Joe Grimm's News Jobs Café: Ask the recruiter

What Kind of Ownership is Best?

Q: I am a recent graduate with internship experience. I just received a job at a small family owned newspaper. I really want to move up to a larger newspaper after I work here for a couple of years.

Does the fact that the newspaper is family owned make a difference to recruiters at 100,000 circulation size newspapers when considering candidates that they will hire? Would I have a better chance at getting a job if I worked for a smaller paper owned by say the McClatchy company?

Hilary

A: Ownership does not make the difference. Quality does.

There are some excellent newspapers owned by families and some excellent ones owned by large corporations. And, as we have seen lately with the breakup of Knight Ridder, the nature of ownership can change in a wink. Some of those newspapers are still part of McClatchy, while about a dozen went off in different directions, to ther companies or to private ownership. The ones that went private seem to have suffered most, but in the process, McClatchy sold its largest paper, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. We don't yet know what changes that will bring.

Focus on doing the best work you can with the best people you find at the best paper that will hire you.

A Master's Degree While Working?

Q: After thinking about it for a few years, I have finally decided what I want to get a master's in: urban planning. I caught the bug while writing a growth and development column during one of my internships, and I think it's something I would like to pursue after I make my nextmove to a newspaper near a larger city.

I'm hoping that additional training will make me a good fit for a development beat of some sort, while giving me a fallback in case my journalism career goes south someday. I don't intend to leave journalism unless I'm forced out.

I'm wondering how to go about getting this master's while still working. Some of the programs I've looked at require a part-time internship. I will no doubt have scheduling issues.

Do I tell a prospective employer that I intend to get a master's while working? Do editors take kindly to reporters who work bizarre shifts?

Would I just be better off taking two years to get my master's and come back to journalism?

Looking Ahead

A: You've clearly done a lot of thinking.

I don't think you should have to quit a job to earn a master's degree. I work with several people who have done just that, learning and earning all at once. (Sleep comes later, I guess.)

You'll scare off a potential employer by seeming more interested in school than in the new job or by asking a lot of schedule-related questions at the interview stage. After all, no school will have accepted you by then and you're unlikely to have a picture of the finances.. Save questions about the compatability of work and part-time schooling for your negotiation window, which occurs between the time when they make an offer and when you give them your decision.

When you ask, find out whether they offer full or partial reimbursement for college tuition.

And don't be too worried about working a weird schedule. Journalists already have them and someone who is in an academic program often asks to work the least-popular shifts to free up time for classes. Your problem will be balance and overwork; the newspaper will have a problem if your needs keep changing on short notice -- nlikely -- or if you have to drop stories to get to class.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" has moved to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Should I Push for More Feedback?

Q: I'm looking for some advice regarding freelancing.  First, I have a bachelor's degree in communications/journalism from a local university.

During the time I went to school, I wrote for the school newspaper and also had an internship.I didn't write for three years and now I have recently began freelancing at the newspaper I interned for.

My question is, since this is terchnically my first reporting job, how attentive is your editor supposed to be when you're a freelance writer?  I always feel like I'm bugging him, he never returns my calls or e-mails but he does publish my work. Besides it being plain inconsiderate, I'm wondering if I'm supposed to be more independent than what I have been?

I don't think he knows that I stopped writing after my internship because he never asked if he could see a resume when I contacted him about freelancing.

He just started sending me assignments. I guess I could try and talk to him about it but I dont want to come across as incompetent. Also, how much freelancing experience do you recommend I have before I start job-hunting for a full-time job? Should I go for a small newspaper to start with? I have clips from my school newspaper and internship but they are all three years old. Now, I have three articles published as a freelancer, but I'm wondering if it's enough?

Amy

A: Attentiveness is a characteristic of the editor and not a function of how new or experienced you are.

Generally, editors will invest more in a full-time staffer than a freelancer because the staffer is right there and will be sticking around; the freelancer may get a job somewhere or can be easily replaced.

As he is not returning calls and e-mails, he does not seem to be the attentive type. I'd push a bit harder, but I wouldn't expect much. Attach a question to the top of your story, as he does seem to read those. Also, look for an excuse to stop by the office to drop something off so he has to meet you.

At this point, don't expect to show him a resume. He has decided you're good enough, and that is good for you. Keep writing as much for him as you can and pay attention to how your work is getting edited. These three clips are not enough to get you hired -- but they are steps in the right direction.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Surviving a Killer Workload?

Q: Thanks for writing this terrific column! I've always appreciated your advice. I keep a Detroit Free Press rejection letter from you on my fridge -- it's more inspirational than many acceptances I've received.

I recently started working for an award-winning small-town daily. I'm learning a lot, but the pace is a little overwhelming: I write two stories every day, in addition to covering any breaking news and writing our police blotter. I'm afraid that, at the end of the day, I won't have any clips I'm proud of to show for it -- just a lot of hurried work. I've been told that the pace is a little slower (one story a day) at larger dailies -- is that true? Should I just tough it out until I can move to a bigger daily, or should I start looking at weeklies instead?

Again, thanks! I look forward to hearing from you.

Emily

A: The quality of our work depends on many things. Three are talent, time and training. Others are passion and practice, and you seem to be experiencing plenty of those.

Large dailies, which seem to be especially under the gun these days, generally demand fewer stories than smaller papers do, but that's not to say the work is any easier. Weeklies can work you just as hard as any daily, so I wouldn't necessarily think of them as safe havens.

For now, work with what you've got. Your workload is likely imposed by top management, not your immediate editor, and seems unlikely to change. Working with your editor, identify one or two special stories a week that you think merit extra time. Those would be part of your normal workload, but by borrowing time from less difficult or important stories and spending it on these specials, you can report and write some clip-worthy work.

If you decide to move, grill the reporters you'd be working with about their working conditions. They should level with you. And remember to check out the quality of the editing they get. It can be just as important as workload.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Moving to Assigning Editor?

Q: First off, thanks for your Web site and recruiting column. I discovered it in college and your information was a big help in getting my internships and first "real" job. Now, my question:

I've been a copy editor at a metro daily for 2 1/2 years, basically since graduating college. The paper has a Sunday circulation of 300,000. I usually love my job, but I miss getting to work with reporters closely and perform more macro editing, things I did regularly in college. I'm also not sure how many more years I can handle working nights, weekends and generally every holiday but one. I would really love to move into a line editor's position, but I'm not sure how many people are willing to hire a copy editor for those jobs, especially since I haven't reported since college. I don't see any positions opening up at my current paper, so I'd have to go elsewhere. What do you think is the best plan of action to reach my goal? And do you think I simply need more years in the business before I can make the leap?

Ready for a Change

A: We won't know whether you have enough years in the business for people to get interested in you until you stick your toe -- and an application -- in the water.

I'd want you to first try a few things where you are now.

One great thing about your career history is that you are in a high-demand job now -- and thinking about moving to a position where there is an even higher demand. Talk to your editors about doing some cross-training or filling in on some shifts. You would benefit from some time as a reporter and the paper would benefit if you could pick up some shifts on an assigning desk. With holidays, vacations and sickness there are never enough editors on originating desks. An ideal situation might be to work an originating desk shift into your regular week. Maybe you could slide into an early-Saturday shift as a fill-in assistant city editor, giving you some immediate relief on the weekends while you grow your supervisory skills.

