Hard Copies of Newspapers, and the State of Journalism at NYU.

Is New York University behind the times in journalism education?

NYU student Alana Taylor made journalism news headlines last week with an interesting missive on PBS MediaShift about the journalism program at the university, once referred to merely as the "Department of Journalism" at NYU and now branded as the "Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute" at NYU (with revamped curriculum to match), by stating that, in so many words, the NYU journalism curriculum doesn't serve the new media needs of a Generation Y student.

An undergraduate at NYU, Taylor blasts the paper-only mindset of the school, lamenting that she has to bring a hard copy of the New York Times with her to class, among other old-media, MSM things. The reaction around the journalistic blogosphere, acute and forceful, turned the barrel back on her for complaining. "You are wrong," "back to the NY Times," "learn how to write news" and "take some classes" were among the responses, criticizing her for being critical and generally missing her point entirely.

Well, this whole thing is not about her. It's about NYU.

A card-carrying Gen-Y'er, I found my love for journalism at NYU as an undergraduate, like Taylor. But when I attended, the curriculum was ad hoc at best, lenient and directionless with no ultimate goal. Had I not joined the school paper, the Washington Square News, I would never have been able to truly flex my journalistic muscle -- albeit in the old-style way, as in hard news -- nor befriend people on the same path, since the NYU journalism department was one of the largest majors at the university while I attended. My classes generally did not account for the computer as anything more than a tool for research. To most, it was not a publishing platform.

But, as evidenced in Taylor's description, NYU journalism is much better off than when I attended just two years ago. Yet it's clearly still not up to par.

Like Taylor, I'm new media-inclined, and I, too, blogged and "plugged in" as part of my journalistic experience there, mostly outside of class. I, too, complained about bringing a hard copy of the Times to class, because I read it online.

So, with all the "convergent" changes NYU has made, it is a valuable critique that the department's -- sorry, institute's -- new media instruction pales to the competition. Sure, Taylor is an undergraduate, and that group in particular receives far less specific training than the graduate level.

But when I attended NYU, the only new media class I took was called, amusingly, "digital journalism" -- and it was a blog-focused affair that looked at the ethics, practices, writing style and issues of online news and opinion taught by the affable Patrick Phillips, of I Want Media (another was taught by the media storm of a man that is Jay Rosen). And this was all in 2006.

So, in two years -- light years for the Internet, and just look at any webpage from 2006 to see it -- NYU's new media outlook hasn't changed that much. It's lamentable.

I was lucky enough to attend Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism after NYU, for new media. And one of the reasons I attended was to do everything I wasn't able to only had a taste of as an undergraduate at NYU. Video, audio, interactive design, blogging -- that was something I used to do in my spare time. At Columbia, I did it for my degree. At NYU, it was a grand experiment in an entire class blogging.

NYU's undergraduates either study "general and investigative reporting" or "media criticism," and graduates study one of 10 subject-related fields. Columbia's M.S. graduates study "print," "broadcast," "magazine" or "new media," and it's M.A. graduates delve into the subject-specific matter.

I don't intend to compare NYU's undergraduate curriculum with Columbia's graduate instruction as apples-to-apples. I merely want to show how radically different an experience can be in just one year's time, from one school to the next. How different an approach to journalism education can be with regard to categories.

Categories or not, Taylor's taking to the challenge by learning on her own, like I did. Good for her, I say. She knows she's ahead of the curve anyway, and she's getting an education by learning what she doesn't like.

So why is NYU behind? Allow me to posture. From what I've seen as a student, lots of staff changes in recent years, with a revamped curriculum (undergrad and grad) and a new building entirely. NYU's journalism school is a department within the greater College of Arts and Science, so it does not have the dedicated resources that it would if it were a separate school, instead bureaucratic red tape and a lack of funds. The department's never had much of an identity (a "department" is now "the institute," which helps greatly) and, given its size, hardly any community at all, with a serious lack of alumni relations (and I mean no disservice to the single alumni coordinator).

