Should journalists learn to be programmers?

An interesting piece here on whether journalists facing the brave new multimeeja world should be learning to code (although perhaps it's unsurprising given it's from a blog called Journalism 2.0).

FleetStreetBlues' gut reaction, of course, would be a 'hell no'. Let journalists be journalists, and web monkeys be web monkeys.

But then we read what 'coding' actually is, and apparently it includes the most basic HTML skills. Such as putting in a content management system to make the text on the website come out in bold.

FleetStreetBlues can code already, it seems. FleetStreetBlues is totally ready for 21st century journalism.

Features Writer - Press Association

PA is recruiting a 'Real Life Feature Writer' - as opposed to the made-up kind, we guess - to join its 'Exclusive Features' team in London.

You'll be writing features for national women's magazines and national newspapers, finding and chasing exclusive stories. There'll be a lot of talking to case studies begging them to speak to you and you only, we imagine. Previous experience as features writer or news reporter essential - they don't specify how much experience you need exactly, but 'experienced' in this context normally means a few years at least.

To apply send CV and covering letter to Exclusive Features Editor Noreen Barr at noreen.barr@pressassociation.com. Deadline Friday 6 February.

Deputy Editor - LOCATION

If you're advertising a job in Dubai, now is the perfect time to do it. Who wouldn't trade recession-hit, late-January London for a place in the sun right now?

So here's the pitch. LOCATION - the caps throughout are intentional, I think - is a monthly interiors magazine looking for an experienced Deputy Editor. (The fact I can't find a weblink to the magazine is, however, slightly worrying). You'll need at least five years' editorial experience in the travel/lifestyle press, and good editorial and managerial skills.

In return they're offering some top perks - flight to Dubai, one month's accomodation and car rental and ongoing private medical insurance. Which is more than you get from yer average regional weekly.

(Full details are on Gorkana, but as usual I can't link to an individual advert.)

Apply with covering letter and CV to recruitment@themediafactory.ae, quoting job reference G059. Deadline Monday 2 February.

That Rock Sound job

A couple of comments asking about the Rock Sound job I advertised a few days back, wanting a link to the full ad. Unfortunately, it's listed on Gorkana, which means I can't link to the actual advert directly (hence no link in my original post).

But if you go to the main website and check out the Consumer Magazine section you should find what you need...

Editor - The World Of Food Ingredients

The wonderfully-named specialist journal The World Of Food Ingredients is looking for an editor to write about the food ingredients, food product and packing and technology markets.

Ideally you'll have experience in the field already, plus 'strong editorial skills'. The journal is in English, but knowledge of another European language is a big plus. Oh, and it's a home-based position.

To apply, email robin.wyers@cnsmedia.com. Deadline Tuesday 10 February.

News Editor - Supply Management

Sometimes, an ad is very good at selling a job.

If I tell you that Supply Management magazine is a fortnightly trade publication aimed at the purchasing profession, you may switch off. But this Gorkana ad starts business travel, fraud and Whitehall inefficiency are among the areas you'll be covering', throws in a bit of 'oil prices and corruption', and polishes it off by demanding the right candidate has 'excellent experience of gaining off diary and exclusive stories'. Exciting stuff...

So, a good job, or just a good ad? You decide. But if you go for it, you'll be managing one reporter, doing the usual news editory things, and be based at Redactive's offices in Clerkenwell, in London. The benefits, including 28 days holiday and subsidised gym membership, sound pretty sweet too.

Send CV and covering letter to senior HR officer Claire Shorter at smnewsed@redactive.co.uk. Deadline next Monday 26 January.

Staff Writer - Rock Sound

Statistically speaking, half of all journalists in the UK wanted to write for NME or Rolling Stone at some stage in their early career (the other half wanted to write for Vogue). NME this ain't, but nonetheless for quite a lot of you, this just might be your dream gig.

Rock Sound, billing itself 'the UK's leading alternative music magazine', is looking for a staff writer for can double as reviews editor. As well as a relevant degree and general web savviness, you're going to need to know your music. The examples they give are knowing your Slipknot from your Sigur Ros (OK...), and your Dalek from your Dream Theatre (do what now?).

