By: Pat Kane

Retribution came quickly after a humor columnist questioned the choice of Ben Huh, CEO and Founder of the Cheezburger Network, as a speaker at the Online News Association Conference. Journalists also scratched their heads as to why Gene Weingarten wrote about an event he did not attend.

In a Washington Post humor column Thursday, Weingarten described Huh as the keynote speaker and “fearless charioteer leading new journalism into its bold future” of “a Web site featuring goofy pictures of readers’ cats.”

Jane McDonnell, executive director of ONA, clarified that Huh was not a keynote speaker.

“Ben Huh was actually our Friday night networking speaker, providing some comic relief, yes, but also giving the crowd some painless lessons on how to build sites that actually make money — no LOLcats in sight,” she wrote in the article’s online comments.

The conference, hosted in Boston in September, featured four keynotes including a former staffer for President Barack Obama and journalists who were detained in the Middle East, McDonnell explained.

Journalists turned to the comment section and Twitter to vent.

“Gene, I’d worry about getting your facts straight more than LOLcats,” tweeted Robert Hernandez, a professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication.

Mandy Jenkins of Huffington Post was among those who questioned the column.

“Unlike @geneweingarten, many of us would be fired for tearing apart an event we didn’t read up on, let alone attend,” she tweeted.

Daniel Victor of www.philly.com agreed, tweeting “I’m annoyed only by the inaccuracy, not the mockery. I like him, I just ask that what he’s making fun of is actually true.”

“Don’t bother attending the events you write about. Worked for @geneweingarten” tweeted Steve Buttry, director of community engagement & social media at Journal Register Co.

“You missed a great ONA, both by not attending and by missing by a mile in your second-hand account of the event,” Buttry added in comments. “But I will say that Ben Huh provided some excellent insights about journalism, leavened with some humor about cats. I know you’re a dog guy, but I’m pretty sure you would have laughed.”

The columnist, who ignited an online outcry by dismissing the concept of branding for journalists  earlier this year, seemed to predict much of the same reaction.

“Mostly, they’ll contend I am being shallow and superficial and shabby with the facts. I’m pretty sure they will do this without any sense of irony,” he wrote.

Weingarten may have gotten a free conference out of the deal, though.

“You should come see for yourself, if that wouldn’t blow your dyspeptic, cantankerous old fud/codger cover,” wrote McDonnell in the comments, and confirmed the offer in an e-mail. “Love to have you as our guest at the next conference, Sept. 20-22 in San Francisco, as well as offer you a free membership (a $75 value!) so you can get some first-hand facts about the 2,100 serious journalists (including our Board Secretary, Postie Cory Haik) who are working hard at producing news. Bob Woodward’s invited, too.”

The response prompted an “Ask the Post” editors blog post by the end of the day.

Nikons in hand, Pat Kane covers the stories of the Tri-Cities of Virginia as multimedia editor of The (Petersburg) Progress-Index. Pat joined the Virginia Pro Chapter Board in 2008, stepping up to serve as chapter secretary the following year. After growing up all over the globe as a Navy brat, Pat graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007 after working four years at The Commonwealth Times. 140-character insights are available @kane804.

By: Claudia Amezcua

A few months ago I was in sitting at my desk looking at my Twitter feed and began to notice the amount a retweets a certain person keep getting.  Personally, since I do not have an enormous amount of followers (yet), I was curious to know how exactly one gets themselves noticed in the Twitter world.   I did some research and found an amazing article called “How to Double your Retweets in Two Days” written by Jonathan Wondrusch from ByBloggers on Social Mouths.com that offered a bird’s eye view of standing out from the crowd.

1. It’s all relevant. Content, Content, Content…does that make sense?

2. What’s the story? Just like in print, it’s all about the headline.  Readers are drawn to compelling headlines that scream: read me.

3. Twitter has a short attention span. That’s right; the reason why everyone loves Twitter is because it’s short and to the point, whereas other social media tends to have a person digging for a long period of time.  Depending on how many people a person follows dictates how fast their feed updates.

