What blogs do you follow?

Having graduated just last quarter, how smooth has the transition been from journalism student to full-time, working journalist? Has the transition to seeking employment been a tough undertaking?

When I graduated at the end of November, I was definitely ready for a break. I spent time with family and friends during the holidays, while sending out my resume to newspapers and magazines across Ohio. Although I received many rejection notices, I stayed positive and made the most of my free time by networking and using word-of-mouth to learn about job openings. It was stressful at times, especially because I haven’t started working yet; however, I have been accepted for a six-month fellowship position as a multimedia journalist for The Gleaner, a daily newspaper in Henderson, Ky. I’ll be moving in two weeks and cannot wait to start!

Graduating during a tough economic time creates an increased amount of job competition for recent graduates. How did you handle this competition post-graduation?

One of the first things I did after I graduated was contacted my former employers to seek advice about how to enter the current job market. I received a bunch of different suggestions, such as increasing my Web presence and learning a new technological skill (HTML coding, videography production, etc.). Everyone I spoke with also stressed the importance of relocation, explaining that, although journalism jobs may be few and far between in my hometown, many exist in other places and not to be afraid to extend my search outside Ohio. I was able to use all of the advice to find the fellowship in Henderson.

What career endeavors or additional schooling goals are you preparing yourself for?

I’m confident that I will continue my education at some point but know that I need some real-world experience first. I plan on working for at least two years before considering graduate school – that way I’ll have a better grasp on what field to study. It would also be incredible to receive my PhD someday and be able to teach at the college level, but that’s more of a long-term goal.

What has been a rewarding aspect of being a working journalist as opposed to a student journalist?

Well, ask me that in a few weeks and I’ll give you a better answer! I can say that when everyone returned to Athens for Winter Quarter, I was a bit jealous that I couldn’t be there, too (forgetting about the nasty weather, of course). However, I am looking forward to starting this next adventure with different kinds of challenges in a new environment!

It’s one of those nights again. The female voice over the loudspeaker at Alden has already demanded that we relocate our weary study group to the second floor. I’m not sure exactly how long we’ve been here, but we’re on coffee number three and bathroom break number five.

As my fellow study buddies continue their schoolwork and try not to fall victim to Facebook’s temptations, I continue to stare at my blank Microsoft Word document. The blinking line is mocking me. I have only a couple hours remaining to write an article, and I’m having a hard time searching for the right words because they can’t just be any words. They have to be the words. The words that entice our audiences. The words that inform our public. The words that bring people the truth.

Sounds like plenty of pressure to put on just rearranging 26 letters repeatedly, right? Why do you think we like coffee so much? As journalists, we strive to deliver cutting-edge stories and to always be on top of our game and deadlines. However, that’s becoming increasingly more difficult to accomplish as the journalism world grows more and more competitive. Because Scripps is one of top journalism schools in the country, it can be overwhelming and intimidating when surrounded by some of the brightest students to step foot into the field. So how do we journalism students relieve the pressure and set ourselves apart from the competition?

That’s exactly what I’ve been asking myself for several weeks. I’m currently in the “I have no idea where I’m going” phase, and I need to do x, y and z to get a career. I stress about landing internships, building connections, joining the correct organizations and achieving the best grades. Although graduation is still years away, these thoughts cross my mind– as well as everyone else’s, I’m sure — constantly. It’s hard to imagine getting real jobs and difficult to think about the time when we have more expenses to cover than just cell phone bills and bar tabs.

It doesn’t help that we’re being constantly reminded that our current economy is in a worse condition that it has been in years. It feels like I’m being bombarded with unemployment statistics everywhere I turn. With the unemployment rate so high, it’s even more crucial that I stand out and beat the next guy.

So with all these demands placed on our young adult lives, how do we students survive our college years and those after?  The best advice I was ever given was simply one word: breathe.

I’m hereby promising myself that although it seems like preparing the journalism world is too intense, there’s absolutely nothing we can’t handle.

Why? Because we’re Scripps warriors and we were bred for success. It’s time to turn a new leaf and leave the stress behind. I have three simple strategies to this game plan.

Firstly, it’s important to remain positive, focused and open-minded. I’m going to embrace more new challenges than Danny Tanner embraces people in an entire season of Full House.

For instance, if anyone has ever taken Professor Tatge’s Information Gathering class, then you know it’s challenging. After receiving grades for our first assignment, I think the entire classroom’s jaw collectively dropped. However, this is one of the most interesting classes as well as professor that I have yet to take. As Holly Colleta, a sophomore in the magazine sequence, said, “If you survive, you’ll come out a better person.” That’s the goal, isn’t it? So welcome, challenge!

Secondly, I pledge to be a knowledge-absorbing, experience-sucking sponge. I have so many brilliant professors and peers surrounding me that it’s impossible not to learn from them. I admire my fellow Scripps warriors mostly for their burning curiosity and desire to learn.