I was speaking with a former editor-in-chief of WSN, and we agreed that, had we not joined the paper, which is (was) not promoted by the department at all, we would never have made journalism student friends. Which is hard to believe, since j-students are a tight-knit, give-a-helping-hand group of professionals. When I simultaneously created NYU and Columbia journalism groups on LinkedIn, the popular networking site, the "join rate" of Columbia's dwarfed NYU's, even though Columbia is a much smaller program and lacks undergraduates entirely. (To date, Columbia's has 130 members, while NYU's a paltry 24).

The reason I say all this is because NYU's journalism program is in the midst of profound change -- much like the kind of change newspapers are going through all over the country, one of identity and mission. The department is turning a corner, slowly, but it remains to be seen if Taylor's concerns about new media are a part of the new direction of the department. Perhaps there is no reliable system of feedback for its own, many, graduates. Sure, NYU now has great new facilities for such instruction, but is it actually a part of the practical, bootstrap, nuts-and-bolts instruction? Apparently not, according to Taylor. And that's a real shame, because there exists few journalists in this world that don't have digital copies of their clips these days.

I don't fault anyone for not knowing Mashable -- as popular as it is, it's easy to miss. But to not account for a journalism student's desire to eventually write for the web -- and not a paper, or magazine, etc. -- that's bad news in my book.

Oh, and you know what, Alana? In all my time at NYU and Columbia, I've only read a paper New York Times twice (I read it several times a day online). Both times, NYU professors were "to blame." But I'm happy I had to, just those couple of times. It's easy to forget how some people read the news.

But there's a vice-versa to that, too.

(Much thanks to Lam Vo and Simon Owens at Bloggasm for the heads-up on this.)

New J-Forums: 'Lock Up Your Curmudgeons and Children'

A new forum for, yes, young twentysomething journalists:

TwentySomethingJournalist: The Changing Face of the News Business

Hope this gets the attention it deserves. Also, for the new media set: Wired Journalists

Diary Of An Unemployed Young Journalist: An Open Letter To Entry-Level Journalism Jobs Everywhere

Dear entry-level jobs ("ELJ"),

Where have you been?

I've been looking everywhere, virtually since the day I got my bachelor's degree in journalism from a reputable university. But I haven't been able to find you -- not on my university jobs database, not on New York Times Company Careers, not on Dow Jones Careers, nor Hearst Publications, Conde Nast, Time Inc., Rodale, Bauer, Hachette, Bonnier, Village Voice Media, News Corp., New York Observer, Manhattan Media, Gawker Media, CBS, NBC, ABC, Folio Jobs, Poynter.org, Mediabistro Jobs, Ed2010 WhisperJobs, Monster, Careerbuilder -- even the smaller companies of publications like New York, Interview, Radar and so forth.

That's newspapers, magazines, broadcast and online.

I feel like I've looked everywhere for you, ELJ. But I can't find you.

I've certainly tried my best to catch your attention. I thought my bachelor's journalism degree in New York wasn't enough, so I went to the top journalism school in the country and got a master's degree in New York, too.

You know, they don't really make journalism degrees any higher than that, ELJ.

Along the way, I interned at one of the Top 10 newspapers in the U.S. and three national monthly magazines, all under big companies (some might call them the "Big 3" of publishing). Everybody I know said internships were the big way in, so I went and did five.

I'm pretty lucky to have gone to school in this town. Wouldn't you say, ELJ?

But where are you when I need you?

Since I'm not receiving any handouts from dear old Mom and Dad -- especially with regard to the price of grad school and the incredible price of rent in this city, the biggest and most expensive in the U.S. -- I've even done some freelancing, some for notable publications in this town. It used to be a fun side gig, but when I'm depending on that $400 check that comes every couple of months, that's no good, right?

After all, every young journalist needs clips, right?

And hey -- my writing made the cover of a small national monthly magazine three times this year -- did you see, ELJ?

If you did, I wish I knew. Because I can't seem to find you.

Be well-rounded, they said. Be web-savvy, they said. Be flexible, be cheery, and most of all, be professional. Everyone loves a hard worker.

Well, I practiced my hard news stories. Inverted pyramid, soundbite quotes and all that. I've never even had a correction run for one of my pieces.

