Trainee Reporter - Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard

See, this is what we like when we read a job ad. Someone who's put a bit of work into a drop intro:

Some editors will tell you, in jest, that their reporters are a bunch of comedians but at the Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard it is no joke and one bright young trainee is giving up a brilliant career as a journalist in the Cotswolds and taking his chances on the stand-up comedy circuit in London.

So, the facts. The Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard want a trainee reporter, must have passed NCTJ prelims or equivalent and have at least 80 wpm shorthand. You also need a clean driving licence and your own transport, and 'an enthusiasm for online journalism would put you at a distinct advantage'.

Apply with CV and clips to the editor (Mrs) Skip Walker at editor@wiltsglosstandard.co.uk. Deadline Friday 17 July.

Can good news sell newspapers?

Ask that question to most Fleet Street veterans, and you'll get a short answer. One word, two letters, starts with an 'n'. What are you, crazy?

But among the wider public (aka our readers) there's a persistent fascination with the topic. Why are newspapers always full of bad news? And wouldn't it be nice if someone starting printing the good news for a change? And we've come across two examples this week of publications trying to do exactly that.

First up, Sideways News, a site which announced its launch on Gorkana promising 'news with a twist'. Billing itself as 'essential reading for enquiring optimists', at first glance it looks like any other mainstream website (not unlike the BBC's in fact) - but mostly missing the bad news.

So there are features on 'Spurs plan to build eco-stadium', 'Invisibility cloak beats quake' and 'Ethical eating on holiday' - all worthy and, dare we say it, a little dull. And while it's an interesting concept, there are signs too that the forced jollity is beginning to slip in places - a PA story headlined 'Doctor 'didn't give Jackson drug', for example. Michael Jackson's still dead, and he's still news, even in the creepy parallel happy-news universe.

And so to our second example, a living and breathing specimen of Roy Greenslade's most hated species, the council-run newspaper.

Flicking through a copy of East End Life, brought to you by Tower Hamlets council, it's immediately apparent what a happy and uplifting place Tower Hamlets is to live in.

Sure it has problems, but our noble councillors are on the case, as shown by the front page splash 'Crack house shut in drugs swoop', alongside a separate picture story of happy youngsters safely walking down the street, captioned, in case you didn't get the message, 'These streets were made for walking'.

The good news continues inside. On page 3, one of Britain's top Olympic hopefuls has backed the council's sports plan, while on page 5, the Queen has honoured prominent East Enders (who include the local NHS chief executive). There's a downpage on protests at cuts in college funds - but the only quote in the piece goes to to the college principal who explains 'reductions in funding are dictated through national policy and are out of the control of the college.' That's OK then.

And so it continues, page after page of Pravda-esque praise for the council - too many stories to mention, although this fairly typical downpage intro is worth quoting in full.

'The council's customer contact centre is going from strength to strength but borough bosses aren't sitting on their laurels.'

So, good news. There's plenty of it around. And if you're setting up a novel internet site or spending thousands of putting together a taxpayer-funded council newsletter, it's ideal material. Plenty of it around.

But selling newspapers? Sorry, this is journalism. If it bleeds, it leads.

Editor - Lincolnshire Free Press

The Lincolnshire Free Press and Spalding Guardian, two Johnston Press weekly titles, are looking for an editor.

There's not a huge amount of detail in the advert, but there is an emphasis on story-getting (they claim to often feed stories to the nationals) and online (they're very proud of their Twitter feed and a Facebook group).

In any event, you'll need to have relevant experience and skills - and they promise a car and 'the usual benefits' with the role.

Email CV and application to the secretary of group editor Jon Buss at denise.vickers@jpress.co.uk. Deadline Friday 17 July.

Swine flu hits journalism: some questions

Which household name news organisation based in central London has been hit by swine flu this week, with staff informed yesterday that at least one 'mild' case had been identified?

Is there really nothing more to be done other than advise workers there to 'avoid anyone with swine flu'?

Will journalists there be turning up to work today in facemasks? Will they be turning up at all?

And does failing to fix the aircon help or hinder the virus' spread?

Reporter - Garstang Courier

There seem to be a few more jobs about suddenly, particularly regional ones on HoldTheFrontPage. And here's another.

Two weekly-paid for newspapers in Lancashire, the Garstang Courier and Longridge News, are looking for a reporter or trainee reporter. They ideally want an NCTJ-qualified senior but would also consider a trainee - experience in digital journalism, particularly video, would be a 'distinct advantage'. Clearly multimeeja has made it to rural Lancashire.

Email your CV and application to the editor, Richard Machin, at richard.machin@lep.co.uk. Deadline Friday 3 July.

Online news editor - Press Gazette

It has, we're assured, absolutely nothing to do with the ill-advised tweeting. But Press Gazette news editor Paul McNally is off to pastures new (an English-language newspaper in the south of France, very nice) and so the Press Gazette is looking for a new online news editor.

The requirements are exacting (minimum of two years' experience working in a high pressure news environment, being able to find the time for your own off-diary exclusives) and a little old-school (NCTJ training or equivalent plus 100 wpm shorthand). And of course, this being an almost exclusively online position, you'll need to know your way around the internet.

In return there's the promise of lots of expansion, a move to Fleet Street from their current offices in Paddington, and a salary range of £25,000 - £29,000.

Apply to the editor, Dominic Ponsford, sending a CV and covering letter of no more than 200 words to dominicp@pressgazette.co.uk. Deadline Friday 3 July.

Reporter - Evening Leader

The Evening Leader, a local newspaper up in the North West/Wales covering Chester, Wrexham and Flintshire, is looking for a reporter.

There's no specific mention of NCTJ, but they do want a 'qualified' journalist, and you'll need to have 'a good range of skills' and a 'sharp news sense'. That's about as specific as the ad gets - we're guessing local knowledge might be a plus too.

Snail mail applications only - send your CV and letter of application to:

HR Department
NWN Media Ltd
Mold Business Park
Wrexham Road
Mold
Flintshire
CH7 1XY

Deadline next Wednesday 1 July.

A word of apology

You may have noticed we've been posting at some odd times lately. This is beyond our control unfortunately - Blogger's scheduled posting function is broken at the moment.

It's been broken since last week, so we're hoping they get round to fixing it sometime soon. They should do, the money we're paying them...

