Probably like most people out there, I want to be a journalist. No, not someone who sits in a chair looking pretty and reading off the teleprompter all day, but a real journalist- an investigative reporter. But with the economic recession, making it in an already competitive market seems almost impossible.
COMM107 guest speaker Lisa Rowan, writer for TBD.com (a blog centered on news and entertainment in the DC metro area), gave our class and journalism hopefuls like myself some great advice. TBD lets citizens write, thus taking part in the recent phenomenon "Citizen Journalism."
"Choose a different angle to be unique," she said.
Although this might seem like a phrase that reads out of any 'How to Become A Journalist' book the example she provides from her own life experiences serve as a good role-model. The story about a fire in the commons and a reporter's idea to take the angle of the pizza guy is unique, original and resonating.
"Always act confident no matter how you look," she elaborated.
I think this statement speaks for itself. The key word she chose is "act." Even if you feel bad and feel like lying in bed all day, you need to be aware of the image you are presenting of yourself. If you want to succeed, you need to have confidence. Granted, real confidence is better than "acting", but acting is always a start, especially when you are entering an unfamiliar and very competitive jobs market.
"Take Notes," Ms. Rowan said as she showed us her notebook of scribbles.
Our minds are constantly in action. With our ever so short attention spans, what we process seems to go in one ear and out the other. That is why it's important for us to take notes. Writing things down helps us remember what we saw, felt, heard, etc. Keeping journals lets us look back at different parts of our life, be it the lessons we've learned, the advice we've been given and/or the obstacles we overcame.
I also found it interesting that Rowan was a History major and not a journalism major. This is kind of like myself. I am a business major. Her success shows that you don't need to be a journalism major to be part of the journalism market. Journalism crosses many areas of study such as history, communications, economics, law, biology, chemistry, criminology. Specialists are needed to write in all these areas.
According to author, editor, and essayist Larry O'Connor "Who Really Needs a Journalism Degree?" According to O'Connor the greatest journalists in history such as Bob Woodward (English Literature), Edward Murrow (Speech), Walter Cronkite (No College Degree), Carl Bernstein (No College Degree) did not pursue journalism degrees.
http://bigjournalism.com/sright/2010/03/30/who-really-needs-a-journalism-degree/
Even people who are not interested in a career in journalism should listen and try to apply Rowan's advice. Her advice is far-reaching and applies to almost all jobs today.
I think you bring up a really good point about the fact that Lisa Rowan uses the word "act." My uncle always tells me that I do not actually have to be confident, I just have to act like I am. If you do that, people look and perceive you differently. However, even if you think you are acting confidently, you can always take it up a notch. Like Rowan said, if your boyfriend thinks you look great for the first time on TV except for the fact that it looks like you have huge knees, just cross them next time! You do this and BAM!!! You look ten times more confident!
ReplyDeleteI also liked her advice about always keeping a notebook handy. Our brain is constantly thinking and if you think of something amazing while sitting down at Starbucks, drinking your coffee, you better have a place to jot it down!
Great post! I enjoyed the structure / style -- beginning new paragraphs with a quote from Lisa and your reflection on what she shared with us. It looks like you're ALREADY taking Lisa's good advice of finding a unique angle for your writing. While this could have been a general reflection post, you decided to take it from the perspective of an aspiring journalist. I'd say you're already a portion of the way there :)
ReplyDeleteFor the future, make sure you include the links as HYPERlinks... embedded in the post and not just written out at the bottom of the post. Hyperlink the exact words that would lead us to the link so that we know which part of your blog post "expands" into the link you are providing.