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How to Get Online Experience

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by CRR13, Dec 22, 2010.

  1. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Whatever college is close to you, find the corresponding Rivals or Scout site and hit them up for volunteer recruiting work.
     
  2. WriteThinking

    WriteThinking Well-Known Member

    Find a nearby Patch.com city/site and ask for a job, whether on a freelance, contract or staff basis. (I would not recommend volunteering).

    Seriously, Patch has localized blogs, it covers local sports (and news), it is looking for Web reporters/writers, as well as people to take photos and to take and to post videos. It also is backed by AOL, which is a recognizable name and sounds good, and the operations do seem to be growing and expanding -- or at least, they are spreading.

    Even if it turns out not to have long-term legs, it will still provide good and direct working experiences of the types you are seeking. It could also eventually lead to some other AOL-connected site or job. You never know.
     
  3. NoOneLikesUs

    NoOneLikesUs Active Member

    Think content first and foremost. You can learn all the bells and whistles bullshit you want, but if you don't produce something people want to consume, it's pointless.
     
  4. sgreenwell

    sgreenwell Well-Known Member

    Speaking as the resident Patch guy, if he's a high school junior, there is a good chance he is under 18 and thus subject to myriad of working conditions that might prevent him from doing this. Officially, we're not supposed to employ people under 18, unless it's one-shot kind of deals that we aren't going to pay for. (i.e. Letters to Santa, poetry contest winners, etc.)

    Instead, I'll second the guy who suggested you start the blog on local sports. Try to post once a day, at a scheduled time, so that people get used to and expect to see your content. Exploit the fact that a lot of papers don't cover junior varsity and middle school, or the non-football, basketball and baseball sports in-depth. Because a lot of those sports don't get a ton of coverage, you can get your feet wet without a lot of the scrutiny.

    As far as actual video and audio editing, I can't offer a ton of advice. I just use iMovie for editing video; I find being in the right place and being aggressive with photo and video is by FAR the most important thing. It doesn't matter if you can edit great if you can't get any compelling footage to start with. Get comfortable with holding a camera or videocamera on a baseline of a basketball game while players are running toward you, or using a tripod properly, and then worry about editing it properly.
     
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