How getting facts wrong can prevent you being sued

This is a new one on us. The Intrepid Reporter, who writes mainly about football, tells us he's unable to give us the full fixture list for Newcastle United next season - because he'd have to pay to do so.

Apparently - and a quick Google search confirms he's correct - any media outlet, even bloggers, have to pay £266 + VAT to print one club's fixture list, and a whopping £3,931 + VAT to print the fixtures of every clubs. Not to advertise them, or use logos, or promote them in any way mind - simply print that this team will be playing that team on this date.

In other words, Football DataCo have somehow managed to achieve the impossible - they've copyrighted facts.

Nice work if you can get it, of course, but it does open a whole new revenue stream for all manner of companies. Why don't film producers copyright movie plots? Why doesn't Parliament copyright MPs' expenses? Why don't football teams copyright football results, for that matter?

It's outrageous... but there's a simple solution. Come August, every newspaper, blogger and media outlet in the country should simply print a completely made-up fixture list, causing chaos for fans and football revenues to plummet. They don't want us to print their fixtures? We won't.

For the first time in journalism, the only way to avoid getting sued is to avoid printing the truth.

Wanted: Our next redundant journo

So, the votes are in and the message is clear. Our Redundant Journo got hired a bit too quickly for FleetStreetBlues readers' liking - and they want another one.

A couple of people have kindly volunteered already, but we want to give everyone a shot at such a prestigious post, so here's your chance. We want someone who's desperately job-hunting at the moment, who's willing to let us share their trials and tribulations.

You need to be either a journalist who's been made redundant, or a soon-to-be-graduated student. It's not necessarily going to be daily, but you do need to be able to commit to a couple of posts a week, and make them good ones.

We know you're busy doing proper job applications so we won't ask for much, but we do want to check you fit the bill and can write. So email us a 50-100 word application telling us who you are and what you can offer. The email's fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk. Deadline end of the week.

Gilligan going

So Andrew 'dodgy dossier' Gilligan, investigative reporter at the Evening Standard and journalist of the year at the 2008 British Press Awards, is moving onwards and upwards, to the Telegraph Media Group.

As London Editor he'll still be covering City Hall, of course. But don't be fooled by today's scoop about the deputy mayor, the expenses claims and the 23-year-old lover. Boris will miss him.

Reporter - Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press

There are small papers, and then there are small papers. And, with the greatest of respect, the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press is a small paper.

They're recruiting a 'journalist' at the moment, and say it is a relatively junior position - suitable in fact for a newly qualified journalist. But at the same time, it is a relatively senior position - in addition to writing, you will 'help run the newsdesk' and 'substitute for the editor in his absence'. There's also some page make-up to do (experience preferred), and they require a full driving licence.

In fact, you may not be a junior or senior journalist at all - you may just be the only other journalist.

Send you CV, covering letter and clippings to the editor, Alan Hall, at alan.hall@stranraer-freepress.co.uk. Deadline Friday 3 July.

Careless tweets cost ads

If you're looking for quality coverage of the media world, great comment, brilliant jobs and easy-to-find resources, whatever you do, don't go to the Press Gazette website. It's very, very messy. It's clunky. And it's unreliable.

Not our words - but Press Gazette news editor Paul McNally in a charmingly frank Tweet earlier this morning.


We love Press Gazette, of course, we're only messing. And as we've written before, whether and how journalists use social media in a personal capacity is a thorny issue.

But if Twitter really is all its cracked up to be, how long before the sales teams at rival publications start quoting back that kind of honest assessment at potential clients?

Deputy Chief Sub-Editor - Star

Celeb weekly Star is hiring a Deputy Chief Sub-Editor over on Gorkana (not directly linkable).

They want experience at a senior level, great grammar, stickler for deadlines etc. But they also want someone who can distinguish between Katie Price and Katy Perry. (Best Katy Perry headline of the year? Surely this effort from OneIndia - 'Katy Perry not to give up kissing girls because of swine flu').

Anyway, to apply send CV and covering letter to chief sub Melanie Train at melanie.train@express.co.uk. Deadline Friday 10 July.

'One disk, six reporters'

The Independent on Sunday had a short but colour-filled piece this week with the inside story on how the Telegraph put together the MPs' expenses story, and it's breathless stuff.

A source close to the operation describes the scene as "like the ops room in The Wire. They would pin pictures of their targets on the wall then cross them out in red as they resigned."

Worth reading in full.

News Editor - Swindon Advertiser

The Swindon Advertiser is looking for a news editor.

It is, we're told, a daily paper with 'a reputation for breaking the stories that matter, that are regularly followed up by the nationals and other media.' (A claim slightly undermined by its splash story as we write this - 'Radical facelift for rundown old shed'.)

You'll need to be a news editor already or a senior reporter with newsdesk experience, ideally someone who's worked on a daily.

The full ad's here, but it doesn't add much. Email CV and covering letter to the editor Dave King at editor@newswilts.co.uk. Deadline Friday 3 July.

Trainee Reporter - North Devon Journal

The North Devon Journal is hiring a trainee reporter.

The advert's pretty standard really, except one crucial thing - they would like someone who's got some kind of pre-entry journalism qualification, but they don't insist on it.

Which means if you haven't shelled out hundreds on a largely meaningless and outdated course (does the NCTJ correspondence course still teach you to keep change in your pocket in case you spot a story when you're out and have to phone the newsroom?) then you're still in with a shot.

Salary is £14.5k - harsh, but normal for this kind of position. At least it might go further in Barnstaple than London or the South East, if that's where you're based.

They suggest you go to their jobs site here for an application pack, but we couldn't find it, not easily anyway. So probably best to ask for one by email, hsaunders@northdevonjournal.co.uk. Deadline Monday 6 July.

Journalist's privilege - or why HSBC and Europcar are rubbish

Journalists don't get many perks and privileges - low pay, limited expenses, and absolutely no second homes. But one thing we do get to do is air our private gripes in public.

There are many such instances - a random search throws up this example from the Guardian's Jonathan Freedland, in which he describes at length a tussle with UPS.

He prefaces the story with this:

'One hesitates to offer a personal example: consumer horror stories are like tales of travel nightmares, fascinating to the victim and dull to everyone else.'