Send a CV, covering letter and why they should choose you (as opposed to the other 999,999 NME wannabes) to darren.taylor@rock-sound.net. Deadline Friday 30 January.

Reporter - E-Health-Insider

Another reporter vacancy at the healthcare IT website E-Health-Insider, although that's not necessarily a bad thing - certainly the advert boasts that previous reporters have gone on to Marketing Week and the Guardian.

It's a technical subject area, make no mistake, but this could be an entry-level position, albeit one 'probably' requiring a journalism degree of NCTJ qualification. Good news sense, etc etc, is the main requirement but an interest in business reporting, health and/or IT will help get you into the interview room.

Send a short CV and covering letter to the editor Lyn Whitfield at lyn@e-health-media.com. Deadline Wednesday 21 January.

Uma Singh

We don't usually feature journalists who've been killed or injured in the line of duty. Firstly, it's not really that kind of blog, and secondly, it's a sad fact, but journalists being killed is a far too common occurence. Roy Greenslade, for instance, does an excellent job of chronicling violence against journalists, but barely a week goes by without two or three sad incidents to report.

But still, this one got to us. Maybe it's because she's female and young and pretty, maybe it's because of the terrible nature of the attack. But the death of Uma Singh, a 20-something radio journalist in southern Nepal, was truly horrific. While there was no clear motive or claim of responsibility, Ms Singh had a history of writing articles critical of the dowry system. She was hacked to death in her own rented room by 'between 12 and 20 men', reportedly in full view of other residents.

Wherever you're going to work this morning, keep Uma in your prayers.

Sub-Editor - Campaign

Another Haymarket vacancy this, and one much prized at the moment - sub-editor staff positions aren't exactly growing on trees, you know. This one's for the advertising magazine Campaign, and covers all aspects of editorial production, from proofing to headline-writing and page-layout.

You'll need 'solid experience' on a weekly or monthly, and a good working knowledge of InDesign is 'essential'. Apply via the online ad here. Deadline Friday 16 January.

The price of three consecutive pay rises

No matter where you're working in the media right now, you've almost certainly just heard that your pay will be frozen for 2009. And if you haven't, you're almost certainly about to hear it.

So how does this sound right now? Journalists at the Telegraph group have just heard they're guaranteed three consecutive pay rises - 2%, 1.5% and 2.5% respectively, with the last year 'open to renegotiation' if the inflation rate is more than 3.5% or less than 1.5%.

The NUJ are trumpeting the victory, which follows a threat to ballot for industrial action last autumn, as a model for other papers. Shame about the 50 redundancies last month though...

Reporter - Media Week

Media Week, the weekly magazine for the commercial media industry, is looking for a reporter to cover its digital beat.

Media Week has been through a fair bit of change of late - if you're working there at the moment, we'd love to hear how it's working out - but the ad very much plays this as a positive, emphasising that the successful candidate 'will have the opportunity to play a full part in this change and benefit from the experience gained.' Which means you'll be writing lots of web stories, we'd guess...

So if you're still up for it, here's the deal. You'll need decent news reporting experience already, preferably with a business weekly magazine, and need to know one end of an exclusive from the other. Apply via the web link. Deadline Saturday 31 January.

Reporter - Barcroft Media

Barcroft Media - which bills itself 'one of the UK's most well respected news agencies', frankly FleetStreetBlues can't advise you one way or the other - is after a reporter to join its London office.

The emphasis is very much on ambition ('work some unsocial hours', 'wants to succeed at the highest level') rather than existing experience, but the ad is otherwise vague about what they're after. Even if you're entry-level, might be worth a shot. No word on the pay, either, although we wouldn't expect too much...

Email your CV and covering letter to jobs@barcroftmedia.com. Deadline Friday 16 January.

Can subtitlers libel people?

Dave Lee raises an interesting question on his excellent blog. Sky Sports News this afternoon inadvertently reported that Cristiano Ronaldo was driving uninsured when he crashed his Ferrari earlier.

It was an error to the subtitling service, so they just about got away with it. But it's a worthwhile point: is libel any less serious because it's in an unusual medium? Surely not. Imagine if The Sun made the uninsured/uninjured typo on tomorrow's front page...

