Fink's new album is awesome
A recent album review I wrote.
New web app is like Pandora for your tastebuds
I interviewed these guys recently—really interesting web app that’s sure to be a hit with bloggers and foodies alike.
McDonald's is buying out Whole Foods
Another cool part of my job as a writer and an editor is getting to break news like this.
Where Skiers and Snowboarders Fly
I had the opportunity to cover the Big Air competition in Denver for the UCD Advocate and my story made the front page of the paper this past week.
Don’t Be a Wiener: What Writing for a Newspaper Will Teach You
Journalism and what I’ll call “new journalism” are tricky ventures, particularly the former if you have any opinion about the integrity of the news world these days. Journalism wouldn’t necessarily be a first career for me. Witnessing the spin factor of the news depending on your locale and news source, as well as what exactly is covered, is a sticking point because I’m of the opinion that news should be as unbiased as possible despite the fact that life itself is a subjective experience and therefore impossible to render objectively. Despite said reservations and a year after my lucky exit from the trenches of the advertising world, I’m getting paid to write for an alternative weekly on a piece by piece basis.
Reporting the “news”, whatever it happens to encompass, teaches you a lot of things that creative writing will sometimes not.
- Rejection. When you have to pitch three ideas every single week with the opportunity to be shot down every time, you will learn rejection and it will either make you or break you. No thick skin=no job in media.
- Journalism is all about marketing. Your editors can and will sensationalize your headlines in order to gain a few more readers—even if the headline and primary content of said article do not match. I call these black-hat headlines, but that’s just my opinion.
- Know your audience. Your articles will be buried if the editors don’t think there is readership for it. If your preferred audience isn’t that of the paper, FIND ADDITIONAL OUTLETS.
- Don’t be a wiener. If you’re not going to fight for your sources, your pitches, your style, ANYTHING—what’s the point? With a press pass comes power, so use it.
- You will love your editors as much as you hate them. They should be there to make sure that you become a better writer (among other things) and since it’s essentially free guidance, take it.
So, here’s a mini-plug. I had seven articles come out over the last couple of weeks, so if you’re feeling generous, I’d love for you to read them. Share them. Blast me in my Ask if you love them/hate them/have no opinion.
