Journalism schools educate more employable students

April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

With the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism recently hiring a new dean, media critics have been turning their eyes on journalism schools to postulate once again about whether or not elite programs help graduates get employed. Though many major media outlets like Gannett have laid off thousands of employees in the last 10 years, an article published by Crain’s New York suggests that the people who are actually getting hired are coming out of top journalism schools.

Looking at Columbia specifically, the article says that in 2012, 74 percent of a 354-person class had some kind of internship or minimal employment lined up before graduating. In 2006, only 52 percent were in that position. Other schools, such as the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, have seen similar improvements.

“That’s in part because of happy things, like our graduates are very talented and skilled,” Nicholas Lemann, the outgoing dean at Columbia, told Craig’s, “and in part unhappy things, like a 27-year-old coming out of this school is more desirable in the labor force than a 55-year-old who doesn’t have any digital skills.”

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Al Jazeera America draws thousands of job applications

March 13, 2013 By 1 Comment

Although Al Jazeera’s recruiters used to incite little interest from prospective job candidates, their impending U.S. launch has prompted 18,000 people to apply for 170 openings in the new bureau, according to the Columbia Journalism Review.

Ehab Alshihabi, executive director of international operations for Al Jazeera, told CJR that he advises candidates to pay close attention to how their qualifications adhere to the job they want. “We want people who have watched our content and are familiar with the product, the company, and the Al Jazeera brand of journalism.” The candidates, he said, have no commonality of age, ethnicity or journalism credentials, but they’re unified by their levels of experience, enthusiasm and passion for Al Jazeera’s type of content.

Alshihabi said that American journalists started to notice Al Jazeera during their coverage of the Arab Spring. He said they’ll have preliminary hires set by May 1 to prepare for their American launch, and they’ll continue to hire on a rolling basis. They’ll hire radio, print, online and TV journalists.

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The Atlantic responds to unpaid freelancer drama, offers a State of the Biz

March 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Back when The Atlantic had a lot more poetry in it! (Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons)

Back when The Atlantic had a lot more poetry in it! (The Atlantic Monthly/Wikimedia Commons)

On Monday freelancer Nate Thayer created a buzz when he made it known that The Atlantic had asked to republish his work without offering to pay him for it. Two days later, Alexis Madrigal, one of the magazine’s senior editors, offers a very long, very personal reply that also turns out to be a meditation on the state of the industry.

Madrigal opens with harrowing details about the depths of his early freelance days, where he was paid $12 for pieces and had to go to the ATM drunk to handle his credit card balance. But he also gives the publications’ side of the freelance story. According to him, it’s not the big publications’ fault that they can’t pay freelancers as much as they’d like to (ostensibly). The economic model for online publications has become equally pressurized.

Madrigal, a digital editor, says they have six options:

  1. Write a lot of original pieces.
  2. Take partner content.
  3. Find people who are willing to write for a small amount of money.
  4. Find people who are willing to write for no money.
  5. Aggregate like a mug.
  6. Rewrite press releases so they look like original content.

Madrigal says he sympathizes most with No. 1 and No. 5, but that digital journalism mores must be taken case by case, as everyone (except the high rollers) is making compromises to keep afloat. His parting shot offers little in the way of consolation:

“Anyway, the biz ain’t what it used to be, but then again, for most people, it never really was. And, to you Mr. Thayer, all I can say is I wish I had a better answer.”

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