Web-savvy young journalists in demand – and Chinese language doesn’t hurt either!
Meet Fang Wang (王昉), a twenty-something native of Shanghai, who now works here in Hong Kong as an Assistant News Editor for the online edition of the Financial Times newspaper. She came and spoke at the JMSC last week as part of a day-long financial journalism seminar. I took this picture of Ms. Wang with my cell phone while sitting in the audience – which is why it’s a bit grainy, but at least you can see how she could easily be mistaken for one our students!
Ms. Wang was a very articulate and impressive young lady. She described how the FT.com divides up the 24-hour news cycle between three web teams: in Hong Kong, London, and New York. From about 9am to 3pm Hong Kong time, the Hong Kong office is responsible for updating the entire site while the staffs in London and New York are sleeping. So when there is breaking news coming in from reporters during those times, Fang and her colleagues here in Hong Kong will make the decisions about how that news should be covered in the online edition before the next version of the printed newspaper comes out. The FT.com website is becoming more and more important as its readership grows, and they are experimenting with a growing number of special online features using multimedia slideshows, video, and blogs. Ms. Wang works as an editor, not a field reporter, but it was clear from how she described her job that she writes stories for the web edition based on information reporters are getting from the field. How did she get this job? She was recruited to work for the FT.com after graduating from a business journalism program at New York University. Given that the FT is seeking to expand into the Asian market and has a new Chinese edition, the fact that she is a native Chinese speaker cannot have hurt her chances at all when her bosses were deciding between her and other possible candidates.
Ms. Wang also said that increasingly they are asking reporters to take cameras out on stories with them and take as many pictures as possible, which the web team then assembles into special web features. The newspaper increasingly needs reporters who can think about FT.com’s multimedia needs – not just the print story.
There are two points here. One is that the online divisions of many news organizations are currently in expansion mode, and these divisions need tech-savvy journalists with fresh perspectives who are not afraid to innovate.
The other point is that even if you are not aiming to join the web team of a news organization, having some web skills could make a difference between whether you or somebody else gets hired. Another online journalism professor in Florida, Mindy McAdams, recently wrote a blog post about how for graduating j-school students, web skills are essential for getting and keeping a job in journalism today. A guy who works at the Los Angeles Times posted a comment reacting to that blog post which I’d like to share with you along with Mindy’s response:
At 1/27/2007 2:30 PM, Eric said…
Mindy, even at the L.A. Times, where I work, we are seeking journalists with solid web and multimedia skills — and not just for the web staff. I’ve heard several stories from the print side of hiring decisions that came down to which candidate had more online experience. This is not a drill, folks.
At 1/28/2007 2:16 PM, Mindy McAdams said…
Thanks for posting a comment, Eric! I have heard the same even from some very small daily newspapers. They get a stack of applications for a job, and they simply throw away all the ones that do not have online skills and interests listed.
And that is for a print newsroom job, such as reporter or photojournalist.
So there you have it. The minimum goal of this class is to make sure that you get the basic web skills so that employers will take your application seriously. The maximum goal is to help you join the ranks of young journalists who will take the lead in shaping the future of global journalism.
One of the many reasons that I’m very excited about teaching here in Hong Kong is that the Chinese-language media market is evolving very quickly. Many international news companies like the FT are looking to get a foothold in this region, and need staff with Chinese language and China knowledge. Which means that if you happen to be English-Chinese bilingual, web-savvy, innovative, and grounded in the eternal principles of good journalism, there are likely to be some interesting opportunities for you in the future. Those of you who may not be bilingual but who have knowledge and experience in this region will, I believe, also have substantial advantages as you go forth looking for jobs after graduation.
So. On that note, welcome to the New Media Workshop!
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- One week to go!
