Getting the Job: What a startup journalist looks for in new hires
Bill Mitchell at Poynter wrote an interesting post last week about the evolution of MedCity News featuring a Q&A with president and co-founder Chris Seper. The conversation covers all sorts of interesting ground -- the startup experience, investments and "custom content" as a new revenue source, and journalists as business people -- but for Career GPS, the most interesting question came at the end. Mitchell asked, "What sorts of traits do you seek - and avoid - in candidates you consider for jobs?"
This week at Career GPS, we continue the conversation with Chris Seper to find out what journalists should expect when applying to and working in a startup environment. Health media opportunities are at the end of this post. You can keep up with Career GPS by subscribing to the ReportingonHealth weekly newsletter or via RSS.
Seper answered questions for job applicants by email.
How many people are you hiring and in what positions?
Right now we're hiring a Minnesota bureau chief. This is a full-time reporter's position covering the medical industry in the Twin Cities and the rest of Minnesota. We just finished hiring two people -- one reporter, one business development specialist -- in North Carolina. We hope to open at least one more market by year's end.
What kind of salary ranges are you offering?
The pay will vary on experience, but we are competitive with the big dailies and business journals in the regions we're in.
You told Bill Mitchell at Poynter that:
"Doing and committing to a startup is like those sci-fi movies in which the astronaut has to let go outside the ship and fix some problem on the hull. The astronaut has a tether that keeps him safe. But eventually the decision comes, do I let go of the tether and risk floating away? Because that's the only way the ship is going to be saved. But there's a chance you won't be able to grab that tether again and you'll float away into outer space."
Should applicants to startups such as MedCity News also be ready to take on this risk?
No, a reporter shouldn't feel like they need to be ready for that level of commitment. That's the founder-level risk. But there are risks and big opportunities in new-media startups. This is a chance for someone to take a lead role covering the biggest institutions in the medical industry. It's a challenge to incorporate new-media tools while still breaking news and other major stories. It's a job that requires high-energy, a lot of hours, incredible organizational skills and passion.
There's an emotional risk here where you need to be a true believer in the business and the model. The reward, though, can be very big. Our last Minnesota bureau chief is now a national med-tech editor. It's a chance to be on the forefront of this new era of media and leapfrog others who opt for a safer path.
Should applicants expect to interact with or work on the "custom content" part of the site? How has this shift in funding streams changed journalists' jobs?
Full-time reporters at MedCity News do no work in any way whatsoever with the custom content side and it has no impact on their job in any way.
Understanding the job description, it sounds like you're looking for a forward-thinking, new media-savvy journalist who is grounded in basic journalism skills. But you also gave this tip, as paraphrased by Bill Mitchell: "Bad business decisions always hurt, but none so much as a bad hire. Do the homework." What makes a bad hire and a good hire for MedCity News? What kind of "homework" do you do for applicants?
A bad hire would be someone who has all the reporting skills but isn't "startup ready." Someone who is startup ready, at least for MedCity News, has an internal motivation, is organized and can work independently. It's someone who is trustworthy and embraces being part of a team. On my last reporting hire I spent a lot of time talking to references and others about the reporter's ability to work alone, to create their own ideas, how the reporter conducted himself in kind of isolating moments (when he had a bad editor who didn't provide guidance, did he still thrive?). We need risk-takers who will be used to working out of a newsroom and in the corner of an incubator or less formal settings.
My homework is a lot of interviewing: both with the applicant, the references and people who know the applicant that the applicant doesn't know I'm talking to.
So, do MedCity News journalists work solo? Is it a virtual office setup?
Most cities will be two-person operations: one reporter and one biz-dev specialist. We always try to get an office: often a couple desks in an incubator that houses other startup companies. We think it's important for people to be around the buzz of other startups/creatives. It's a great vibe and reminds them what they are a part of. And the feedback we've received from some staff members is that they need to get out of their apartments, etc.
Most journalists have to be able to work independently AND with a team. What's the difference for a startup with small offices?
The big difference is structure. Even in a small daily newspaper you have a lot of structure: bureaucracy, systems, layers of people and the like. There's more chaos in a startup, where we're building a business and installing many of those systems as we go. Lots of change.
What do you look for on a résumé or during an interview? How do you identify startup journalist qualities?
On a résumé, I'm attracted to someone who has new media/multimedia skills and demonstrates knowledge of the region we're entering, business journalism and/or healthcare journalism. In an interview, I'm going to look for someone who has done some homework on MedCity, is going to be able to speak to what's happening in new media, comes with ideas both in day-to-day stories and approach, and can give examples of how they worked independently or under adverse conditions.