4. When should I tweet? Ideally, Wondrusch suggests tweeting between the hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST. This is usually when the amount of people online peaks.  However, he strongly suggests testing different times and seeing what works best for your following.  A good way to do this is by using different twitter platforms such as TweetDeck and Hootsuite that allows tweets to be scheduled.  The great thing about these tools is that they keep track of how many times your post was visited, and it’s FREE!

5. Don’t be selfish! Remember, Twitter is and always will be a way to socially connect with the world via the internet.  So, share the wealth and retweet!

Claudia Amezcua is a freelance multi-plaform reporter and production assistant based out of Los Angeles, CA. She is a graduate from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelors in Communications and is currently pursuing an Associates Degree in On Air Radio Broadcasting from Mt. San Antonio College. Ms. Amezcua work experience includes anchor, reporter and DJ at 90.1 KSAK Walnut and as a freelance production and library assistant for CNN.  You can follow Claudia @ClaudiaAmezcua_ or visit claudiaamezcua.com.

By: David Brandt

I’d been trained early on in my career to look with the journalist’s eyes first, the citizen’s eyes second. But those objective goggles I once had tightly wrapped around my head slide off every now and again.

Recently, I took it upon myself to go shoot photos and interview participants of the exploits Occupy Atlanta, a group of demonstrators which formed out of the seemingly global ripple effect created by the now infamous Occupy Wall Street. About 300 protesters showed up to Woodruff Park in Midtown on the evening of Oct. 7 to begin their demonstration.

My initial goal was to put together a freelance newspaper package about the expectations of Occupy Atlanta and its similarities to Occupy Wall Street. As the days passed, it turned out that the former had a different agenda(s) in mind.

I kept my eyes on individuals in the crowd with signs about jobs, the economy, the wars and other messages. My ears were tuned to the gentleman with the bullhorn who appeared to be running the show, though no leader was ever confirmed. About 30 minutes went by with discussions about the speaking process, committee activities and general instructions about potential plans of action, all of which had to be approved by a consensus.

Suddenly, about 10 feet from the bullhorn, stood civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis. He had reportedly come at the invitation of one of the protest organizers. Inside of a few minutes after pleas from two or three demonstrators for Lewis to speak or not to speak, the gentleman holding the bullhorn announced that a consensus could not be reached and that John Lewis would have to wait his turn.

And that’s when my pen fell out of my right hand, my notebook slid out of my left hand, my mouth dropped, and the crowd swiftly became divided over the matter, so much so that their debate grew louder than the guy with the bullhorn. But my journalist goggles snapped off my head.

And while Lewis – who left due to a meeting elsewhere in town – told reporters gathered nearby that the protesters would “grow and come of age” and that he wasn’t offended by their decision, the first story about Occupy Atlanta became about the “shunning” of John Lewis, and it was the first of many missteps that soon followed for the demonstration. In the days that followed, demonstrators claiming to represent Occupy Atlanta sent Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed three demands, two of which were already met by way of their First Amendment right to peaceful assembly, and the third to rename Woodruff Park for Troy Davis, a recently executed death row inmate who was denied a stay of execution four times – the last of which came at the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to not hear his case. Since then, tension has been building between the protesters at the park and the mayor’s office

Occupy Atlanta wasn’t as much like Occupy Wall Street as I initially thought, and it was then that I realized I couldn’t get my goggles back on.

As a reporter or an editor, you have to make a decision pretty early on about a story like this one as to just how you approach it. It’s OK to have concerns as a citizen as long as your writing or on-air reporting doesn’t reflect that subjective view. But you are – despite the opinion of some anti-media cynics – a citizen, and if you feel compelled to take an interest in this event as a citizen, then you should feel free to do so. And you can still use your journalistic eyes and ears for opinion or editorial pieces, but include as many different voices as you can interview so that your audience can obtain as much of a scope about a demonstration – one in which we haven’t seen the likes of in years and may not see again for a long time. (You can see one of my commentary videos about Occupy Atlanta here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUNIim33-sA)

As I type this, Reed has revoked an order that initially allowed them to stay in Woodruff Park until at least Nov. 7. Police have been adding barricades through the night around the park, and Reed said that arrests will be made, if necessary. Occupy Atlanta, it seems, will occupy no more, and it will probably never be clear just why they were doing it in the first place.