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- Week One BJ after-class follow-up
Iris’ Blog » Reading assignment 1
February 2, 2007 @ 1:25 am
[...] Rebecca’s blog post about the young lady Wang Fang, Anthony Moor’s article that gives more like an overview of skills required for a qualified web journalists, and Keith W. Jenkins’article that seems urging journalists and journalist-to-be of our generation to embrace the Web and the bloggers, have stimulated much of my thoughts about online Journalism. Something interesting is that I start to take blogging much more seriously. Frankly, I have been just like many of the others who easily manipulate the inexhaustible space provided by the Web to write and share much of my personal things, for example, keeping an online dairy. My first blog should be the HYIPO Mission Team, established by my friends and me who share the same aspirated mission in our Christian life. I enjoy the freedom to write, to comment, to post photos or videos, etc. However, I expect here this blog, the first blog set up for academic purpose, could enable me to experience a journalist-like workspace and to train up myself. I should say that the three articles have urged me to blog and but to blog as journalist. What Rebecca has said in the workshop was absolutely right. She said putting things on the Web doesn’t mean you are doing journalism. That’s a very strong reminder for me and that’s why I said I would start to take blogging more seriously. I wish my blog is showing what I think rather than just what I feel. By that I mean I have undergone some “thinking” process in mind before making a blog post. Anthony’s article strikes me a lot. In his article, when he talks about the skills that candidates should acquire to enter the industry of web journalism, I find it’s a bit discouraging. I ask myself the questions that he has raised. I am so “unskilled”. I find myself beginning to step back, retreat. One thing comes to my mind is that there are 2 Ps which are essentials of journalists in the industry, Professional and Passionate. Online Journalist-to-be should be prepared that they are expected to at least have some web skills. To keep audiences interested, videos, photos, layout of the web, etc are important to the content or the story you are doing, therefore, editing skills are necessary. One thing that the bloggers who leave comments to the articles have always concern is to balance web skills and reporting. Journalists should not overemphasize the techniques and sound and visual effects that may result in less original reporting and in-depth reporting. Being professional in journalism in no matter print or TV or web is to try to stick to the elements of journalism. I learnt that in my introductory course to journalism (Principles of Journalism JMSC0101). Some of the elements like independent reporting, verification are crucial in no matter the format of news are. These are sustainable elements to keep the audiences interested and informed. I believe that most of the journalists become journalists because they are passionate and aspirated in the profession. In online journalism, journalists should be passionate to embrace new changes and to innovate. Being innovative doesn’t mean that you are abandoning the good traditions and ethics of journalism. One final word I like to say here is that, after Anthony’s and Keith’s article, enormous feedbacks are there but the authors are not responding to them as much as they do. I understand that’s absolutely difficult for the authors to respond to every message in reality. I just wonder that actually the chain will be broken when no one continue to explore the topic and to respond. Where’s the follow up? Or maybe follow up of questions is not that important at all? No, that’s the role of blogging. Bloggers over the world follow up the questions. But, online journalists having 2Ps could contribute to follow up better. [...]
Amanda
February 2, 2007 @ 1:38 am
Blogging Assignment 1
Wednesday January 31st 2007, 6:19 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized
The writers from the two assigned articles obviously supports online journalism. They believe that there is something good in online journalism. Reporters should in fact learn from the bloggers. Besides, young people who wish to be in this field should be well prepared in the technique needed in blogging, e.g. basic HTML skills. In fact, I do support their view, although I also believe that reporters are still important, just as what Robert Macmilliay wrote in his comment. Actually, bloggers and reporters should really learn from each other in order to survive in this challenging field.
In Hong Kong, internet really change the pattern of journalism. I have found a example that can illustrate my point. Alan Leong Kah-Kit, who is a competitor in 2007 Cheif Executive Election, owns a blog for personal promotion. He writes everyday what he had done and his feeling. This never happen before in Hong Kong in this kind of political situation. This example shows us that every one can be a “journalist” nowadays and punish they essay online. People can then comment on your work and start some debates.
Moreover, many people in Hong Kong, mainly young people, starts to act as “reporter”. The Hong Kong Discuss is a very popular local forum. People can post their views, findings, feelings on various kinds of topics, e.g. fashion, animals, TV, News, School life, cars, sports, etc. When people find something interest, he or she can share it with other people and see what other people think of that issue. The number of viewers usually highly excess the readers of newspaper now in Hong Kong. This is in fact really a kind of transformation in journalism.
For people who wish to become journalist, they should really be well prepared on this big change. Apart from knowledge and skills of a reporter, they should also learn to be a online journalist. To start with, they can try to write blog. Writing and reporting skills are not enough for journalists nowadays. More and more people now enjoy surfing around the net rather than reading newspaper. Although the future of journalism can never be predicted precisely, it is always well to be well equipped.
Choosing the course JMSC0007 New Media Workshop, I wish to learn to blog and prepare myself for my future career. There are still a lot to learn, especially for me, who even don’t know how to use basic HTML skills.
