journalism merged

print, im not actuly sure what i want to cover pretty much anything but sports realy,actuly the main reason why i would like to get into jounalism is i love to write and this gives a job doing it becasue i dont know if ill ever make money if i write a book or something , i have to make money somehow and jounalism is something i think id like to take a stab at and i tihnk it will be something i will enjoy doing also it might be something that i can shoot for that will get me actuly careing about school to, i just want to know how and where i can start,

thanks

 

Item #1 in journalism. GIVE the people what they want.
Item #2. Identify your target Audience. Makes #1 easier!
I look for the MOST up-to-date news I can get when 'I' want it.

 

i have no idea what you just said,sorry

 

Newspaper journalism? It depends how far you want to go in the feild. The smaller papers in my area usually require an associates (sp?) degree. The bigger papers usually require a masters and expect you to have been published in another paper.

Telivised journalism I don't know much about, but I do remember that when I was in high school RNN took interns and they did everything from sound to visuals to writing parts of the script.

 

i dont know if my town has a paper ill have to cheak that out, yes i can take pictures i did a littile photography befor nothing realy big but i screwed around long enough to know what im doing, i realy dont know much about writing about news,no classes or anything, one day i was just reading a story about something of other not realy even paying attension to it and the idea just popped into my head, that maybe i could do something in journlism.
pretty much im starting with no experience what so ever

 

Start by seeing if they'll let you visit for a day. The job may not be what you hope. Other than that you need good technical English language skills. Started by volunteering for the smallest paper you can find, covering local events like gigs and proofreading. If you can't find a print paper check out online venues.

 

Hey everybody...

I was just wondering: does anyone know where to start with journalism? I know there is a previous thread about this... But um, I'm looking for something I can start up immediately with. I just finished high school and I'm sort of getting a head start on my writing career. Call me an optimist, but I think, if I can find the right circumstances, I'll be able to reach some sort of early success. I know it is a long hard road, yes, but I'm determined to make it.

I would love to write books, short stories. I would love to be creative. I am. I will continue to be... But (yes, there's always a catch), I think diving into journalism might help establish a career I can survive better on - at first, and then build up into becoming more of an author.

So, this evening I browsed a bit on google, trying to find some journal sites I could maybe submit things to. Honestly, I have no idea where to start.

Does anybody have contacts, tips or good links that would help me get a start on this?

Ah, and part two...

An idea popped into my head... Why not start a little journal of my own? It would gather many writers together, get us noticed and hopefully rise us up there in the public eye or whatever our wishes may be...

Needless to say, after some brief searches on Google I realized that was already happening... Still, it's an interesting idea.

At any rate: Help, anyone? ... And.... Anyone think it's a good idea?

 

The days of journalsim apprenticeships are gone and most positions will blindly required a degree. As suggested above you can probabaly find some low level job with a newspaper or magazine if you are prepared to take lower wages and move to where the job is. Once you get in the door and work hard people will tend to notice it. It doesn't hurt to take on some extra training (distance learning or part-time classes), especially in copyediting or relevant IT. These skills will make you extra useful. In my experience small papers always need good proofreaders and the computers are always acting up

 

Oh, and to seond it--the degree route isn't such a bad idea but choose teachers with industry contacts and suck up, freelance as you go so that you exit the degree with contacts and clips.

 

on line venues, please explane

 

There are many "papers" that publish only online. I've written for one of them, The New Standard. btw, they'll hire without a degree, if you have solid experience and skills. At least one of their contributors started out by doing her own zine.

Others include political commentary site CommonDreams, news/culture magazine Salon.com, online music magazine JamBase... there are literally thousands. Many of the smaller ones are thrilled to take contributions from budding writers.

You may also want to see if there is a local IndyMedia where you live. IndyMedia is a 100% volunteer-run news organization. I've volunteered for my local IMC, Tampa Bay IndyMedia, since its inception. Our pool of volunteers includes a couple of retired newspaper editors. Their instruction is invaluable. Some of the larger IMCs -- New York, for instance -- even offer formal internships.

 

i have to say my english skills are not the best,i want to imporve them but i dont know many grammer rules,i know basic stuff from english class even those im not good with,im still not sure how to actuly get to work for a paper sence i have pretty much no skills,i realy dont know to ask them for a job because i dont know much about papers anyway,but i do read the news paper everyday so its a start

 

I mentioned JamBase because having photos published there helped a friend get other assignments. I think it's definitely a YMMV situation.

Really, online clips, especially from the tiny sites I mentioned before, are not the best portfolio builders... mostly, I was thinking in terms of getting in the habit of writing.

Absolutely! Getting a real, live editor should be the ultimate goal; the rest certainly couldn't hurt in the interim, though.

Seconding this one, absolutely! Better to learn it now than to develop a style and have to break habits later....



*says the girl who manages at least one style error an article, still*