It’s not enough to be a great writer. With print newspapers being pushed aside to make room for online newspapers, journalists’ jobs are evolving. According to Poynter, companies are looking for a little more out of their journalists. Check out some of the major skills employers are looking for in potential hires. Please keep in mind that this isn’t an exhaustive list.
Technical/multimedia skills
This can range from shooting and editing videos to learning computer language such as HTML and CSS. As they say, journalists should be able to find their news, shoot their own video for it, and then, walk back over to the studio to edit it. To be honest, it’s a lot for one person, but with the ever-shrinking industry, learning more than one skill will only heighten your chances of getting that dream job.
Newsgathering skills
This is a biggie. No editor wants to spoonfeed you story ideas, because one, they don’t have time, and two, you’re not an intern. Best tips for finding news? Get out there! Walk around downtown, keep your eyes and ears alert and keep a handy dandy notebook and pen.
Business journalism and Social Networking
It is extremely important to know the ins and outs of journalism…including the business aspects. One side to business is branding. What is branding? Well, our most favorite thing ever; Twitter! Being able to push your content out into the social media world is important for attracting views. Without views, the news company won’t make much money from the ads they have plastered all over their websites. And if the company isn’t making much money, neither will you. So learn to tweet, facebook and instagram your content out there.