New Job Listings
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Fellowships, Internships and Grant Programs with Upcoming Deadlines
Food: An MIT Boot Camp, Knight Science Journalism Fellowships at MIT
Eligibility: Applicants may be reporters, writers, editors or producers from any country, and must have at least three years of full-time experience in journalism.
Included:Twelve journalists selected to attend The Food Boot Camp, winners announced by February 11, 2011. Up to $750 reimbursement of travel expenses to Cambridge, accommodation, and most meals. The Workshop begins Tuesday, March 22 and runs through Friday, March 25.
Deadline: Jan. 14, 2011
From the Website: "The Boot Camp will teach the basics of the issues and address the underlying science and the overlying social, economic and political factors. This will be an intensive course-all day, every day for a week-devoted primarily to discussions and lectures. Some of the most knowledgeable researchers and leaders from universities, government and industry will teach in the workshop. We'll also talk about the journalistic issues-how, in light of industry trends to make stories shorter and shallower, journalists can successfully cover the complexities of food and science."
Nieman Fellowships in Global Health Reporting
Eligibility: Full-time journalists with at least five years experience
Included: One academic year of of study at Harvard's School of Public Health, access to faculty and courses across the university, three to four months of fieldwork in a developing country
Deadline: January 31, 2011
From the Website: "Nieman Fellows represent the changing face of journalism. They come to Harvard from locations as different as Bangor, Maine, and Younde, Cameroon. They work for national and local print publications, broadcast news outlets, news Web sites, and documentary film ventures. Some are making their mark as freelance journalists. Some have practiced their craft under repressive governments or on far-flung fields of conflict. Together, each year they form a Nieman class that is rich in diversity, experience and aspirations for the years ahead."
Online Community Building and Health Program, USC Annenberg California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships
Eligibility: California-based bloggers and founders/top editors of online news web sites
Included: 10 fellows will receive $2,000 to support the completion of an ambitious community health news or storytelling project, expenses-paid development seminars from April 28 - May 1, 2011 & June 23 - June 25, 2011, coaching and technical assistance with reporting project.
Deadline: Feb. 7, 2011
From the Website: "USC Annenberg's California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships is launching a new program in 2011 to educate bloggers and editors of online news sites on ways to chronicle the health of their communities. At the same time, the program will help participants improve the "health" and sustainability of their own websites, with strategic and technical advice provided through a partnership with the Renaissance Journalism Center at San Francisco State. This program is co-sponsored by theOnline News Association."
National Health Journalism Fellowship, USC Annenberg California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships
Eligibility: Open to professional journalists from print, broadcast, and online media, including freelancers. Applicants need not be full time health reporters, but they need to have a passion for health news (broadly defined).
Included: All-expenses paid six-day program in Los Angeles, $200 stipend and upon completion of what are expected to be ambitious, major fellowship projects.
Deadline: May 2, 2011
From the Website: "To stimulate collaboration between mainstream and ethnic media, we encourage applicants to propose a joint project for use by both media outlets. Up to two collaborators for each project may receive a stipend."
Dennis A. Hunt Health Journalism Grants, USC Annenberg California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships
Eligibility: Open to all journalist members of Center for Health Journalism Digital. Print, broadcast and new media journalists from anywhere in the United States are eligible to apply, as are all past fellows of the USC Annenberg/California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships.
Included: Provides funding for proposed stories or multimedia projects that illuminate or expose critical community health or community health policy issues and acceptance to the National Health Journalism Fellowship program.
Deadline: May 2, 2011
From the Website: "Proposals can focus on a specific health topic or delve into a confluence of circumstances and conditions that impact health, including environment; social class; crime and violence; urban development; access to health resources or the lack thereof; school absenteeism; transportation or city planning, and and disparities in health. Topics that would NOT be eligible would include clinical trials, medical research, or the latest treatments for a disease or any project involving a population outside of the United States."
California Health Journalism Fellowship, USC Annenberg California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships
Eligibility: Open to professional journalists from print, broadcast, and online media in California, including freelancers. Applicants need not be full time health reporters, but they need to have a passion for health news (broadly defined).
Included: All-expenses paid seminars in Los Angeles, mentoring for completion of reporting project
Deadline: Aug. 26, 2011
From the Website: "During the Fellowship sessions, Fellows get plenty of time to discuss with experts, and with each other, strategies for covering health news with authority and sophistication. Between the two sessions and for three months after the second session, Fellows confer by phone and e-mail with veteran journalists who guide them through work on major Fellowship projects."
