Author: Deborah Potter

How to build your digital skills

It’s hard enough to report, write, edit and produce the news these days but, even if you can do all of that well, you may need additional skills to survive and thrive in a digital-first newsroom. Some are obvious: You’d…

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Emotion in TV news

Television news is great at conveying emotion but only if the storyteller captures it. So keep rolling. That’s Mike Castellucci’s advice for young journalists. Castellucci is an award-winning reporter and photographer who now teaches at Michigan State. “Students get a…

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Job hunting advice from news directors

We keep hearing about the mistakes job hunters make when applying for journalism jobs. The same mistakes, over and over. There’s no reason for you to become the next bad example. Take these tips to heart. Make a good first…

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What journalism jobs are going to grow?

Most journalism jobs today require critical thinking and excellent writing, plus strong social media skills. That’s obvious. But what about the jobs of tomorrow? “We are genuinely in a revolution when it comes to getting information,” says Raquel Amparo, news…

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9 tips for social media success

Every journalist needs to be on social media, especially Facebook and Twitter. It takes time to attract followers but the payoff is worth it in story ideas and an expanded audience for your work. So how do you get there?…

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Keep safety top of mind

“What you don’t know can kill you. What you do know can keep you safe.” For Chris Post, a photojournalist at WFMZ in Allentown, Pennsylvania, safety is always top of mind. He’s a former first responder trained in situational awareness…

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Watch your words

Accuracy and clarity are two of the most important principles of journalism, but at times the effort to achieve one of these goals can get in the way of the other. What does it take to accomplish both? Critical thinking…

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Getting it right

By Deborah Potter. There’s some good news from newsrooms around the world. More journalists than ever are making it a habit to fact-check information and to ensure that they communicate securely. The International Center for Journalists survey of technology in…

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Community journalism in local TV news

A recent job posting at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia is for an unusual sounding job. The ABC station is hiring a “community journalist,” and says it’s looking for “innovative multi-platform journalists” and “self-sufficient story tellers who can create memorable content for…

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Listening is not enough

By Deborah Potter. So that didn’t go well. A six-month project by the Society of Professional Journalists to address media distrust in Casper, Wyoming, failed to move the needle. At regular Tuesday meetings, SPJ heard well-worn complaints from political conservatives…

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