Finally, and most importantly, I’ll remember to breathe not only for my physical well-being (obviously), but for my sanity. After all, I take certain measures to prepare for the future, but nothing is ever certain. As the cheesy, elementary school statement reminds us, all we can do is try our best. We’re Scripps warriors and will do anything to achieve our dreams, even if that means chuckling at sleep and gazing at blank, white documents for a while.

While Ohio University is in the midst of a hiring freeze and anticipated budget cuts, Tom Hodson recently started his new position as interim director and general manager of WOUB.

Hodson, the former director of the Scripps school, will now face a new task of taking on the financial difficulties WOUB is facing.

He is replacing former director, Carolyn Bailey Lewis, who applied for state disability retirement in early October and is expected to hear the official ruling this week.

Hodson, who was notified Nov. 26, 2010 by Dean Gregory Shepherd of the College of Communications regarding his promotion, only had one month to develop a “game plan” before officially beginning his new job on Jan. 3.

Shepherd asked Hodson to take on the new role because of his “unique set of skills and experience (and)strong association with the broadcasting business, but also great experience as an academic leader,”  Shepherd said.  All of which play a factor in Hodson’s goals.

During his month of planning, Hodson identified three main goals to focus upon during his time as interim director.

The first of his goals  is “making sure the center [WOUB] is financially solvent and on a good financial footing,” which is “a major challenge with dwindling service resources.”  This includes maintaining the center’s six TV and six radio stations.

Hodson plans to research what money is available for WOUB and identify cost saving efficiencies while planning to “keep the same services or figure out how to improve service but at a lesser cost than in the past.”

For starters, Hodson plans to use much more website-based distribution to reduce cost.

He will also be researching some national Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) content to determine how cost-effective they are compared to more locally produced shows.

With the next fiscal year beginning in July, WOUB will not know its budget allocation until March at the earliest.  From there, Hodson expects to spend from March to June tailoring the budget.

“The budget is a huge issue, with so many unknowns,” Hodson said. Historically, the annual budget is around $5 million, although it’s expected to decrease this year with anticipated budget cuts.

WOUB receives the majority of their funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) who helps underwrite the cost of the PBS content.  The problem WOUB is currently facing this year is PBS changing their formula for programming fees, and the money received from CPB are from essentially interlocking formulas, Hodson said.  Meaning both will need to be determined before WOUB will have any idea of the upcoming budget.

WOUB receives funding from grants, donations and directly from the university just as other units of OU. This  is dependent on all the sources of revenue the school is receiving.

Also on Hodson’s to-do list is the integration of the center with the five Scripps schools to help make it possible for students to receive academic credit for certain jobs performed at WOUB.

“[We] want to promote use of student and faculty together,” Hodson said.

Approximately 250 students work through WOUB without receiving academic credit, though some do earn a small amount of money, an aspect Hodson wishes to improve.

“[We want to] give students real professional experience with academic credit,” Hodson said.

Most work done at WOUB is categorized under volunteer enterprise when used to update professional portfolios.

It is already a work in progress since Hodson has started reaching out to the schools to integrate them more toward an academic mission. He will also be working with classes and talking to directors to see what common ground they currently have.  Currently, Hodson said there is some linkage between academics and WOUB but nothing very productive.

Eventually, Hodson hopes to update and modernize the approach the center takes to news and entertainment and bring it more into the 21^st century.  With technology having changed  more in the past five years then in the past 60, it presents a major problem, Hodson said.

“I am especially interested in seeing WOUB become an even more important player in the education of our students, providing them cutting edge experiences in all aspects of media production and delivery,”  Shepherd said, indicating it will be a problem that Hodson can solve.

Some of the more modern and cutting edge techniques are surprisingly more cost-efficient, Hodson said.  For example, “It’s much cheaper to populate a website than to do a live television program.”

Although the budget will have an effect in the development of the center, “The budget won’t keep us from modernization,” Hodson said.

Meanwhile, Hodson is unsure if he will fully become the permanent director and general manager at WOUB.

“I have an uncertain time frame here,” Hodson said.  “These are times of change and excitement in the media professions and we are dedicated to ensuring that our students graduate with the abilities to lead the way.”

The discovery story of Ted Williams is one that could inspire just about anyone. It offers hope to the homeless man, searching for means of survival. It offers encouragement to the healing addict, that there is life after dependence. But what does it offer to the journalist, laboring day after day, who finally made an impression?

It was a long night of studying when, from across the room, my friend pulled up a video someone had e-mailed him. That was the first time I experienced The Voice. I was shocked — as most were — when I saw the face issuing the words, sounding just like the professional dialogue of a radio host.

A reporter from The Columbus Dispatch allegedly had the first video copy, the same one that many of us first saw on YouTube. There are many sides to the story surrounding the exposure of Ted Williams’ talent, but underneath all of the politics lies a powerful story.

