Kathleen Harris’ Post

Very exciting jobs in Australia

Here's an oppty to use your talents and experience with story-telling to support social enterprises.

Two announcements from us at Open Campus today: - We're expanding our local network of higher-ed reporters to three more partner newsrooms: Wisconsin Watch, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, and San Antonio Report. This brings our network to 17 partners that reach 18 million people a month. - We're hiring a bilingual associate editor to support the work of CPI and deepen connections to Spanish-speaking audiences. (More here: https://lnkd.in/eyMVEm59) This is the simple fact we use to explain why we're so committed to covering higher ed as a local story: Most Americans go to college within 50 miles of home. (Source: https://lnkd.in/eJSkaAeT) That's why we want to help people in San Antonio have an expert reporter keeping an eye on their institutions and issues. And why we want to help Puerto Ricans have the same. And people throughout Wisconsin. You get the idea. More details and how to apply here: https://lnkd.in/e9fdu_6U

Hiring in a startup news organization can be tricky. There's not a specific roadmap. But there is guidance. Here's some of mine, via RJI.

As a longtime journalist still obsessed with local news, I feel uniquely qualified to talk about the relationship between the press and public relations folks. A few quick thoughts right now (I may turn this into a weekly series...): - If a reporter/producer/etc takes 30 seconds out of their day to tell you no, that's a BIG win. Speaking as a longtime producer, it actually showed I cared about my relationship with the pitcher if I DID take the time to say no. - Journalists live life in seconds. It sounds dramatic, but it's so true. That 30 seconds they took to tell you "no" is time they could spend making 4-5 other micro decisions. The amount of decisions producers and reporters make in an hour, let alone a day, is astounding. - If you are in PR and tell a producer/reporter "bummer!" if they don't take your pitch... forget it. I would never, ever work with that person again as a producer (again, dramatic, but true!). I think I would automatically send their emails to junk?? But seriously... play. it. cool! And play the long game... On Air Brighton Media

When I was a junior reporter, in the days when newsrooms were filled with cigarette smoke and swear words; where press releases were literally spiked; where the diary was full of civic engagements with reporters’ initials alongside for covering; we were told by the chief reporter to always check our copy three times before sending. I doubt email was involved or even invented, although typewriters had at least been replaced by sturdy desktop computers resistant to spilt coffee, but I always made sure I did indeed read my copy three times before forwarding it to the newsdesk. Despite my best efforts, I was invariably reprimanded by the chief reporter, who was let’s say a ‘character’ and leave it that. He was a journalist of the time, and very soon out of time. Some of the lessons learnt from those early 90s newsroom days were harsh lessons in workplace culture. But I am to this day rigorous in checking my work before sending it on. Mistakes happen but hopefully they are now minimised. Working in ‘public relations’ I am also wary of misspelling the first word of our industry name, particularly as it is likely not to be picked up by MS Word spell checker, as in the example here from a running race I have entered this November. I remember an error that was not picked up when working in the sports department at the Nottingham Evening Post. This was in the days when the paper offices were in the glorious old Forman building, where a ghost stalked the room of bound old editions, prior to its demolition and replacement by a glass-fronted entertainments complex where you can now play golf or throw an axe should you wish. We once had a story that the then Forest manager Dave Bassett had signed a new player as he had heard the famous Nottingham tale about there being ‘eight girls to every guy in the city’. Except we had somehow mistakenly turned round the order of the sexes, leading to an implication that the new signing was attracted to the club by the number of local men. It’s a dubious quote at the best of times, particularly when stated wrongly. I guess we didn’t read the copy three times. Come on then, your turn, tell us your best old newspaper memories? What were you told then that has stuck with you throughout your career? And what have you so memorably got wrong? #PR #PublicRelations #Communications #Freelance #Strategy #Copywriters #Journalism

The Editor’s Role in Story Selection The reporter is not the only person to decide. If a journalist is interested in your story, they will pitch it to their editor. Editors decide the story’s merit and article type. Journalists gather information, compare companies, study market stats, and consult experts. Knowing this process helps you provide valuable information to journalists. #MediaStrategy #EditorialProcess #StoryPitching

Court reporting is the best round. Do it!

Interested and experienced in curating complex knowledge so that policy practitioners can access and use? Do you want to impact policy through your words? Would you love living in Rome? If you answered yes to all, click below!

Top travel pitching tips here ...