Television Job Jive

Spring Grad Job Guide

2008-05-05T09:55:00.004-06:00

Your time to find a TV gig is running out! The Staff at TVNewsGigs.com has cut through the clutter to help you score that job.

Resume Tape Advice for News and Weather
News Director Advice
Negotiating Tips
Writing a Cover Letter or Resume
Salary Calculator--Mac and Cheese or those 20 cent packs of noodles?
Search Hundred of Television News Jobs from Around the World

You'll find it all bellow!

Spring Grad Special-Save 20%

2008-03-20T13:13:00.003-06:00

Spring Grads TVNewsGigs.com save 20%

Go Tapeless! with us...don't spend a dime buying tapes, or waste hours dubbing or drop a ton of money on shipping. We'll create your personal Web page with a headshot, resume and video for less than $1 a day. You could be email your page for jobs in a matter of minutes. Use the code: "liveshot"

Digital Agent- Tell us where you want to work and what type of job you're looking for and we do the rest. If there's a job that matches what you want on our site...we'll send your Web page to the News Director. Use the code: "liveshot"

Hundreds of TV News Jobs...just a click away at TVNewsGigs.com

Writing A Cover Letter

2008-03-03T07:55:00.003-06:00

We thought we'd take some time and talk about cover letters. For those of you using TV News Gigs' Go Tapeless! you know you're saving time and money not having to dub tapes, print resumes and pay high shipping costs. But you've still got to write an electronic cover letter to send with your own Web page we create for you. There are many different ways to do it. The Detroit Free Press has tips for 6 types of cover letters.

Happy job hunting.

Remember to check out TVNewsGigs.com to search hundreds and hundreds of fresh jobs.

Insider Advice From News Directors

2008-01-29T15:51:00.001-06:00

So what should you put on that resume tape? Should you do put on a flash slate or just put together a simple tape? How long should the tape be? NewsLab has some good advice from News Directors on what to put on a resume tape.

Negotiating Tips

2008-01-08T10:29:00.000-06:00

Got a job offer? Can you ask for more? Don't forget to ask about benefits? What about outs in that contract?

The folks at Emerson College who train some of the best new journalists in Boston have some great tips for negotiating a job offer.

Campus Media Statement---What does your college say about student media?

2007-12-18T20:36:00.000-06:00

The Society of Professional Journalists has written a Campus Media Statement that includes three magic words: designated public forums. Having your college's media declared to be a designated public forum means that the college cannot control the content of your student media.

Here is the Campus Media Statement from SPJ:
“Student media are designated public forums, and free from censorship and advance approval of content. Because content and funding are unrelated, and because the role of adviser does not include advance review of content, student media are free to develop editorial policies and news coverage with the understanding that students and student organizations speak only for themselves. Administrators, faculty, staff or other agents shall not consider the student media’s content when making decisions regarding the media’s funding or faculty adviser.”

Read more about how you can encourage your college administrators to declare your student media as "designated public forums".

Covering the Election

2007-12-15T23:34:00.001-06:00

We'll all have to cover this big election for the White House, US House, Senate and State House. Looking for fresh tips? Looking to Track the Money Trail? Looking for ways to localize a national issue? Bookmark it now Campaign Finance Information Center.

Top Ten Cities Where Paychecks Go Far

2007-11-28T17:34:00.000-06:00

So you've been offered that first job. Can you really live on that? Take a look at the top ten cities where paychecks can go far in a salary.com survey.

CNN/Money-Cost of Living Calculator

Weather Resume Reels

2007-11-28T17:30:00.001-06:00

We've found some great advice for putting together a weather caster resume reel. Check it out from the folks at TheWeatherPrediction.com.

Resume Tape Advice

2007-11-28T17:22:00.000-06:00

Looking for resume tape advice? How long should that montage be? 1 minute? or 2? How many packages? All hard news or one feature?

Remember with TVNewsGigs.com you can get your tape out to news directors around the world in just a matter of minutes. Sign up for Digital Agent and your tape hits the web and is emailed to news directors that have openings. No more buying tapes, dubbing, searching for jobs, printing resumes and paying for postage. We do it for you. There are several low-cost plans available. Visit TVNewsGigs.com for more information.

The folks at NewsLab have questioned dozens news directors for their advice on resume reels.

News Changes Around The World

2007-11-19T18:31:00.000-06:00

We can do our jobs better by learning how TV is done around the country and around the world. Here's an interesting article on the changing face of Israeli TV.

Putting down the IFB...and moving on

2007-11-19T18:26:00.000-06:00

We all know someone who has moved into PR. But what about politics? More and more reporters are moving into the world of Democrats and Republicans.

Take a look at this article on Arizona newsmen moving on into politics from a Phoenix paper.

Improve Your Writing

2007-10-28T08:08:00.000-06:00

Poynter sat down with some of 2006 Pulitzer Prize winning writers...Lessons Learned from Pulitzers 2006: About the Craft, About the Organization

It's worth a read.

Marathon News Coverage..What's Next?

2007-10-28T08:02:00.000-06:00

Wildfires...it's what the folks in Southern Cal have been covering for awhile. The folks at Broadcasting&Cable talked to some of the crews and their coverage.

Network Anyone? Grab Your Backpack...

2007-10-03T15:40:00.000-06:00

We've seen the trend of backpack journalist grow and more and more stations around the nation are bringing them back. It's the new hip way of saying "one-man band" that we've all done at some point. Doesn't it sound cooler...backpack journalist?

