Where the Jobs Are
A veteran dot.comer - she's 25 - offers advice on breaking into Web journalism
By
Donna Gifford
OF THE SLUG! STAFF
In 1996, when Courtney Macavinta was applying for newspaper internships as a San Francisco State journalism student, she asked Professor Len Sellers if she could use an online clip from an alternative magazine. "No, no," he said, expressing the general skepticism newspaper editors had at that time about anything published on the Web.
Four years later, after working in online journalism for her entire career, Macavinta, 25, is managing editor of ChickClick.com (http://www.chickclick.com), a Web site for teen-aged girls and young women. And Sellers? He's on leave from San Francisco State to work as managing director of Razorfish (http://www.razorfish.com), which, as one of its services, designs Web sites for companies moving into the online world. Its customer portfolio includes names like NBC, CBS, AOL and Cosmopolitan.
In March, Macavinta spoke to students and faculty at San Francisco State about the fast-paced and challenging field of online journalism, sharing insights from her experiences as an online writer and editor.
Macavinta got her first taste of the Internet while working as an intern in the advertising department at Wired magazine. She then took a job as an online editor at the Sacramento Bee (www.sacbee.com), which was just
creating its Web presence. But, since the idea of creating online versions of traditional newspapers was so new at the time, she said, "It was like trying to move a battleship online, very bureaucratic."
Three years ago she joined CNET's News.com (www.news.com) as one of its first reporters. Online journalism was still in its infancy. "The edge that I had was that I had been using the Internet for awhile," she said.
While at News.com, she received several awards, including the James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org). She reported on policy and legal issues that affected the Net, including the Supreme Court hearing on the Communications Decency Act. She also covered online privacy, education, emerging business models, women's sites, digital Hollywood and the recording industry.
One advantage of making a career in online journalism, said Macavinta, is that "I didn't have to work my way up." She advanced quickly at News.com and was a senior staff writer when she left in February to work for ChickClick.com. "Because things are moving so quickly, you can move up faster," she said.
Macavinta said aspiring journalists need traditional journalism skills, as well as technical savvy, to be successful in new media. Whether people get their news from newspapers, computers or cell phones, "the basics of good reporting will be just as important 20 years from now," she said. But online companies expect job seekers to be familiar with the Internet. And, she said, "If you knew Dreamweaver you'd be hooked up."
Just as at print publications, Web editors want to see that potential employees have been reading the publication, Macavinta said. She recommended job applicants bring story ideas and be prepared to critique the site. This is especially important for online publications, she said, where editors want people who bring new ideas and a fresh approach.
Macavinta's advice for photojournalists: Learn documentary film techniques. Still photography remains important but short films online are becoming more popular as users get faster connections to the Internet.
Macavinta addressed concerns about the accountability of online publications. In the early days of online publishing, she said, there was a lot of uncertainty about accuracy, but that has changed now. The view that online publications are not accountable "is really passé," she said. "The quality of news is based on the quality of the organization that is delivering it."
Originality and credibility are challenges for online publications as this new medium evolves, Macavinta said. ChickClick.com, for example, has a content strategist, who scouts content-sharing deals with companies that meet its mission and standards of integrity. This person is considered part of the editorial staff, not the marketing or advertising department.
Chickclick.com will not kowtow to an advertiser like Revlon if they want
them to do more beauty content and has turned down a partnership with
Britney Spears promoters. "I want content that does not sell out our users and I want ChickClick to make money," she said.
Students and faculty said Macavinta offered a perspective on the cutting edge of Web journalism. Laura Casey, opinions (http://gater.sfsu.edu/) editor on the Golden Gater staff, said Macavinta "was really encouraging because the newspaper field is damming up. Online is wide open."
Diana Goodman, editor-in-chief of press (http://www.journalism.sfsu.edu/Xpress/) online, said, "It is good to hear from people who have just experienced getting into the job market, especially people who have gone into it in the last five to eight years."
It was only four short years ago that Macavinta was writing for the Gater. "She's like us," said Goodman.