And he may be right - it can come across as self-indulgent. But for the journalist, it can also be very very satisfying.

So, here's FleetStreetBlues's shit list this morning, after one of the team tried to rent a car for the weekend.

First prize goes to the appalling HSBC, who yesterday decided to randomly and summarily cancel the credit card we'd booked the car with, despite us explicitly asking them not to, for unspecified 'fraud protection' reasons - resulting in someone else having to come to the car hire place to collect it.

Second prize goes to the money-grubbing, mendacious Europcar, who informed us and 40 other pre-booked customers turning up that actually they had no cars at all at that branch, or at any neighbouring branch, despite us having booked ahead and already paid in full, and all they could do is offer us a refund. (Apparently, we shouldn't be too upset - 'this happens every weekend.')

An honourable mention for the useless Carhire3000, who we'd initially booked the car with, who refused to replace the car or refund the voucher, or help in any other way, and who hung up on the Europcar agent when she explained they didn't have any cars to give us. And an honourable mention too for the incompetent Avis, who managed to supply us with a car on the spot at a 50% markup, only for us to now find the radio's dead. It's going to be a long 4-hour drive.

Interesting? Probably not, you probably switched off long ago. Satisfying? Very. Will we be interrupting a journalism blog for private non-specific rants at complete failures in customer service in future? You bet. Journalist's privilege.

A beginner's guide to blogging: Part Six

The sixth and final part in our exclusive series from trainee journalist-turned-blogger Plenty2Say on how to blog, how to make a success of it and crucially, how to make it pay. You can read the entire series and all five previous parts here.

The final post

As they say in show business, ‘that’s all folks.’ For the time being anyway. This is the final curtain for the five part series on how to blog properly. It’s been emotional, as Vinnie Jones would say.

In this final post, I want to pass on a few future words of wisdom for those who do decide to start a blog in the news journalism blog niche - either as a sideline, or as their main online enterprise.

Is it worth starting a blog?

For those who have been wondering 'Is the market too saturated for yet another blog in a niche?' my simple answer is this: ‘No.’ The beauty of each new blog that comes on the market is the writer’s voice. Each writer has a different writing style, a different way of reporting, and a unique way of getting across the facts. What have you to fear, but fear itself?

And here is proof from the one and only Caroline Middlebrook, from Essex, who quit her day job a couple of years ago, and decided to go into the internet marketing niche. That niche is crammed with bloggers. She is now on a four figure salary and doing well.

She writes: 'Generally speaking, people like to read lots of blogs on a subject as they all offer something unique. There is always room for one more blog on any particular subject.' As they say, you don’t read one history book, you read a few and then draw your conclusion.

Be honest with your readers

Unlike politicians, who spout party lines, and constantly litter their arguments with fancy words, and cute attacks on policy, I’ve always been taught honesty is the best policy. So be honest with your readers. If you are not sure on a topic, don’t write a post on it. Use your strengths. Do not try to wow a reader if you haven’t a clue. They will find you out in the end.

What separates news blogs from 24 hour newswires is that behind the blog is a human being. So your posts can more considered than if you were in a newsroom with a raging editor shouting at you for being late with that all important deadline. You are the master of your destiny. You decide the news content, the style, and what’s in and out.

Finally, blogging is a community - you are not in competition, unlike newspapers. When you have built up a rapport with bloggers in your niche, you will be guaranteed content on a daily basis. So make those links, and make them now.

*I want to thank FleetStreetBlues for letting me run this short series on blogging (thankyou too - Ed). Despite what is written about bloggers, if it is done properly and taken seriously, it can be a lucrative and worthwhile enterprise. I sympathise with those guys and girls who read the blog and are out of work. Keep it going, it maybe a cliché, but as they say, ‘slow and steady wins the race.’

Here's to your blogging and journalism success.

The great MPs' expenses blackout

The confusion that followed the blanket publication of MPs' expenses yesterday only served to show what a damp squib the story would have been if the Telegraph hadn't got hold of the uncensored version first, and drip fed exclusives to the rest of Fleet Street day after day.

The Guardian is even enlisting the help of citizen journalists its readers as it wades through 700,000 documents. Has it come to this?

But with huge chunks of the documents having been blacked out, it's the censorship that has really become the story - witness this little nugget from North East journalist David MacLean.

Say what you like about it, but whatever its other faults, Parliament does a decent black rectangle. Many's the FOI request we've received where a bored council official has done a half-arsed job with a faint black marker, making it possible to quite literally shine a light on whatever they've tried to censor.

Playing the game

We get a lot of requests for links to other blogs, and so long as they're readable and about journalism, we're happy to oblige. But every now and then we come across a gem.

So step forward Playing the Game, an off-again on-again blog without, at first glance, a lot to recommend it. The layout is dire. The design is poor. There's absolutely no search engine optimisation going on. In fact, it manages to break pretty much every one of Plenty2Say's rules.

But despite that, it's one of the best journalism blogs we've ever read. Why? Because it's written with energy, it's written with passion, and the guy who writes it knows what he's writing about.

'Blunt', as he calls himself, is now a news editor, or maybe even editor, of a small local paper, but he's got experience to spare. He introduces himself like this:

Me, I am a jobbing hack, front line news man, boss and bitch and bully for some 20 years. I have worked on locals, regional dailies, nationals, agencies and for myself. No ages (below 40) no names (call me Blunt) no pack drill (UK based). Now I am back on the locals - a medium I have always had great respect for. The true coal face of truth, the place where nationals come for their tales.

I want to use this blog to vent my spleen, to become my online therapist, my new best friend. A cathartic mix of bile, venom and hate. A written rant of disjointed drivel. Just exactly the sort of great traditions the hack's night out were based on.

And that's all there is to it. He rants against cutbacks by managers who know nothing of journalism. He explains why to real hacks, the death knock is just another day at the office. Why contacts really are the be-all and end-all.

And how many of us wouldn't cringe at this editor's perspective on conference?

I always ask (tell) my lot to have an awareness of the things that go on around them. The big stories nationally. The big issues locally. Who's shagging who in the office? It's all important. Information is power. No matter how small the snippet.

But most of the new guys have no idea what is in their own paper. They look at what they have written and how it looks and that's that. I see their eyes glaze over as soon as their own, often pitiful, news list are dragged out at conference. In an industry dominated by petty rivalry, jealousy and terrible, terrible bitterness, if juniors have little or no interest in what their own collegaues are doing, how, in the name of holy fuck, are they expected to know what is happening in the real world?

