Tips On Getting Your Work Published

Relax, it doesn't have to be a nightmare!

As a journalism student, I highly anticipate the day of my first publication. In the world of a writer it gives sense of legitimacy of acceptance into the field. However, I fear the publication process. I’ve heard countless horror stories of multiple revisions, time consuming and miniscule corrections, accidental plagiarism, etc. These stories make the publication process seem intimidating and ultimately frustrating.

After doing some research I came across some helpful suggestions that may reduce a journalist’s stress during this exasperating period of time:

Seek out the experts (Why waste your time otherwise?)
Recognize that a publication’s tastes can change (Research prior publications!)
Know that editors will vary (Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, excuse the pun.)

It is said that it is easier for a journalist to get published as opposed to a new author, because there are less publishing options and job can become easier to manage, with the help of these tips. For more information, visit this article by Marie Granmar below…

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:zEIrh7dQ_RgJ:www.innovationjournalism.org/archive/INJO-2-4_split/INJO-2-4%2520pp.135-146.pdf+publication+process+journalist&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us#11

Photojournalism's role in modern media.

Photojournalism is a type of journalism that tells a story through the use of images.  Photojournalism can also be used to described video journalism.

Unlike other branches of photography like documentary photography and street photography, photojournalism is generally known for timeliness, objectivity and the creating of narrative.

Timeliness refers to publishing images that have meaning in the context of recently occurred events.

Being objective means shooting images that are a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict in both content and tone.

Creating narrative is combining the images with other news elements to help tell the story at hand.

A photojournalist must follow the same ethical and deadline guidelines as a regular journalist.

One of the main ethical concerns for a photojournalist is to not alter a photo so it changes the original meaning of the photo.  Cropping a photo and "playing" with the light levels and tone of an image are generally acceptable, but it is unethical to change the content of the photo or distort the way the image is to be seen by a viewer.

The main tool for a photojournalist is a camera, but in today's world of digital cameras and video, a photojournalist must be able to use a computer and all types of digital imaging software.  Most, if not all newspapers have closed their dark rooms, so effective digital photography has become the norm.

While shooting photos is the main objective, photojournalists need to make sure they write proper cut lines to help describe what is going on in the photo.

When possible, a photographer should always tell the reader what is going on in the photo, where and when it is happening and who is involved in the photo.  The photographer must give the reader as much information as possible to help tell the story.  

In many cases, a photojournalist will also be responsible for writing a story to go along with the photos.  In this case, the photojournalist must be able to report accurately and professionally, just like a full-time writer.

Capturing a quality image is just as important for a photojournalist as it is for any photographer, so a photojournalist needs to capture the proper light, lines, emotions and moments any photographer would want to catch to produce a great picture.

In my daily job, I do a lot of writing, but I am also called on to act as a photojournalist from time to time. Below are a few of the images I've had published in The News-Press during the past few years.  All of these photos accompanied stories in the paper.

The Urban Jazz Coalition performs at Jazz in the Park at Veterans Park in Lehigh Acres on Saturday.

Victoria Collins, 6, clearly enjoys this ride more than Dikota Shocky, 6. The two attended the 2007 Lehigh Spring Festival with their parents Friday.

Riverdale's Mikah Fellows competes in a wrestling match against Lemon Bay Thursday.

Amanda Ferguson, 3, performs with members of the Susan Katz Show Team during the Lehigh Spring Festival on Wednesday. The festival continues through Saturday.

East Lee County High School's Jessie Davis hauls in a touchdown reception during Friday night's game against Palmetto Ridge.

Susan and Tom Cianfrani wait at Southwest Florida International Airport on Monday to learn whether or not their Southwest Airlines flight to Philadelphia is going to be cancelled. The flight has already been delayed a hour. Winter storms in the northeastern United States have caused hundreds of delayed and cancelled flights throughout the country.

Rober Volk surveys the fire damage to his Cape Coral business Volk Electric. The building caught fire Friday morning. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A four car crash at the intersection of Gunnery Road and Lee Boulevard in Lehigh Acres sent two people to an area hospital Friday.

Should Journalism Be Funny?

Clearly, journalism is constantly taking new forms in attempt to keep up with emergent technology. But is delivering real concrete events humorously taking it too far? It’s a definite possibility that it could be interpreted as disrespectful, or it could be the new booming industry in mainstream media.

Shows like The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Late Night Shows, and Saturday Night Live, are all extremely amusing and in some way or another deliver news. Though the punch lines may not hold much reliable content, a majority of the information on these shows is.

