"Become a Field Reporter" is a comprehensive guide that unravels the intricacies of field reporting, providing a roadmap for both aspiring journalists and seasoned reporters. Authored with a commitment to ethical journalism and a global perspective, the book spans from foundational skills to cutting-edge techniques in the digital age. It delves into the challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies, data journalism, and multimedia storytelling. Readers are empowered to navigate the dynamic landscape of journalism, fostering cross-cultural understanding and contributing to positive social change. With insights into ethics, global perspectives, and practical skills, this guide is an essential companion for those seeking a holistic approach to professional growth in the ever-evolving field of journalism.
"Become a Field Reporter" is a comprehensive guide that unravels the intricacies of field reporting, providing a roadmap for both aspiring journalists and seasoned reporters. Authored with a commitment to ethical journalism and a global perspective, the book spans from foundational skills to cutting-edge techniques in the digital age. It delves into the challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies, data journalism, and multimedia storytelling. Readers are empowered to navigate the dynamic landscape of journalism, fostering cross-cultural understanding and contributing to positive social change. With insights into ethics, global perspectives, and practical skills, this guide is an essential companion for those seeking a holistic approach to professional growth in the ever-evolving field of journalism.
SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING CAREERS today can be found in the field of journalism. Journalism includes reporters, correspondents, television and radio broadcast analysts, photojournalists, editors, and online content writers. Reporters and other journalists gather information and write news stories that are read and viewed by the general public. Reporters may interview knowledgeable sources, examine documents, attend meetings, or go to the scene of newsworthy events to gather information. They then write articles for newspapers, magazines and newsletters. They also create broadcast reports for television stations, radio stations, and online media outlets. Editors (usually former reporters) work with journalists to help craft solid articles and reports. Would you make a good reporter? Certainly technical training is required, but personal trails are also important for success. Are you a clear, concise writer who enjoys the creative process? Do you like solving puzzles - the challenge of digging out the answers to important questions and public issues? Are you good with technology and open to learning new skills in a rapidly evolving industry? Do you have good organizational skills? Can you be objective, compiling a report that presents both sides of a story without reflecting your personal opinion? Do you communicate well in person - a requirement for interviewing other people, and then talking in front of a television camera? Are you persistent? If so, you may be well positioned to pursue a journalism career. This new Careers Ebook contains a wealth of unbiased information about an occupational field, based on the latest national surveys. Careers Ebooks cover attractive and unattractive sides, opportunities, education necessary, personal qualifications required, earnings, descriptions of different job specialties, first person accounts by those in the field, and how to get started; including practical advice on what to do now. There are live links to schools and colleges, associations, periodicals and other sources of reliable information.
A great many people who want to be writers say that they want to have a career in journalism. They may envision themselves going to exotic locales to cover stories. While these things do happen to journalists, it takes a long time to make your bones before you are sent on any interesting assignments. A journalist is someone who reports on timely events. Timing is everything to a journalist. Whether you write for a periodical or a newspaper, you need to make sure that your articles are timely. Your purpose is to keep the public as up to date as possible when it comes to news and events that may affect them. This is the basic concept of being a journalist. You should report on all sides of a story, not just take one side, even if it appears that one side is right or wrong. A good journalist gets all sides of the story, prints it and then lets the reader decide, based upon the article. A good journalist does not make up the reader's mind for them. As you continue in your career, you will find your voice when it comes to your writing. Do not be surprised if your first articles are rewritten by your editor. Another rule that you need to learn when you are starting a career as a journalist is to not fall in love with your own work. Do not feel hurt if an editor does not like a phrase in your article, or makes some changes. They are only doing their job. You will soon get to know the editor and they will get to know your style of writing.
The definitive media law guide for journalists and students alike. The only media law text endorsed by the NCTJ, McNae's offers unrivalled practical guidance on a wide range of reporting situations - an invaluable tool throughout your journalism career.