Sure, he needs a sub. But it's extremely readable and completely true. Nothing complicated - simply life on the front line of journalism, as told by someone who's been around the block. It's well worth reading.

A beginner's guide to blogging: Part Five

The fifth in our exclusive series from trainee journalist-turned-blogger Plenty2Say on how to blog, how to make a success of it and crucially, how to make it pay.

You can read Part One here, Part Two here, Part Three here and Part Four here.

Becoming an expert

When you are born, you have no experience of the world. As a child, you develop and learn things – from your elders, or from outside forces, for good or not so good. A blog, in its early stages, is like a baby, it starts off with just YOU, the writer, and your ‘pillars.’

Journalists and bloggers in the beginning are simply reporters or commentators, and, as they develop a voice, and gain some knowledge and experience, they become experts. A blog is like a timeline, charting your process from novice to expert.

You want to become the expert in your chosen niche as quickly as possible. And the way to do that is by doing these:

- Reading, reading, and reading some more
- Interviewing experts in your niche
- And learning from those experts – but do not try to imitate those who have more knowledge and expertise than you. Your blog is an extension of you, and your talents. Find your own voice. That is what makes you special and unique.

There is also another important factor which you can draw on - your life. Those who blog for the first time forget they have lived a life, and they have so much to draw on. They just forget. If, for example, you are starting a politics blog, what have you already done that is political? Has your life not been one political journey? You have lived. You have been to school. You have had a job, built relationships, made enemies, or friends, etc. My point is that becoming an expert in a niche is not such a long journey as you may think. Your blog is a journey. And you have already begun that journey. That’s a useful start, isn’t it?

If you want to turn a corner from just reporter or commentator to expert, then you have to stand up and proclaim yourself as someone unusually good at something and then demonstrate it over and over again.

Easy, isn’t it?

Coming up in the final post - Where you've been, and where are you going?

Features Writer - Press Association

The Press Association is hiring a 'Real Life Features Writer' within its London-based 'Exclusive Features' team - it's a maternity cover position expected to last until next March.

You'll need to be an experienced journalist who's worked previously as a features writer or news reporter - ideally you'll be doing this kind of work already at another agency.

The job itself involves finding, chasing and securing exclusive 'real-life' stories, pitching them to national newspapers and women's magazines and then writing it up in their style. (NB If this sounds familiar, it's because a similar job was advertised back in January).

To apply send CV and covering letter to Exclusive Features Editor Noreen Barr at noreen.barr@pressassociation.com. Deadline Wednesday 24 June.

Tales from many, many redundant journalists

Our resident redundant journalist got, by her own admission, very, very lucky - from being made redundant to a decent journalism job in less than a month is almost miraculous in today's jobs market.

But since her series was abruptly and happily curtailed, we've been inundated with similar tales of woe.

Take this email, from someone we assume would prefer to remain anonymous. A former journalist, she's now working somewhere FleetStreetBlues once went for an interview, and really wouldn't care to return.

Congratulations on your job. I've been following your blog and it's nice to read about your views which reflect a lot of what I'm experiencing at the moment.

I used to have a great job and now I don't. I have about three years experience and a few clippings to speak of and have been doing my best to get more experience but have been at the receiving end of one too many no's and am feeling the pressure. I was on the dole for a bit and then got this job and for the most part I wish I had not and joined a kibbutz in the first instance. I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet but it is exasperating.

Or this tale of woe from Chris Alderson, an unemployed journalism graduate in Oxfordshire (and sent our way by Cold Tuesday Evenings).

At the moment I’m on a thirteen-week job finding course that the Job Centre referred me to run by a company called Scout Enterprises. I can’t say I’ve learnt much yet as most of it seems to revolve around searching the internet for jobs which I could do at home and I wouldn’t have to pay £4.80 in bus fares to do so.

Personally I blame the current economic climate for the drop in the job market. It seems like either bad luck or bad timing that my graduation seemed to co-inside with the widespread financial ruin.

I recently chatted to a couple of my university mates again to see if their situations might have changed. Once guy on my course who got a better overall mark than me is working in a Topshop warehouse although another friend of mine told me that she’d gotten a job at an advertising firm… but they’d let her go after a month due to the financial crisis.

I still haven’t given up on becoming a journalist and I still keep abreast of current affairs by watching the news and reading several newspapers everyday; but for the time being I’ll have to wait for the outcome of the B.H.S. sales assistant job I just applied for.

Sadly, there's not much we can do about it other than offer words of encouragement. But maybe words of encouragement from readers would be more help.

We don't want to turn into an unemployed journalists' support group, and the Redundant Journo did get some haters as well as praisers. So let us know in the poll at the top right - would you like to see a new column from a new redundant journalist?

A beginner's guide to blogging: Part Four

The third in our exclusive series from trainee journalist-turned-blogger Plenty2Say on how to blog, how to make a success of it and crucially, how to make it pay.

You can read Part One here, Part Two here and Part Three here.

Making money

So, you’ve bagged your neat looking blog template (have a look at eblogtemplates.com for those free and paid ones). You’ve written ten great ‘pillar’ articles. And you've finally decided the niche in which you are going to become an aspiring guru.

The next task is monetising your blog. There are a multitude of ways to monetise. In fact, a blog can be littered with banner ads, text link ads, affiliate products, and e-books. But that would just put the reader off!

Yaro Starak (yes, him again) says in order to send out a clear message to your readers that you are serious about making your blog work, you should start monetising from the off. He also says monetising is not an exact science and requires a lot of patience. And yes, it has been a case of that for my blog.

Here are the key ways on how to monetise your blog.

Google/Yahoo Adsense ads

The usual suspects! The beauty of Google and Yahoo ads is that if a reader clicks on an ad, you automatically get paid, unlike affiliate programs where a visitor has to buy a product before you get a commission. The drawback with these is you only get paid a pittance, and need at least several hundred visitors for it to be of any use. But to start, it is worth having a play around with it and seeing if it works on your blog.

Amazon

Amazon is the leader in affiliate programs. One, it is quick to set up an account. Two, you have a range of content to choose from. Three, you can always set up an E-Store and use in the menu bar on your blog. Nice and easy.