Then I edited stories by other people. I tried my hand at science journalism, technology journalism, business journalism, arts and entertainment, fashion -- even religion reporting. I challenged myself to see if I could cover everything equally as well, be it short news pieces, briefs, or full-on Rolling Stone-style profile features.

I researched. I fact-checked. I copy edited. I even tried blogging, both for the snarky and staid.

Then I went and learned Photoshop and InDesign and Illustrator and Dreamweaver. I learned how to shoot and edit video and photos. I practiced how to make webpages -- I even set one up for myself. And -- get this -- I learned Adobe Flash this year. How cool is that?

I trained my eye on my resume -- cleaned it up, made it classy, cut the junk. I practiced writing cover letters. I networked -- introduced myself to people, showed them my website, LinkedIn with them.

If you Google me these days, it's a trove of love letters to you, ELJ.

Then, when the time came to work in this big town, center of technology and media and finance and basically everything, I applied like a madman. I started slow, to test the waters, but when time started passing, I quickened the pace.

Editorial assistant jobs, assistant editor jobs, news assistant jobs, beat reporter jobs, online editor jobs, multimedia producer jobs, administrative assistant jobs -- I went after them all. And why not? Everyone told me it'd be a lot easier to find you if I had more feathers in my cap.

You must be allergic to feathers, though, ELJ. I can't seem to find you.

I asked my friends for openings at their companies, only to hear that they might be fired soon because of the economy. I asked my mentors for openings at their companies, but most couldn't find anything. Romenesko keeps saying all the positions for senior staffers were being cut in lieu of openings for young upstarts like me. The new generation of do-it-all journalists. But every time I search for jobs, how come the only ones open are for "senior editor" or "deputy page one editor"?

And gee whiz, there are a lot of internships available. But I think five is where I draw the line, ELJ.

Besides that, I just see freelance gigs that guarantee a lot of wasted time for little reward, or a lot of jobs that require three years of experience. But see, that's what I'm looking for.

ELJ, I'm looking for you.

I even bought a snazzy navy suit for the occasion. Your receptionist, "informational interview," said I look nice and I'm superbly qualified, but she said she can't find you, either.

Must be the economy. Must be the time of year. But let me tell you -- if there's one thing I've got, ELJ, it's information. Now I just need to find you.

I'm getting worried now. Rent's due soon, and $900 doesn't sound "stabilized" when you're not making anything. Who am I kidding -- it sounds like a lot to you too, doesn't it, ELJ?

Everyone says I should move out of the city. But why? I made so many professional connections here. And if everyone's moving out, and those jobs elsewhere are disappearing, who's left anyway?

I'm worried, ELJ. I can't find you. Where are you?

Sincerely,
An Unemployed Young Journalist

Is This Low Wage Just Too Low?

A great discussion is going on over at Joe Grimm's "Ask the Recruiter" column at Poynter.org...

A reader's question: "Is This Low Wage Just Too Low?"

I am a recent journalism graduate and have been looking for a job since before graduation. After having been rejected from several jobs already I'm a bit down in spirits. The upside, though, is that really none of the jobs I've been rejected for are perfectly down my aisle -- they're not distinctly print journalism, which is what I'm looking for.

Finally, I've found an opening at a local weekly paper where I could be covering the education beat as well as some local government...it's a very small operation...I'd get a lot of clips and also have the chance to do page layout and headline writing, as well as some Web site management...but it doesn't offer health insurance.

I'm expecting an offer from the paper this week, but the pay rate that the editor threw out in the interview was $9.50 an hour. I had crunched $10 to $12 an hour before I went in to see if I could make my budget work, and $10 was the absolute least I could do. That didn't account for having to pay for my own insurance, which I absolutely cannot do without.

Reader reactions and discussion, including some by yours truly, in the feedback and comments.

Is J-School Worth It? (The Answer May Surprise You)

The most recurring question asked of me in the last month since I graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is simply: "Was it worth it?"

It's a great question to ask, because there are so many conflicting statements out there, especially on the Web.