An unsolicited word of advice: Assigning editors can help more with the reporting if they have their own experience to draw on, but this is not essential. Someone who comes up through  the copy desk can have a lot to offer, too. Remember that and use the knowledge to bolster your confidence when working with reporters.

Resources:Lousy Listeners, a News University online course
The Effective Editor: How to Lead Your Staff to Better Writing and Better Teamwork by Foster Davis and Karen F. Dunlap
News Leadership at the Head of the Class by Jill Geisler
Poynter's media leadership bibliography

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Taking Charge of My Career?

Q: I’m so glad you started this column. Hopefully, you can help me out.

Here’s my situation: I’ve been with the same newspaper group for four years. I started out as a reporter for two years a 13,000 circ. daily that is part of our four-paper group. I moved up to copy editor on our centralized copy desk, then wire editor. Now, in addition to coordinating wire content for the four papers (one’s 25,000 circ., the other three are each about 13,000 circ.), I’m coordinating content for the larger paper’s Sunday edition and I’m the on-duty Saturday editor. I’m thinking if I just stick it out over the winter, I’ll have some managing/assigning experience and multimedia skills and be in a better position to find a job in spring.

Here’s my problem: I have no idea where my career is going. I’ve always felt that it’s been my editors, not me who have carved my path so far. I don’t know if I want to be an editor — I definitely don’t want to be a city editor, mostly because of the schedule. I really have a problem working nights, weekends and holidays. The only newsroom job I can think of that might fit is features editor, but these jobs seem few and far between.

Here are my questions:

• With my experience, where do I go next?
• Is there any newsroom job that will allow me to have nights, weekends and holidays or am I just kidding myself (will things get better at a bigger paper schedule-wise)?
• What size newspaper can I/should I aim for next?

Thanks,

Kate

A: Most career paths are a hybrid of accident and design. Surprise opportunities, editors' recognition of your skills and your own self-direction push things along. Generally, more experience has led to greater self-direction over one's career. But we are now in a period of rapid change. The landscape is always changing. New needs and jobs seem to develop overnight. This throws a little more accident into the equation. Keep up with what's going on in the industry and invest in your own development to keep greater control over your career.

As you evaluate your options, think hard about how you can increase your opportunities in a digital, continuous newsroom. People with editing and production skills could become even more valuable.

I would not say that hours are going to get better in a world where we are trying to cover more hours of the week. And I don;t think that a tight focus on schedules is an effective way to drive a successful career. However, that may be necessary to have a good work-life balance.

Consider which hours you can work. When our children were young it was beneficial to work nights, and a 3-year-old doesn't know anything about weekends. So-called lousy hours helped us share child care responsibilities. When they began school, of course, nights and weekends became very important -- but I also needed flexibility for daytime parent-teacher talks and after-school sports. Now, with children grown, I work early -- but can work nights again. And I have been taking on a little more weekend and holiday work. The secret is to consider your real needs, to be flexible -- and to understand that we never really get entitled to certain shifts.

I understand what lousy shifts you don't want to work, are there shifts that others want to avoid that wouldn't inconvenience you?

The larger question, career-wise, is what you should do next. Ask the editors who know your work best to engage in some career sounseling and tell them what you like and feel you're best at. Ask them what jobs are developing and how you can get ready for the ones that are best for you.

You may not need to change papers at all. If you decide you need to for a greater challenge, a bigger arene or whatever reason -- and if you like your present company -- see about mnoving up within the rou. Good editors should help with that, too.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Studying Literary Journalism?

Q: I have been a reporter at a small daily in California for two years and have also worked as a reporter at an English-language newspaper in Costa Rica. I am seriously considering a graduate degree in journalism, in part because I would like to improve my writing, which is not much of an option at a small paper with few editors. I am also interested in learning more about literary journalism techniques I could translate into longer freelance pieces.

Despite the debate over the merits of journalism school, I also want to use the experience as leverage for later career moves into public relations or teaching. With all that said, I am interested in hearing anything you know about good graduate journalism programs focusing on literary journalism, especially for reporters who have already done some 'real world' work. Do you think this kind of degree will be helpful in the future or is it still too unknown? How do you think editors would respond to someone with an MFA instead of a journalism degree?

I am looking now at NYU, Stanford, and Oregon, which seems to be the only program with a focus in creative nonfiction.

Amanda

A: Given your career goals -- to vault out of daily journalism and into teaching or public relations -- a master's degree makes sense. It will certainly open some doors for you as an educator.

The degree, in and of itself, will not matter much to editors. Your enhanced skills will, but newspapers these days are much more interested in Web skills than in literary journalism. So, this sounds better as an exit strategy than as a way to advance your career within journalism.

Your inititial list sounds solid.

There are single courses in literary journalism -- Boston University, the University of Maryland, Indian University -- but Oregon seems to be most extensive. Also take a look at the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism in Grapevine, Texas. Its conference for nonfiction literary writers of the Southwest suggests it may be of interest to you.

And, look into the Nieman Program on Narrative Journalism at Harvard. It generally is held each December and may give you the fix you're looking for. Most of the speakers are working journalists. It gets great reviews and keeps up a year-round, on-line presence.

Note: "Ask the Recruiter" is moving to Poynter's new Career Center. The new home is here. Don't forget to change your bookmark.

Becoming a journalism teacher?

Q: How would you suggest I approach my future in teaching? Should I go for the master's now, or should I get another three years under my belt first? I've been in the business professionally now for almost two years. Let me know what you think.

Andre A: Many journalists teach at local universities part time as adjuncts and have no master's degrees.

Try to teach as soon as you feel ready. If you'd like to build more confidence before you face a roomful of college students, practice in high schools that are looking for journalists to come out for career days and the like.

The master's degree become critical if you want to go for a full-time, tenure-track position.

Time for a bigger newspaper?

Q: I'm at the point in my career where I now have 5 years of reporting experience at a daily with a circulation of about 160,000. I've accomplished just about all the goals I had in mind for my immediate 5-year plan when I was first hired at my current job. Now I'm thinking about my next 5-year plan and wondering if I'm out of line in thinking about moving to a larger paper.

I'm not in a huge rush, but I believe I have compelling clips showing a wide-range of topics, talent and experience. Having said that, there aren't a huge number of larger organizations to move up to. How high can I aim at this point in my career without being unreasonable?

I've attached my résumé, which includes the Web address of a site with some of my selected clips to give you a better idea of where I'm at career-wise.

Jim

A: You seem to be in a good place. You have built a solid work history and win in-house writing awards.

There are about 70 dailies larger than the one you are now working with, so that should spell some opportunity.

Three thoughts:

1. Bigger is not always better. Some journalists find better jobs at smaller newspapers. This should expand your horizons.
2. You're already at a decent paper. If you like where you are, keep growing at that paper.
3. If you decide that you'll move to a larger paper, aim higher now. You seem to be using in-house awards as a yardstick for your progress. Start using state, regional and national contests in the same way. They'll make you reach higher and prepare you for an eventual move.

