There's a lot of people searching jobs on the Net. According to a Pew Internet Project, report, 52 million Americans have used the Net to look for a job. On an average day that's about 4 million, 33% higher than in 2000.

A very interesting debate is developing at Columbia University over the Journalism Department. The question raised is whether journalism should be taught as a craft or a profession. Reporting is a skill and craft but it can certainly be taken into realms of thought. And opinion emerges out of experience and knowledge. (You need to register with NY Times but it's worth it.)

Of course, you could be a journalist in Zimbabwe. If you report that a man gets his head cut-off and he really doesn't, are you liable? Can you be put in prison?

It reminds me of a contributor to C/Oasis a few years back who wrote about environmental reporting in Ghana. Let us say the authorities were not exactly forthcoming. His best source was the village chief who kept his ear and nose close to the ground, especially when they burned the brush.

It comes as no shock that people would rather telecommute than car commute to work. Living in an area where it takes two hours to go twenty miles during commute, I can appreciate that. At this time, telecommute and freelance are interchangeable terms. Very few legitimate jobs that allow telecommuting are listed. Hopefully, this survey will urge employers to consider the option and the concept take hold in the business world in the coming decades. http://www.positivelybroadband.org/ (Click on E-Work to get telecommute information.)

Don't let the bubble burst over your aspirations. The difficulty in the present time is in figuring out how pervasive the robber-class is entrenched in positions of power. If the entrenchment is deep, then we're all in trouble. The problem is that it's not simply investors but consumers and foreign money that has to be convinced the economy rests on more solid foundation than a network of thieving insider's. Time will tell.

In an interview with Fortune, Peter Weddell lists some very important tips for job seekers. We are proud to say that Sunoasis Jobs will be listed in the 2003 Weddell Guide.

It's amazing the speed in which the good turns into the bad. Just a short while ago it was a seller's market for jobs. Now, it is decidedly a buyer's market. The job seeker has to have an aggressive strategy. Or, make up your own job. This article details what laid-off hi-tech workers are doing to create their own jobs.

What it takes is the ability to focus on a niche you can serve and be able to push against every wall that comes your way.

The "free agent nation," needs to be able to describe a career path for the variety of activities in it. Freelance writers have been there for a long time. One problem with freelancing is that the cost-of-living can spiral up beyond the price of their services.

The most successful freelancers are fast and efficient.

Curious about the nature of newspaper ownership? Think they are local, ma and pop operations? Read this FAQ from The Newspaper Industry.

There's an encouraging report about earnings among some newspaper companies. The hope is that the skid in advertising revenue has bottomed-out.

Back in 1999 young writers would ask me if they should "accept options in a new company rather than a salary." I always told them no; that three-fourths of the dot.coms were going to disappear in several years.

Go ask Dr. Koop about the stability of the dot.com market. It's old news to those of us who've had a presence on the Net since the mid-90's. But when Time-Warner is getting hit big-time, then you know the problem is more than dream-filled X'ers playing at business in urban lofts. It's very instructive that Enron had a major Internet presence. And you still have plenty of funny money flowing through it without the concomitant value being built.

How come all the smart guys got suckered?

Folio has an excellent review of what editor's are up to and a salary survey that will be useful for anyone who wants to go into the magazine industry.

Here are some useful links if you are thinking about relocating:

• Sperling's Best Places
• Virtual Relocation
• Money Magazine's Best Places to Live

Bacon's has excellent resources in Updates on media such as the fact that World Press Review. is looking for an assistant editor. WPR also has correspondent jobs from a variety of exotic locales.

For all you AOL members, your ISP is looking for a new CEO.

The Foundation for American Communications (FACS) has published its findings in a survey of journalists and found that a majority of them feel they aren't prepared to cover the major stories of the day. It comes as a surprise, then, that only 37% thought education was a major issue facing the United States.

Online Journalism Review has an excellent article on the profitability of news sites. There are successful models out there.

