Displaced Journalists

How to survive in the age of layoffs and cheap content

Debunking 5 Myths of Entrepreneurial Journalism

Posted on | July 29, 2010 | No Comments

By Jeremy Caplan, Poynter Online

Entrepreneurial journalists spot the seeds of start-ups where others see remnants of the news industry’s retreat. Earlier this month, I worked with 19 forward-looking journos who convened at Poynter to get a jumpstart on their new micro-businesses.

One narrowed the focus of her niche news site for Filipino Americans, while another refined his plan for RootedAustin.com, a local portal for Austin, Texas. The early-stage ideas — like many of the new notions flowing across the journalism landscape — spanned from micro-local sites to services aimed at bolstering journalism’s infrastructure. In prepping to launch their businesses, the journos are moving past some common myths.

Myth No. 1: Journalists lack entrepreneurial skills and spark

Reporters can’t do numbers. Creative types and money don’t mix. So go the stale myths. Stepping beyond that bunk, the reality is that top journalists actually have a range of relevant skills. Many have strong analytical skills, a reportorial mindset and a knack for storytelling, all of which are invaluable in helping a start-up thrive. Read the entire story here on Poynter Online.

Category: Archives, Internet, New Ideas, New Ventures, Solutions
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Getting Rich Slowly, Living on the Line

Posted on | July 29, 2010 | No Comments

By Jules Older

As journos, writers, editors and authors, we’re living on a fault line.

Jules Older

And journos, writers, editors and authors in San Francisco live on two fault lines. The famous one is the San Andreas Fault, which may bring the house down sometime soon.

The lesser-known one has already brought down many colleagues and friends.

This one’s a grinding shift of epochs, not of tectonic plates. We live on the divide between the Gutenberg Era and the Digital Age. The days of print may be done, and many friends who write or shoot for newspapers and magazines, who write or edit books, have lost their source of income.

Oh, and not just friends. I was editor-in-chief of two magazines, both victims of the shift. There went the income.

With the magazines gone and others going — I know this will shock you — assignments became rather scarce. As newspapers began folding along with magazines, former journalists and once-were-editors started competing with freelancers for rapidly shrinking editorial space.

You’ve heard that old Chinese curse, May you live in exciting times. If you’ve made your living in print, yer soaking in it.

The app: San Francisco Restaurants

I was soaking in it.

Then the phone rings. No, because we are now in Digi Times, an email arrives. It’s from Sutro Media, a couple of entrepreneurial San Francisco engineers who want to know if I’d like to create an iPhone app about San Francisco restaurants.

I don’t email back; I pick up the phone. “If I do, I want to do it my way.”

“Which is?”

“Which is the opposite of Yelp and Urban Spoon and all those.”

“Which means?”

“Which means not crowd-sourced — one man’s palate, one woman’s photos. Which means uncorrupted by influencing ads, by pay-to-play, by anonymity.”

“What have you got against anonymity?”

“A lot. Writing as “Foodfreak,” the owner proclaims how fabulous his restaurant is. Writing as “Truthseek,” his competitor down the block swears that it totally sucks and he got ptomaine poisoning last time he was there.”

“Anything else?”

“Matter of fact, yes. I want to take users to where San Franciscans eat, not just to the same old stops on the Tiki Tour. I want to get them off the Tourist Reservation. I want to introduce them to bargains, not money flushers. I want to name my favorites and to castigate the overpriced and the overhyped.”

Sutro says, “When do we start?”

I say, “We just did.”

Sutro says, “Oh, and who’s the woman?”

“That would be Effin Older, my wife, the photographer.”

The app, San Francisco Restaurants, went live on Thanksgiving. Now, it’s been through three expansions. It still costs 99 cents. Upgrades are still free. And it’s beginning to reach beyond the bridges to where visitors go on their big San Francisco trip.

Effin and I are eating out a lot. We each weigh just under 400 pounds. [Editor's note: Not; I've seen them.]

Ah, but am I getting rich, rich? Am I making anything like what I did when I was the editor-in-chief?

Hell no, not even close.

Do I care?

Hell, yes. But writers are used to get-rich-slow schemes. Especially when we’re living on a fault line.

– 30 –

Jules and Effin Older are the creators of a bunch of kids’ books, a gaggle of YouTube videos (www.YouTube.com/julesolder) and the iPhone app, San Francisco Restaurants. Click here to buy the app. If you buy it, help a fellow journalist out and add a review of San Francisco Restaurants in iTunes.