Apparently most of today’s society prefers this form of broadcasting. When it comes to young adults ages 35- 18, comedic journalists like Jon Stewart from The Daily Show, are the main source of news other than the internet. Topics like politics, entertainment, and economics are all covered and mocked during these comedic segments. Research actually shows that these types of programs are the leading source for learning about our recent elections.

I think taking this approach to journalism makes news more appealing to young adults than the average depressing six o’clock news. Additionally, tactics like celebrity appearances can give the program credibility as well engaging the audience.


Feldman, Lauren. "The News About Comedy: Young Audiances, The Daily Show, and Evolving Notions
of Journalism." Sage Publications 82007 412-420. Web.17 Apr 2009. .

Citizen Journalism

Though people may not know what citizen journalism is, almost everyone in our society has been exposed to it. The concept of citizen journalism is people with no professional journalism or writing training can use modern technology to report and broadcast news worldwide. Just think of all of the websites and blogs that exemplify it:

• You Tube
• Face Book
• My Space
•Wikipedia
• Blogs
• Online Forums
• Independent Websites

This blog that you’re reading now is a form of citizen journalism. The key to being a successful citizen journalist is providing first hand account, reliable, and relevant information. Especially in a time when this field is continuously growing and evolving; content is everything. Though this developing field demonstrates a modern and loose form of democracy amongst our citizens, it’s turning into a frustrating notion for mainstream media.

Professional Journalists are now starting to fear an evolving extinction of their occupation. With the current technologies and the development of citizen journalism, some forms of journalism like news paper companies are definitely declining in popularity. Could this new concept be the eventual “death of professional journalism?”


Bowman, Shayne and Chris Willis. "The Future Is Here, But Do News Media Companies See It?." Neiman
Reports 2005 6-10. Web.01 Apr 2009. .

A World Without Journalists

What would our life be like without journalists?

Journalists provide society with a number of extremely important benefits that our society takes for granted. Journalists report to the public all kinds of information including entertainment, news, information on virtually any topic, and also alert us of emergency warnings that could save our lives.

Journalists do all these things for our society yet they are often overlooked and unappreciated. Without journalists we would have no history records of the past. We would not be as technologically advanced without journalists. We would know very little about whats going on around the world without journalists. If we wanted information on a topic we would have to find the information ourselves without journalists.

Journalists do all these things and are the glue that holds our society together. I urge you to be grateful of what journalists do for us and to respect the job a little more.

Journalist Without a Job?

There is not worst feeling than having a degree and not be able to work in what you actually study for. Well don't worry, there are many places were to work, news paper are not the only place for a journalist.
We are in the 21st century and computer and Internet are taking our lives, that is not a bad thing, even though many people thing the opposite, technology have made us more aware of what is going on outside our city, state or even country; Internet help us keep up with what is happening every day, so all we need to do is take advantage of what these Technologies is bring is bring in us. But if Internet is not your type of journalism its OK there is so much more options out there.
The reason you are probably with out a job may be because we have not find the right place to look for one. At some point the place to search for a job use to be the news paper's classify or just knocking on the doors of different places, but those times have change too.
Internet not only have allow us to keep up today with the word but also help us do so many things including finding a job.
These are some great web sites that we may need to check out:
http://www.journalistjobs.com/
http://www.journalistjobs.net/
http://www.journalismnow.com/
http://www.moster.com/
http://www.jobs.com/

These are some of the listings we may find when you check these sites:

Seeking Full-time Lecturer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
April 13, 2009
Seeking Healthcare Analyst/Writer
HealthLeaders-Interstudy
Nashville, Tennessee
April 13, 2009
Reporter
The Goldsboro News-Argus
Goldsboro, North Carolina
April 13, 2009
Seeking sports editor
Register-News
Mt. Vernon, Illinois
April 13, 2009
Sharp energetic reporter sought
National Defense Magazine
DC Metro Area (Arlington), Virginia
April 13, 2009
Reporter
SNL Financial, LC
Arlington, Virginia
April 13, 2009
Engineering & Science Writer and Press Officer
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
April 13, 2009
Gossip writer
The Hill newspaper
Washington, District of Columbia
April 12, 2009
Page Designer/Copy Editor
The News and Advance
Lynchburg, Virginia
April 11, 2009
Executive Editor, MoneyWatch
CBS Interactive
New York, New York
April 10, 2009
Editor, MoneyWatch
CBS Interactive
New York, New York
April 10, 2009

The Importance of Watchdog Journalism

The following Power Point slides and images discuss the importance of watchdog journalism in modern media.  The presentation also discusses ways in which young journalists can take on a watchdog role.  Finally, the presentation takes a look at three of the most influential watchdog journalists in the last century.