For example:

Will j-school eat your brain? ("J-school ate my brain," Michael Lewis, The New Republic, July 1993)

Will j-school become a necessary credential for a job? ("Can j-school be saved?" Jack Shafer, Slate, Oct. 7, 2002)

Is j-school a cakewalk? ("The trouble with j-school," John Buchel)

Will j-school destroy your finances? ("The $19,000 press pass -- a former journalism school dean asks, is it worth it?" Carolyn Lewis, Washington Monthly, May 1986)

Is j-school full of Woodward and Bernstein hopefuls? ("Deep Throat, J-school, and Newsroom Religion," Jay Rosen, PressThink, June 5, 2005)

Will j-school ruin unrealistic expectations? ("Off the fence," Katia Bachko, Mediabistro J-School Confidential, Aug. 3, 2007)

Is it only for grads and not undergrads? ("Do you need a graduate degree in journalism?" Walden Siew, JournalismJobs.com)

Is it for the science of trade or the theory of media? ("The j-school debate," William A. Babcock, Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 1, 2002)

Is j-school choosing the establishment? ("An open letter to j-school grads," Greg Lindsay, Mediabistro, May 24, 2005)

Is it, quite simply, inane 'journalismism'? ("J-school scandal is inane as j-school itself," Hamilton Nolan, Gawker, Feb. 21, 2008)

Is there a payoff at the end of it? ("Is j-school worth it?" Kevin Whitelaw, U.S. News & World Report, Mar. 10, 1996)

Should it even exist? ("Should j-school even exist?" Andrew Nusca, The Editorialiste, Oct. 3, 2006)

Which j-school is the right one? ("Searching for the perfect j-school," Brent Cunningham, Columbia Journalism Review, 2002)

Is it all a myth? ("Getting it wrong for 16 years (at least)," Reese Cleghorn, American Journalism Review, June 1993)

And of course, is it worth it? ("Is journalism school worth it?" Rachel Deahl, About.com Media Careers)

OK, ok, so you get the point. With each question, you can really see the fever pitch of this discussion.

The reason I chose to put all those links above is to illustrate just how conflicted the whole conversation is -- and how diverse the opinions can be, be it from j-school grads or journalists without degrees or people wholly unaffiliated with journalism altogether.

Compounding the problem is a lack of a reference point -- there isn't even a centralized list of journalism programs and schools in the United States (despite Editor & Publisher's best efforts), much less an explanation for which programs are for communications, which are for bootstrap newspaper reporting and which are Web-ready. Hell, there aren't even rankings anymore -- nothing to tell you what makes Columbia, Medill, Missouri or Berkley any different from E.W. Scripps, NYU, CUNY, Syracuse, Texas, or Arizona.

But I digress. So is it worth it?

It's a personal decision, of course, but for me, it's been worth it. And I say this coming from the point of someone who owns not only one, but two journalism degrees -- one as an undergraduate, and another as a graduate.

So what's the deal? Why did I go to j-school -- after I went to j-school?

Allow me to use a food metaphor.

An undergraduate experience of journalism is like eating a piece of cake. You learn that cake tastes good, sweet -- it helps you decide that yes, you like cake -- maybe even more than you like any other desserts. But you haven't tasted all the different kinds of cake in the world, and no one's forcing you, so you'll spend much of your undergraduate experience eating all sorts of other tasty desserts -- cookies, ice cream, popsicles, whatever -- some for the first time, some not.

As an undergraduate, you probably spent 25 percent or less of your time practicing journalism. You're too busy growing up, learning about other things like Plato and statistics and Proust, to really have done journalism all day long. That's the point -- liberal arts, are, well, liberal in your experience. I didn't choose my undergraduate university for journalism -- I chose it for its large offerings and its location, which I think is more important than anything. I only discovered journalism later. By the end, you might think, "hey, I can be a journalist when I graduate," but most you probably of aren't thinking that with conviction. A real job will probably affirm that for you, which I can attest to after seeing some of my friends flourish and some reevaluate their direction post-graduation.