Category: Archives, Commentary, Displaced Journalists, New Ideas, Solutions

Job Quest Advice: Take Your Skills with You

Posted on | July 28, 2010 | 3 Comments

By Michael Gauger

For nearly 20 years, I was a newspaper copy editor in Milwaukee, where I was born and grew up. But in the last few years, the Journal Sentinel had been cutting its staff through buyouts. In the summer of ’09, a round of buyouts didn’t yield enough cuts for the company, and in August I was laid off, among dozens in the newsroom who lost their jobs.

One year later, I’m happy to report, I have landed in a rewarding position: grant officer/writer for the Columbia St. Mary’s Foundation, which cultivates philanthropic support for the healthcare system serving the Milwaukee area.  When I told this to Susan Older, whose Displaced Journalists online community shines light in a gloomy time for journalism and employment, she urged me to write about it, to show out-of-work journalists that we should and could survive, even in a wretched economy. So I’m writing this for Susan, for my friend and fellow writer Julie Weber, who writes a blog that I recommend  (Tales from an Unemployed Interior Designer ) – and for you.

I knew that I could do the job with the foundation. And I wanted to do the job, as I would be writing applications for grants to support programs such as free health clinics for the poor. I would be telling important stories about a vital resource, and how it could be brought to people who lacked access to it. Like journalism, the foundation would call on my communications skills to comfort the afflicted. For me, it was the right opportunity at the right time.

Yes, before making that case and getting the job, I needed to hear numerous résumé critiques and make revisions, to do lots of networking and to profit from luck. Most important, however, was that I could talk about significant transferable skills from journalism: writing, editing, research, working on my own and as a member of a team to meet deadlines. (That set complemented one from my background as a scholar in American history and political science.) Read more

Category: Archives, Blogs, Commentary, Displaced Journalists, Layoff, Multimedia, Solutions, Training
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E&P: Newspapers Sink Below Internet and TV as Information Sources

Posted on | July 28, 2010 | No Comments

By Mark Fitzgerald,  July 28, 2010

CHICAGO – - Newspapers continue to be seen as less important at their primary job — being sources of information – according to the latest edition of the nine-year-old Digital Future Project from the USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism.

The study found that just 56% Internet users ranked newspapers as  important or very important sources of information for them, down from 60% in 2008 –  and below the Internet (78%) and television (68%).

And while newspapers also regard themselves as being  in the entertainment business, just 29% of users consider them as important sources of entertainment, down from 32% two years ago, and last among principal media. Read more

Category: Displaced Journalists

WRITERS LIFEGUARD: No Reply is the New “No Thanks”

Posted on | July 23, 2010 | 6 Comments

By Jules Older

After the positive work reports I’ve received in response to the last Writers Lifeguard, this note arrived:

Jules Older

“Well, Jules, I wish I could say things are looking up for me, but it’s really hard not to get discouraged with a capital D. After unsuccessfully hunting for a magazine staff job last summer/fall (and by unsuccessful, I mean not even getting a single response, e-mail or otherwise to any applications), I’m going through the self-torture again. Though I’ve rewritten my resume, and I network to the point where I feel like a stalker, once again, I have not received so much as an acknowledgment of receipt to any e-mails or applications.”

If the note hadn’t been from Cindy Hirschfeld, I would just have replied with something like, “Sorry, but keep at it.”

But I’ve worked with Cindy. I’ve edited Cindy. I once gave Cindy an award when, during a blizzard that caused a power outage in Colorado, she drove through said blizzard to a high peak so she could email me her story on time. She’s a strong writer with an unbeatable work ethic. If Cindy isn’t getting a response, something is very, very wrong out there. Read more

Category: Freelancing

WSJ: Five Mistakes Online Job Hunters Make

Posted on | July 22, 2010 | No Comments

By Elizabeth Garone, 
The Wall Street Journal
Posted 7/22/1020, 10:57 EDT

In a tight job market, building and maintaining an online presence is critical to networking and job hunting. Done right, it can be an important tool for present and future networking and useful for potential employers trying to get a sense of who you are, your talents and your experience. Done wrong, it can easily take you out of the running for most positions. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Category: Jobs
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Knowledgewebb Launches Displaced Journalists Partnership with Free “Tech Savvy” Webinar

Posted on | July 21, 2010 | No Comments

By Amy Webb
CEO, Knowledgewebb

Knowledgewebb is pleased to partner with Displaced Journalists to offer community members a deep discount on its annual membership dues. Knowledgewebb offers hands-on training, self-directed courses, ongoing webinars and more for professionals working in publishing and small-business communications.

