Type of work
The online media industry continues to
evolve and change. It is very difficult to generalize, but what is clear is
that virtually all traditional media like newspapers and broadcast organizations have websites and some make these distinctive from their print
operations, although many have merged the two so that staff work on both
mediums.
Many of the online jobs mirror those in the
traditional media – websites still need writers and sub-editors. There also increasingly
appear to be vacancies for web researchers and production journalists.
Qualities needed
In the main, employers needing web-based
journalists ideally want people with excellent core journalistic skills and, in some cases
(depending on the organization), a basic working knowledge of HTML (the coding
that creates a web page and formats text) and of software like Dreamweaver and Photoshop.
They also prefer staff to have a general understanding and appreciation of the
potential of new media, particularly its interactive nature. A creative mind
also helps.
The future of web journalism will certainly
involve multimedia and interactivity, so the more practical knowledge you have
about both, the more attractive a proposition you would be to a prospective
online media employer.
What’s available
There are journalistic positions with the
traditional media organisations (including BBC Online and Guardian Unlimited) and,
of course, some new media jobs involve freelance
work.
The Press Association, which now offers
multimedia traineeships, has a digital operation which is based in Howden, East Yorkshire.
For sports-lovers, the Leeds-based Sporting
Life might be the answer – they advertise occasionally for online writing or
subbing jobs. The http://www.sportinglife.com
website has also been a good stepping-stone to high-profile jobs within the
industry – one former member of staff now works for Radio Five Live while
another is involved with the official Premiership football website. Others have
gone on to work for the Press Association.
How to find jobs
The best listings in the UK
press are probably in The Guardian’s
media supplement every Monday.
Guardian Unlimited offers an online jobs
search facility at http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/media/
where you can look for employment by sector, role, salary or location. It
features every job posted in The Guardian
and The Observer, plus many more
online-only job ads. You can store your profile online, choose to make it
searchable by employers and attach your CV to it.
You can even apply for jobs online if the
employer has included an email address with their ad.
Guardian Unlimited also include an A-Z list
of companies. At http://education.guardian.co.uk/rise
there is a weekly editorial section for new graduates, offering advice on entering
the jobs market. You can also choose to have jobs that match your search
criteria emailed to you each day.
See also http://www.totaljobs.com which has similar
job-searching facilities to The Guardian,
including receiving job details by email.
Hold the Front Page (http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk),
a trade website for the UK
regional press, has a substantial vacancies section divided into separate
categories, including jobs in online journalism, features and PR. For £10, you
can post your CV on the site for three months.
The website Dot-journalism, at http://www.journalism.co.uk, emails
around 50 new journalism vacancies every week to subscribers. The list covers a
range of locations, levels and types of work. You can sign up at http://www.journalism.co.uk/jobsearch.html
but it costs - see the site for the latest figures.
Work placements can
sometimes result in students getting a permanent job, so try to get as much
experience in the industry as possible so you can get noticed and expand your
CV at the same time.
And the pay…
Some jobs in new media previously – i.e.
before the dot-com crash - paid higher salaries than comparable positions in
traditional news organizations, and while that may still be the case at a few
internet companies, those looking for an instant pot of gold in online
journalism will probably not find one – but good luck if you do!
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