Medill 2020...maybe
I have started to try and decide what to do with my life when August rolls around and I officially am a Medill alum and have to enter the real world and get a JOB! I must admit, I cannot wait! I am looking forward to finally have a stable income, living closer to my friends and loved ones, and making my parents proud (or relieved that they don't have to fork out tuition anymore!)
Since I am get depressed when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, I have decided that my heart (and body) are made for the west and southwest areas of the country...I would love to move back to Phoenix where the sun is always shining. My friend who works in Scottsdale, AZ put me in contact with one of her colleagues' good friends, who just happens to be a veteran employee at the NBC affiliate in Phoenix. I emailed her to see what advice she has for me as I begin the job search in the southwest, and how to make my way to a large market like Phoenix.
Here is a snippet of her response: "It's hard to give solid advice via email, but I will tell you the Internet is the next big thing.Many news organizations (including ours) are changing the way they operate to accommodate the net and all its resources.I would highly suggest you get familiar with it and have some Internet related courses on your resume."
So...maybe those Web casts will come in handy. (or maybe at least the notion of "writing and producing for the web"). I just thought I'd pass this little message along as we all have been frustrated at times during the past few quarters, wondering why we are the ones facing Medill's transition and if it really is mirroring what is happening, or going to happen, in the news industry. I think we all are going to be very successful at whatever we do...who knows where people will end up and if we all will remain in the broadcast field or find that our passion lies in a completely different industry. I have faith in everyone...and I know the process of getting there is very stressful.
Set high goals for yourself...and ultimately aim for happiness.
posted by LL @ 9:05 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I know we'll all be successful, but I wonder how much of that will come from banking on the Medill name as opposed to specifically what we learned.
As we've talked about before, I think the goals of Medill 2020 are good. But I think they've overlooked 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and so on. That's when we're going to be getting our first and second jobs, and I still think most of us will be working at traditional media and we need to gain the skills for that.
I still don't understand the Web for broadcast news - my expensive Lenovo and high speed internet still give me pretty substandard viewing capabilities. If I'm going to watch broadcast news, it's going to be on a television. The same goes for everyone in my family. Until the technology improves and gets much cheaper, I'm not sure how big Web news is going to be. I'm sure there will come a day when people will laugh at the thought of my writing this. But when will that day be? In 2012? 2020? 2030?
I think there's a definite move towards web technology for broadcast stations, but what frustrates me is that--for all the talk of moving forward into the digital world--stations seem far too reluctant to actually break from their traditional model to try something new.
Right now it seems to be something they want in theory more than something they are realistically prepared to use and develop. I wouldn't mind moving into the web section of broadcast, if only it felt like it were on its way to gaining a legitimate position in companies instead of just seeming like the token web kid.
The Web seems to be an emerging way to make a splash but you still have to have a good product (good reporting!) to get an audience. And I don't think we will really see a total move to the web by viewers for a generation or two. So we will be riding the initial wave, but I don't think we'll be totally web-based. It's good to have Web experience like it's good to have print experience, it's another tool for us. When this topic came up the other day, I said if I had trouble landing a broadcast job at first, I would definitely take a web job. Do what makes you happy if that means web or TV.
I completely agree. I think that while we are at a disadvantage while being in the transition period I think it will help all of us later on. In addition, I think it's interesting how at some point many of us think to ourselves the webcast is fun. It is more relaxed and not as formal.
As of right now, though, I am terrified of starting the job search... I honestly have no idea what I will do.
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