Awards with Upcoming Deadlines
Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment
Eligibility: Eligible entries covering environment and/or natural resources topics and must have been published or broadcast in English in the United States or Canada between January 1 and December 31, 2010. The Grantham Prize is open to works of non-fiction produced in print, broadcast, online, or book formats.
Award: $75,000 for the top prize with up to three additional $5,000 Awards of Special Merit.
Deadline: Feb. 4, 2011 (book deadline has passed)
From the Website: "The purpose of the Prize is to encourage outstanding coverage of the environment, to recognize reporting that has the potential to bring about constructive change, and to broadly disseminate the Prize-winning story to increase public awareness and understanding of environmental and natural resource issues. Among the criteria jurors will consider are the significance of the subject matter, quality and originality of the journalism, the potential to effect constructive change, and the effort involved in telling the story.
2011 Journalism Awards of Excellence for Coverage of Emergency Medicine Issues, American College of Emergency Physicians
Eligibility: News stories by credentialed journalists published in 2010 in broadcast, print or online
Award: Winners will receive an award and recognition during ACEP's annual Leadership & Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC, May 22-25, 2011*. Winners will be publicized through a press release, and special letters of congratulation will be mailed to each recipient's organization.
Deadline: Jan. 15, 2011
From the Website: "Entries will be judged based on the below criteria by members of ACEP's Public Relations Committee and further approved by ACEP's National President."
Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, Association of Health Care Journalists
Eligibility: Work published in 2010 on a wide range of health topics including public health, consumer health, medical research, the business of health care and health ethics, entry fee $30-$75
Award: Cash prize of $500 for first place winners in five categories, a framed certificate and complimentary lodging for two nights and registration for the annual AHCJ conference
Deadline: Jan. 28, 2011
From the Website: "The contest was created by journalists for journalists and is not influenced or funded by commercial or special-interest groups."
2011 Hillman Prizes
Eligibility: Work published in 2010 in the United States with impact on social justice or public policy
Award: $5,000 plus a certificate and travel to NYC for our reception
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2011
From the Website: "Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honored journalists, writers and public figures who pursue social justice and public policy for the common good."
Edward J. Meeman Award National Journalism Award in Environmental Reporting (PDF), Scripps Howard Foundation
Eligibility: $50 entry fee, open to any newspaper that published in print or online three or more times a week in 2010, television or radio station, broadcast or cable network, cable system, wire service, news syndicate, syndication or program service, and online news site. Work must have originally aired or published in 2010. No college media outlets are eligible.
Award: $10,000 and a troph
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2011
From the Website: "Honors outstanding environmental reporting. Award is given to encourage journalists to help educate the public and public officials on environmental issues. Results achieved by the reporting may be included."
GAC® National Medals & Awards, Yves O. Fortier Earth Science Journalism Award, The Canadian Science Writers' Association
Eligibility: The award shall recognize a journalist who is a resident of Canada and who has been exceptionally effective in presenting one or more earth science stories during the previous 1-3 years in one of Canada's daily or weekly newspapers or periodicals. Anyone (journalists, geoscientists or the general public) may submit a nomination for the award.
Award: The award, consisting of $1,000.00 and a framed certificate, shall be presented by a GAC®councillor at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Science Writers' Association and shall be announced during the Annual Awards Luncheon of the Geological Association of Canada in the year following that in which the article(s) was published
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2011
From the Website: "The award is named after Yves O. Fortier, a founding member of the Geological Association of Canada and a former Director of the Geological Survey of Canada. Entries for the Yves Fortier Award deal with a broad spectrum of Earth science topics, ranging from Earth to ocean and atmosphere. They are judged on the basis of originality, clarity of interpretation, scientific accuracy and value in promoting a broader understanding of Earth sciences to the public."
Science in Society Journalism Awards, National Association of Science Writers
Eligibility: Any writer (or team) is eligible to submit one entry in each category: books, commentary or opinion, science reporting, and science reporting for a local or regional audience. Except in the book category, an entry will consist of a maximum of three articles or broadcasts on separate topics or a single series. work must be written or spoken in English, intended for the lay person, and first published or broadcast in North America between January 1 and December 31, 2010. Winners of last year's awards and individuals who have won three times are not eligible.
Award:Cash prizes of $2,500 for writing judged best in each of four categories.
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2011
From the Website: "NASW established the science in society awards to provide recognition-without subsidy from any professional or commercial interest-for investigative or interpretive reporting about the sciences and their impact on society. NASW especially encourages entries of critical, probing pieces that would not receive an award from an interest group. beginning with the first award in 1972, previous winners have demonstrated innovative reporting that goes well beyond the science itself and into the ethical problems and social implications. A committee of accomplished peers judges the entries each year."
