Last month I related the story of Ashley Reynolds, a former student of mine who parlayed her Twitter use into a job interview and landed a reporter/anchor position.  This week, a May 2009 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism begins her new job as an investigative video journalist at a station in Fort Myers, Florida.  Sarah Hollenbeck’s job-hunting story is as fascinating – and instructive – as Ashley’s.  It was a true hunt, in that Sarah identified her prey, got it in her sights, and pursued it singlemindedly to a satisfying conclusion.

In order to test her investigative mettle, a newsroom manager at the station (I’ll call him Guy) gave Sarah an assignment:  Find out everything you can about me in 48 hours.  Sarah was off and running.  She interviewed Guy’s wife, ex-wife, high school friends, and former co-workers.  She used databases to find his drivers license number, voter registration, marriage licenses, and divorce decree.  Meeting her deadline, Sarah emailed Guy a seven-page report with all the information she found.  He was impressed (and a bit unnerved), but wanted more.

“You look a little uncomfortable in your live shots,” he said. “You have three days to send me a new DVD with your most recent live shot.”

Sarah used her next reporting shift at KOMU 8 (the NBC station in Columbia that’s owned by the University of Missouri) to remind viewers there was just one more week until the switch to digital television transmission.  She used her live shots at five and six p.m. to “show and tell,” with a converter box and interviewed a technician who’s been helping people around the area prepare for the switch.  She immediately sent the DVD off to her prospective employer.

Then came the news that’s so common of late:  Guy said funds for the position Sarah wanted were frozen.  No job.  Sarah was – in her words – “bummed all day.” At about seven p.m. (talk about a rollercoaster ride) Guy called her back with much better news.  After an emergency budget meeting, the station came up with the money to hire her.  Could she get to Fort Myers right away?  You bet.

Ashley and Sarah share many qualities and skills that helped them land their jobs.  And, they approached their job hunts with determination, professionalism and dedication.  As a practical matter, it should be noted they both have online portfolios (otherwise known as e-portfolios) which allow them to update their work samples and shoot everything to prospective employers quickly and easily.

Got an interesting job hunt story?  Let’s hear it!

I am working on an idea for SPJ whose time has come (and may actually be past due): A section on the SPJ web site for one-stop shopping to guide folks who want to find new jobs, stay on top of their current jobs, move into another area of journalism, what have you. It would include the current job bank page.

SPJ President Dave Aeikens has encouraged me to put together a sort of working group to solidify ideas to bring to the national board meeting in August. So, any volunteers?

Here are some of my early thoughts about what the “toolkit” might include:

1 — Advice from pros about rebranding yourself to showcase your multimedia skills

2 — listings of regional workshops and resources (from SPJ and other groups) that can help people retool for new media, in addition to FOI and our other missions

3 — aggregation of links to journalism job sites and other useful sites

4 — guest columns from employers about what they’re looking for in new hires

5 — a blog (with regular as well as guest bloggers)

6 — guest columnists telling how they were able to avoid being laid off or how they got back in the game

7 — Resume and cover letter clinic

So, if you have any ideas… if you’d like to join my working group (minimal time commitment, we’ll do this via email)… if you’ve seen great ideas on other web sites… Please drop me a line!

Two Kansas City television stations seem to be mired in an era of litigation.  Last November three KMBC employees (two anchors and one reporter) filed an age and gender suit. The lawsuit reads, in part:

“The environment at KMBC-TV has transformed over time, from one of cooperation into a hostile environment, permeated with threats, intimidation and disrespect.”

Now, a former manager for the Meredith Corporation-owned KCTV named Francelle Watson says former news director Regent Ducas wore a t-shirt to a news meeting with the following emblazoned upon it (you can fill in the blanks):

“F___ Women, F___ Hispanics, F___ Gays, F____ Blacks.”  If true, this is beyond dismaying.  One assumes there were numerous witnesses?  An article in The Pitch quotes from Watson’s discrimination suit:

“Firings or non-renewal of minority reporter and anchor contracts during the last several  years include on-air personalities Sharita Hutton, Robert Lyles, Michael Scott, Ty Chandler and Ty Wilson.”  Watson was fired in 2008 after more than twenty years at the station.

Ducas arrived in Kansas City in 2002 was credited with revving up KCTV’s ratings before heading for a news director job in Dallas in 2007.  His tenure at the Texas station was brief, and he now works for a media consulting firm called Talent Dynamics.

Ducas was assistant news director at WDIV in Detroit when I worked there from 1998 to 2001.  Speaking for myself, I — a woman of color — found him to be fair and supportive.  On the air and behind the scenes, the WDIV newsroom was fairly reflective of Metro Detroit’s demographics during the period when Ducas and news director Deborah Collura were in charge.  From what I can tell, it continues to be so.

At any rate, as Kansas City newsies know, Watson’s lawsuit is not the first for KCTV.  Age discrimination allegations came to light a few years ago, when former employees Stuart A. Lebow and Tom Talbert sued.  In 2007, Meredith settled with Lebow out of court.  Stephen DeWalt also sued for age discrimination and lost.

So, lingering litigation seems to plague KCTV.  We’ll see how the KMBC case pans out.  Stay tuned.