Journalism advice please!

[Claudius Diamond Jones]

Alright dudes,

After chortling away in the background for months have finally mustered the confidence to start a thread. The catalyst for this move is the career crisis that I'm facing. Basically, the situation is as follows. After having forked out a wacking great wad of cash for a shoddy journalism course taught by a rag-tag bunch of  total wankers, who've only ever edited boring little local rags in pointless no-horse towns, I am trying to cobble together the beginnings of a career from the lame advice I've been given.

What I really want to do is save the world in small ways by writing groundbreaking investigative articles about  all kinds of injustice and general abuse of humans rights. Have got some good work experience lined up with various suitable publications , but  can't afford to do this forever and need to get a job. So, should I take any old offer that comes along.or wait a while and actively pursue work in one field? Is my CV going to look a bit haphazard if I''ve spent two years at Plastics and Rubber Monthly, or is any experience OK? Help.

[Captain Mildred]

Hello.

Well, for starters....

boring little local rags in pointless no-horse towns

are how most of us start off - and, in my book, they play a vital role. Not only as the ideal training ground for you to learn your craft, but as a service to thousands of communities across the country.

Any writing experience is good at this stage - and you'd be suprised how often a good spell of work exp can lead to job offers.

And you're right, journo courses like the one you've tried generally count for bugger all. Avoid.

Good luck with that world-changing thing (you can do that in small ways on a boring little local rag too).

*awaits inevitable Sheep snipe*
; - )

[splattermac]

You know who'll have a head start on you? People who aren't looking to change career, people who have been in love with language since they were kids, kids who wrote stories into adolescence, adolescents who devour the written word. My god, some sort of race of superhumans.

Get a portfolio together,

of course I know nothing about journalism but I speak the truth, it's a vocation to some and something different to working in a call centre for others.

good luck either way, may your nib never snub and your inkwell brimmeth over.

[Huzzie]

There are absolutely LOADS of Daves that would be a great help to you here, i feel....

[weekender]

What I really want to do is save the world in small ways by writing groundbreaking investigative articles about  all kinds of injustice and general abuse of humans rights.

When you're finished with your crazy thoughts, can you come into the real world please?

[Huzzie]

nowt wrong with that Weekender...

The guy has great ambition, if he realises only a fraction of it then good on him.

If Ghandi, Luther King, erm.. Superman all took similar advice you have given we may be even worse off than we are now.

[gazzyk1ns]

Superman was an idiot. He reversed time (bizarrely, by making the Earth rotate the other way... work that one out...) just so he could save Lois Lane. So, a completely selfish motive then... has he not heard of the butterfly effect? Everyone knows that you must not corrupt the natural timeline.

[weekender]

Don't even start me on Spiderman and his moral conundra.

Look, it pains me to say this, it really does, but:

YOU'RE A FUCKING NOBODY.  YOU DON'T HAVE SUPERHERO POWERS.  GET A GRIP, YOU FUCKING TWAT.

This was a party political broadcast on behalf of the 'Fuck Young People, they know shit all' party.

Come vote 'Nietzsche'.  He may be dead, but he'll probably do a decent job as agricultural minister.

[Santa's Boyfriend]

YOU'RE A FUCKING NOBODY.  YOU DON'T HAVE SUPERHERO POWERS.  GET A GRIP, YOU FUCKING TWAT.

What is this?  A new Stamp on the Newbie game?  Give him a fucking break, there's nothing wrong with having ambition, and besides I sense he was not entirely serious regarding his saving the world angle.

Even if he was serious, it makes a change from the style of our recent journalist friend who believed it was his right to know the private details of all celebrities.

[petercussing]

Yeah, why so angry, newbi-basher?! And you'd been so good for so long. Did you try to do this yourself, but had your dreams crushed, or are you 18-26 and having trouble adjusting to the unjust and unfair world around us?

Anyway, you don't know they are a nobody, the Pope may be having a end-of-life crisis or something.

I'm also confused to why you think they are young, just cos they've just finished a course. You ain't heard of mature students, guy?  

Daddy, you so angry today, have you been drinking again?  

You're all like "RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!"

[Huzzie]

HE WASNT BASHING NEWBIES!!!

he waqs talking about spiderman!!

fucks sake.. ive been gone for time (no one bothers asking how i have been by the way) and i still "get him"


anyway, santos, I agree with your principles, thus what I went and said before.

[Huzzie]

would have been terribly funny if id typed

"HE WASNT BASHING NEWBIES!!! HE WAS JUST BASHING THAT NEWBIE!!"


hahahahhahahahaha


HAspit



C'mon Weekender.. iv;e given you a get out of jail free card here

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

Why haven't you been on XBox Live much Huzzie? A few of us are playing on tommorrow if you want to join us.

[Huzzie]

erm.. sold my ex-box


only because i have been laid off but, no doubt will get a new one when i am working again. I still have all my kit and that.


Its really doing my head in not having it actually. I was never very good at any of the games, never enjoyed playing any of the games but I used to love listening to you lot chatting away to one-another.

IN fact, I was at the jobby today and for some reason started chuckling at the thought of that American feller telling one of you (during PG2)

"I see you behind me"

To which one of you responded really cheekily and ever so funnily

"shaking that ass!"


hehe... no wonder they allowed me straight back on the sick, seeing me sat giggling to myself

[gazzyk1ns]

Hehe sorry Huzz. So how was your latest stretch of chokey?

[Huzzie]

sound... although some cunt tattoed "recepticle" across the small of my back at some point while i was in my bunk:-(

I am pretty sure who it was though because there were only a couple of people in there who told the truth so it must havge been one of them

[Santa's Boyfriend]

Anyway, you don't know they are a nobody

Yeah, he might be Chris Morris...

[gazzyk1ns]

sound... although some cunt tattoed "recepticle" across the small of my back at some point while i was in my bunk:-(

You obviously sleep bum-up then, LIKE A GAY

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

erm.. sold my ex-box


only because i have been laid off but, no doubt will get a new one when i am working again. I still have all my kit and that.


Its really doing my head in not having it actually. I was never very good at any of the games, never enjoyed playing any of the games but I used to love listening to you lot chatting away to one-another.

IN fact, I was at the jobby today and for some reason started chuckling at the thought of that American feller telling one of you (during PG2)

"I see you behind me"

To which one of you responded really cheekily and ever so funnily

"shaking that ass!"


hehe... no wonder they allowed me straight back on the sick, seeing me sat giggling to myself

Yeah, it's a good laugh on there. Oh well, we'll look forward to seeing you on there at some point in the future then.

[notnotnatnats]

My plan to become the worlds greatest and bestest hack:

Get a good english degreee
Read as much as possible
Write lots of articles for free in shitty magazines
Sleep with some editors
Stop using cutesy words like 'bestest'

[Sherringford Hovis]

*Sigh*
How often do I have to tell you people?
Journalism's like looking at porn - addictive, initially exciting; yet ultimately hollow, unsatisfying and shameful.

http://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=1082

And you'll get RSI.

[New World Order]

The best way to become a journalist is to get a newspaper and one of those boxes you find in news rooms up and down the country.  After all the news isnt researched by thousands of people, its taken from newspapers and feed down wires to be repackaged and then broadcast with slightly different wording.  You might think im pulling your leg, but hand on heart, it's the truth.