I bet I can tell you the first thing that came out of just about everyone’s mouth when they first caught wind of this story: “Wow, what a lucky break.” But when I think of this story, I see that it can be boiled down to more than any fabulated coincidence. In fact, it is this kind of story that many of us will someday strive to find. In turn, this is the standard of work that can offer new inspiration to our studies and our time spent in the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism.

Some controversy has risen following the release of this divisive story. Many believe that Williams caught a break that he didn’t deserve, considering his sticky past that has been called to attention. Apparently, this was a past that Williams’ newly found fame could not shake. Just days after his video hit the Web, news circulated that he had broken his alleged sobriety. In response to this controversy, Williams checked himself into rehab.

In my opinion, this validates the fortune he came upon. Given the opportunity, it seems that Williams will try to turn his life around, and he deserves that second chance, no matter what luck or talent may have brought him to it. The point I’d like to stress here is this: If one journalist’s inkling can bring this much favor to a man who has an exceedingly shaky track record, imagine the possibilities when applied elsewhere. This single account shows us all the effect that any one piece of journalistic work can have.

Setting aside the personal convictions anyone may hold on this topic, it is an anecdote alive with morals that journalism students should be thinking on mulling over. Such ethically challenging stories are the ones that keep our field in constant flux, reminding us to set our own standards as well as our own priorities.

If this can get you thinking on one thing, let it be your motivations for your future career.  What will be your incentive to flourish as a professional communicator? If you’re still riding on, “Because I like to write,” maybe it’s time to dig a little deeper. Stories like the discovery of Ted Williams prove that if we set out to use our talents to make a difference, we may hold the power to change lives.

With the new methods of journalism emerging (or rather, merging), many  aspiring journalists wonder exactly where the industry is heading, what works and what doesn’t.  For magazines, the production options appear to be determined simply by what works financially while still achieving specific goals. The campus publications at Ohio University provide insight into this magazine production world.

OU’s print magazine, Backdrop, distributed throughout campus since winter of 2008, uses various sources of income to produce an issue.  With print copies distributed each quarter, approximately 30 percent of the magazine consists of advertising, which is how most of its funds are acquired, said Annie Beecham, a 5^th-year senior and publisher of Backdrop.

Backdrop also holds fundraisers, , receives aid from the Student Activities Commission (SAC) and $20 quarterly dues from the magazine’s members, Beecham said.

When it comes to expenses, Backdrop’s main cost is printing the actual magazine, consisting of 48 pages.

“Sometimes if we have events we need money for, odds and ends, or if we print flyers, that can add up,” Beecham said.

Elizabeth Sheffield, Scripps senior and editor-in-chief of Backdrop, said that these smaller costs are often out-of-pocket expenses.

Beecham also commented that Backdrop breaks even with every issue and maintains the constant expenses for each  quarter.

“It’s not how much can we spend, so much, it’s how much is it going to take,” Sheffield said.

Backdrop also has its content available online.

“There’s no incentive to hoard the information and make it only available in one location. Since the students don’t have to pay for the magazine, the objective is to make it obtainable regardless of any obstacle,” Sheffield said.

Beecham added that page length extensions are to be added when the funds are available.

“I’ve been really happy and kind of surprised that, while everyone harps about this economic crisis that we’re going through, that we’ve really done as well as a non-profit organization,” Sheffield said. “Even though we live in a college town and in one of the most impoverished counties of Ohio, I’m impressed that we manage to do this and that it works every time. We’d be lying if we said it was easy, though.”

Conversely, OU’s first fashion magazine, Thread, uses similar financial approaches, but with slightly different goals in mind.  Utilizing a strictly online medium, Thread faces different challenges.

“The main reason we wanted it to be online was to expand our readership from just here in Athens,” said Jamie Ratermann, founder and editor-in-chief of Thread. “We get not only Ohio, but all over the United States, and we’ve gotten overseas (readership).”

Ratermann added that the concept of an online magazine “is still a new idea.”

Publishing costs for the magazine on the website are approximately $200 to $300 per issue. Styling is an important part of the magazine, since it is a fashion publication, Ratermann said.

Last quarter, Thread began adding advertisements in the magazine, which help  pay for a large quantity of the costs. The magazine also plans to use SAC funding this quarter

“I’ve looked into printing costs for other things, and I know that printing costs can get up to thousands of dollars,” Ratermann said. She added that with publishing twice a quarter and having no page limits for the magazine, online publishing is more financially efficient.

Ratermann said  that the recent integration of print and online, because  many people don’t desire to purchase print anymore,  is what makes Thread successful and “effective for students who might not have the cash.”

Ratermann also commented that being online is helping model magazines such as Vogue, and that “the application (of online) is where we’re headed.”

The university’s magazine publications, while differing in content and publication processes, demonstrate that the goals of a magazine can be achieved, whether they are to provide full-access or go global.