Am I on the right track?

Q: I just completed my sophomore year in college where I am pursuing a journalism degree.  I have been freelancing for the Daily Herald in metropolitan Chicago since my senior year in high school (paid), and before that I was a high school columnist (unpaid).

When I moved to Milwaukee for college, I joined the campus newspaper as a reporter. My sophomore year I left the campus paper (there was only one at this time) and started another newspaper with some other students. We publish twice monthly and are independent of the university whereas the other paper is twice weekly and is run on university money.

I am editor-in-chief of the new newspaper. I also interned for the local business newspaper (weekly) as a reporter my sophomore year, but this was not the most positive experience. By the end of the semester I was so overworked and left on a bad note because I refused to work extra hours to save my grades in school.

The alternative paper is going well and I am freelancing still for the Daily Herald but I am still only getting event stories, the same as I always have. The alternative paper takes up a lot of time in the school year so I don’t think I could take on an internship at school. I hope to work for a bigger paper like the Chicago Tribune or Sun Times someday.

Am I on track? Am I spending my time right? I have attached my résumé to this e-mail if you’d like to see (I also have a campus job... Gotta pay my own tuition... Doing design work and teaching classes, and work for the local AP but in more an administrative assistant role).

Working

A: You are SO on track.

Let's see:

• Freelancing since high school
• Does news as well as business
• Founded a new paper, which you now edit
• News, business and design
• Paying your way through college

You have a ton going for you. Remember that when you feel overworked. You need to get a good internship -- and have time to do it. Get one next summer or doing a non-summer semester. Line up someone to run the paper for you so you can get away.

Don't stress about having been overworked in the past or by the fact that people are not advancing your assignments to keep up with your growing talent. You'll find the next levels in other places.

Your résumé could more succinctly outline the points I outlined above and, as long as it links to your website -- another nice touch -- update that website!

Need a copy editor?

Q: Thank you for the site. It's a great resource.

I am a reporter in my third month at a weekly suburban newspaper. I work hard, but my articles often go to press with typos.

The copy editor left a few weeks ago, but even when he was there, he failed to catch errors.

Before taking this job, I worked for a weekly community publication (I switched jobs because I moved). That paper's copyeditors and proofreader not only caught typos, but also helped to improve content.

My editor said that he plans to hire more copy editors; in fact, one has started already, though he is not responsible for reading my copy.

What can I do in the meantime? I proof my own stuff, and sometimes swap with other reporters, but we do not have time to get through everything. And the mistakes are mine in the first place. The existence of copyeditors and proofreaders, however, leads me to believe that editors expect reporters to make mistakes. Is that true?

I am fine with "paying my dues" (I graduated from college last year), as long as I am not overcharged. Is it standard or acceptable for weekly papers to lack copyeditors and/or proofreaders?

Thanks again for the site, and for taking the time to read my e-mail.

Frustrated

A: Right up front, I like that you take responsibility for your own mistakes and  that you seek good copy editing. Hang onto those traits. They will serve you well.

You are a living example of why so many ambitious journalists seek bigger papers. It is not just about money and prestige. It is about standards.

You simply have to become a better self-editor.

Three steps:

• Slow down. Try to substitute quality and precision for quantity -- but still meet the paper's expectations. Just don't exceed them at the expense of your copy.
• Get your copy done earlier so you have more time to really edit.
• Try to edit from a printout to see if that helps you find more things. >/UL>

  If those steps fail, focus your self-editing on your most important story of the week. Those weekly wonders will become the clips you need to get to a new job.

Upward movement in my career?

Q: We met briefly at the Wilmington Writers Workshop this weekend. Thanks for speaking to me and thank you very much for making yourself available for daily swarms of questions from people like me.

I do have one other question for you: For the past five years, I've worked at a 45,000-circ. daily covering county government in a fairly urban region. Before that, I spent a year and a half in a one-man bureau for a 35,000-circ. daily in a rural area. I'd like to move on to a 100,000 circ. daily. But because of personal matters, I might have to set my sights on something less than that (around the circulation size I'm at now).

I know this all assumes a lot -- for instance, that I can find someone willing to hire me. But if my next paper is in the 30,000 to 60,000-circ. range, would that inhibit my chances of working at a large paper someday? Or is the quality of the work I do more important that the size of the newspaper?

Moving on

A: The quality of the work you do is always important, of course. However, you're setting a pattern in your résumé that looks like three similarly sized papers in a row. In terms of circulation, it looks like a steady, level line, while you say you'd like to see that circulation line cut upward toward 100,000. The longer you stay at this level, the harder it might be to take it up.

However, if personal considerations mean you need to stay with papers of about this size, you have to do it and later deal with what might seem like unfair questions or judgments.

Smart editors do look for patterns in résumés to detect growth, stability, potential.

As you make that next move, do it for reasons that explain why you moved. Go for more responsibility, bigger opportunities, a better team. If you move solely for the sake of doing it or for personal reasons, your career won't seem to have the kind of lift you want to give it.

Move to do better journalism -- and then prove it in your work.

Can't choose career?

Q:  I am originally from Serbia, have been in the states since '97. Graduated from HS here, always an honor roll student. Went straight after HS to college, a great University where I got my BA in Communications graduated with in the top ten percent, excellent GPA, after switching my major 3 times.

Now, I have been out of school for a year and a half.  Right after graduation I landed a job doing sales, mainly telemarketing, stayed there for a year and hated it. Now I am unemployed for the last four months. I think a big reason for this is the fact that I do not know what to do with my life, I don't know which direction to go and I am scared of failure.

I finally limited my choices to three fields: journalism, law school, and fashion retail. But the problem is I don't know where to turn, or go to and I am not sure which one to choose. I am scared of not being good at whatever it is that I pick.

And I cannot decide anymore. I always wanted to be an anchor, that's one of the reasons I got my communications degree. But the school I went to didn't focus on that, and I have no practical experience or internships. I applied to places but no one does not even call me back. Law school was something I considered and wanted to do for the last two years in college, even got all the LSAT books, but didn't do anything after I started talking to some ppl and they made me believe that law school is not for me. So i am scared of it basically. I was always a good student but what if I don't do good in law school?

What do I do???

I hate being so undecided and not knowing what to do, kind of just stagnating in one spot, and I'm going to be honest I am losing my confidence. I admire the people that know exactly what they want career-wise, and I wish I was one of them. How do I make such an important decision when there iare so many choices out there?

I went to the career center and not one of them wasany help. Any advice would be extremely helpful. Lost and Confused

A: I am afraid I can be of only a little help.

My advice: Do not dive into another time-consuming and expensive academic program until you find a direction.

Rely on the advice of people who know you well, take a second try at the kind of career assessment help you were trying to get from career services and, as you narrow down your choices, get into the work environments that seem appealing. Shadow and interview people in those fields. See how they work. Ask them about their greatest rewards and challenges. Ask them what the qualifications are.

Do not, in your rush to choose, fail to explore.

And remember -- more and more people are having more and more careers. Switching careers does not mean one has failed. So, even a short-term plan -- something to get you started -- can be fine.

