr. and James L. Hoyt, Columbia University Press, 1994.
The best broadcast news writing text ever produced. Dated now, but still fun to read.

Check our writers’ bookbag for other suggestions. Click the links if you want to buy from Amazon (note: NewsLab makes a small commission on each sale) If you have other suggestions to add, please let us know.