Reporter - Personnel Today

Human Resources weekly newspaper Personnel Today is recruiting a reporter, which they describe as an 'exciting opportunity for a newly qualified journalist'. So, crucially, open to first-jobbers.

You will need relevant work experience though, plus the usual reporting skills, and an interest although not necessarily knowledge of the subject area. You'll be working for a new news editor too (possibly promotion from within?), so opportunity to be part of a new team.

Being a Reed publication, you'll be based out in Sutton, 20 minutes by train south of Victoria.

Apply with a CV and covering letter to jobs@rbi.co.uk. Deadline Saturday 7 February.

Sports Reporter - Suffolk Free Press

Another regional job on HoldTheFrontPage, and if you'd like to live outside the big smoke and your passion is sport, this could be pretty good in any case.

The Suffolk Free Press, covering Sudbury 'and surrounding villages', is looking for a sports reporter to cover everything 'from pigeon-racing to football'. Not to reinforce any rural stereotypes, of course... You'll need to be a good all-rounder, with experience of page make-up, particularly QuarkXPress, a big advantage.

In return there's a competitive salary, 25 days holiday, pension scheme and, of course, 'beautiful Suffolk'. (Always beware when the landscape gets offered to you as part of the job package, we say...)

To apply, email a CV to editor Philip Minett at philip.minett@sudburytoday.co.uk. Deadline this Friday 9 January.

Senior Reporter - Worcester News

A useful vacancy listed this morning on HoldTheFrontPage, for a senior reporter on the daily Worcester News.

You'll need to be NCE-qualified already and have the ability and drive to break exclusives that get picked up by the nationals.

They're one of those regional papers that annoyingly insist on an application form, so to get one email the editor's secretary Roni Skye roni.skye@worcesternews.co.uk. And get cracking - deadline (for the completed application form) Thursday 15 January.

Flat Earth News

Top of FleetStreetBlues' Christmas present list this year was Flat Earth News, the 'controversial expose of the truth about our news media' by Guardian journalist Nick Davies which caused such a stir last year.

The website set up to accompany the book gives you a good flavour of what it's all about, but essentially it's a book which sets out to uncover how journalism in the UK so often gets it wrong, and why.

It's by no means perfect, and very much a work of journalism itself, constructed around an argument rather than trying to be particularly fair and balanced and point out where journalists do in fact get it right. But when it comes to cataloguing some horrifically embarrassing lows for editorial accuracy and independence, it's unrivalled. And best/worst of all, these aren't all ancient history - some of the most notable mistakes are attributed to the 'news factory' in we work in today.


Recommended reading then, although you're unlikely to end up feeling very good about journalists or journalism.

Reporter - Architects' Journal

Emap's Architects' Journal is advertising for a news reporter.

From the ad's length job description, it looks like pretty standard stuff, although it's worth noting that in addition to doing the usual news gathering for a trade magazine, they want you to film and tape interviews for the website, and act up for the news editor when required. So some potential for career progression, perhaps.

You'll be based alongside other Emap publications in Greater London House near Mornington Crescent tube in north London.

Rather lamely, the Emap website doesn't appear to have any obvious way of actually applying for the job, but we'd suggest emailing a CV and covering letter to editor Kieran Long at kieran.long@emap.com as a first step. Deadline Saturday 17 January.

Ch-ch-changes

So we've now been going - on and off - for nine months, but here at FleetStreetBlues Towers, we've got big plans for the New Year.

Chief among those plans is to update much, much more regularly. What use, after all, is a journalism news site if there's nothing new on it?

But we're also mulling over other options. Vastly expanding our network of sources to bring you better gossip. A bulletin board for hacks to chat, perhaps - after all, if doctors and soldiers can have one, why not journalists? Maybe some guest columnists, not necessarily the great and good, but the not-so-great and not-so-good. This site isn't Guardian Media - we're all about the frontline grunt journalism.

So let us know what you think, and if you'd like to get involved, email us - the more the merrier, and it fills in the multimeeja bit on your CV nicely. Comment below, or email fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk.

