Tube top. No bra. Shorts that are too short. Skirts that only come mid-thigh. No, I’m not talking about how women dress in music videos. These are fashion faux pas that I’ve actually had to discuss with my interns in the last year or so. I’m more than a little annoyed that I have to tell 20-somethings that they shouldn’t dress like they’re about to go on a pub crawl. However, for some of them, the internship is a first so they aren’t hip to the ways of the working world just yet. So what’s the dress code in your office? Is it more relaxed in the summer? Has anyone ever approached you or have you ever had to approach anyone about dressing inappropriately?

I’m currently serving on a committee at my organization where they listen to my ideas and ask for my advice on some topics. It’s really been thrilling and I suggest that other media companies wise up and take to listening and involving their younger staff….

Or else, they could end up having situations like that written about below by Mark Glaser on PBS:

As the layoffs and buyouts pile up in U.S. the newspaper industry, and Romenesko becomes a daily wake, there is one other troubling problem: Young journalists are less willing to stay at newspapers because the papers are so slow to change their culture.

Newspapers have a history as top-down organizations where senior management huddles in conference rooms to decide what everyone else will do. Innovative ideas usually die on the vine or in bureaucratic red tape. And that’s frustrating for young folks who want to be change agents at newspapers and make a difference.

I’ve recently been contemplating pursuing freelance work as a way to supplement my own regular wages. Some coworkers of mine have done so. One freelances regularly for People Magazine, covering celebrity news in Hawaii.

I’m from Guam and have kept in contact with many of the folks there. Guam and Hawaii often do business together because they have similar economies, so I’ve been considering doing freelance work for a business journal at my old home island. I used to do business reporting, so it’d be an easy fit for me. The important thing is that I do not work for a publication that competes directly for advertising dollars in the Hawaii market.

Do you all know what your freelancing policies are at your respective companies? Have you ever considered freelancing? Have you ever done it? Is it worth giving up your spare time to do more reporting? Am I just going to burn myself out?

OK, so I finally took Sonya’s advice and signed up for some online networking sites. You can now find me on LinkedIn and Facebook. Yes, yes, I know. “You’re just getting around to that?” you’re asking. Well, you know that person who sees a movie on DVD a year after it came out and then tries to tell friends who saw it in the theater how great it was? That’s me so please forgive me if this post sounds passé. With that said, Facebook is great. Case in point: I was looking for a new magazine intern recently and was able to contact my Facebook friends for potential candidates. Several good candidates turned up as a result. I hope to use it more like this in the future. How has Facebook changed your work life? If you haven’t signed up for it, why not? Does anyone see these kinds of sites affecting them in negative ways?