David Brandt is the Web managing editor for the Institute of Industrial Engineers, where he writes and edits Web content, produces new media projects, and writes for a monthly magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @iamdavidbrandt.

By: Mike Brannen

You’re a cub reporter, months away from graduating with a journalism degree, and are ready to work in the “real world” (ironic the “real world” gets quotations as if it’s a fictional thing!). You’ve got your top cities and news outlets picked out. It’s time to convince them to hire you. At this stage, your resume lacks years of experience. Sure you’ve padded it with internships, but that’s not going to impress me, or the people who are actually going to hire you. Chances are, you have to compete against someone who has more experience than you. But you have an opportunity to outshine them, by delivering a knock-them-out-of-their-seat cover letter.

A resume tells me what you’ve done. A cover letter tells me who you are. A resume shows me what you’ve accomplished before; your cover letter shows me what you are going to do next. If I’m the person hiring you, I need to get an idea that your personality, and what you believe in, will benefit my newsroom.
I believe that I got my first job, in Seattle, and right out of school, because I had a strong cover letter. My current Executive Producer seemed to like it enough to call me with a job opening after I sent it to him.

There are two ways to frame your cover letter: tell a story, or tell your creed.

Your Story
A true journalist naturally embellishes a bit. We do it out of necessity to grab the attention of viewers and readers. It’s time to put those skills to work in your cover letter.

Take some time to think about a day where you kicked butt on the job, or nailed a big story. Describe what you did and why each step was important.

You must weave into your story a way to “brag” about your skills. By “brag,” describe a challenging experience, but not blatantly mention how difficult it was. Let the accomplishment speak for itself.
Sell your reader on why you have a cool job and why it beats anything else.

I would avoid the cliché “I remember the day I knew I wanted to be a reporter” story. Everybody writes that one. As an employer, I don’t care what got you into the business; I want to know what’s keeping you in it.

Your Creed
I wrote mine in this fashion. I detailed what I think are the three main elements of delivering TV news (Live, Local, Now). This formula reveals your values, your news judgment, and your decision-making process.

Your creed is your take on what’s wrong or right with journalism; things you want to see improved, or eliminated. You don’t need an explanation for the things you believe in, at least not in the letter. You probably will once you get to the interview part.

I think the creed is more of what employers want to read about. They can distinguish if the applicant is worthwhile, or meant for the garbage pile.

The creed letter is a bit riskier because what you believe in might not fit the newsroom personality. But, if you’ve done your research, and your letter is tailored to the station’s mission, then you are in a good position for a future interview.

Overall, the type of letter you write should be dictated by the job you want. A story tells me about you. A creed tells me your beliefs.
For either one, make the first line the strongest one in the entire letter. Write it so you know the reader wants to know what comes next. It should be a sentence that no one in history has ever written before, or will ever write again.

Be bold. Be creative. Be original.

Mike Brannen is a morning newscast producer for KIRO7, the CBS affiliate in Seattle. He recently received a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed his thesis, Motivational Use of Twitter. He previously worked multiple positions at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri during for four years. You can follow him on Twitter: @MikeBrannen

By Jennifer Nicole Sullivan

At the Excellence in Journalism conference last month, I had the pleasure of critiquing resumes for two days alongside Generation J committee chair Lynn Walsh. After correcting (and praising!) numerous resumes from college students and young professionals, I came face to face with the age-old resume dilemma: one page or two?

Unless you’ve worked 30+ years, there’s no reason—especially for a recent college graduate—to have a two-page resume. (I’m a former two-pager myself!) Employers simply don’t have time to read two pages.

But don’t fret—everyone can have a one-page resume. Quickly free up some room on your resume by ditching these superfluous elements:

1. References: I saw these on several resumes at the conference. Provide these only if an employer asks for them.

2. URLs: If you have a website, put it in your header sans www. (e.g., jennifernicolesullivan.com). Save all other URLs for your cover letter.

3. Extra words/articles: Use sentence fragments that begin with strong action verbs (no gerunds) to eliminate excess words and articles such as “the.” “I” is never needed.

4. Summary & Objective: Discuss your summary and objective in your cover letter. It takes up precious resume real estate and delays employers from getting to the meat of your resume.