A great many people who want to be writers say that they want to have a career in journalism. They may envision themselves going to exotic locales to cover stories or winning a Pulitzer prize. While these things do happen to journalists, it takes a long time to make your bones before you are sent on any interesting assignments. I became a journalist purely by accident. Unlike others who seek out journalism as a career, I wanted to be a writer. I envisioned myself writing books of fiction and entertaining the masses. My parents talked me into going to college and getting a degree in journalism. They told me that it was a good idea to have something to fall back on, in case I couldn’t make a living writing fiction for a living. Five years and 100 rejections later, I realized they were right. Fortunately, my degree in journalism helped me support myself so that I didn’t have to go back home after I got out of school. I had no idea what a journalist did until I got my first job at a local paper when I was still in school. I was hired as a stringer and had to report on meetings. It was boring, but it paid for extras. Someone said that I was a journalist and I realized that I was actually working in a field for which I was studying. A journalist is someone who reports on timely events. Timing is everything to a journalist. Whether you write for a periodical or a newspaper, you need to make sure that your articles are timely. Your purpose is to keep the public as up to date as possible when it comes to news and events that may affect them. This is the basic concept of being a journalist.
A first-of-its-kind guide for new media times, this book provides practical, step-by-step instructions for writing first-person features, essays, and digital content. Combining journalism techniques with self-exploration and personal storytelling, First-Person Journalism is designed to help writers to develop their personal voice and establish a narrative stance. The book introduces nine elements of first-person journalism—passion, self-reporting, stance, observation, attribution, counterpoints, time travel, the mix, and impact. Two introductory chapters define first-person journalism and its value in building trust with a public now skeptical of traditional news media. The nine practice chapters that follow each focus on one first-person element, presenting a sequence of "voice lessons" with a culminating writing assignment, such as a personal trend story or an open letter. Examples are drawn from diverse nonfiction writers and journalists, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Joan Didion, Helen Garner, Alex Tizon, and James Baldwin. Together, the book provides a fresh look at the craft of nonfiction, offering much-needed advice on writing with style, authority, and a unique point of view. Written with a knowledge of the rapidly changing digital media environment, First-Person Journalism is a key text for journalism and media students interested in personal nonfiction, as well as for early-career nonfiction writers looking to develop this narrative form.
Forty years after Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson, and Gay Talese launched the New Journalism movement, Robert S. Boynton sits down with nineteen practitioners of what he calls the New New Journalism to discuss their methods, writings and careers. The New New Journalists are first and foremost brilliant reporters who immerse themselves completely in their subjects. Jon Krakauer accompanies a mountaineering expedition to Everest. Ted Conover works for nearly a year as a prison guard. Susan Orlean follows orchid fanciers to reveal an obsessive subculture few knew existed. Adrian Nicole LeBlanc spends nearly a decade reporting on a family in the South Bronx. And like their muckraking early twentieth-century precursors, they are drawn to the most pressing issues of the day: Alex Kotlowitz, Leon Dash, and William Finnegan to race and class; Ron Rosenbaum to the problem of evil; Michael Lewis to boom-and-bust economies; Richard Ben Cramer to the nitty gritty of politics. How do they do it? In these interviews, they reveal the techniques and inspirations behind their acclaimed works, from their felt-tip pens, tape recorders, long car rides, and assumed identities; to their intimate understanding of the way a truly great story unfolds. Interviews with: Gay Talese Jane Kramer Calvin Trillin Richard Ben Cramer Ted Conover Alex Kotlowitz Richard Preston William Langewiesche Eric Schlosser Leon Dash William Finnegan Jonathan Harr Jon Krakauer Adrian Nicole LeBlanc Michael Lewis Susan Orlean Ron Rosenbaum Lawrence Weschler Lawrence Wright
Technology has disrupted the news industry--its relationships, forms, and business models--but also provides no end of opportunities for improving, expanding, reimagining, and sustaining journalism.
When his mother died, eight-year-old David Butler's life changed forever. Expectations for his future disappeared along with his mother's warm presence, but the days ahead still held promise. David set his own bar high, and this at risk child never let go of the idea that he would become something greater. Laughed at by his family when he announced his plan to go to college, David received little support for his dreams. But he never stopped asking himself whether he could really have that life, whether it was possible to transcend his current circumstances and reach higher. Do our limits stop us from achieving or just provide opportunities to push past them? Young David used his natural optimism to keep working, and he made it to college. Today he holds a bachelor's degree and an MBA, and he has found a fulfilling career. One important lesson was that he was never really alone; the teachers and mentors who helped him along the way were a constant source of inspiration. This profound story shows how personal strength can overcome adversity. And it shows how the challenges we face in life can be our greatest teachers in the end.