Other Affiliate Programs

There are a string of affiliate programs which allow you to sign up and take advantage of individual company products. Here are some:

Commission Junction
Affiliate Window
Paid on results (my favourite)
Affiliate Future

Release your own product

There will come a time when you will have to start making and promoting your own product. Blogger Starak said when he first set up his blog that he regretted not launching his own product sooner, rather than later. He now runs a successful Blog MasterMind course, where he teaches people the whole art of blogging, in greater depth, of course!

So why not start thinking about ideas for your own e-book? As I said before, creativity and ideas are just as useful as the mainstream skills for employers. They want to see someone who has flair and an eye for business. So get in there!

Your own merchandise

We all know the top political blogger Guido Fawkes is now a brand in his own right. And he occasionally gives away a free T-Shirt to the person who has the best caption for his Friday caption competition. So, why not get yourself a logo generator program (they are not that expensive), have a laugh, create some weird wacky logos and try to pitch them on your blog. Everyone loves a bit of fun. Not all will succeed, but it’s worth a try!

Coming up next – Why bloggers should strive to become experts, and not just reporters…

Senior Reporter - Public Finance

As reporter roles in the trade press go, this one's pretty sweet. Public Finance magazine, which bills itself as 'the business weekly of the public sector', is hiring a senior reporter.

Why so good? Well, while you'll need a head for figures, the subject matter's interesting - you'll be talking to Government ministers, finance chiefs and chief executives as you uncover off-diary exclusives on the dramatic changes in local and central Government, the NHS, education and housing.

Secondly, it's a nice place to work - you'll be based in Clerkenwell (for those who don't know London, a nice part of town), offered 28 days holiday and subsidised gym membership, and the publisher Redactive was apparently voted by staff as 'one of the Sunday Times' best small comapnies to work for in 2008'.

And thirdly? The pay ain't bad - £29,000 to £34,000 is not to be sniffed at.

Accordingly, you've got to be good - while there are no specific qualifications, they want significant business journalism experience and a proven ability to bring in off-diary stories. You'll also be helping guide less experienced members of the news desk, so really have to know your stuff.

Interested? You won't be alone. The full ad's on Gorkana, not directly linkable. Send a CV and covering letter senior HR officer Clare Shorter at snrreporter@redactive.co.uk. Deadline Friday 26 June.

Why The Times was right to challenge anonymity of bloggers

So the big story today, in the land of the interweb at least, is the High Court's ruling that bloggers do not have an automatic right to anonymity. It's a ruling which has resulted in The Times outing DC Richard Horton, a police officer in Lancashire, as the author of the award-winning Night Jack blog.

The general reaction, in the land of the interweb at least, has been horror at the ruling. Iain Dale, Old Holborn, Chicken Yoghurt, The Right Student - they're all up in arms. How could The Times do this?

It's true, no doubt, that in the short-term, it's hard to see an upside. Night Jack was an excellent blog, and it's now closed, its author disciplined (although exactly why is unclear). And it has huge implications for hundreds of other well-read anonymous bloggers. What future now for Police Inspector Gadget, NHS Blog Doctor or our own Bill Blanko?

But while it may scare off public service whistleblowers initially, in the long-term, it has to be a decision which is good for journalism. Creeping privacy laws are already severely curtailing what and about whom journalists can write. Why should newspapers be prevented from naming the author of a published website just because they'd rather not be named? There is no automatic right of privacy in the street - and neither should there be on the information superhighway.

And besides, it's not as though journalists have an automatic right to privacy. As The Times reports:

Key to the judge’s decision was the unmasking of the News of the World undercover journalist, Mazher Mahmood, when the MP George Galloway published a picture of him on the internet in his guise as “fake sheikh”.

Mr Justice Eady was persuaded by the judge’s reasoning in that case in 2006 that a journalist who writes under a pseudonym as part of his undercover work had no reasonable expectation of privacy over his identity.

Here, the police officer was not a journalist, Mr Justice Eady said, but the function he performed via his blog was similar.

And what of FleetStreetBlues? Well, this is not a challenge - we'll continue to blog anonymously, and would really rather no-one tried to unmask us. It wouldn't be hard, but we'd probably decide to stop - and in our case there really is no public interest.

But we write prepared to stand by what we've written. If we were whistleblowers, we'd turn Deep Throat, and take precautions accordingly. But we're not - we're just writing for the hell of it, much as Night Jack did, and we do so in the knowledge that there is no automatic right to anonymity. Not for journalists, not for bloggers.

A beginner's guide to blogging: Part Three

The third in our exclusive series from trainee journalist-turned-blogger Plenty2Say on how to blog, how to make a success of it and crucially, how to make it pay.

You can read Part One here and Part Two here.

Building up traffic and subscribers

When you have first set up your blog, have a topic for the content, managed to get a neat template, (paid or unpaid) and have a short but catchy domain name, it stands to reason you will only have one loyal reader, YOU.

After you have showed your blog to friends, family, your boss at work, and maybe a handful of other loyal insiders, then where does the rest of the traffic flow from?

Here are some key ways to build traffic to a blog. Some take time, others you can just do on auto-pilot.

Search engine traffic

The myth that you simply submit your blog to Google, and then watch the traffic flow, is far from the truth. Google traffic takes weeks, if not months, so chances are you will have to be ‘active’ in the first few months of your blog.

Blog commenting

Here lies the plan. Look at the top blogs in the niche you have chosen. Find out about them, and become loyal readers of their blogs – adding them in your sidebar links. Comment in their blog posts and leave your thoughts and opinions. If you have something worth saying, say it. Yaro Starak often writes that positive and negative publicity is all good publicity. It means people are listening to you – even if they are slagging you off.

Digg and StumbleUpon

Chances are you have heard of these sites, and you need to bookmark your site to these, and FAST. You need to download the toolbar for StumbleUpon, and start stumbling on blogs and websites within your niche. According to another internet marketer Caroline Middlebrook, you can get a rush of traffic from Stumbleupon.

Trackback and links

If you are HTML literate, then linking to websites of a higher ranking actually drags your website higher up Google and the other search engines. From this comes traffic. So it pays to learn basic HTML. It also helps with designing your website. Learn Javascript too.