Jonathan
February 2, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
Greetings from class.
Hilda
February 2, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
posting a comment
Lindsay
February 2, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
Hello!!
Christina Yang
February 2, 2007 @ 7:27 pm
Hello…
Vincent Or
February 2, 2007 @ 7:27 pm
hi all
Adrian
February 2, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
Hi!
Mona
February 2, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
comment comment. :)
Rosemary
February 2, 2007 @ 7:29 pm
Surviving the New Media Workshop seems to be essential if a career in journalism is sought.
kumar
February 2, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
The FT workshop was a good eye opener especially on their online operations .
Margaret C
February 2, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
Hi. Testing
Elaine
February 2, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
This is quite terrifying.
Gao Hanqing
February 2, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
After a decade-long stay at a news agency, I feel thousands of miles behind! I guess I should look for a job in Fiji Islands! If only I were 10 years younger, I could also do such an excellent job as Ms. Wang is doing.
tesa
February 2, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
One of Hong Kong’s regular bloggers (other than Roland Soong)
http://www.bigwhiteguy.com/
… start from there, you’ll find a tight community of regular bloggers who are very vocal about HK issues — from the mundane to issues journalists seem to miss in the mainstream media. FYI, most of them ARE real-life journalists.
Patrick
February 2, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
;)
tesa
February 2, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
nice one!
Margaret L
February 2, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
Happy Blogging!!!
nella fantasia » All about changes
February 2, 2007 @ 10:16 pm
[...] Nowadays, helping to develop websites is one of the job requirements of journalists. Journalists must be equipped with web skills. Like assistance news editor of Ft.com Wang Fang said, journalists need to consider more about the multimedia needs of Ft.com when they are covering stories on the field. And actually with web skills, journalists begin to think in a “multimedia way”. They think in different dimensions and perspectives when covering a story, and this helps them understand the story better and allow them to come up with new angles about the story. [...]
Yarson Qi
February 2, 2007 @ 10:45 pm
comment!!!!!!!!!!
yeah!!!!!!!!
Sun Jie
February 5, 2007 @ 11:07 am
Hi spiders, enjoying weaving your web!
Ken C K Cheung » Week 1 Blogging assignment 1
February 5, 2007 @ 5:32 pm
[...] From the interview of Ms. Wang Fang, a striking point raised is that she said FT now asks reporters “to take cameras out on stories with them and take as many pictures as possible, which the web team then assembles into special web features”. I think it is a sign that reporters are required to be ever on alert to catch any story, and catch images apart from writing the story, and be ready to send them back to the newsroom as soon as possible so that it could be made online almost immediately. I noticed the work cycle of Ms. Wang as she described, that everything indeed is related to speed and efficiency. The crew has to be on alert every minute – the whole crew operates 24-hours a week on rotation – and be ready to transfer the news lines online to the FT web so that the web readers can catch up immediately, even before the printed version of the FT comes out. [...]
Lindsay C
February 6, 2007 @ 12:39 am
I’m MJ student. where should we write our first week pre-lecture post? here?
Rebecca MacKinnon
February 6, 2007 @ 7:15 am
Lindsay you are supposed to write it on your own blog that you created last week. If you have not sent me the address of your blog yet, please do so ASAP in order to get credit for last week’s in-class work. Thanks.
tracy
February 6, 2007 @ 10:06 am
pre-lecture post confuses me… Is it only leaving a message here = finish the pre-lecture thing? And then, by thursday, we’d write on the 2 readings?
my stay in HK » I’d Better Start Weaving A Web
February 6, 2007 @ 11:51 am
[...] It’s kind of striking when I read this sentence quoted by Rebecca in one of her blogs: “…I have heard the same even from some very small daily newspapers. They get a stack of applications for a job, and they simply throw away all the ones that do not have online skills and interests listed.” Mindy McAdams, a journalism professor said so when replied to the comment on her blog Getting (and keeping) a job journalism . [...]
Floating Island » Adventures in new media
February 6, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
[...] As it turns out, online journalism can represent a distinct career path, as illustrated by the Fang Wang, assistant news editor for FT.com. Or it can merge with the traditional work of a print journalist. Last week, when Newsweek’s Ron Javers spoke at the JMSC about journalism and new media, he noted that today’s writers are often asked to prepare shorter versions of their articles for the web and to make television appearances to discuss and publicize their stories. [...]