Need pointers on how to edit an audio podcast? Want to brush up on Flash as a storytelling tool? Curious about augmented reality? Knowledgewebb was created as a support resource for people working in all areas of media who are trying to reinvent themselves and reinvigorate their careers.

To kick off the partnership, Knowledgewebb will conduct a free webinar at 2 p.m. EDT August 5. The online seminar “10 Steps to a Tech-Savvy You” is designed primarily for displaced journalists, stay-at-home entrepreneurs, seasoned academics, C-level corporate managers and retirees. Think of it as a digital media makeover. It will help you explore the critical websites, social networks and gear you need to survive in an increasingly digital world. Knowledgewebb will also offer a free primer on how to Read more

Category: Archives, Digital Journalist, Digital resources, Displaced Journalists, Internet, Layoff, Multimedia, New Ideas, Online, Solutions, Training
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Hacks/Hackers Survival Glossary for Journalists

Posted on | July 10, 2010 | No Comments

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the jargon associated with digital media, you are not alone. As Displaced Journalists eager to get back in the game, we all need to be well-versed in ever-evolving technology lingo.

Hacks/Hackers, a network concerned with the intersection of journalism and technology, has come up with a list of important technology terms. It’s especially nice because

it’s written for non-techies and it’s crowdsourced, which means that it’s constantly being updated by individuals who submit terms they find missing from the list.

In keeping with an open philosophy of crowdsourcing, Hacks/Hackers has made its list available to anyone to republish under a Creative Commons licence and the network encourages you to contribute to make it even better. Read more

Category: Archives, Digital Journalist, Digital resources, Internet, Multimedia, Online, Training
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Which is Worse: The Waiting or the Fear?

Posted on | June 23, 2010 | No Comments

By Holly Kerfoot

“Dead man walking!”

The feeling that this should be shouted in the newsroom when I pass by has faded, as have the murmurs of sympathy from those who – for now – will be keeping their jobs.

What remains is the uncertainty.

You see, I work on a copy desk that is being phased out. In April, we learned that Media General had decided to eliminate the 18.5 positions on the Winston-Salem Journal’s desk and split its work between “consolidated” desks in Tampa and Richmond by the end of October. We were told that five positions will be available for those who would consider moving, and the company presented its layoff-compensation package. As of mid-June, we have heard no more, except that plans are moving ahead, though more slowly than expected.

And so we follow the routine, do our jobs, and wonder.

The waiting, oh, how it wears on my soul. I have experienced waiting before, when I turned in my two-week notice and looked Read more

Category: Archives, Commentary, Displaced Journalists, Layoff, Limbo
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$2.74 Million Awarded to 12 Knight News Challenge Winners

Posted on | June 17, 2010 | No Comments

Cambridge, Mass. (June 16, 2010) – Twelve media innovation projects have been named the 2010 winners of the Knight News Challenge, a contest that funds ideas that use digital technology to inform specific geographic communities.

The winners will share a total of $2.74 million as part of the fourth round of the five-year international contest.

Among the winning ideas are two easy-to-use tool sets for journalists and bloggers to illustrate raw data visually – one of the most promising new areas of digital journalism. One project (Tilemapping) was field-tested in Haiti, to map where aid was needed after the earthquake.

Read more of this article here.

Knight News Challenge Winners, In Brief from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

Get Your Ideas Ready for the 2011 Knight Challenge Awards

You’ve got ideas, too, and you’ve got time to prepare for the 2011 Knight Challenge. Applications will be open this fall, and anyone can apply, worldwide. Displaced Journalists will keep you updated. The News Challenge is part of John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Media Innovation Initiative.

The annual News Challenge grants go to innovators who use new or available technology to distribute content in local communities. There are three important guidelines:

  • Use digital, open-source technology.
  • Distribute news in the public interest.
  • Test your project in a local community.

Displaced Journalists will keep you informed. However, you’ll find everything you need to plan and apply on the Knight News Challenge website.

Category: Uncategorized
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  • Learn from Our Partner

     

    Get 30 percent off a year of digital media training from Displaced Journalists' partner, Knowledgewebb.net. Register using the discount code: DISPLACED

  • Welcome to Displaced Journalists

     

    Susan Older

        Is there life – or work – after newspapers? A lot of us are in the process of finding out. Because it’s generally a somewhat lonely endeavor, it struck me, in January 2010, that it might be comforting – and possibly very productive – to go through it together.

        Displaced Journalists is a community – our community – where we find common ground, where we can begin to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get on with our lives and livelihoods. [more]

  • RSS Jim Romenesko, Poynter Institute