Content is king

Finally, I mentioned in the previous post about ‘pillar’ articles, these are what make a blog attractive to potential subscribers. Aim to write at least two pillar articles per week on something related to your niche. If you are a journalist, and for example are writing news or comment pieces on your blog, you could even pass on what you have learnt on your journalism training course? What’s a recession?

Coming up next – experimenting with monetization methods on your blog.

Freelance subbing at The Wharf

The Wharf, the weekly paper for Canary Wharf in east London, is looking for a freelance sub to do a week's holiday cover from Thursday 2 July to Wednesday 8 July inclusive (no weekend though).

You'll need to be experienced with Quark layout (version 3.2) and also photoshop - if you haven't done this lots of times before, there's really no point in applying.

But if you have, they're offering £120 a day - email deputy editor Jon Massey at jon.massey@wharf.co.uk.

The 500th post

So as of, well, right now, FleetStreetBlues is 500 posts old. And it's as good a time as ever to offer a reminder - we want to hear from you.

Whether it's a job you want to plug, a column you want to write or a suggestion you have on how we can improve the site, the email address is fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk. We are now checking it every day (well, almost...)

And what we like best of all is gossip and shameless tittle-tattle. So if your company's working you to the bone, your paper's spiking stories to keep the advertisers peachy or your editor has a 'thing' with this pretty PR, drop us a line. We protect our sources.

Senior Sub-Editor - Inside Housing

Another in a raft of roles at social housing trade magazine Inside Housing - in addition to their search for a reporter, they're also looking for a senior sub-editor.

You'll need to be a sub-editor already, 1-2 years' experience, with all the usual sub-editor skills, plus knowledge of design, layout and picture research would be an advantage. Knowledge of InDesign 'useful but not essential.'

Full ad on Gorkana, not directly linkable. Email CV and covering letter to leonie.brown@insidehousing.co.uk. Deadline Monday 29 June.

Various Reporters/Editors - Dow Jones

We tend not to do a lot on vacancies at financial wire services here at FleetStreetBlues - mainly because they're of interest to a small subset of journalists and the rest of us find it annoying when they clutter up Gorkana and Journalism.co.uk by recruiting ten at a time.

But if you are a financial journalist, of course, then places such as Dow Jones, Reuters and Bloomberg represent great opportunities. So here's a very brief round-up of a spate of new vacancies at Dow Jones newswires.

2 x Banking and M&A Reporters (London) - looking for experienced business reporters

Energy News Editor (London) - need energy reporting or editing experience and strong knowledge of European energy companies and OPEC preferred

Equity Markets Reporter (London) - requiring strong financial reporting background or direct market experience, 5.30am starts (!)

2 x Copy Editors (London) - to work on the London NewsPlus/Services desk, need fluency in one European language, university degree and previous experience of financial reporting or editing

Business Reporter (Milan) - must be bilingual Italian/English and have some previous reporting experience

Financial News Reporter (Stockholm) - must be bilingual with English and one Scandinavian language, with a good knowledge of business and economics

Full details for all, including where to apply, are on Gorkana (not directly linkable).

Using multimeeja to tell a story

A great post from self-described 'multimedia journalist' Adam Westbrook on how online journalists should use multimedia tools to tell a story. And the key message seems to be something FleetStreetBlues has been preaching for a long time: just because you can video/podcast/Twitter it, doesn't mean you should.

He writes:

With so much talk about video journalism, it’s not surprising so many journalists take a camera out and shoot whatever they can. I rarely see a big multimedia project without any video in it. And that’s a shame, because video, really, is only good at a couple of things. And bad for some others.

Video/Film/TV whatever you want to call it, is great for showing action. For evoking an emotional response. For creating atmosphere….so use it for this.

But video is bad, really bad, for getting across facts, figures, and complicated arguments. That’s why overloaded documentaries and TV reports are so dull.

Instead, he argues, it's worth paying attention to other media - audio, images and (although he doesn't go into much detail) timelines, slideshows and maps.

And listen up editors, there's one other media which all too often gets overlooked. He adds:

Poor text. The original medium, it’s kind of been given a back seat by those of us too excited by the glitz and glamour of the video camera and the audio recorder.

But text covers the other media’s ass – because it’s the one which can get across all these details, background, statistics; all the things the audio visual mediums are rather poor at.

There’s no escaping it: if you’re going to be a multimedia journalist, you need to be damn good writer.

A beginner's guide to blogging: Part Two

The second in our exclusive series from trainee journalist-turned-blogger Plenty2Say on how to blog, how to make a success of it and crucially, how to make it pay.

You can read Part One here.

Defining a blog

Everybody from the postie to politicians is now blogging – having their say on the events that shape our world. If like me, you started off not having a clue about setting up a blog, gaining traffic, and also having the daunting task of choosing which blogger platform to use, then here is a short guide to putting those wheels in motion for the start of a successful blog.

What is a blog?

A blog, (or weblog) is a series of posts set out in diary format, where the writer of that blog can post his thoughts, comments, news (both personal and wider).

Choosing a niche

When people start a blog, they are often stuck for what topic they should choose. As they say in the trade, content is king. So, it is essential, when you set up a blog, you have a firm idea what you are going to write about.

For me, having studied journalism, my passion was always going to be for news and politics. Blog design comes a close second, but the two do need to be compatible. Internet marketers, those such as the Australian guru Yaro Starak, who runs the entrepreneurs-journey blog, (I really recommend you visit it) says the key to great content is writing something that will benefit the reader. These posts of content are called ‘pillar articles.’

What is a pillar article?

A pillar article is a series of ‘how to’ posts which teach the reader something they didn’t know, or may have not been sure about. They can include anything from how to design a blog template, to posting a guide on how to use Twitter, or even tips for journalists wanting to get into the industry. Something which FleetStreetBlues has got spot on.

Your blog, in the beginning, will need to have at least ten pillar articles, before you move on to choosing your topic. You know why? Because at the start, potential readers of your blog are sceptical, and are never sure how long a new blog on the already crammed market will last. With pillar articles, this can ensure a first time reader will come back to read your blog, and it will lead to a new subscriber. When starting out, you need to write as much as you can. Your posts do not always have to be pillars, but it is essential you keep your blog fresh with daily news, a witty comment piece, or, of course, the pillar. And keep your posts short and to the point.

