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March 2007 - Posts

New to the blog

Hello everyone! A little about me: My name's Elysse James. I'm a 22-year-old copy editor working in Southern California for a mid-sized daily newspaper. Before I was hired as a copy editor I was an intern reporter. Before (and during) the internship,
posted by ElysseJames | 2 Comments
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Who's linked?

Any young journalist understands (or needs to understand) the strong need to network.But, it always bugs me how some young journalists network. They'll swarm through the crowds at SPJ conventions with only the goal in mind of meeting some big, important
posted by SonyaSmith | 1 Comments
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Serving the public

Tommorow night I get to step back into the council chambers of Irvine City Hall where I'll furiously take notes, e-mail in stories, shiver because of air conditioning and listen to politicians for at least five hours.Why you may ask?Well, every now

Takin' it easy

Wow our jobs are stressful. So how do you deal?Me? Well I'll be honest: I used to drink and chain smoke cigarettes. Now I didn't drink on the job of course, but I did take several smoke breaks. And given that my lunch hours were often times nonexistant,

Steppin' on up

My editor at work loves baseball.He doesn't just love watching the games, wearing hats to support his team and talking about the game. He can relate almost anything to the game.So if he were writing this blog posting, his advice would be to step up to

Winning while losing

Have you ever lost? Ever not gotten the position you wanted?I have. And I will use it as inspiration.See, if you read my post last week you'll see that I had applied for a promotion at work. I was a community reporter for the Irvine World News (that is

Office space

Here's a fantastic column on the myth of a neat newsroom, and it got me wondering how other newsrooms are.I've had the pleasure of working at five different newsrooms, and all have been feng shui disasters. Don't get me wrong. It's not like I don't contribute
posted by GenePark | 4 Comments
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Inspiration Monday: Cheerleaders

For the last few weeks I've been sitting on pins and needles. I'm being considered for a promotion at work and I really want the job.So how have I stumbled past my nerves? Lots of coffee, and cheerleaders.So what are cheerleaders you ask?People who are

Check out this video!

In college I was a print journalism major with an English literature minor.So why am I learning about video today at work?Because that could be the future.No one knows exactly what journalism will be in 30 years. We're not sure what sorts of jobs, companies

You got questions? We'll get answers!

Why don't we get this learning ball rolling? If you're like me - the training provided by your newsroom is just a starting point. Learning is not something your boss can do for you - you must go out and get it yourself. I'd like to start another
posted by SonyaSmith | 2 Comments
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Kids on the street, kids on the beat

I'm just wonder what everyone else's beats are, or what beats you might be interested in in the future, or what beats you've already covered. I was put on the cop beat at the Star-Bulletin in the middle of January, which is a difficult beat since
posted by GenePark | 0 Comments
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Inspiration is key

Here is the first in a new series of posts on how to stay inspired. With such an underpaid, overworked profession more and more people are not excited to go to work each day.My first tip is to listen to your audience. Yes, every journalist will probably
posted by SonyaSmith | 0 Comments
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Non-paid internships: slavery?

Many journalists I know have had or have un-paid internships.A story floating around the blogosphere says internships that do not pay or give school credit are the same as slavery.Read the story by the SF Weekly here.Read some reactions to that story
posted by SonyaSmith | 4 Comments
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Vogue Eye for the New Guys and Gals

Hey everyone, I'm Gene Park, a 25-year-old crime reporter at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Before my current gig, I worked for three years at Gannett's Pacific Daily News on Guam, where I was born and raised, as reporter and eventually assistant news editor.

Welcome!

Welcome to Generation J’s First Draft blog! I hope that this blog will inspire, coach, discuss and learn from young journalists. Anyone can read and chat on the blog – but it is intended to focus on issues relating to young journalists. You know, the
posted by SonyaSmith | 2 Comments
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