Department of Journalism Studies 2004-05
Job opportunities in online journalism
Type of work
The online media industry continues to evolve and change. It is very difficult to generalise, but what is clear is that virtually all traditional media like newspapers and broadcast organisations 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 organisation), 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 DotJournalism, 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 dotcom crash - paid higher salaries than comparable positions in traditional news organisations, 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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