There are several ways you can do that.

You could go back to school and get a master’s degree or a doctorate, but that’s pretty expensive and we journalists aren’t known for our vast wealth.

You can take advantage of training programs put on by your local chapter or your region or your state’s press association. I took part in a fantastic open records/open meetings webinar that the Alabama Press Association hosted. The association’s lawyer taught the class.

There’s a vast wealth of information online and in books published about the craft. Poynter’s NewsU is a great online source for top-notch classes and webinars, free or cheap or otherwise. (www.newsu.org)

And speaking of Poynter, you can sign up for one of their on-site workshops or seminars. They aren’t exactly cheap, but they’re well worth the investment. Plus, hey, the institute is in south Florida…on the beach…you see where I’m going here, right? And nothing comes close to a Poynter experience (all right…media bias, anyone?). (www.poynter.org)

These are just a few suggestions. There are many more options for the continuing journalistic education. Whatever path you choose, you can never go wrong in furthering your knowledge base, your education, and your skill set. A guy I wrote a profile about once told me, “If you’re going to quit learning, you might as well just die.”

Whether it is how to craft a resume, tips on how to interview for jobs or sharing experiences on what it is like to be working in an ever-changing newsroom, Generation J wants to help you.

But, to do that we need some feedback. As the incoming chair for the committee I have lots of ideas rolling around in my head but those ideas will only be helpful if you-fellow young journalists-find them that way.

Now is your chance to flood our YouTube channel or my inbox, Twitter feed, voicemail, Facebook wall, etc. with ideas, thoughts, and even rants.

Be creative and think outside the box! In the age of technology I truly believe anything is possible and there is a way to make almost any networking or learning opportunity happen.

Happy video blogging and I am looking forward to listening to your ideas and helping them become a reality next year!

Lynn Walsh is an investigative video journalist for Texas Watchdog, a nonprofit online news organization that focuses on government transparency and government accountability.

I’m already working on my speech for the first day of class. Last year, some students said I scared them with my warning about cheating — specifically, plagiarism. I believe my choice of phrase was “I will nail you the the wall.”

The New York Times recently reported that more than half of all universities use some sort of plagiarism detecting service. I have my own plagiarism detector — I’m a copy editor. We can spot when sentences are not your own.

The Times piece, by Trip Gabriel, had an eye-opening analysis: A slightly smaller percentage of students report having cheated, but that’s probably because they no longer think of what they did as cheating. (That’s according to who conducted the survey.)

Let me repeat that: The students do not think what they are doing is cheating.

And when those students head off as young journalists, for some reasons, they don’t see it as plagiarism. And they don’t see it as wrong.

Yes, writing is frustrating. I did 25,000 words of it just last week, on a single research topic. There were definitely times when I wanted to quit. Those times made me wonder how many unethical people get to the same point in their work, feel overwhelmed, and simply steal from others. **shudder**

I hear from both students and parents that high schools are not critically examining written assignments. Copy-pasting from the Web is accepted practice. Some of my freshmen got to college having never learned how to cite a source!

With our mission of protecting journalism, we cannot relax our standards. We have to pass on the ethical understanding that credibility is at the crux of what we do. I like what SPJ Headquarters staffer Scott Leadingham (the illustrious Quill editor) recently blogged about mentoring and helping each other out. (Read his comments here.) How can you make a difference in the outcome of future journalists?

You may wonder why I’m telling you about this golf guy, but the point is coming real soon, I promise.

Lindsey came back to Glencoe High School a couple of years ago and talked to the golf teams. I went out and listened to his oration and wrote a story about it for the paper. His number one lesson, his if-you-only-remember-one-thing-I-tell-you point, was this: whatever your goals are, whatever profession you may choose, get involved with the professional organization and stay involved, don’t be a passive due payer.

I’m a graduate of the 2010 SPJ Reporters Institute. Before the experience I was a fairly passive due payer. I read the SPJ Leads email, read my Quill, and paid my dues. The Reporters Institute experience got me excited about SPJ and the possibilities it offers. Those possibilities are nil, though, if you don’t get involved.

Last February, Aiesha Little and the Greater Cincinnati SPJ chapter hosted a Speed Pitch event (not to be confused with speed dating, mind you) for Gen J-er’s who were either about to graduate or were looking for freelance opportunities. Afterall, no one is hiring, right? The idea was each person had  five minutes to talk individually with editors from local media outlets, including newspaper, magazine and radio. You could use those five minutes however you wanted, whether it was to pitch stories or pitch yourself. The turnout for the both editors and young journalists was pretty good.

