Here's one for those of you seeking to get out of journalism - NYC

This is basically a newspaper job, but at a company that makes more money than any newspaper ever will.


http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=6351047&trk=rj_jshp

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity.

Senior Writer/Editor for Ink, the in-house newspaper distributed to the 260,000-plus JPMorgan Chase employees across the United States and in more than 50 other countries. Primary duties include:

Writing and editing news stories and headlines. Stories are written with information gained through interviews with subject matter experts and other research.
Using your own news judgment as well as cultivating a network of contacts to generate story ideas and develop photo, illustration and layout ideas.
Managing assignments with freelance photographers and illustrators.



Duties also include:

Layout and design: Placing stories, headlines, photos and illustrations on the page using InDesign.
Preparing and posting stories on the company intranet.
Keeping current on print and online publishing trends and bringing new ideas to retain and grow readership.
Some administrative tasks, such as managing the publication's distribution list.



The successful candidate will be part of a two-person team, managed remotely, and should be a self-starter with strong collaboration skills. The job involves a small amount of business travel.
Qualifications

Excellent interviewing, news-writing and proofreading skills, with the ability to quickly understand complex topics and simplify them into clear, concise writing.
The ability to manage multiple assignments at the same time and meet all deadlines.
Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills with the ability to work with diverse subject matter experts and internal contacts, including senior leaders of the firm.
Six to nine years of writing experience.
Being an innovative thinker who can bring fresh ideas to things.
Knowledge and understanding about both print and online publications.
A bachelor's degree in journalism, communications or other writing disciplines is preferred.
Experience using graphic design software such as InDesign or Quark Xpress is a plus, as is experience with Photoshop and/or Illustrator.
Experience using an online content management tool such as SharePoint is also a plus.
Writing samples are required, and a writing test will be administered.



JPMorgan Chase is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. M/F/D/V
Company Description
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small-business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands.
Additional Information

Posted:
July 9, 2013
Type:
Full-time
Experience:
Not Applicable
Functions:
Public Relations, Marketing, Writing/Editing
Industries:
Banking, Financial Services, Investment Banking
Employer Job ID:
130038526
Job ID:
6351047

 

This still seems very much like a journalism job...

 

Then you don't know what journalism is.

 

Admittedly, all I'm going off here is the ad. But they're looking for somebody with news judgment, strong reporting and writing skills and even source building ability.

So, in other words, a journalist.

 

Corporate communications is nowhere near journalism.

 

Right...but it doesn't seem from the ad that the hire is going to simply be a mouthpiece for the corporation. It conveys a fair amount of editorial independence.

Granted, that could certainly just be ad-speak and not actually true in practice.

 

It's a corporate communication job that requires the skills of a journalist. Its gets the successful candidate out of the shitstorm of newspapers. Either apply or don't, but don't bash the posting. I'm sure many people here would kill for type of job, so I posted it.

 

I'm currently finishing up my last two weeks as sports editor of a weekly military newspaper and I can tell you this gig sounds very similar. Sure, I report, write and layout the pages, but all my stories have to be approved by the staff of the commanding general here. Ultimately, our paper is what the Army wants to promote about itself. So we are a mouthpiece and we could never do any real journalism here. I would imagine everything that's published in this company's paper is directed by the higherups and ultimately serves the purposes of J.P. Morgan Chase. But hey, if it pays more and you're OK with that ...

 

That's what corporate communication is - all the skills of a journalist, but the understanding that you are the company mouthpiece, so you can't be all-truth-all-the-time. There is plenty of spin.

That's what I do now in my role. No, I'll never win a Pulitzer or cover anything really exciting. But I work 8-5, have good job security, and a salary and benefits package that would make 99% of the people here want to punch me in the face. Its a trade I'm glad to make.

 

Approved list of story ideas:

--- "Jamie Dimon: Nation's best CEO, or world's best?"

--- "How JP Morgan Chase saved the economy from the brink of disaster in 2008."

--- "Why don't poor people work as hard as us?"

 

The online application had check-boxes for experience in marketing, with Photoshop, and a CMS I don't recall. The only mention of journalism I recall is one's possible major, along with communications and English.

It's an internal publication, so I imagine the stories will be about good works being done by employees in and for the community, and introducing various company officials and departments. In other words, nothing too different from what's in a local newspaper -- and given the size of the company worldwide, that makes sense.

A friend does something similar for another big firm's website, and gets paid quite well for it.

 

When I first started at Continental Airlines, I participated on a weekly conference call moderated by our Corporate Communications folks for the first time.

They wanted to know what was happening around the company, so they could publicize it, spin it, communicate it to employees, etc.

So, something comes up, and the EVP tells someone, "make sure we get that in the Times." And, I'm thinking, "wow, we have such a good relationship with someone at the New York Times that we can get a story planted when we need to?"

Of course, he meant the Continental Times, our internal monthly newspaper/magazine.