Thinking Outside the (Paper) Box
by Linda Perlstein, EWA’s public editor

This isn’t the kind of column I want to have to write. But our world is shifting—for some, imploding—and jobs are on the line. The news, though, is better than you might think. Even just a few years of traditional journalism experience give you skills that are valued in all sorts of good jobs.

"I think there’s plenty of demand for the kind of thoughtful reporting and writing the best journalists do about education or any field," said Thomas Toch, a former journalist at U.S. News & World Report and Education Week and the co-director of Education Sector, a Washington, D.C., think tank. "One can be gloomy about how the inherent flaws in the economics of journalism finally caught up to the profession ... and gloomy about how filling the vacuum is a lot of opinion that is shallow and poorly expressed, but I think there is real demand for serious analysis in every sector of public life."
"Countless industries—almost every single profession—have people who do writing, reports, research, white papers and evaluations," said Ernest Sotomayor, a former Newsday editor who directs the career services office at the Columbia School of Journalism.

Of course, there are jobs at the sort of associations we cover as journalists. Joan Richardson spent 25 years as a newspaper reporter and editor before moving to the National Staff Development Council, and more recently to the journal Phi Delta Kappan, where she is editor. "There are probably more people writing about education in the association world than at newspapers these days," Richardson said. Education organizations publish magazines, web sites, books and newsletters—a lot of it more serious, skeptical journalism than flackery. (That’s fortunate for Richardson, who says that a PR emphasis would not have fit her "snarky newspaper personality.")

Journalists may find success writing grant proposals, or the research reports that foundations commission to determine how well their money is being spent. Educational book publishers, such as Jossey-Bass and Corwin Press, often look for freelance "developmental editors" to rewrite practitioners’ and experts’ manuscripts. If you’re interested in higher education and writing is your strong point, consider a university publication, such as an alumni magazine. Speechwriting is another option, for association executives, state superintendents, university presidents, politicians and so on. Speaking of politicians: Turnover after the November elections means that some jobs will become available on Capitol Hill and in the U.S. Department of Education, as well as on the state and local level.
Think tanks offer an interesting opportunity to stretch one’s mind. There is, Toch said, a demand for objective, dependable, accessible research that can help frame policy debates. Such work is not necessarily polemical—though at some places that is the case—but often more focused on analysis and solutions than the typical news piece.

"You also have to come to terms with fact that the reporter-source relationship is different in an organization like this," Toch said. "You’re not completely on the outside. You take part in the discussion and not merely report on it. The challenge of objectivity is more complicated. The navigating of relationships is more complicated."

What if you would like to return to a newspaper one day? "It’s not unheard of to go to political campaigns or foundations or advocacy, and then go back to journalism," Sotomayor said. How hard that may be to pull off depends on how much time you spent in journalism before you left, and how long you were away.

If you don’t want to leave journalism, keep in mind that nearly all new endeavors in the industry live solely online. David Plotz, the editor of the online magazine Slate, said, "There are still huge opportunities for journalists who can do tech-side work—Flash coding and other kinds of development." You might start your own blog. Don’t expect it to be profitable right away, if ever. But it’s a nice way to parlay the expertise you’ve developed into even bigger standing that, if your subject breaks big in the news, could make you money. (Think of Nate Silver, the founder of FiveThirtyEight.com and wunderkind of 2008 election predictions.)

Here are a few suggestions that might help in your search:

• Regularly check the big web sites, like Monster.com, and industry-specific sites, such as MediaBistro.com and JournalismJobs.com.
• Contact university career centers. Don’t limit the search to just your alma mater, because some schools open their job web sites to non-alumni.
• Look on the job pages of the Society of National Association Publications and the American Society of Association Executives. As well, call your sources at foundations and organizations—especially the ones that deal with subjects where you have developed expertise—and tell them you are looking.
• USAJobs.gov and Change.gov are good starting points for federal government jobs.
• Fritz Edelstein sends out a roundup of education bills, hearings and, most important, public relations and association jobs. To get on his list, e-mail him at fritz@publicprivateaction.com.
• Also you can look at EWA’s job page.

What if you see a job you like but don’t have the specific pedigree requested on the job posting? "You make your best case why your experience as a reporter is comparable," Sotomayor said.
Don’t underestimate the advantages your print or broadcasting career has given you. The starting point—and this is huge—is writing well. There’s the ability to distill huge amounts of information into a single document. Working independently (no small thing, especially if you work for an organization where you are the only person putting out publications). Analyzing research. Producing quickly, under deadline pressure. Interviewing all sorts of people.

Best of all, if you are a schools reporter looking for work in the education world, you know the subject matter. "When I started at NSDC, the fact that I had never worked for an association was irrelevant," Richardson said. Her content knowledge, however, was paramount.

Who knows? You may decide to become a schoolteacher. There’s law school. And lastly, there are ... newspapers.

Yes, some papers are still hiring. Even ones that have laid off reporters often make additional hires later. "We see that over and over and over again," Sotomayor said.

Linda Perlstein is available to help you. Contact her at 410-539-2464 or Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK1A6/lperlstein@ewa.org.