Three years out of college, Kate Sheppard has an illustrious independent media career. She has written for Grist magazine and The Guardian, and currently writes for Mother Jones magazine. She has blogged for MSN. Before she guest spoke in class today, she was waiting for a call from the U.S. Secretary of Energy.
A 2006 graduate of Ithaca College, Kate came to our class today to share some wisdom with current IC students. She talked about the challenges and highlights of her career thus far, and offered practical steps for us to take in developing our own careers. Formatted into a Top 10 list, here were Kate's nuggets of wisdom:
1. Throw out your assumptions and be flexible.
"I've had about five jobs in the past three years," Kate said. "When I was your age, I expected to work for one publication for about five years before moving on to another one. All the assumptions I had were totally wrong." While most college grads don't jump at the chance to take on more internships and glorified internships, Kate said that taking these positions after graduation helped her further her reporting and researching skills and develop connections with editors.
2. Make connections and develop relationships with others in your field.
Kate used all of her internships and jobs as stepping stones, allowing her to develop connections with sources and editors that opened doors to future job opportunities.
3. Develop an area of expertise.
A journalism and politics double major in college, Kate found a niche in reporting environmental politics and climate change. "No one in D.C. was covering environmental politics for a general audience," she said. She has written so extensively on these issues that MSN sought her out to write a "green" blog.
4. Use new technologies to your advantage.
Modern independent media was born out of blogs and the freedom of the internet. It makes sense that aspiring independent journalists should be blogging and tweeting to get their name out there and develop the all-important "digital footprint" that we constantly talk about in class. (Related personal anecdote: a friend of mine wrote on my Facebook wall today that I am "allll over Google." I wrote back to her and explained the concept of a digital footprint.)
5. Go solo.
When a senator wanted to speak about how the Gross Domestic Product is an inaccurate reflection of a country's economy, he was the only senator to show up. Kate was the only reporter to show up, and hence the only one to get the story.
6. Accept the notion of the starving journalist.
Being a journalist is "a lot like being a college student," Kate said. She lives in a big group house, doesn't spend much money, and eats a lot of Ramen when times are tough. "This isn't a job to go into as a 20-something who wants to live comfortably," she admitted.
7. Freelance to survive.
To supplement her less-than-ideal internship stipends, Kate freelanced for WireTap, The Guardian, and MSN.
8. Develop pitching skills.
Fantastic stories won't get picked up by publications if your initial pitch is lackluster. Kate explained how to write a short, effective pitch - an essential skill that is often overlooked in traditional journalism classes.
9. No press pass? Public events are your new best friend.
Kate explained that one of the biggest challenges facing independent media today is their inability to obtain Congressional press passes. However, in a big city like Washington, D.C., many important events are open to the public, rendering press passes less essential than one might think.
10. Learn basic web skills.
Being familiar with blogging, basic HTML coding and knowing how to shoot, edit and insert video clips into online stories will make you much marketable in today's tech savvy world. Learn a bit more than the basics and "they'll love you," Kate said.
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