The news doesn't change on the Net. What changes is the ability of the smart Netizen to cross-pollinate the source of news and/or opinion with distinctive resources but a click away. When journalists, themselves, learn to do this they will write more interesting copy.

There's a very clever piece in the Columbia Journalism Review about the media in the year 2020. The most farcical aspects of a story are usually the truest.

According to a recent report, media advertising will be up this year and increase even more in 2003. This is the first good sign of recovery in the content industry.

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Salaries in publishing rose an average of 6.7% in 2001, down from 9% in the previous year. Note: It's better to be in management than editorial if you are after the money.

Here are the latest editorial jobs listed in Publisher's Weekly.

And, Management jobs.

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Interesting article from IT-Director.com about the mobile workforce.. They don't go into how all this mobility is achieved but the statistics are staggering. Neither do they define what a "mobile workforce" is. It sounds like fun though. Writers, especially, are capable of doing this. The writer and the office seem incompatible. I can see writers sending stories from the best tavern in town, surrounded by conversations of the clientele. Be sure to read the article on "backpack journalism" down near the bottom of the column.

Salaries are up, according to the Inland Press Association. The 2002 study includes data from 478 daily newspapers across the United States and Canada. The highest percentage of rate increase (9.9%) went to Washington D.C. bureau chiefs. I guess it was all that overtime for the Levy/Condit story.

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The Resume Flood The Internet is flooded with resumes. On a national level, representatives from Monster.com say their site currently has 17 million resumes ­ and only 1 million job posts. However, not all of those resumes are from people actively seeking jobs. Some people leave their resumes posted on online career boards long after they land new jobs.

The last I look Salon isn't doing too well and rumors of its demise are clanging all over the place. I think if Salon goes down it will mark the end of the initial phase of the Net, at least the content-laden Net, and will not be a happy story.

Good story on packback journalism and what will be happening in the near future

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The Wall Street Journal has an article that asks the question is the publishing job market turning the corner? Considering what is has been the past year and a half I hope so. Business 2.0 has come out with an article forecasting the greatest growth in job types for the next 10 years.

 Jobless Claims Rise Slightly

The number of first-time unemployment claims filed by U.S. workers increased by 1,000 for the week ending April 13 to 445,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 444,000, according to statistics released today by The Labor Department. The increased jobless claim figure still reflects the new government program that extends unemployment benefits for 13 weeks. The four-week moving average, considered a more accurate measure of unemployment conditions because it irons out weekly fluctuations, also rose to 448,750, from last week's revised mark of 433,750, the highest since the middle of November. For the first time in eight months, companies added jobs in March, perhaps a sign that the economy is recovering from the recession which began in March 2001. The Labor Department's reports also showed that the number of Americans who continue to receive unemployment benefits rose to 3.84 million for the week ending April 6, the highest level since February 1983.

According to the Wall Street Journal there's been a slight increase in newspaper hiring since the beginning of the year. It's not what one could term, "exuberant," but it is shifting into an upward mode. The one trend they report on is an increase in entry-level jobs and very stagnant growth in senior positions. This is causing some journalists to accept lower positions.

Advertising cuts are one culprit. The post-September 11th downturn was another one.

Freelancers are in a favored position if they can tolerate some of the obnoxious behavior on the part of publications: Delays in payment and cancelled assignments among them. However, as more journalists go freelancing, the greater advantage will go to the publications who can bid lower for assignments.

It's distressing to see all of this, especially after the promises of the 90's, the bubble-years apparently.

Remember that online classified job boards represent only one portion of leads available. I've seen it put at 20%. That means the other jobs are filled in-house or through networking. So, it's very important to have a job strategy, target an industry, target an employer, fill out an application, talk to people, and research. Do that whether a company has advertised a job or not.

Let us know if you have Questions and we'll try to provide, if not answers, some direction.

Back to this month's Joblog!

David

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