Borlaug CAST Communication Award
Eligibility: Nominated scientists, engineers, technologists, or other professionals working in the agricultural, environmental, or food sectors
Award: Bronze sculpture
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2011
From the Website: "Primary consideration will be given to candidates who are actively engaged in promoting agriculture through research, teaching, extension, or mass communication; who have made significant contributions to their discipline or field; and who demonstrate a passionate interest in communicating the importance of agriculture to policymakers, the news media, and the public. Nominees must have demonstrated their ability to communicate by written material; public presentations; and/or the use of television, radio, or other social media. They should be recognized by their peers as scientists who have made significant contributions in their professional fields."
The Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize
Eligibility: This award is open to citizens of a Commonwealth country or of the Irish Republic or those who have been ordinarily resident and working in a Commonwealth country or in the Irish Republic for a minimum of three years immediately prior to being proposed;
Award: The Prize consists of a silver gilt medal and a gift of £2500, which are presented by the President of the Royal Society on the occasion of the annual Michael Faraday Prize lecture (the recipient of the Prize is required to give an agreed lecture as part of the Society's annual programme of public events).
Deadline: Feb. 14, 2011
From the Website: "The Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize is the United Kingdom's premier award for science communication and is awarded annually for excellence in communicating science to UK audiences. The award was established by Council in 1986 and is given annually to the scientist or engineer whose expertise in communicating scientific ideas in lay terms is exemplary."
National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Educational Foundation Print Journalism Award and Television and Radio Journalism Award
Eligibility: Entries published in 2010
Award:$10,000 awards for general circulation publication, trade publication,and broadcast winners
Deadline: Feb. 15, 2011
From the Website: "Advances in health policy find their foundation in academic research and are achieved through public discourse facilitated by the media. To recognize the critical role both the research and journalism communities play in the health care system, each year NIHCM Foundation presents awards for outstanding work in health care research and journalism."
Award for Excellence in Science and Medical Journalism, The Endocrine Society
Eligibility: English-language journalism related to endocrinology and published or broadcast between March 1, 2010 and February 28, 2011
Award: Award plaque and travel to the Society's annual meeting awards dinner in June 2011
Deadline: Apr. 1, 2011
From the Website: "The award recipient is selected by the Society's Advocacy and Public Outreach Core Committee (APOCC). The committee will give weight to entries that demonstrate thorough research, accurate reporting, originality and contribute to the public understanding of endocrinology."
Pfizer Award
Eligibility: This prize is awarded in recognition of an outstanding book dealing with the history of science. The book must be published in English during a period of three calendar years immediately preceding the year of competition (books eligible for 2006 were published in 2003, 2004, or 2005). Edited volumes, as well as works with more than 2 authors, are not eligible. A multi-volume work by one or two authors may be nominated only after the publication of all the volumes.
Award: The award consists of a medal and $2,500.
Deadline: Apr. 1, 2011
From the Website: "The prize committee may consider books where medicine or technology is a central theme. However, both the Society for the History of Technology and the American Association for the History of Medicine award their own prizes and while strict separation of fields is not always possible or desirable, the Pfizer Award should be given to a book that is principally a history of science."
Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment, Society of Environmental Journalism
Eligibility: Any journalism that is predominantly about an environmental subject and published or broadcast in 2010 with $30-$80 entry fee
Award: $500 first-place, $200 second-place and $100 third-place prizes may be awarded in all categories.
Deadline: Apr. 1, 2011
From the Website: "Honors outstanding environmental reporting. Award is given to encourage journalists to help educate the public and public officials on environmental issues. Results achieved by the reporting may be included."
Educational Opportunities
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program in Health and Science Journalism (PDF), Masters of Arts in Journalism at the Columbia Journalism School
Eligibility: Online application with $100 fee, transcripts, recommendations, personal essays and writing samples
Program: Designed for experienced journalists, full time nine-month program, financial aid available
Deadline: Jan. 15, 2011
From the Website: " To support the pursuit of health and science journalism and to attract the most promising journalists, the grant will provide at least half of the tuition costs for students in the M.A. science concentration, and will fund research related to their thesis projects."
Masters in Specialized Journalism, USC Annenberg School of Journalism and Communication
Eligibility: Complete online application; separate requirements for each program
Program: Nine-month program with flexible schedule
Deadline: Jan. 30, 2011 to be considered for scholarship, March 5, 2011 for admission
From the Website: "These highly customized degree programs are primarily designed for experienced journalists and gifted amateurs; the arts program welcomes practicing artists and recent graduates of arts academies and conservatories."