Anyone with a taste for investigative journalism needs to read this. Lars Moller, a Danish journalist, is the author. Make sure you read the second and third parts of this synopsis, along with the other links included.

If "citizen journalism" is serious about itself it will check Mr. Moller's effort.

Some writer-types are attracted to non-profits. This article details some of the growing non-profit sectors and gives good link down at the bottom of the article.

When I used to publish Sunoasis X I followed digital publishing very closely including e-books, Fatbrain, Stephen King downloads and other subjects. Amazon.com is now allowing writers to upload and sell content on the Kindle, their new digital reader.

The Digital Text Platform is in beta but worth looking at. The best thing about these sort of schemes is that it gets writers motivated to put their material in a published form. Outside of that I won't comment.

I will blame it on global warming but for some reason, wild turkeys have invaded my region. And coming at this time of the year I think of the great San Francisco film, "The Birds," by Hitchcock. No deaths have been reported at the claws or beaks of turkeys.

Sunoasis.com is thinking of putting a social networking site up so that writers, editors, and others can develop their own space and make it easier to communicate with each other. We leave it to those who use the site to determine whether it will happen or not. If you want to cast your vote click and vote and use the backbutton to come back to the Joblog. Thanks.

November 26, 2007

Over the years one thing gets crystal clear: Evil hates and fears the free press. Be thankful if you live where the free press is stronger than either hate or fear.

One writer friendly job is that of public information officer such as this guy interviewed in Virginia. He has good tactics on developing a career. When asked about what the most important communication tool exists he said without hestitation,

• “Writing. Writing is the fundamental ability to have for effective communication. I don’t think it’s possible to be a great speaker without being a great writer first, or having a good writer help you out."

It looks like CBS News writers are joining the strike. It's about the money.

Is technical writing a fit for you? You'd be surprised by how prominent this field is getting, especially in the software industry. ""Now more people are setting out to be technical writers; in the past many just fell into it."

The NY Times column, Shifting Careers, takes on some ways not to conduct an informational interview.

You might be thinking of a second-career. Here are five tips.

In Pakistan it is not merely the journalists who are imperiled but their wives as well.

Students in southern California are concerned that the writers strike hampers their careers. However, "students will also benefit when the strike comes to an end because it will cause a "surge in production" in Hollywood."

In light of the Hollywood writers strike the question is raised, "why don't freelance writers get residuals?"

Call it "recareering," or "the second-life," but it comes after you ask a very important question, "what do I do next?" This is laid-out well by Marcia Pounds of the Sun-Sentinal.com. The story includes a segment on a newspaper reporter who transitioned into a field she had passion for and could still use her communications skills.

A Hollywood writer defends the writer's strike. With the coming of the internet it's more imperative than ever to understand how publishers make money. It is often through multiple platforms.

500 unionized news writers are going to vote Thursday on authorizing a strike."The CBS News television and radio writers have been working under an expired contract since April 2005..."

The Poynter Career Center has great tips for writers and journalists about how to better look for jobs. It's written by Colleen Eddy and she urges journalists to search for a job just as they would track down a story.

"Remove the personal aspects of job hunting and focus on where your assets match what the employer is seeking."

There are a lot of blogging jobs out there. Someone likened them to a "new writer's ghetto." If you are serious about blogging by all means, read this short piece of advice. In essence, develop an artistic attitude and believe in what you are doing whether you have an audience of one or one million.

This story tells about a trend that could develop into a new model for hard-hitting journalism: Total focus on local news like they are doing at Minnpost.com in Minneapolis. Freelance writers are welcome and paid well.

Today weather panels, tomorrow feature articles or investigative reporting? I doubt it.

Even though these newspaper layoffs seem dire, there will come a time when they start to re-hire, especially journalists who have mastered the Net in all its sublime ways.

Europe, too, has its journalism angst as jobs are cut and writers get concerned about the quality of journalism.

“This is a crisis for jobs, for quality media and for democracy,” says Arne König, the President of the European Federation of Journalists.

"In every EU country, the number of freelance and part-time workers in journalism has grown significantly as jobs have been cut and spending reduced on training and investigative reporting." Isn't this a call for freelance writers to take up the cause and build that quality into the enterprise of journalism?

This journalist makes some good points about "new journalism economics," and the resistance in the old structures of journalism. "It's incredibly hard for journalists who are trying to innovate to push a Web-related idea up the ladder."

Not to harp on the "death of the newspaper," but this columnist has it right. However, it is necessary to separate the act of journalism which like any writing, can be committed on any medium that permits it, from its container. Over time journalism will find its way in the virtual space a lot of us already occupy. I think what journalists fear is that the public will decide it doesn't want investigative reporting or hard-edged journalism to root out corruption. And in doing so the public will have committed hari-kari and doomed society to what the columnist terms, "a banana republic."

I would think a strike of this nature would hit the movie industry a lot harder since the public seems less and less attracted to poorly scripted films.

Of course, Hollywood writers could try out some reporting in another treacherous locale, Iraq. Anyone with a bit of complacency about why "freedom of the press," is so important should read this account.

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David

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