Andrew K.’s Post

📝I’ve built my career on telling other people’s stories, first through journalism and more recently through public relations, but I’m not particularly good at telling my own. So, in a new series of LinkedIn posts, I’ve decided to share some of the highlights of my career so far. 📰 South Wales Argus – 2002-2008 I arrived at the South Wales Argus in Newport straight out of university as a wet-behind-the-ears trainee, and left five-and-a-half years later as a senior reporter with management and newsdesk experience. It was a demanding job, with long hours, tight deadlines and many pressures, but I loved it. The Argus covered a relatively small ‘patch’ for a regional paper, but it was busy, diverse and full of interesting people and stories, and, because I’d grown up there, I knew it well. Journalism was undergoing huge changes in this period. The internet was fast becoming a vital tool of the job and social media was just starting to grow. The decline in newspaper print sales meant the threat of redundancy was never far away. Nevertheless, I managed to progress my journalism career steadily, becoming edition manager for Torfaen and later Newport, and doing regular shifts on the newsdesk. It’s hard to sum up what I learnt at the Argus because the short answer is ‘everything’ – university taught me the theory of journalism, but the Argus taught me the reality. From vox-pops to door knocks, from council meetings to court cases, from interviews with police officers to chats with celebrities, I was lucky to experience almost the entire scope of regional journalism during my time there. However, there were two big practical lessons I did learn: 1. ✍ Pens won’t write in the rain, and it rains a lot in Wales, so always carry a pencil 2. 👞 Don’t buy expensive work clothes or shoes, because you never know when you’ll be knee-deep in mud (or worse) in a farmer’s field in rural Monmouthshire --------- This is my story – let me help you tell yours. I’m a freelance public relations, communications and content consultant. If you’d like to work with me, drop me a message. #publicrelations #communications #journalism

Being a journalist was hands down the most challenging role I've had in my career. It taught me SO much, which is why it's so frustrating to see myself and fellow former journalists struggling even more than average in this job market. I know it "looks" like I only have a few years of comms experience. But my decade as a journalist taught me so many transferrable skills: 1. Working under deadline pressure? There's no deadline quite like live TV. 2. Juggling multiple priorities? Breaking news requires a big shift in priorities. Redirect crews to the location, make sure we're calling sources for confirmation, get what we know so far up on the website. Oh, and make sure you're still putting together a full rundown of regular news in case it turns out to be nothing. 3. Writing for different voices? Producers write essentially everything the anchors say. Over time, you learn how your anchors prefer things.. words or phrases they don't like, how they like things typed out in the prompter, and how they might say something in their own style. 4. Collaboration? Live news doesn't happen without it. Being a producer means working with your reporters to know what story they have and what they need. Your director needs to know what shots you have in mind and when to take video. Your editor needs to know what video to cut and where to put it. The graphics department needs direction on what images or maps you might need. Meteorologists may have special requests if it's a big weather day. The list goes on. 5. Understanding your audience? Almost everything journalists do is focused on their audience. We choose stories based on what would appeal to our demographic. We consider what they will already understand about a story, what needs to be explained, what questions they might have, etc. We tailor our content specifically to meet the viewers. These are just a few of the skills I began developing in local newsrooms. I believe it made me a better employee, coworker, and all-around person. I learned the importance of sharing stories, creating empathy and understanding, and doing it all with ethics front and center. So hire a former journalist. I promise you won't regret it.

Journalism job alert and some personal news. Want to lead an excellent team doing impactful enterprise reporting in Washington state? Check out this job opening at Cascade PBS (formerly Crosscut). Isn’t that my job? Yes, it is. I’ve lead the news team at Crosscut for the past five years. I’ve enjoyed a great run and have decided to retire at the end of the year. I’m looking forward to watching the future of this great nonprofit newsroom from the sidelines. Our coverage focuses on government and politics so do not apply if you’ve been hiding in a cave this past year, hoping the election would go away. Do apply if you have a passion for giving the people the information they need to smartly engage in our democracy. A big part of this job: mentoring our journalists to do their best work. My team and our network of freelancers are among the best I’ve ever worked with. We’re going to be picky when hiring their next team leader. Editors who rewrite every story: apply somewhere else. The great journalism at Cascade PBS is the result of thoughtful collaboration, not editors who control the narrative. Ask me anything, including if I have time for some contract editing work. I’m not going to retire to the pickleball courts, but I am going to slow way down and be very picky about any work I take on. https://lnkd.in/g_bFje4z