Here is a selection of other posts you could write:

- Quote of the day
- Twitter of the day
- Puzzle posts
- Competition post – (when you have a few more subscribers)

In the next article, I’ll be briefly summarising ways to build up traffic to your blog, which is an art in itself. Stands to reason, no traffic, no dollars!

'Give me one thing in there that happened today?'

Want to see a succinct five-minute treatise on the current issues facing print journalism? And crack yourself up while doing so? Look no further. The Daily Show has - as they admit, quite inexplicably - been given the run of the New York Times' newsroom, and the results are genius.

Look out for the contortions a senior Times staffer twists himself into trying to defend the concept of 'aged news' as opposed to 'real news'. And the look on his face as he tried to find 'one thing in there that happened today' is priceless. Painful, but priceless.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
End Times
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

Web Editor - Breaking Views

For all the talk of multimeeja and the importance of the web, web editors still have a funny position - their seniority and therefore influence depends entirely on the publication.

Sometimes, it's a mid-ranking role, where you're essentially an online news editor. Sometimes, it's more senior - you're essentially a parallel editor. And other times, it's very junior - you're basically a web monkey uploading content.

We suspect the highly-regarded financial website Breakingviews.com, now recruiting a new web editor, might fit in the 'very junior' camp. While we have no direct experience of how they work, there's a big ole clue in the ad as to where exactly you'll be in the pecking order.

'The job can lead to a writing position, and several previous web editors are now correspondents,' they say. 'We also welcome applicants who are interested only in a production role.'

Accordingly posting and proof-reading articles and helping the editorial team with research and 'some writing' will be a core part of your job description, but there's also the chance to flex your new media muscles by producing video broadcasts. You need to be highly organised and have an interest in finance and business, although previous media experience is 'desirable but not essential.'

Full ad on Gorkana, not directly linkable. Apply with CV to assistant editor Chris Hughes at chris.hughes@breakingviews.com. Deadline Friday 26 June.

A beginner's guide to blogging: Part One

Journalists often look down on bloggers, and sometimes with good reason. All too often, blogs can be filled with the kind of junk that doesn't make it into even the most disreputable of papers - bile-filled comment, lame jokes and unsubstantiated gossip. We should know.

But there's no doubt that for better or worse, blogging is transforming the way the media works and information flows, and for better or worse, citizen journalism is becoming a force to be reckoned with. It's also, in an increasingly dire jobs market, a great way for trainee journalists to practice their craft.

So this week we've invited trainee journalist-turned-blogger Plenty2Say to write another exclusive series offering practical advice - on how to blog, how to make a success of it and, crucially, how to make it pay.

Why I blog

Well, here I am, writing a short series of guest posts for this great FleetStreetBlues blog.

Everybody nowadays from the postie to politicians is blogging - whether it be for fun, to provide a public service, or just to earn a few extra bucks.

If done properly, it can be a lucrative business. You only have to look at the Australian blogger Yaro Starak of entrepreneurs-journey.com, who earns thousands from his blog. But, be warned, it is much harder than you think! With it comes time and patience – but doesn’t require much financial backing or even tech knowledge.

I manage the political and comical blog Plenty2say.com. Throughout this week (and maybe beyond, who knows?), I want to share some advice with you on how to set one up, how to get traffic to it, and perhaps something on monetization. (There is so much to cover.)

In 2006, I trained in journalism. To cut a long story short, I have been battling to get into the industry ever since. If I didn’t have a sound mind, they would have locked me in an institution yonks ago. I’ve been tearing my hair out trying to get my feet onto the journalism career ladder. Last year, before the recession hit, I set up my own blog, in addition to writing for the great citizen journalism website The-Latest.com, for three reasons:

a) To hopefully get noticed

b) To earn some extra pocket money

c) I had an entrepreneurial idea which I wanted to put into practice. (A recession can actually be beneficial, if you channel your energies in the right way. Human beings were blessed with a brain, so they should use it!)

So my first piece of advice to wannabe journalists is this: If you are struggling to get in there, why not start a blog, brand yourself with a short but easy to recognise domain name, think of a niche you are passionate about, find a gap or an angle no-one else has thought of yet, and get down to it?

Employers are looking for people with ideas and creativity, who can bring something to the table, and having that entrepreneurial spirit may just give you the edge over someone who is just sitting there ‘waiting’ for something to happen.

Tomorrow - defining a blog, and the importance of the 'pillar' article

Reporter - Inside Housing

Social housing trade magazine Inside Housing is looking for a reporter.

You'll need one to two years' experience already, and be prepared to chase the big stories - the ad on Gorkana (not directly linkable) talks of beating the nationals to exclusives and interviewing David Cameron. As well as writing news you'll also have the opportunity to write investigations and interviews across the magazine and the website.

Send CV and covering letter to martin.hilditch@insidehousing.co.uk. Deadline Monday 29 June.

Quote of the Day: 13 June 2009

NUJ deputy general secretary Michelle Stanistreet, on why it's harder than ever for kids to break into journalism without calling on the Bank of Mum and Dad.

'The cost of getting in to the profession has, if anything, made it even harder for people to break in to the industry unless they have a financial cushion to fall back on.'

'When you add up the costs of funding your own way through college plus covering living costs through lengthy periods of unpaid work experience, journalism becomes a career path that is at best a daunting prospect, while for many it is simply unachievable.'

She's right, of course, and far from alone - her quote to Press Gazette was in response to a call from new Cabinet Office minister Angela Smith for more to be done to get people from diverse backgrounds into journalism.

We know the problem. Now what are we going to do about it?

Being busy

Apologies to all, but the FleetStreetBlues team has been extremely busy this week - not least because of the strike by tube drivers, average salary £37,231. Journalists can only dream...

So no more posts today, but we'll start catching up tomorrow.

And coming next week, another exclusive series offering practical advice. Trainee journalist Plenty2Say will be teaching us all how to get rich through blogging. We'll be listening attentively.

Reporter - Derbyshire Times

The Derbyshire Times, a paid-for weekly in the peak district, is looking for a district reporter.

You'll need to be an NCTJ-qualified senior capable of digging out exclusives (and be willing to work evenings and weekends flexibly).