Good luck.

Time for a job change?

Q: Looking for another opinion. I've been a journalist for 15 years, with a few years off to get a law degree. My law degree helped me to move up to a top-notch metro where I worked for a couple of years as a specialized writer and semi-columnist, after working as a news and copy editor in a news bureau of a different company for many years.

My question. Four years ago I took a leap and left the metro for a section editor and columnist's job at a much smaller -- but good-quality -- paper. The location and pay were better, and there was more room for advancement. At the metro I saw lots of writers passed over for promotion in favor of outside editors seen as stars.

How long is too long to stay where I am before I lose what I hoped to accomplish by going down a notch for a while. I like where am at now and have made a "name" in the community, but feel there must be a point from a recruiter's point of view that I should move on ...

T.K.

A: I do not have a numerical answer for you. In fact, I am not quite certain what you want, but believe you want to move back to a top-notch metro as an editor.

If that's your aim, you may be ready to make that move now. I believe the editors at your previous metro were looking outside for editors because they had more confidence in unknown people who had the experience than with known commodities who had not edited. The answer, of course, assuming some of those reporters had editing potential, was to groom them for the jobs.

As for you, it seems you now are the complete package. You have worked at a big metro, you have reported, written columns and been an editor. It sounds to me that you have your choice of staying where you are or testing the market.

Good luck! 

Too soon to leave my job?

Q: I recently began working as editorial assistant at a newspaper with a 500,000-plus circulation. Before this, I worked for half a year as a freelance writer for community weekly newspapers.

My decision to pursue journalism is recent; I went to graduate school in literature, thinking I was committed to becoming a professor. After a year at graduate school, I decided I missed my passion—writing. I am a poet, and found academia limiting to my desire to use my creativity in a practical way. I did not write for the college newspaper very much, but began thinking that I could be very happy in the journalism field, with my love of writing, research and social issues. I was reluctant to even begin pursuing journalism at first because I felt I had started too late in the game, without clips and the know-how to break my way in. I worked as a technical writer for a year and hated it.

I am fully aware that my present position is not a stepping-stone into a reporting job, with my lack of experience. However, I took this job because I felt it would help solidify my ambition to pursue journalism, for me to really see if it is something I want to do, as well as help me pay off enormous student loan debt. (I was making less than minimum wage as a freelancer for the small weeklies and had to find other options.)

Now I am ready to commit myself, but want to make the most of my time. I intend to apply to graduate school in journalism, and am thinking it best that I stay in this position no longer than a year. I plan to take news writing classes while working, as well as study about journalism on my own to delve into the craft.

I am prohibited from working as a freelancer with “direct competitors” of the paper. I was hoping that the paper’s community-oriented section would allow me to chance to write, but was recently told that as a full-time employee, that I was ineligible to write freelance for them because it would qualify as overtime. Without pestering, I have made it known to my boss and the editors in our department that I am willing to do anything that would allow me to write or gain newsroom experience—news briefs, monitor police radios, do research. By my own persistence, I began compiling and writing daily traffic information, but this is the extent to which my job goes beyond administrative-type duties.

My main questions for you are these: what I can do right now to make the most of my time if I am serious about becoming a reporter? How can I break in to writing for newspapers for other cities, or even magazines, while in my present position (granted they don’t compete with the paper)? Will I ruin my relationship with the newspaper if I only stay for a little over a year, leaving to go to graduate school? Should I ask for recommendations of those editors I trust, even though when I send in my application I will only have been working there a little over six months?

Lastly, about graduate school: what are the schools known for providing their students with the best practical experience, allowing them to graduate with clips?

Ready

A: It seems you must string for out-of-town publications, most likely magazines.

Enlist your editors' support. It sounds as though you have told them of your career ambitions; enlist their support. If you can get them to participate in your struggle, they will be proud to see you go and happy to bring you back later.

You are right on to look for graduate programs that require you to publish. Many programs offer that as one of their tracks. As you check out schools, ask them which courses allow you to do the most publishing.

How to succeed at a new job?

Q: So I'll be starting a new job at a 100,000 circ. bilingual English-Spanish weekly paper in a few weeks. I was wondering if you had any advice for starting out at a new place. Do you have any tips on how to get going on building sources and getting my name out in the community? What should a reporter do when he/she gets into a new paper at a new town to start the ball rolling quick?

S

A: There are no shortcuts to this. It takes time and work.

Some ideas:

• Identify the newspaper's local history expert and ask for a tour.
• Ride public transportation.
• Go to different stores, restaurants, churches, barbershops every chance you get. Ask the people questions.
• Draw a map of the community's spheres of influence: social, cultural, political, government, religious and on and on. Seek out sources in every part of your map.
• Hand out a lot of business cards.
• Build a database of the people you meet.

Time to transfer jobs?

Q: I have been working as a general assignment reporter for a four-digit circ daily for nine months (since I graduated from college). A cops and courts position that I would love has opened up at a slightly larger paper elsewhere in my company and I would like to apply. The editor is very familiar with my work and we are on good terms with each other.

I feel like I am coming to the end of the line with my current starter job and am ready for a new challenge. But I am worried that I will not have had enough experience with all facets of journalism if I am offered the position. I have had a fair amount of experience with the beat on a smaller level. Should I wait a few years to apply to a beat position like this or should I go for it? Also, what is the right way to apply to a job in-house?

I don't think it is likely that I will even have a chance with the job because there is someone else in that newspaper's office who has done work it, but I guess it can't hurt to try.

Looking ahead

A: Enlist your editor's help on this.

You say you have a good relationship with the editor, so you should get some good advice. The editor is in a great position to know your work and the procedure for applying to transfer. Schedule a meeting soon and ask the editor if you are ready for this new job, if now would be a good time to make a move and for support in the application.

If the editor says it is too soon, work together to craft a career development plan -- with some concrete steps -- for the next year.

Good luck!

Time to leave this small paper?

Q: How long should a reporter stay at a small circulation paper, when they already have several years experience, a slew of clips, and knowledge of several beats?

I've been working at a small circulation daily for a few months. In that time, I've written 120 stories on a broad range of topics. There are several style rules at this paper I do not agree with, and honestly, feel I'm not being utilized to my fullest potential. I worked, while in college, at a top metro daily; freelanced for a 40,000-circulation; and now am a staff writer.

All in all, I have seven years experience. So my question - is it too soon to start investigating another job?

J

A: I'd stay a little longer -- at least a year -- unless things are oppressively bad.

You need to look at your résumé as an editor would. If the only jobs on your résumé are internships, the college paper and a short-time stint, the editor might see this as a pattern. Patterns generally continue. You want to establish a pattern that tells others you have some stability and patience. If I were to hire a person who had worked three, nine-month jobs, I would worry that my paper would be the fourth with that kind of tenure.

Stay, but milk as much out of the experience as you can. Don't coast.

And here's an answer to a question you did not ask. You say you have seven years of experience, but I am not seeing it, unless you have worked full-time at several other newspapers before this one.

Like it or not, most editors count the experience that comes after college differently than the experience that comes during college.