Well now, ABC News is using backpack journalists at some of their international bureaus. You'll see them in Seoul; Rio de Janeiro; Dubai; New Delhi and Mumbai, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Nairobi, Kenya.

From the Reuters article....."Each of the seven reporters will work from home and travel around their region carrying a small DV camera and editing-enabled laptop. They'll report, write, shoot and edit their pieces, though they also will have support from others at ABC News. Most of the work will be uploaded via broadband to New York, though they will carry a portable satellite dish for the field where broadband isn't available."

What is your station covering?

2007-09-26T13:27:00.000-06:00

FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) conducted a study looking at how much the topic of poverty is covered in television news. Neil deMause and Steve Rendall, the authors of the study, found it was not very much, considering that one in 8 people in America lives below the poverty line. View the results of the study here. While presented like a scientific study, it still turns up some interesting points and is worth the read. Consider this information next time you are asked to come up with an enterprising story.

Beefing Up Your Computer Search Skills

2007-09-15T07:50:00.000-06:00

The Folks at IRE and NICAR are heading to Houston for their 2008 Conference.

If you've never been you need to go. You'll be a better reporter after.

Here's a little bit from their Web site....

Join IRE and NICAR in Houston for four days of panels and three days of hands-on training that will focus all the talk about Web 2.0 into practical applications and cutting-edge techniques.

One track of panels will show how mash-ups, wikis, interactive databases on the Web and other applications can help build and present investigative and in-depth stories. The top practitioners in the country and the world will be in Houston to lead this exciting track.

There also will be panels at which beat reporters can learn about databases for their areas of interests and how to analyze those databases to produce high-impact stories on a regular basis. Other sessions will address the interest and needs of editors ‑ who need to know how to ask the right questions and bulletproof CAR stories ‑ and of broadcast journalists who work under heavy deadline pressure. Join a discussion about visual techniques ‑ from charts to maps to social network analysis ‑ that journalists can use to analyze and present data for stories.

Your Next Read

2007-09-15T07:36:00.000-06:00

You never know when you'll be stuck at a standoff or at a long court case... so make sure you've got a good book. Try this one. Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World is a new book out by Debora Halpern Wenger and Deborah Potter. It's a good read for anyone in news...either in TV, Online, Print or all three .

In every chapter, the authors provide:

Know and Tell reports, a distinctive feature in which dozens of professional journalists lend their expertise and insight on multiplatform approaches, trends, and industry changes.
Trade Tools showcase select materials used in the authors’ training seminars such as handy checklists of pointers and best practices.
Taking it Home offers brief chapter wrap-ups.
Talking Points provide questions and scenarios for in-class discussion.
eLearning Opportunities include chapter exercises, practice tools, and additional resources found online in the book’s interactive multimedia workbook.

For the Newbies in News... Check out Chapter 12.

Getting Ready for the Real World
The Changing Media Landscape
New Distribution Methods
Media Convergence
Multimedia Job Searches
Job Applications
Contracts
Journalism Entrepreneurs

Learning the art of video journalism

2007-09-02T11:11:00.000-06:00

When you turn on the TV you can see it. The pictures you watch in a news story just aren't telling the story. We've all seen home videos from a vacation of years past to know that anyone can point a video camera and shoot tape. But there is a true art to video journalism. It's all about story telling. Many photographers tell great stories with their cameras. But some stations are hiring people just to hold the camera and shoot tape.

The folks at the Travel Channel have started the Travel Channel Academy. It provides a new way for video journalists to improve their story telling. It's worth checking out. Might not be a bad idea for your next vacation.

What TV Stations Look for in New Reporters

2007-08-27T15:48:00.000-06:00

So you're looking to find a new job or get your first job and aren't sure what News Directors are looking for right now. Here's an article from the Committee for Concerned Journalists on What TV Stations Look for in New Reporters.

Ten Tips for a Better Interview

2007-08-26T06:59:00.000-06:00

We can all benefit from these interview tips put together by the Committee of Concerned Journalists...check out their Ten Tips for a Better Interview.

The Interview Game

2007-08-26T06:51:00.000-06:00

It's always good to keep up on the latest in media training used by PR firms. Here's an article on the 6 tips for taking control in media interview. It's always good to know their strategies before you start so you can beat the PR game and get a great sound bite for your story.

What's Making News?

2007-08-20T17:59:00.000-06:00

So what's making news? The folks at Editor&Publisher have an interesting article from the Project for Excellence in Journalism. The quick 10 second reader on the article would be war coverage down while campaign coverage is up.

The study spanned 13 newspapers, eight radio outlets (a mix of talk, public radio, and headline feeds), five of the top online sites, several hours a day of all three cable news channels and both network morning and evening newscast.

Media Elite--How One Journalist Can Affect So Many

2007-08-12T19:04:00.000-06:00

When New York Times writer Linda Greenhouse was to appear on a panel organized by The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, she didn't realize the event was to be televised on C-SPAN, and promptly refused to participate. So, the AEJMC chose Ms. Greenhouse over the television network and decided not to televise the discussion. Read the full article written by Gal Beckerman of the Columbia Journalism Review along with the update including the response from Greenhouse.

Covering the Heat Wave

2007-08-06T18:06:00.000-06:00

It's August. It's hot. Now a Heat Wave is beginning to take hold on the Mid-West. One great tip we recently heard on a newscast was..."In case you don't have air conditioning...experts say put a cold towel on your back." Wow. Words to live by. Do you need a medical degree to give out that advise?
Now if that's your idea of covering a story, great. But if you'd like some other tips and new ways to cover heat. Check out what IRE has listed on their resource page...for covering extreme heat.