The graduate experience of journalism is like going to a cake tasting with hundreds of flavors of cake. You get to try all different kinds of cake -- chocolate, pineapple, red velvet, carrot, and hey, they might even teach you how to bake one -- and you're eating cake all the time, every day. You probably chose graduate j-school because either you really, really like cake, or you used to really, really like cookies until you had to eat them full-time (in which case you thought, "hey, I think I could eat cake full-time," and defected).

Graduate j-school is journalism, all day, every day. All of your classes are journalism, and you're surrounded by other journalism people who are moving down that same highway. They might be broadcast, they might be print, they might be new media -- but they're all thinking, "I like journalism," certainly enough to pay beaucoup bucks for it.

I went to journalism school to have the experience of being surrounded by these people. As an undergrad, I didn't have that same sense of community, that same feeling that we're all in it together (not all schools are this way -- I just happen to have gone to a school that thrives on individuality). Yes, it's nice to have an advanced degree to be recognized, to put "master's" on the old resume, to have a venerable institution's name on my wall. There is no one who can deny the appeal of that, if only a little. But I went because of the people.

At first, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense -- why would I go for the people? I already had clips and internships under my belt from undergrad. But I went so that this environment could push me to do the things I didn't have time to do as an undergrad -- and foresaw not having the time to do as a professional.

J-school bought me time. In my case, it bought me exactly one year to write, record, design and edit the longest, most thoroughly-reported, most multimedia-infused stories I could.

I went to Columbia as a "new media" major, because for me, filing stories digitally, taking pictures and posting them online is the norm. It's my "print" track, so to speak. My time at graduate j-school allowed me to spend six straight months -- save for classes, that's the truth -- sitting in front of my computer and learning Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Soundslides, Audacity, how to shoot in HD-DV, how to shoot with a digital SLR, the techniques behind all that and most importantly, when (if at all) to use it, and how.

And that's something that I simply would not have had time to do as a full-time employee straight from undergrad.

Now, most of you aren't going to go down the new media road, but the lessons are the same. If there are things you want to do journalistically that you haven't had time to do elsewhere -- write a 3,000-word magazine feature, or craft a book proposal, or spend time practicing at pitching freelance pieces -- j-school is that safety net. It's a safety net made of your tuition dollars, of course, but the way I look at it, those tends of thousands of dollars are you buying yourself time to learn what you didn't know before.

Journalism school might teach you a little, but those who succeed in it are the ones that teach themselves even more. In other words: what you directly learn from classes is 33 percent of your journalism education.

The other 66 percent is getting a freelance pitch accepted or rejected, working all night against deadline, blowing a deadline, misquoting a source, quoting a source correctly and having that person remain unhappy with what they said, blowing past a word limit, being assigned the task of editing your own story, working with another reporter as green as you are on an assignment, and so on. J-school is one or two years of you buying yourself the time to do all of this. You're effectively putting a price tag on that experience, and last time I checked, it can run as high as $65,000.

Of course, this is why j-schools naysayers have such a strong argument: after all, much of this can be done in the real world, of course, as an employee at a paper or magazine. They call it "learning the ropes." And they're right. That's why you start at a smaller-sized, less-reputable paper with less education -- you can take risks there, and the stock market won't fall because you accidentally misquoted that Wall Street analyst on JPMorgan's earnings because you couldn't read your handwriting in your Moleskine.

But that's why you've been assigned to cover the community board anyway.

What j-school does is partially re-enacts that atmosphere, with added time for discussion and feedback and experimentation and with less threat of a libel lawsuit and career-damaging missteps. So instead of being locked onto the crime beat, you get to report on crime, science, race relations, politics, business, fashion, art, education and so forth. Plus you learn some journalism history, you discuss ethics, surrounded by peers in the same mindset and instructors and mentors with seasoned wisdom, and you think about what the hell the whole thing means besides the aforementioned $65,000.

So is j-school worth 65 grand? I honestly don't think very much is worth 65 grand anyway. A Mercedes isn't worth 65 grand, nice as it is. So is j-school worth it -- "it" being "worth going"?

Yes. If you have the conviction to challenge yourself and learn from the personal experiences that result from that, then yes, I'd say so -- whether you end up a journalist or not.