We newspaper journalists have an advantage in that we can start working our trade as early as high school. Bankers can't do that. But when we say we have seven years of experience, and it dates back to when we were stringers in high school, editors are likely to ask , "OK, well, when did you start working full-time for a paycheck?" That's what they really count.

How to get to a bigger newspaper?

Q: I am a writer for a 30,000 daily and would like to climb to a bigger paper. This job has given me the opportunity to become a star reporter in the small newsroom and win a number of awards, but now I'm unsure of my next move. My question: How do I break into the major metro papers?

I graduated from college a year ago and turned down a summer internship at a top-5 circulation paper for the full-time position. (Health benefits were appealing!) But when I turned down the internship, the recruiter told me three months at his paper would be worth three years at the small daily I ended up working at. Now, I'm worried that he was right. Should I switch back to applying to internships at large papers?

Also, just wanted to thank you for your help to young writers.  I've been reading your advice since college, and it's helped me land a number of internships and my current job.

NS

A: That three months vs. three days comparison is interesting. I think it might also be bogus. While the editing may be better and the standards may be higher, it's hard to beat 36 months of experience with three. I think you're OK.

I would not dip back into the internship market. You're unlikely to be taken, as you've already held a permanent job, and I see internships as a step backward for you.

I doubt your next job will be the major metro you seek, but you may well be ready for something bigger. The only way to find out is to apply.

But I am a little concerned about how well you're balancing patience and ambition. Keep working and progressing, aim high, but take as much as you can out of each day along the way.

Getting a critique of my work?

Q: I'm 23 years old, and a sports writer at a 7,000-circulation newspaper. Like most young journalists, I eventually made my way to your JobsPage site, which has been of considerable value to me.

My question for you is this -- do you, in your capacity as a recruiter, look at unsolicited materials sent in by young writers such as myself? Or, put another way -- if I sent in my résumé and some clips, would you take the time to look them over and send something in the way of feedback?

I ask knowing that you probably get requests like this somewhat frequently, and undoubtedly don't have a surfeit of time to spend on guys like me from off the street. If you choose to direct me elsewhere, I certainly won't take it personally.

I come to you only because I've spent more than a year now out of college in a town close to here I attended school, and it's been enjoyable and rewarding enough to give me notions of sticking with the profession for the long term. It's the next step, though, that seems to be the sticking point. In all honesty, you seem to be as close to an authority as there is on what "the next step" is for writers my age, not to mention someone with plenty of experience in assessing clips and things of that nature.

In brief, then -- I'd like to continue what it is I'm doing, I think I could be pretty good at it, and I'd really appreciate you telling me what you think on either count. That's my question to you –- would you be willing to look over some of my work?

On my way

A: A lot of people crave feedback and ask this question.

The fact is, I don’t even have enough time to do this for the 300 people who work at my own paper. Why, if I were to sit down with one person a day each day I am in my newsroom, it would take 16 months to get through the whole staff. And, by then, we would have recruited more than 50 new people. And I don’t do that. So, adding critiquing to my week would come at the expense of our own staff here or the people we are recruiting to bring in.

A good clip critique takes well more than an hour. You can get someone to give you that much time in one of several ways. The best, of course, would be if your present editors would do that for you. That is one of the things they are paid for (though they probably have all they can do just to keep up with the daily paper).

Another way to get a critique is to cultivate a mentor who takes a personal interest in you and your career. Often, this is someone other than an editor. It might just be a good reporter. Some journalism associations such as SPJ or IRE bring like-minded people together. They see the development of younger members as something that like to do and they will help you as a form of service to the organization, to you and to the newspaper business. They are, in effect, volunteering, just as you might donate some of your time to go back to your old college to help younger writers.

One more way is to get into the pipeline for some paper where the editor at the other end is interested in recruiting you. The time spent will be seen as recruiting and developing future talent.

Whatever you do, in your case I would first seek out help from people who know sports writing.

Few editors could responsibly take hours a week to critique writing for people who are not in the pipeline for their papers.

Good luck.

When a good boss leaves?

Q: I currently work at a small daily (under 20,000 circulation) and have been for five months. This position is my first full-time job as a reporter. Part of the reason I took the job at my current paper is because I was impressed with the editors who hired me and believed I would receive the mentoring I yearned for.

However, about a couple months ago both of these individuals took jobs at bigger papers and left me wondering what the heck happened. The new managers aren't giving me the leadership and advice I had originally hoped for. I plan on paying my dues, but don't want to miss out on developing as a writer because I'm not getting the coaching any young reporter would benefit from.

How long should I stay here before beginning my search for a new position? I'm not one of those people who jumps from job to job, so I don't want to make a brash decision. Any advice?

Justin

A: Your predicament illustrates the importance of choosing -- when you have a choice -- a newspaper that has a teaching culture, rather than just one or two teaching editors. Editors can change overnight. Cultures don't.

Now that you've experienced this, and as concerned as you are about your growth, what do you do?

I would sit tight. You've lost the editors you came for, but you have not learned everything you can from this newspaper in five months. The learning curve is not as steep, but it should not have flat-lined on you. The next thing you'll have to learn is how to get the most out of editors who are not naturally good teachers. You'll also have to learn how to spot and tap into the talents that the editors and reporters around you have. This should take several months, really. I might also think that, if this paper had two good editors, this may be part of a pattern of good hiring, rather than a fluke. Perhaps new ones will be on the way in.

I would worry, as a recruiter, about hiring someone whose first job lasted less than a year. Now, if you had just a horrible situation there, I'd suggest you move to a paper you were dead certain you could stick with for a few years. Back-to-back short stints is a real red flag, but one short tenure followed by a long one, is not so scary.

For now, I'd stay, learn what you can with the goal of making it through at least a year.

If some wonderful opportunity comes up in the interim, make sure the next newspaper has a culture that you could work in for at least two or three years.

Becoming a national columnist?

Q: I do a column that runs each monday with a different newsmaker, politician or celebrity featured in a quick Q & A. Among those who have appeared are the first lady Laura Bush, Donald Trump, David Rockefeller, Oscar De La Renta, Diane Keaton, Rod Stewart, etc.

I want to move on to a bigger paper with bigger circulation since I think I will be able to attract even more high profile interviews.  As of now most of my time is spent selling my newspaper. I have been very successful in that regard.  Ideally I would like to be picked up by USA Today.

Patricia

A: This will be difficult. Two things make it so. The first is that many, many people -- journalists like yourself and others -- want to be columnists. The second difficulty, larger than the first, is that someone will have to move over to make room for you.

Newspapers cannot just add as many columnists as they like. One has to disappear to make room for another.

This is not to say you have an impossible dream.

Your next step is clear. I would try to move to a larger paper within Gannett, parent company of USA Today. Even then you may find it hard to leapfrog the in-house candidates for a coveted columnist's position, but that is the direction you want to take.

Computer-assisted-reporting seminar?

Q: I'm a features editor at a small paper in central Wisconsin, looking for some training in investigative reporting. I have my eye on a regional CAR boot camp in Columbia, Mo., and was wondering if you have any suggestions on financial assistance for that kind of training. Are there any good grant programs I should look into?