New Year awards for the lobby

It may be all a bit Westminster village, but as New Year Awards lists go, this effort from the Guardian's Bill Blanko - 'the lobby's thirstiest hack' - is pretty good, packed full of gossip.

No award for 'Sir' Michael White though...

News Editor - Harpers Wine & Spirit

Harpers Wine & Spirit, a fortnightly magazine for the UK drink industry due for a relaunch on 20 February, is hiring a news editor. (Yesterday's news that Wetherspoons are to offer 99p pints would be their meat and, ahem, drink, I imagine...)

You'll be doing all the usual things a news editor would be doing on a busy trade magazine, and they're looking for someone with experience. It's a Reed publication so you'll be based in Crawley, but they have free car parking and a free shuttle bus to Three Bridges station.

Send a CV, covering letter and a couple of clips to recruitment@william-reed.co.uk.

+ + + Sunday Telegraph correspondent freed + + +

The Telegraph website reports tonight that the Sunday Telegraph's chief foreign correspondent Colin Freeman and Spanish photographer José Cendon have been freed after being held hostage in the Somali wilderness for the past 40 days.

The BBC, however, reports that an Australian and a Canadian journalist abudcted near Mogadishu in August have yet to be freed...

The cost of 'justice'

£205,000. That's how much Thames Valley police spent on their investigation into Sally Murrer's sources, according to a BBC FOI request.

Usually stories about how much failed investigations cost the taxpayer kind of miss the point. Yes, police work is expensive, and yes, sometimes it doesn't work out, but we pay the police to protect us and they do their level best.

But not in this case. Not only is the true cost to the taxpayer, as Press Gazette points out, likely to be much higher. Not only was the investigation into something that quite simply wasn't a crime. While Sally Murrer was being investigated, her elderly mother was reportedly robbed by a distraction burglar - and the police failed to respond in person because they did 'not have the resources to investigate the crime.'

Sometimes, as police blogger Inspector Gadget is so fond of saying, you couldn't make it up.

Sub-editor - Insurance Times

Insurance Times, last featured on FleetStreetBlues back in May when they decided to hire an entire newsroom worth of reporters, is now looking for a sub-editor.

You'll need newspaper or business magazine experience, proficiency in Quark and a 'flair for features'.

Email your CV to editor Tom Broughton at tom.broughton@instimes.co.uk. Deadline Friday 16 January.

2009: some predictions

Well, that went quick. Welcome back, and happy new year.

This kind of thing is always fraught with danger, generally because you'll be able to come back in twelve months and see how wrong we were. But here's FleetStreetBlues' five bold predictions on what the industry can expect to see in 2009...

1) Doom, gloom and a bit more doom. There's no getting away from it, 2009 is going to be a bit of a bastard for journalism. A colleague emailed a FleetStreetBlues correspondent yesterday with the seasonal tidings 'here's hoping our entire profession doesn't collapse.' Damn right. Here's hoping...

2) A national folding. Yes magazines can go under and local papers slash staff, but the dire state of the profession will only really be noticed when a national goes under. Judging from Roy Greenslade's analysis a couple of weeks ago, the Sunday Mirror, the Daily Star Sunday and the Independent on Sunday are leading contenders...

3) A mea culpa moment. You can't keep cutting journalists and demand ever more from them without something cracking. Yes, reporters make mistakes all the time. But expect something spectacular to emerge next year, a mistake, accidental or otherwise, so unavoidable that news editors the length and breadth of the country will have to sit up and take notice. Britain's Jayson Blair, if you like.

4) Further clampdowns on press freedom. You'd better believe it, Sally Murrer's victory not withstanding. Mr Justice Eady is on the warpath - and the Max Mosley case was just the opening salvo.

5) Guerilla news startups. It can't be all bad news, we need at least one silver lining. The world of print media may be in inexorable decline, but there should still be an appetite for quality journalism, and the challenge for 2009 is, as ever, how to make it pay.

Reportr.net predicts that newsroom redundancies, while never a good thing, will help 'create a pool of trained reporters that may enjoy the freedom of working for small, low-cost, news operations, based in the community and serving the community.' Ditto for specialist journalism, and even entertainment and gossip.

If journalists have a future, this might just be it.