Will it guarantee you a job? Nothing can. (And as more and more people go to journalism school -- thus guiding it toward that prerequisite credential Jack Shafer is afraid of -- it will mean less and less on the surface, as a line on your resume.) But the same kind of drive that gets you through it is the same kind of drive that gets you the job.

Of course, with personal drive like that, the naysayers would simply say that you don't need j-school in the first place. And they've got a point. But didn't you say you wanted to go to j-school?

Then why should it matter?

6 Tips For Landing Your Dream J-Job

One of my favorite non j-blogs is Get Rich Slowly, a blog about personal finance. Today, Water Cooler Wisdom author Alexandra Levit guest-posted her tips to landing a dream job -- which I think would be helpful to you readers who have contacted me over the years asking how to break into journalism.

Here are Levit's tips for success:

1. Learn about yourself. Take time to do a self-assessment of your values, how you like to work, and what you’d be compelled to do even if you never got paid. Research careers and industries that map to your skills and interests. Hit the Internet, set up informational interviews, take relevant coursework, and arrange to go onsite at a company in your chosen field.
   
   
2. Don’t be deterred by a lack of experience. In developing a resume and other promotional materials for the field you want to pursue, think about how your current skills and talents apply to the responsibilities you’ll hold in the new job. For example, knowledge of project management, client relations, information technology, and sales will take you far in most types of careers.
   
   
3. Ease into a new career one foot at a time. Perhaps this means earning a paycheck at your current job while doing a part-time internship in your new field or taking an adult education class or workshop on the weekend. The only way to find out if you’re passionate about something is to try it – ideally with as little risk as you can manage.
   
   
4. Remember that any progress is good progress. Even confident people stay in unsatisfying jobs because they feel safe, and because they’re afraid of making a bad decision. But in the quest to uncover a source of meaningful work, though, your worst enemy is inertia. Make an effort to do one thing, like e-mailing a networking contact or attending an event – that moves you a bit closer to your big picture goal.
   
   
5. Start early. Twenty and thirty-somethings have more flexibility when it comes to test-driving different careers. The process of self-discovery is much easier when you’re unencumbered by family responsibilities and substantial financial burdens, and when you haven’t yet reached a level in a career where it’s tougher to turn back. That said, it’s never too late to pursue your passion. More and more baby boomers are leaving the world of traditional employment for alternative career paths that will fulfill them well into retirement age.
   
   
6. Have realistic expectations. Even if you’re lucky enough to hold your dream job, there’s no such thing as the perfect work situation. Every job has its ups and downs, and aspects we love and aspects we don’t love. And dream job doesn’t mean “cushy” job. As your mom always told you, anything worth having in this world requires some effort. There will be some days you feel like shutting the alarm off and going back to sleep, but many more where you feel more energized by the prospect of work than you ever thought possible!

Levit's new book, How’d You Score That Gig? A Guide to the Coolest Careers — and How To Get Them, has just been published. (Thanks, J.D.!)

Advice For Young Journalists, Or How Not To Be An Angry Journalist

The voice behind AngryJournalist.com has some advice for young journalism grads, and since so many young journalists visit this blog, I thought it was worth summarizing here:

1. Get real about your situation. "You might think you can take a job that pays less than $30,000 a year, but can you really? Do the math."

2. Know the business and the industry. "Knowing the business and industry means realizing the broader challenges journalism as a whole is facing."

3. Don't be stupid. "You’re out of excuses because you have the Internet."

4. Think of yourself as a brand. "The idea is you want your employer to Google your name, find your site and say 'damn, I want to hire this youngblood.' "

5. Stop blaming others. "When you’re in a job interview, you can be one of two people. You can say, 'Well, we didn’t have blogs at our college paper,' or you can say, 'We didn’t have blogs at my paper, so I decided to leave and create my own publishing network on campus.' Which candidate would you hire?"

6. Know where you want to work. "This is your first job, not your last. Where can you go from here?"

7. Don't limit yourself. "It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get a newspaper job."

Sage advice.