David

A: There are a couple of veins for you to mine. Start with Investigative Reporters and Editors itself. The organization has an incredible desire to help and is always out hitting up corporate sponsors to bring the cost of training down. A five-day residential program is some of the most expensive training you can find. See whether they have any ideas how an editor from a smallish paper can get to the camp, a nearby regional or a national convention. If they don’t have a scheme, don’t get cross with them. Remember, the group works to bring the costs down for everyone.

Next, look beyond the budget of your own newsroom. An editor whose paper is owned by a larger company may sometimes find some corporate assistance available.

Finally, look for a way to blend your resources with your company's and perhaps IRE's. See if the company can give you the time and perhaps some housing money, and get there at your own expense. Perhaps IRE can help you find cheap housing. It often takes collaboration for people at smaller newspapers to get training.

Search for my second job?

Q: I'm a reporter at a mid-sized (40,000) daily.  This is my first job out of college and I've been here for about 18 months.

In a few months, I will begin applying for another job. I'd like to know
a) what might be an appropriate size paper to check out and
b) if you have any tips for someone writing a second-job-seeking cover letter. I've got a top beat at my current paper and have some good clips, though I'm limited on "project" stories. I also had several internships in college.

C.

A: It sounds as though you're doing a good job where you are and two years will be a respectable amount of time to work there before your move. If you're doing as well as you say, I would hope you could about double the circulation size of the newspaper where you're working.

Your cover letter should stress your successes and describe the challenges you're looking foward to -- such as more project journalism. Follow this link to more information on cover letters.

How big a jump in circulation?

Q: I am in my fourth year working for a small 13,000 circulation daily and am looking to move to a larger paper, but I want to make sure it's a good move. I'm only 25 and have worked hard to move up from sports reporter to my current post as sports editor.

I feel I'm a strong writer, but have been told my skills as a page designer could set me apart. Which way should I go? What size papers should I be applying to? Should I not even look at anything with a circulation over 100,000

Nate

A: You should move into the jobs you most like to do, that you feel you're best at and that you feel you have the best long-term potential in. Design is a great way to go, given the comparative lack of competition, if you like it.

A jump from 13,000 to 100,000-plus is unlikely. Make your jump a big one -- say, above 50,000, but keep it realistic. I'd say there is one good, mid-size daily between where you are and 100,000.

Quit my job or try a new job?

A: I'm a first-year night reporter who is thinking about quitting my job at a small daily and taking a break to reconsider my choice of profession, due to a starvation salary (nothing new to any reporter), horrible newsroom culture (i.e., not-so-nice coworkers and editors with no commitment to diversity in coverage or employment, etc.).  I find the only time black people are on our pages is when they've committed a crime, can run with a ball or around a track, or is an entertainer and no one but the criminal lands on A1.

I've found it hard to make multiple stories about county fairs, Veterans of Foreign Wars meetings and cops briefs interesting. Sure it's grunt work and I know I have to pay my dues and that's fine, I've done it before. However I'm bored and up for a challenge that probably will never be given. Even when I've scooped every other media outlet in town the editors would rather have somebody else cover the story and send me to another VFW meeting.

Additionally, I have been wanting to move on to a midsize newspaper for about six months of my year here and the length of my coworkers stay at this publication scares me. For some the job was a step up and then they've been here 3-10 years and can't get jobs anywhere else. So now I'm afraid that I may be unemployable and don't want to be stuck here forever. What, if anything, can I do to take the mundane and make it fabulous thereby boosting my clips and helping me to move on to a better opportunity? And is it advisable for me to quit?

Wishing and Hoping

A: Don’t quit.

Leaving a job to assess your options almost ensures that you will be out of journalism – whether you decide you want to be in it or not.

This is your first job and your newspaper stinks. Not all do. A second newspaper could go a long way to help you decide whether your newspaper is the standard or an anomaly.

Use your time to get a new job at another newspaper. No editor wants to hire someone who lacks the tenacity to see something through. Show them – and yourself – that you have it.

To make this happen, you need to turn some excellent clips. In fact, fear should motivate you to do an excellent job even with mundane assignments. Seek inspiration in how reporters at other newspapers turn the dull into the delightful.

You are at a critical juncture in your career. The actions you take in the next six months will have big implications for your career and your fulfillment.

Resume for journalism fellowship?

Q: I’m a metro reporter and am applying for a fellowship. I was asked to provide a résumé – and realized that I have no idea what a solid, mid-career journalism résumé looks like these days.

Any thoughts? I know the basics – keep it to one page, most recent experience at the top, etc. – but wasn’t sure how to include things like beat reporting, changes in beats, etc. I’m 33 and have been at my newspaper for five years, and have covered a range of beats: education, energy crisis, the anti-war movement; then was on loan for two months in Iraq and was the KR trail reporter during Wesley Clark’s presidential campaign.

Would love to see a sample résumé, if you know of any – have been searching all the J sites that I can think of!

Hopeful

A: I asked for help from a good friend, Free Press religion writer David Crumm, who had a Wallace House fellowship at the University of Michigan. Here is his advice:

“My only really substantial experience with résumés was back in the spring of 2002, when I was one of the “screeners” for the Wallace House fellowship for journalists at U of M for Charles Eisendrath. At that point, I saw hundreds of journalists’ résumés.

“While it’s important to be concise, because people read things so quickly these days, it’s also essential to highlight the most important parts of your work as a journalist.

“Titles mean different things at different newspapers – so it’s important to explain the most important things you actually DID in those jobs. Titles alone don’t communicate what you’ve done.

“Give specific phrases and info – How many people did you supervise? Did your story win a major award? Were you part of an innovative program to carve out the first suburban coverage in an area? Did your story change the way business was conducted – or start a trend? Or set a record that season for reader feedback? Or did your coverage of the local city hall take a whole new approach to the usual beat – for some specific reason? Like, you were the first one to use FOIA aggressively to report on corruption in the parking ticket racket in your town.

“In other words – I wouldn’t rely on any hard and fast categories. I can’t imagine that a standard résumé template will fit everyone precisely anymore.
Feel free to write your own category on the résumé, if you need it.

“I would design the résumé – keeping in mind the dozen most important facts about your life that you want your prospective employer to know about you –
Whether that’s some professional success – appropriately described – or the fact that you speak three languages or the fact that you’ve got experience working in the Middle East – or have special experience in understanding business, because for five years you worked in a family business.

“Also – don’t lie.  Be shameless in promoting the dozen things that are most valuable, interesting, unique about you – but never, ever lie.
A fudged detail (like seeming to imply that you finished a master’s degree – when, in fact, you’re a few credits short) – is something that’s reprehensible these days, given the attention given to such ethical lapses across the country.
Be a self promoter – but be scrupulously honest. There’s no excuse for lying on a résumé, anymore (if there ever was one).

“And – don’t forget the most obvious thing – the whole point of a résumé is your hope that someone will save it – and then actually contact you. So, make your name and your immediate contact information very easy to find on the résumé!”

From small daily to big alternative newsweekly?

Q: I am a young reporter in my first job at a tiny daily (about 6,000) where I’ve been for about nine months.  For a number of reasons, I am considering a move to an alternative newsweekly in a much larger metro area.  However, I am fairly certain that at some point in the future I’ll want to work at a daily again, but in a larger area.