In return, you'll be well-rewarded, by regional weekly standards at least. They're offering (and kudos to them for saying what they're offering) £20,393 to £22,039 salary, plus company car.

Email mike.wilson@derbyshiretimes.co.uk for an application form. Deadline Friday 26 June.

Reporter - Galloway News

Back to Scotland again - to Castle Douglas, to be precise. The Galloway News is looking for a reporter. And crucially, what's not in the ad is as important here as what is.

They do want you to have excellent attention to detail, be good at meeting deadlines and have 'a geniune interest in the subject matter and local area.'

They don't specify any particular amount of experience (although you'll need some 'examples of content' to show them) and don't ask for an NCTJ qualification. So it could be a useful ad if you're one of the many looking for a first job.

(Also, 'up to 35 days holiday per year'?!? Let's all move to Scotland...)

Email a CV and clips to Lee Kerr at s-unhr@trinitymirror.com. Deadline next Friday 19 June.

Senior sub-editors - The National

The National, that mecca of tax-free expatness based out in Abu Dhabi, is hiring again - and this time they're promising 'Arabian adventure' to three senior sub-editors.

They're particularly after chief sub-editors or deputy chief subs who have just taken redundancy or recently retired - experience is crucial. Knowledge of Middle Eastern issues and culture would also, unsurprisingly, be preferred.

A 'very competitive' tax-free salary is promised, plus benefits including one flight home a year.

Email Daniel Beaulieu, head of the revise desk, with CV and covering letter at jobs@thenational.ae. Deadline Friday 10 July.

The four pillars of freelancing - Part Four

The concluding part of our brief series on how to make it as a freelancer, courtesy of Freelance Unbound.

You can catch the previous installments by reading Part One - Get on with people, Part Two - Be useful and Part Three - Be versatile.

4) Be flexible

Diversification is pretty much the advice for all freelancers, actually. Publishing is, by its nature, erratic. We live by deadlines, but those deadlines often change. Often at the last minute.

Now, some freelancers I know get very upset at this. And that’s understandable – they often tend to be strict production/sub-editors, and losing out on a shift at short notice can throw their finances right out.

What’s the best response to this?

Asking for a cancellation fee is not unreasonable – but a lot of freelancers find it stressful and confrontational. They worry that, even if a cancellation fee is agreed, the client will avoid booking them again.

It’s much easier to sidestep this kind of stress altogether. Build up as many different strands to your work as possible and the chances are you won’t be half as bothered if clients mess you around over shift dates.

Lose a couple of days one week when a publication deadline is moved? Reschedule that corporate writing assignment you’ve been trying to squeeze in. Spend the day sending out CVs to possible clients. Or finally teach yourself Drupal.

This may well draw some fire from other journalists, but I think the key is not to get stroppy about things like deadline changes for the sake of it. Some freelancers I know have the impression that they should always crack down on changes or cancellations to shifts or commissions on principle. But it’s often better to think about the actual effect.

Does it give you breathing space to work on an extra feature? Can you easily reshuffle your other commitments to accommodate? If so, let it go.

The more clients see you as someone who can take changes and inconvenience in your stride, the more you’ll be the one they come to with last-minute or problematic work. Which you can sometimes charge more for. Even in a recession.

There are things I get stroppy about in this freelance life. Being paid late or erratically, especially with no reason or apology, is a guarantee I’ll put a client on a blacklist. But I’m happy to be more accommodating about a range of other client failings.

I never advocate acting like a professional doormat, but I’d suggest a flexible approach to client relations is the fourth pillar of freelance success.

Any other suggestions? I’d love to hear them…

A big thanks to Freelance Unbound for an excellent and informative series.

If you fancy writing something similar about an aspect of journalism that you have expertise in - or hey, just an uninformed rant about something you have no expertise in - email us at fleetstreetblues@hotmail.co.uk.

Reporter - Public Servant Scotland

All the jobs seem to be north of the border at the moment. And the latest is this - Public Servant Scotland is looking for a reporter.

A magazine for those in 'public service' - civil servants? - Public Servant Scotland covers everything to do with Government, local, national and international.

You'll be based in Edinburgh, and they're looking for an 'experienced' journalist with a 'passion for politics' and lots and lots of ambition.

The full ad's on Gorkana, not directly linkable, but if you're interested, email CV, covering letter and clips to editor Maureen Ferrier at scoteditor@publicservant.co.uk.

The four pillars of freelancing - Part Three

Part Three of our series on how to make it as a freelance, courtesy of Freelance Unbound.

Read Part One - Get on with people and Part Two - Be useful.

3) Be versatile

This is kind of a skills thing, but is also to do with attitude and approach. Some subs never touch writing or serious rewriting, or aren’t comfortable creating Illustrator charts, or whatever.

Many years ago, before I started freelance writing, I was subbing a feature layout that was missing a case study box. The editor had to go out of the office and I was left to take the call from the company involved and then write up the 200 words or so. It was a simple enough job, but that versatility was unusual enough for the editor to comment on it.

Writers benefit from being able to design and lay out pages in InDesign or Quark. If a business client needs an awards book write-up, or a sponsored supplement, being able to slap together painstakingly craft the page layouts as well as the copy can be a useful selling point.

I’ve talked about photo research, but it can sometimes help to take a picture too. If you’re doing a day shift and you can take a shot of something simple like a shop front, or a pile of promotional leaflets, then take the picture and don’t quibble about demarcation or fees.

Yes, it’s tough for freelance photographers, but they’re getting hammered by iStock already. And, crucially, it’s unlikely that many publications would actually pay a photographer’s fee for a basic image like that nowadays anyway. (Advice for freelance photographers? Diversify.)

Tomorrow, Part Four - Be flexible

Reporter - Institutional Investor News

You know how it is when your boss is out the office, and you feel you can relax, let your hair down and take it easy, safe in the knowledge they won't be around to check up on you? Well, you'd be rubbish at this job.

Institutional Investor News is looking for a reporter in the UK to cover the European securitisation market for its daily news service. And it's crucial that you 'must be able to work autonomously' - your editor is based in New York.

You'll also need experience of writing for daily publications, and knowledge of finance, especially securitisation, is a big plus.

Send a CV and covering letter, plus five clips, to managing editor Olivia Thetgyi - in New York, natch - at othetgyi@iinews.com. Deadline Friday 19 June.