I said goodbye to my colleagues at Global News last week. After 20 years in journalism, I’m getting set to enter the communications world. I’ll share more on that in a future post.. but wanted to share some love for all of my colleagues. The news biz isn’t easy right now, we’ve done so much with so little (thanks to budget cuts) and battled so much misinformation. Despite all of this, my colleagues come to work everyday with a smile on their face ready to tackle the story of the day. If you’ve ever thought about hiring a journalist, here’s why you should! In a journalist you’ll find an excellent writer, storyteller and community connector. Journalists understand the importance of great presentation skills and knowing their audience. Journalists deal with an insane amount of pressure and are able to stay composed and meet their deadlines through it all. Everyday journalists are challenged to become experts on the story they are working on. Following just a few hours of intense research, cold calling, chasing people down and interviews (always careful to consider all side of the story), they then take all of that info and break it down to easily understandable information for the public in a way that’s engaging and interesting. And that’s just ONE day and ONE story. Most journalists turn out multiple stories a day. So if that resume crosses your desk, please make sure to consider it carefully.

After more than a decade in journalism, I’ve officially moved on from what was once a dream job. It’s been three months since I last edited a newspaper, and I’m still processing that chapter, but one thing is clear: I’m incredibly grateful for the skills I gained and the people I got to meet. Journalism taught me how to think fast, write on deadline, talk to almost anyone, and tell meaningful stories. It introduced me to incredible people and took me to places I never expected. I was lucky enough to interview bullriders, nurses, cowboys, boxers, skiers, snowboarders, small business owners, athletes, sailors, firefighters, police officers, artists, ranchers, ski resort owners, CEOs, social media influencers and countless other interesting and passionate people. But all of that came with sacrifices. Financial and otherwise. It's not really a job, it's a calling. You miss out on a lot in this industry — holidays, time to recharge, even just being fully present in your own life. The constant cognitive load of deadlines, chasing sources, and crafting stories can take more than it gives back if you’re not careful. For young journalists (or anyone considering the field), I’ll say this: Be very intentional about what you want from your career and what you're willing to give up. That's always been true of journalism. It's even moreso in 2024. The work can be rewarding, but it asks a lot in return. Have a backup plan (or two). And don’t discount the importance of your time, your mental health, and the moments you can’t get back. To my former colleagues and the true journos still doing the newsroom grind: the work is vital. And to those considering their next steps: it’s OK to explore new paths.

Get your start in journalism - go for it!

We hired a journalist. Like an actual journalist. Someone who writes for mainstream media. It was a bit weird when we interviewed him, too. I couldn't for the life of me understand why he would want to work for us. Journalists are serious, right? But, you know Devin is smart, and he said all the right things to get himself the job. And then something interesting happened. Once we had that increased capability, we were able to drastically improve our writing for our clients. Not because he was necessarily any better at writing. However, we now had the team do proper interviews multiple times a week with clients to help draw out new and relevant stories that will resonate with their audience. Instead of coming up with 'Core Pillars' and writing a bunch of posts about the same s$%t all the time we were able to change the way we produce content. We can now write about current events, We can now write about things happening in their personal lives, We can now react to wins in their business. Just keep it much more fresh and authentic. It's a good reminder that just because something worked in the past doesn't mean it will work in the future and so constantly improving our service and product is paramount to making sure we stay ahead of the game. It's crazy how hiring one person can fundamentally change your business, and that's exactly what's happened since bringing Devin on board. Thanks for coming to work with us, mate.

Great job, great company

Very exciting jobs in Australia

Following up on a recent post from Brett Arends on journalism careers: Have others noticed how many newsroom jobs are now devoted to non-journalism? I see search and SEO editors, audience development, product development, technical work and other jobs that handle marketing and IT functions that used to land squarely in those departments. While all those positions need to be infused with an understanding of editorial goals and processes, these jobs don't produce finished reporting. And they seem to be some of the highest-paying positions in many newsrooms, as well, sucking up a big slice of editorial budgets.