Notes 3/7/13

• Internships - do them! Experience will be your best ally when looking for work
• Something he looks at when hiring
• Knowing basic skills such as layout and photography can help minimize costs for you and your employer
• While our society is diverse there are similarities in how various communities function across the country (city council, police, non-profits, schools, etc.)
• Understanding the community are going to help you in reporting the events and issues of that community
• Legal obligations of a journalist - know your rights!
• transparency
• accessibility
• "watch dog"
• city council executive session
• public records - helpful in building stories
• Journalists facilitate the flow of information for those who don't have the time to get that information
• help the public make decisions
• Understanding the bureaucracy of organizations
• Good writers make every story compelling to readers - that's the challenge
• Small town news is less formal or managed than big news stories
• Fresh and spontaneous
• Small towns aren't all good news, there is bad news - can be awkward
• Build up your expectations
• Don't expect to work for a big name right out of college without experience
• Small town stories provide more opportunity for in-depth/personal feeling stories