Tips For New Journalists, Vol. 1

With all of the sarcasm and scaremongering evident in the journalism profession, many new journalists can get easily jaded before they've even begun. With the few digital places of community journalists can go - the Poynter Institute or the Committee for Concerned Journalists for provoking thought, MediaBistro forums and (to a much, much lesser extent) Gawker comments for nuts-and-bolts daily operations - it's not easy to find a place for support.

Heck, even most Ed2010 topics aren't answered by more than two or three people - and that's assuming they told you a positive comment backed with experience, which is rare.

So I thought it would be best to throw together a list of what I've seen work and not work.

Just graduate and the ink is still fresh on your degree?

Switching professions and don't know how to break in?

Switching jobs and don't know how to bolster your resume?

This list is for you.


1. The Pitch
Don't be afraid, and try, try, try. Don't rely on one place to pitch - pitch your story high and low. Call the publication or Google it to find the e-mail address of who you need to contact (look at the masthead to figure out who best to target). These are real people, and their e-mail addresses, while not readily available, are not a state secret, either. Most people will be welcome to read what you've got, provided they're not on deadline. Remember: publications need ideas, even if you think they've got it covered. Don't be afraid of the cold pitch. Some of my best clips were out of the blue - but I made sure they were well researched. Don't be afraid to pitch a pre-written story - it's hard to turn those down if the idea's on par! (So long as it's timely - see below) Remember: journalists are real people. Some editors might be averse to responding to e-mail, but a good clip (good, by definition, one that you are happy with - NOT necessarily the cover of TIME magazine) is worth the effort.

2. For Journalists Moving to NYC
First things first: New York is not the only place to go. You may not want to stay in Peoria, but there's plenty of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington to go around. Move for you, not for your job. If you can't deal with the summer heat in Atlanta, don't get a job there. It's the same theory behind picking a college: if you aren't happy living there, you won't be happy working there. That said, let's face it: New York is expensive. If you're moving, do research plenty of months ahead of time, but expect to not make any real moves until 1-2 months prior to your planned move-in date. With such quick turnover, it's impossible to secure a place early. Know that you're on your own. Know that New Jersey and the other four (well, maybe just three) boroughs are all the same commute time as Manhattan, short of living by where you work.

3. For the Students
You know all those assignments you have? Complaining about how you don't have time to really freelance? Reappropriate your classwork for the real market. It sounds obvious, but so many students see the finish line as the day the assignment is due. In class, reach higher: Write like you're writing for a big-name publication. Get better sources, write cleaner copy, and think about who you could pitch while writing it. If your assignment has required draft stages, write your drafts almost to completion and pitch that version out before you hand in the assignment. Don't be that guy who wrote 2,500 words with a killer lede and miss your chance to get published before everyone else writes a story on it. I did, and nothing hurts like seeing the New York Times effectively rewrite the piece you wrote three months prior but never pitched. Remember, timing is everything.

4. The Resume
Keep it simple, keep it clean, and keep it readily available in many formats. Mention your best clips, or if you have none, emphasize any writing you've done, no matter how small. You can spend all night and day arguing over the finer points of resumes, but in the end, the time is better spent actually sending your resume out and ensuring good presentation. Got a website? Clean it up and get your resume on there in three formats: an Adobe PDF, a Microsoft Word document and barebones text. In a world with spam filters, it's much easier to send a link than an attachment, and even easier to let your future employer choose the format themselves.

5. For Journalists Living In NYC
Sick of hearing about how there are no jobs (MTV employees, I'm talking to you)? Sick of hearing about how you need to move to Small Town, U.S.A. to get anywhere? While no one denies the competition of the New York media market, don't let anyone talk you out of your own convictions. If you're a suburb or country guy/girl at heart, without a significant other to consider, go for the move. Take an adventure. If you're "tied down" or a city guy/girl - particularly a New York City guy/girl - don't let anyone make you think that you can't make it in New York. Journalists like to tout their own achievements (came from the aformentioned Small Town, U.S.A. to the big leagues), but it's all overblown. If you ride the subway like a pro, you'll do better than most out-of-towners.

That's all for now - more tips to come in the future. If you have a great tip, feel free to comment anonymously with your own experiences!