Not knowing what to expect, I went to the event and walked out having had interesting conversations with great contacts, one of which led to my current position at the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Breaking into journalism isn’t like it used to be, so I would encourage everyone in the local chapters to create events and opportunities like these. Even though it may not lead to your next gig, you’ll undoubtedly make great contacts.

Has anyone done something similar in their chapter and can share their ideas?

Earlier this month I attended the SPJ Broadcast Reporters Institute at the Poynter Institute in Florida. Young television and multimedia reporters, producers and anchors across the country came together to learn new skills, new techniques and of course pick up some tricks along the way!

The changing world of journalism brings with it new responsibilities, some that may surprise you and some that may even confuse you.

Two reporters from the SPJ training shared what their responsibilities in the newsroom are; watch the videos below to find out more.

Young Video Journalists Share Their Stories

What is a multiplatform reporter?

I am of the belief, and maybe it’s naive, that good journalism won’t die even if it’s traditional medium does. I think there are a large number of people out there who care about good journalism…they just don’t want to pay for it. That’s what happens when you can get something for free for a long time…no one wants to pay for the thing anymore.

Can you imagine city halls and county commissions across this land, from sea to shining sea, without local journalists inside holding politicians feet to the fire?

I don’t know what the answer is. I wish I did. But I do know that if we young journalists, from every facet and every walk of life, from every state and every region, put our heads together, we can figure this thing out.

Dudash is currently working as the Pulliam/Kilgore Freedom of Information intern doing the bidding of SPJ Headquarters.

Her main focus is FOI issues, writing articles for the FOI edition of Quill magazine, spearheading efforts to revamp and update the FOI portion of the SPJ Web site. She also helps update the FOI FYI blog, the SPJ Works blog and around the office, she helps with communications, writing news releases and helping with 2010 Convention marketing, as well as updating the membership rosters.

“One of my favorite things about working here is getting to talk with SPJ members from around the country,” Dudash said.

She recently participated in the Ted Scripps Leadership Institute and got talk with student chapter presidents and recently Skyped with Richard Roth, who’s starting up an international student chapter in Qatar, to see how those efforts are going.

“I really like helping people with chapter programming and membership recruitment ideas,” she said. Dudash recently graduated from the University of Florida, and was chapter president for two years.

And I have a feeling more laughs are to be had as the SPJ Reporter Institute at Poynter this week continues. I and other video/broadcast journalists from around the country are coming together for a week of training, discussion and networking, all surrounded by our love and passion for journalism.

I am looking forward to being here for many reasons: advice, new tricks of the trade, ethical debates, friendship, and of course a place to vent about the hardships young journalists sometimes face in newsrooms across the country.

While I don’t need to tell you this, news is changing, and as members of Generation J we have an opportunity to shape and mold the future of journalism in a way many other journalists will never have. We can lead the way in ethical reporting online; we can lead the way in accurate use of social media in the news; we can make a promise to cover the stories that matter!

I always get excited about an opportunity to learn new things; but, when the possibility of learning is combined with working with fellow journalists, there is a certain sense of hope, excitement and determination I feel.

I am excited to learn from others who have a strong passion for media in all of its current forms and I encourage you to join us in the conversation.

We have created a Twitter hashtag and will be uploading videos on the Generation J YouTube page as well. On Twitter just search #SPJRI to join in on the conversation, ask questions or just to see what all the fuss is about! We’re here until Wednesday, June 16.

Lynn Walsh ( Twitter: @lwalsh)  is an investigative video journalist for Texas Watchdog, a non-profit online journalism organization in Houston, Texas.  She is a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism who has experience in television, online and print journalism.  Lynn began her career as a reporter for The Government Channel in Athens, Ohio, were she covered city and county issues for the citizens and students living in Athens County. Lynn also served thepalestra.net as a general assignment reporter focusing on anything from sporting events to the 2008 general election.

Joe Toohey, a graduating senior majoring in communication and theatre arts, and minoring in political science, has been awarded John Carroll University’s “Meet the Press” Fellowship for 2010-11, the university announced Friday. Founded in memory of the late Tim Russert, who was a John Carroll graduate, the fellowship is a nine-month internship in the Washington, D.C. bureau of NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Toohey is from Mount Pleasant, Pa., outside of Pittsburgh, and has had an impressive collegiate career. He received the James Breslin Broadcasting Excellence Scholarship Award in 2009; he is a member of Lambda Pi Eta (the National Communications Honors Society); he has served as a volunteer with Shoes and Clothes for Kids as well as with the New Life Community; and he has been consistently on the John Carroll University Dean’s List since 2007.

Good work, Joe!

(If you’d like to submit an item for Good Work Wednesdays, email it to aiesha_little(at)yahoo(dot)com)