Will making the move from a small-city daily to a large-city weekly hurt my chances of attaining that goal?

K.D.

A: That will depend on the kind of work you're doing now and what you do at the newsweekly.

There is not an automatic "go" or "no go."

Grad school into newsroom management?

Q: I am fairly certain that I want to work in newspaper management. For two years I worked as a reporter for a mid-sized newspaper. I then quit my job when I was diagnosed with a major medical condition and after a year long bout I finally recovered only to enter a poor job market.

From there, I decided to go back to grad school for a j-degree in hopes that I could makes some contacts and get myself back in the newsroom.  Now, as I enter my last semester of grad school I have decided that I want to work as an editor, preferably as an assignment editor.

Since I only have two years of solid reporting, is this possible, or are these jobs only saved for those who are seasoned copy-editors, reporters, etc.?  What steps would you suggest careerwise that I take to get me where I want to be?

Shelly

A: Good assigning editors are essential to any newsroom. The jobs are challenging and vitally important to the people who work for them. I encourage anyone who has the skills, temperament and best reasons for landing one of those jobs.

But I think you have more work to do before you get there.

Few newspapers will hire a new person, straight our of grad school, into an assigning role. But smart newspapers should gladly hire a reporter or photographer who has that ambition in mind. A newspaper that thinks will be happy to hire people who have more than one job in them.

You'll be more effective as an assigning editor if you get to know the newspaper as a reporter or copy editor before you begin making assignments. Interview for jobs that build on your prior experience and express your ambition to become an assigning editor, but stress that you think more experience and on-the-job training will help round out what you're learning in grad school.

Newspaper beat reporting?

Q: I just landed a job as a city/government reporter for a fast-growing city of about 160,000 people. I am very excited but lack experience covering city council or planning commission meetings. Can you recommend any books/resources on covering city hall and important city government issues? Or do you have any suggestions for me on where to start?

B.G.

Q 2: I'm now a city editor and am assembling a "beat reporting" handbook for new and experienced reporters, seeking your advice and direction.

Are there any specific sites you consider great?   

L'Oreal

A: The best people to talk to will be those who had the beat before you, your supervisor and a cross-section of people on your beat. They will have the knowledge you need to master the beat locally.

For more general resources, I suggest:

ASSOCIATIONS
Reporters in several specialty areas have created associations. These are a few of them:
The Education Writers Association
The Society of Environmental Journalists
The Religion Newswriters Association
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers

One association, Investigative Reporters and Editors, features "beat books" in its bookstore.

BOOKS
Getting the Story: An Advanced Reporting Guide to Beats, Records and Sources
by Henry H. Schulte, Marcel P. Dufresne

The Reporter's Handbook : An Investigator's Guide To Documents and Techniques
by Steve Weinberg

Associated Press Reporting Handbook by Jerry Schwartz

Newswriting on Deadline by Tony Rogers

Early in 2002, the Charlotte Observer published adbice from seven of its staffers on how to fo beat reporting. It is called The Write Stuff.

POYNTER ARTICLES BY CHIP SCANLAN
Beat Reporting: What Does it Take To Be The Best?
Anatomy of a Beat Memo

AMERICAN PRESS INSTITUTE
There are links to specialized reporting resources in its Journalist's Toolbox.

EDWARD MILLER at NEWSROOM LEADERSHIP

Beat management
Managing news beats

But don’t just stick your head into a book or the internet. They cannot substitute for what you can learn from the people in your community.

How to fight career stagnation?

Q: I am writing for some advice because I feel like my writing skills are starting to degrade because I am stuck in a freelance job that does not allow me to write like I would prefer.

Six years ago, I started up a career in journalism in school after ending an eight-year stint in education. I immediately made an impression with the amount and diverse nature of work I did, everything from general news to sports and entertainment. I even earned a couple of collegiate writing awards for some news series I wrote during my time at the school paper.

As my collegiate work was ending, I lucked into a position working as a newsroom assistant and prep sports stringer for one of the LA Times' former community newspapers, the one that used to cover the Inland Empire section of the region.

That led to a part-time position with a sister paper in my own hometown. Unfortunately, six months into the job, the paper was closed along with a dozen others. When my job was terminated, I immediately jumped at a job as a one-man sports department for a small afternoon daily in Northern California. I did everything up there, from writing the bulk of the stories to photographing events, laying out the paper, even building the agate every day.

After only two months on the job, the editor decided to terminate me because of creative differences. I don't want to go into detail but in a nutshell, she wanted someone who would rewrite press releases form the local youth sporting groups, not someone who would cover actual sports.

Since then, I have not been able to obtain another full or part time position except for my former freelance position with the community paper, which ended publication last year and my current work covering a local NASCAR track for the Times, something I have been doing now for a fourth year in a row.

I'm willing to take practically any reporting position available to me, but it seems to me that no paper even wants to consider me for a position. What am I missing in my attempt to regain a permanent position? I don't even care what size the paper is, I just want to get back into the daily grind of a paper.

Tony

A: It's impossible to say without knowing more, but a couple thoughts come to mind. One is, have you been applying to newspapers where there are live openings? Busy editors sometimes have a tough time thinking about any openings other than immediate ones. Another question is, where are you applying? If you are applying to papers that instead hire other, more experienced people, you'll have to move down market.

Another unknown is the quality of your work. Seek an honest assessment and advice from your present editors about the quality of your work and where it can take you. That information is key to helping you plan the next step in your career track. While you are talking to those editors, tell them about your concerns over the momentum in your professional development. Try to enlist them in helping you make that happen.

Take knowledge to the competition?

Q: My first job was at a very small daily newspaper where I covered schools and city hall. I'm now moving on to the bigger regional paper that somewhat covers the county where I used to work. I'm going to be a general assignment reporter and have been told I will do a little bit of everything. How much of my knowledge of developing/ongoing news stories from my former job should I bring with me now that I might be in situations where I am competing for stories with my former colleagues?

Melissa in Indiana

A: I respect your ethics and your honesty, but short of journalistic amnesia, I don’t think we can prevent your experiences in one job from helping you in the other.

That’s OK.

Keep your sources and your knowledge. Balance the sense of obligation you feel to your former colleagues with the larger obligations you have to your new employers and, especially, the readers who are counting on you to do the best reporting you can.

Bringing files you created at your old paper, on company time, is clearly out of bounds, but your knowledge goes with you and is one of the things that helped you get this new job. Use it.

Non-compete clauses, which forbid people from moving to a competitor for a number of years, are common at television stations but rare at newspapers.

Meeting coverage downplayed?

Q: I'm trying to figure out how my work stacks against others, so my questions come in two varieties.

First, I now work for the weekly section of a metro paper in California, where I write four or five stories a week.  Generally, my copy approaches 90 inches a week, but I must confess that usually one story covers a city council or a school board meeting.

I don't really mind these meetings at all, but when I hear reporters discuss the profession's lowliest work, they often mention these kinds of events.  It even comes up in your other (JobsPage) queries, and I'm curious about why this is.  Do I think too much of my work if my lead story each week is of this sort?  Go ahead, let me have it.