Week One - Readings « HLDPN
February 7, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
[...] Anthony Moor’s article and the story on Fang Wang of the Financial Times had made a strong point on the immediate need of web literacy as for a journalist. [...]
Cub Reporters' Guide
April 18, 2007 @ 9:30 am
Thought you might be interested in CubReporters.org, an online career guide for young
journalists and college students.
New Media Workshop » Blog Archive » MJ Week 1 Reading and Assignment
September 3, 2007 @ 6:08 pm
[...] Readings: Rebecca MacKinnon, Web-savvy young journalists in demand – and Chinese language doesn’t hurt either! [...]
New Media Workshop » Blog Archive » BJ Week 1 Reading and Assignment
September 5, 2007 @ 2:02 pm
[...] Readings: Rebecca MacKinnon, Web-savvy young journalists in demand – and Chinese language doesn’t hurt either! [...]
» A connection to the audience julia’s blog
September 7, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
[...] and more proficient technical skills for their daily work is documented by many colleagues. Like Fang Wang an editor of the online edition of the Financial times newspaper, they report regularly about the [...]
Megha’s blog » Blog Archive » newspapers and new media
September 11, 2007 @ 12:41 am
[...] I think any Web skills at all are bound to make students more marketable. Like Ms. Wang, all my j-school friends who have Web experience have media companies breaking down their doors [...]
Star quest, soul quest, spirit quest » Blog Archive » We are reformers (1st assignment)
September 15, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
[...] Rebecca MacKinnon, Web-savvy young journalists in demand – and Chinese language doesn’t hurt either [...]
New Media Workshop » Blog Archive » Week 1 Reading and Assignment
January 14, 2008 @ 7:32 pm
[...] Rebecca MacKinnon, Web-savvy young journalists in demand – and Chinese language doesn’t hurt either! [...]
The Learning Continues. » Journalists of the 21st Century
January 20, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
[...] of power is shifting. Stories abound and barriers are being broken down. Today is the age of the multilingual journalist with multiple skill sets, and amidst a world of bloggers and amateur writers, the challenge is greater for professional [...]
New Media Workshop Spring 2008 » Assignment 1
January 20, 2008 @ 11:10 pm
[...] equipped with the research and reporting skills but also with video and Web skills. I think that Fang’s advice to be a tech savvy journalist is a given nowadays. That is why I’m thankful [...]
» New media: what it means to us Hello Sunshine
January 20, 2008 @ 11:33 pm
[...] and media skills require more from us- journalists of the new generation. As Rebbecca said in this article, web-savvy journalists are in demand, so equip ourselves with such skills will only add to our [...]
» My First Assignment New Media Workshop
January 21, 2008 @ 12:27 am
[...] basics of multimedia, it’s really difficult to find a job. Like the link to the article I read at Web-savvy young journalists in demand – and Chinese language doesn’t hurt either!, the writer is pointing out the importance of online journalism. He even says that multimedia is [...]
New Media Workshop Spring 2008 » First Assignment- re. readings & Digital Edge Award Winners
January 21, 2008 @ 12:28 am
[...] support this. As FT’s Assistant News Editor- Fang Wang shared in Rebecca MacKinnon’s article: Web- savvy young journalists in demand, aspiring journalists who have web skills make a more favorable candiate and has better chances of [...]
Peter’s New Media Workshop blog » Blog Archive » Week 1 Assignment: How the internet changes journalism / journalists’ work?
January 21, 2008 @ 3:58 am
[...] 24 hours a day, 7 days a week now, rather than getting a newspaper in the early morning. Therefore, Wang Fang told that journalists nowadays need to take shift to keep eyes on global issues and to update news [...]
chaosandcalm » Blog Archive » Week 1 assignment
January 21, 2008 @ 8:32 am
[...] Mackinnon’s article about Fang Wang, Web Savvy Young Journalists In Demand, shows how internet media know-how appears in a sense to be as important for Hong Kong–based [...]
Emily Tsang | Assignment 1: Internet is changing Journalism
January 29, 2008 @ 11:28 pm
[...] kind of new media on the internet has push journalism to its excellent form. Rebecca’s article Web Savvy Young Journalists In Demand, Fang Wang suggested how the new generation requires journalists with web skills. As news online [...]