5. Excessive fonts and borders: Keep your resume clean by omitting too many font styles like italics, bold and underline—pick one style and use it sparingly. Keep body font at 11- or 12-point.

6. All caps: They take up more space and tend to look harsh.

7. A separate “Awards” section: If you’ve won awards, keep each one listed underneath the job in which you received it.

8. High school stuff (and anything prior—yes, I’ve seen an elementary school listed!): Unless you’re a college student looking for internships, omit all high school information, clubs, and GPA.

9. College GPA: Unless you have a 3.8 or higher, do not list your GPA. After your first professional job, omit it altogether.

10. College clubs/extracurricular: If you’re still in college, only list relevant activities (e.g., student newspaper editor, SPJ Student Chapter President, etc…). After your first professional job, consider omitting them.

11. Hobbies: If for some reason they’re relevant, mention them in your cover letter.

12. Personal traits: Save all of the “hardworking, multi-tasker, organized” language for your cover letter.

Remember: Focus on conveying your experience and skills that will impress potential employers. Everything else is extra.

Jennifer Nicole Sullivan is a copywriter for Real Simple magazine in New York City. She’s also a fashion, arts and entertainment contributing writer for the weekly newsmagazine Newport Mercury in Newport, R.I. The Dallas native is a former features reporter at Corpus Christi Caller-
Times. She has degrees in theater and radio-TV-film from The University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. in English from The University of Rhode Island. Visit JenniferNicoleSullivan.com and follow her on Twitter @trendyjenny.

By: Jacqueline Ingles

Professors in J-School told me to have thick skin — this business demands it. But, earlier this week, something made its way under my skin. I was covering a story regarding feral hogs doing more damage during times of drought. In my online script I wrote, “feral hogs or wild hogs.” The agriculture extension agent helped this city girl out by explaining that feral hogs are wild hogs. Then, I received the following email:

Dear Ms. Ingles,

Al S.
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By: Ryan Broussard

A few weeks ago, I was covering a high school football game in Opelousas, La., between two Catholic schools, the Opelousas Catholic Vikings and the Catholic High at Pointe Coupee Hornets. The teams were opening up district play against each other. Opelousas Catholic lost the game 38-35, but it was the manner in which they lost that gives me a reason to write about that game.

The Vikings surrendered three touchdowns in the final 7:29 after seemingly running away with the game.

Now this is not unheard of, especially in high school and college football. What gave me pause was the dilemma of “How do I frame my story in a way that does not place undue blame on the players on the losing team?”

In today’s society, people are always looking to assign blame when something goes wrong. I had to remember that I was writing about kids. Ethically, writing about children can be a touchy subject. Sure some of the players may be old enough to vote and to drive, but they were still kids in a sense of the word. And kids make mistakes; they are still learning the intricacies of American football. As journalists covering high school and college athletics, we need to remember that.
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By: Mike Brannen

It was undoubtedly a whirlwind week for Amanda Knox to start October. A day after her murder conviction was overturned, and her prison life ended, she was able to go home. Unsurprisingly, hundreds of U.S. and international reporters were waiting for her upon her arrival at a Seattle airport. She spoke briefly, and then disappeared from the media.

But that didn’t stop print and TV reporters that day from tracking her journey until she was truly “home” in West Seattle. A helicopter flew above and monitored security vans leaving the airport, believing Knox was in one of them. During the day, TV crews staked out various locations Knox could visit. Knox could not be found by the media. Her family kept tight-lipped about where she was, and repeatedly asked the media to give her time to finally relax in privacy.

Following the hectic day for Knox, major media players in Seattle came to an agreement to respect the family’s wishes. KOMO-TV posted a statement on its website, acknowledging that several stations would step away from hunting down Knox. The release was sent to the Knox family. I work for KIRO7, one of the stations involved in the agreement.

It’s worth discussing why Knox would get this treatment versus others in similar circumstances. The Casey Anthony and O.J. Simpson trials are great comparisons. Anthony was accused of killing her 2-year old daughter, and spent nearly four years in a Florida jail until a verdict was reached. She was not found guilty of murder, but of lying to police. She was released from jail in July, but Orlando media didn’t come to an agreement about respecting Anthony’s privacy following the verdict.
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