Second,  It seems to me that, when editors review clips, they put just as much stock in where an article plays as in the content of the piece itself.  Is this correct?  And I hate to be so naive, but why is this so?

It would seem to me that the quality of the writing would be the most important feature, because that is what we are called on to do.  And in some of the pieces I'm thinking of, there really is no difference in the time or deadline element.  Is it simply that having an article that goes on the front page instead of B-3 indicates that you're a reporter who editors trust with something big?

Ashley

A: First question: Meeting coverage gets downplayed because it is such a staple and seldom tests a good reporter's mettle. Meeting coverage is often a first job, though some of the nation's most senior reporters are basically doing that, too, whether it be in Congress, the State House or City Hall. More highly prized subjects for stories are breaking news -- and news you break -- investigative work and enterprise.

Try to bring some more of these into your repertoire. Even if you are very, very good at covering the machinations of local government, it is hard to stand out when you're doing what so many other people do.

Second question: Editors, who look at a lot of clips, develop some scanning techniques. One of the easiest is to check the play of a story. They figure, and they're not crazy, that most other editors put the best stuff out front and the lesser stuff inside. Editors want to hire away a newspaper's best people, not the ones who, judging from the play of their work, are good, steady producers, but not stellar players. I would have to agree with their cursory conclusions that the story you present as one of the best in your past year, was not judged to be one of the newspaper's best, even for that particular day.

If you want to be hired away from your newspaper, the best way to do that is to be the best person at your newspaper. Become the person that editors trust with something big by doing big things.

From advertising to journalism?

Q:   I've been working as a project editor in a marketing department of an advertising agent (of two daily newspapers) for four years. I would like to pursue a job as a newspaper reporter.  Besides editing, I write stories for weekly advertising supplements and special sections on a variety of topics -- homebuilding, cars, seniors, careers and more. Because these stories are part of advertising supplements that go into the papers, they are somewhat self-serving and promotional.

What advice do you have that could help me break into hard-news writing? Also, on some of my stories I use pen names. Will these clips help or hinder me when applying for a job at a newspaper?

L.I. in  Utah

A: You’re in a tight spot. Because what you are writing does not follow some key journalistic principles, editors will wonder whether you have the bedrock ethics of independence, fairness and completeness. Using more than one byline will make them wonder about that, too.

Your best course is to start laying down some clips – under your own name – that are by all measures strictly journalism, rather than advertorial copy designed to spiff up advertisers. Treat that freelance work as a transitional step away from writing promotional copy. When you have enough of those news and news-features clips, use them to try to go all the way over to journalism.

Would travel hurt my career?

Q: Do employers frown on applicants who travel for a few months after graduation rather than join the work force immediately?

Andrew Simmons, Colo.

A: Some employers would frown on that. But don't let them dictate your life. Maybe they're the sort you wouldn't want to work with, anyway. In the long run, travel can make you more well-rounded and valuable as a journalist.

Also, consider your personal life. If you have a strong urge to travel, the window between college and work may be your best opportunity to do it. Most places want you to work for several years before they'll give you a three-month leave. And a three-month gap in your resume is less disruptive coming right after college than it would be coming between jobs later. There can be greater risks in a mid-career gap than there are in slightly delaying the start of your career.

Another factor to consider is job availability. There are more jobs available early in the year, when budgets are fresh, than in the summer and fall. The number of eager, new applicants spikes around June, though. You might be doing yourself a favor to come on the market at summer's end, when there are fewer people entering the job market.

If your travel bug is not extreme, and if you can be nimble in your plans, there's a third option: Pursue a job for graduation time, intending to accept a good one if you can find it. If nothing has turned up with a couple months to go, put your search on hold, pack your bags and buy your ticket.

Where can copy editing lead?

Q: Is it unusual for copy editing to lead to other positions at a newspaper? Most of my experience is in copy editing (and I have a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund internship on my résumé), but somewhere down the line I might like to do some reporting as well. How can I improve my prospects while at
the copy desk?

P.B., Seattle

A: The copy desk can be a great platform leading to other departments, often in first-line supervision. A copy editor who is proficient and line editing, and who is obviously in tune with the newspaper and exhibits good news judgment can be a godsend for the business news, features, local news or nation/world staffs.

The trick is to get the newspaper to see you as more than “just a copy editor.” Do this by showing some initiative to improve things outside your immediate job. Serve on task forces and committees (At a lot of papers, this will mean coming in before the copy desk shift starts.) Look for opportunities to be the lead copy editor on the newspaper’s most ambitious projects. Try to get involved early in them. Work into a leadership role on the desk, such as slotting.

Ask your paper to let you cross train for a few weeks in the job you have in mind. This will give you a chance to experience it and a chance to show what you can do—or still need to learn. A cross-train should not be a tryout, but an opportunity to experience something new. That way, there is no shame in returning to your job. It’s simply the expected result.

As jobs within reach come open, apply for them. Be reasonable, but don’t wait until a job comes open that you know you can get. The point is to get into career discussions with editors so that their image of you grows. The first time you apply to be an assistant city editor, they might be caught by surprise. If your ideas are good, though, and you’ve shown in your newsroom conversations that you have the demeanor and potential to coach and to lead, they’ll be looking for you the next time there is an opening.
As you build you career, remember that it is not enough to possess skills and qualities—you’ve got to exhibit them. Someone who says he or she knows how to lead a work group, but never does, will be doubted.

Show them the money.

How do I grow?

Q: I write game stories and features on the Utah Grizzlies of the International Hockey League for an online publication called In the Crease (www.inthecrease.com). Since this is an unpaid position, I do not have an editor to read my stories. I edit stories from other writers in the International league.
It is difficult for me to identify how I can improve my writing. Without editor feedback, I feel like I am not progressing my skills and style. I would like to build my skills in hope to gain a full-time sports writing position. My "real job" now is in technical writing. I write end-user manuals for a multimedia software package.
Do you have any suggestions? I was thinking about purchasing a good book on news writing or reading stories written by skilled sports writers. I have a bachelor's degree in communication, emphasizing in news writing, from the University of Utah (1992) so I do know the basics. However, without directly working in the field, it is tough to learn and grow.
I was also wondering if I do pursue a sports-writing career, what is a realistic level to start at? I am not sure what level of paper or position to target. I am unsure of how good my writing is, how to determine where my skills would fit and what salary level to expect.
Cheryl Kamenski
IHL Editor
In the Crease

A: You're in a tough situation, but it's one that should be easy to fix, I think, if you tap into the sports-writing network.
Sportswriters are competitive, to be sure, but they also get to know each other and, because they see each other so often, get to know each other's work. Pay attention to who you think is doing some of the best work you see and try to get a sense as to whether they'd be open to mentor you. Then, just ask. Some sportswriters take pride in the fact that they have helped some up-and-comers become successful.
It's hard to determine where to start your career, but I would like at the classified ads for some sense of the experience people are looking for on various jobs. That might help you stake out a starting point.
One more thing: Look into joining the Association for Women in Sports Media. Their website is http://users.southeast.net/~awsm