Comments on: Students: our computer experience is obvious

By: Raisa Boose

Raisa Boose — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 23:54:15 +0000

Keep working ,impressive job!

By: Chi Halward

Chi Halward — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:31:13 +0000

Awsome info and straight to the point. I am not sure if this is really the best place to ask but do you people have any ideea where to employ some professional writers? Thx :)

By: NE

NE — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:55:45 +0000

I got a comm degree and after reading LR alot and other web sites learning the web seemed like a requirement when advertising goes more and more towards the web and away from TV. Have to stay competative.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:56:49 +0000

Mel – If they’re petrified and do nothing about it, it will destroy their livelihoods.

By: mel taylor

mel taylor — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:42:57 +0000

i work in a top 5 market tv station. most are petrified about the web because they feel it will detroy their livelihoods. do they even know what RSS is ? — NO.

By: mark

mark — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:26:58 +0000

This “old fart” has got to second a lot of what I’m reading here, but I want to add a note to Adam: playing the social space is one thing; understanding how these skills apply to journalism (what these folks are trying to get hired for) is another. Example: All my students IM, but when I asked how many had ever done an interview by IM, they looked puzzled. I’ll know my students come to me with computer and internet skills, when they come in understanding not just how to use, but how they can be used.

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 19:18:10 +0000

I’m a reporter in a top 15 market. Trust me, what Safran is saying is true.

By: Steve Safran

Steve Safran — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 19:03:11 +0000

Here, again, I have to counter what seems obvious: nearly any online experience you have will trump the majority of the people in the newsroom. Don’t think knowing how to set up a MySpace page counts as experience? Ask anyone in the newsroom how to do it. They have no idea. Don’t think it’s a big deal to set up a blog? You’re smarter with online skills than 90% of the people in the newsroom.

I love Mindy McAdams’s stuff, and she is teaching all the right things. Yet I am going to disagree with tremendous respect on this point – it’s not as important to me that someone knows coding language as that someone is familiar with what kind of content the audience uses online. She’s right though – if you know FCP or other advanced stuff, by all means list it.

It’s just a tip, jobseekers – you’ll notice that no news director is on here saying : “Yeah – that’s ridiculous. Everyone knows how to set up blogs and webpages.” You may not believe it, you may think it’s silly, and you may – rightly – say “get with it, old people,” but you heard it here on LR: you have the edge.

By: Danny Sanchez

Danny Sanchez — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:43:05 +0000

Funny enough, I ended up getting an online internship at a large news site a couple years back because I HAPPENED to list that I was the (self-taught) Webmaster for a school organization. I only listed it because I had later become the president. Yet, that’s how I ended up being a Web producer instead of a metro reporter.

Nevertheless, am I supposed to put that I’m “proficient in AOL Instant Messenger and MySpace” on my resume? Perhaps I think differently because I’m one of those young whippersnappers, but I’d laugh myself silly if I saw something like that on an applicant’s resume.

Just because a student has a MySpace account doesn’t mean he knows a single thing about producing impressive editorial content for the Web. We can’t allow the lack of Web experience in our industry to cause us to be impressed by what really are everyday non-accomplishments. Having a simple Facebook profile is NOT significant online experience for college grads. If a student has graduated from a journalism school, one can safely assume he or she has experience using a computer, unless you know of any j-schools that still rely on — what are those durned things called again … oh yeah– typewriters.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:51:03 +0000

What you old farts have to realize is that listing “I use” Facebook, Myspace, youtube ect. on your resume is like you listing use of telephone, television, radio ect. on your resume.

These websites are more like hobbies then skills, it doesnt take an MIT genesis to post a profile on myspace, it is very simple you follow the step-by-step instructions.

If employers are looking for these social networking websites on resumes then they need a reality check. ANYONE YOUR HIRE COMING OUT OF COLLEGE HAS THIS â€œEXPERIENCEâ€

You old farts can take a lesson from Ferris Bueller â€œLife moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.â€

Go on myspace and create a profile
experiance