To be successful in the journalism industry, you not only have to be good at your craft but also skilled in personal branding, building a network and surviving in the oft-cited but nebulous “real world.”
At least, that’s the message Cronkite School professor Tim McGuire tells his students, a message he’s now sharing with any student who will listen.
Frank Russell Chair of Journalism and Walter Cronkite School of Journalism professor Tim McGuire created “After Cronkite,” a 10-week series geared toward teaching Cronkite seniors to make themselves more valuable and realize their potential as they get out into the real world.
Cronkite faculty and local journalism and media professionals will cover everything from assessing individual strengths to networking and interviewing in order to prepare students for life after college.
McGuire said he credits former journalism student Alyssa Aalmo with developing the idea for After Cronkite. Aalmo had stopped by to talk with him in fall of 2009 about how she and her fellow students needed more guidance since she insisted that college and the real world had nothing in common, McGuire said.
McGuire, the former editor and senior vice president of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis who also runs a blog on the ethics and business of journalism, pitched the program and Cronkite School Associate Dean Kristin Gilger thought the series would be beneficial. Initially, however, McGuire said he was in no way interested in executing it.
“I wanted nothing to do with it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aalmo continued diligently communicating with McGuire and Gilger and expressing her desire to create a program that would help help Cronkite seniors deal with life after graduation.
“Her persistence was a big part of After Cronkite,” McGuire said.
After Cronkite is expected to give participants more confidence and the knowledge of how to land and successfully execute an interview, McGuire said, adding that it more importantly aims to help students find out what they want to do when they graduate.
One of McGuire’s favorite upcoming sessions, “Mom’s Not Going To Do That For Me Anymore?” will guide students to accomplish unfamiliar tasks like buying car insurance and how to rent an apartment.
Jennifer Hellum, a well-known blogger and Cronkite graduate student, and Jody Brannon, national director of the News21 Initiative, spoke at the first After Cronkite meeting, which focused on realizing potential and personal branding as a journalist.
During the session students used the Myer-Briggs test, a personality test that determines how people perceive the world and make decisions.
The test helped Hellum pursue what she loved and not just what she was good at. She encouraged students to be unafraid of quitting a job to take a superior job if that’s what it took to get to their dreams.
“Knowing thyself is paramount,” Hellum said. “Never lose sight of what makes your heart flutter.”
Brannon emphasized the importance of a journalist’s digital presence on the web and suggested that all journalists should have a Twitter account and photographers have a Flickr account.
“Employers look at these things on the web as a tool to determine whether they want to hire you or not,” Brannon said.
Journalists need to excel in all areas: print, digital, film and photography, Brannon said. Not only do they need to stand out, they need to be prepared to be a multimedia journalist by doing it all and showing it on their custom website, she said.
McGuire said he hopes students treat the series as a learning experience and gain a better understanding of their post-graduation goals.
“The most important thing is to know what you want to do,” McGuire said. “Do you have a passion? A targeted kind of passion?”
After Cronkite will be held in Room 355 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Friday until April 22.
Contact the reporter at kyost1@asu.edu
