Speaking with U of L journalism students about new media and a career in writing
Tuesday night I spoke with writer and professor Jenni Laidman‘s magazine and feature writing class at the University of Louisville about new media, how the career of journalism and writing is changing, and what new skills the students should acquire.
My career path and most of the publications I write for didn’t even exist when I was in college, which wasn’t all that long ago (at least it feels that way). So while I had plenty to say about subjects that are relevant now, I wonder how applicable a lot my advice will be in a few years when the underclassman are looking for jobs. Of course, an ambitious student writer would do well to buy a domain and build a website to showcase his or her portfolio, create social media accounts to look for ideas and interact with other writers, and start writing for blogs.
Afterwards I helped evaluate the students’ pitches for profiles they’ll be writing. I was impressed with the quality of their story ideas, most of which sounded like they’d make for interesting articles.
Photo: Courtesy of University of Louisville
Tags: Jenni Laidman, Journalism, New media, University of Louisville
My writing focuses on travel and culture. I've contributed to The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Air Canada's enRoute, BlackBook, Budget Travel, Deadspin, and Louisville Magazine. I'm also the editor-in-chief of Louisville.com and BlackBook's Louisville City Editor.