PaperDoll said:
. . . apparently I don't understand how a converged newsroom works in the real world. The web-side editors I've talked to seem to think it's not possible for one person to write, edit, take photos, record audio and video, and post the whole shebang... except that I've seen it done -- and done nearly all of the above myself.
You are absolutely right. My experience has been that the Web side folks are mainly interested in techies who can shovel the stuff on to the Web much more than they are interested in folks who can create content and put it up.
Yes, there are exceptions. But a lot of places it seems the economics (or lack thereof) of the Web preclude spending for online talent.
The other disturbing trend is towards the use of "amateur" bloggers for content.
Not saying folks who are trained and experienced as journalists are the only ones who can practice journalism. But there is a lot to be said for experience and training in any field, not to mention understanding the ethics involved in journalism.
As for trying to find jobs online, journalism jobs.com has a link on the home page that allows you to filter for just online type postings. But unless you are willing to spend the bulk of your time as a recruitnik for Rivals or Scout, there are not a lot of writing jobs with Web sites.
That will change, but as it does, so to will the skill set needed. Then folks like Paper Doll, who have the ability to do multimedia reporting, will be more in demand.
Of course I said that when I took my first online job in 1997, moving from an SE job to a Wed Editor spot so I could develop the skills of the future. Ten years later, I am still waiting for somebody to be willing to pay more for those skills than print does.
