TW Artists part III: When mods attack (read the first post)

[Troll King]

I'm back from my self-imposed forum vacation. Working with a couple dozen vBulletin forums each day kind of made coming here less than appealing.

I've since been transferred within the company and I'm now the news editor for Motorcycle.com.


EDIT: I don't know who's handling the administration of these boards now, but if people are interested in tweaks like getting Youtube videos embedded into threads, I can help.

[Cops]

awesome, what's the pay like? I'd talk to PH, he seems like the most active moderator on this forum.

[Troll King]

The job's not as impressive as it sounds, but it pays about right for what it is. I'm called the "news editor" but mostly, I rewrite press releases, stripping away the hype and adding secondary sources of information and spit it out as news.

It's going to take me a bit to catch up to things here, but from what I've seen so far, nothing much has changed.

[Saturn V]

The job's not as impressive as it sounds, but it pays about right for what it is. I'm called the "news editor" but mostly, I rewrite press releases, stripping away the hype and adding secondary sources of information and spit it out as news.

It's going to take me a bit to catch up to things here, but from what I've seen so far, nothing much has changed.

i'm now a girl

[Cops]

The job's not as impressive as it sounds, but it pays about right for what it is. I'm called the "news editor" but mostly, I rewrite press releases, stripping away the hype and adding secondary sources of information and spit it out as news.

It's going to take me a bit to catch up to things here, but from what I've seen so far, nothing much has changed.

Nothing much has changed, people leave, people stay, and people come back. If there ever was a forum glory I'm not sure what it looks like, this board has always been stagnant. General discussion has been dead for the past two months, only a few threads keep it going. I think these boards will survive as long as the game does, so it's no big deal. I started noticing that there's a lot of people who view threads but don't respond to them, so the board isn't necessarily inactive.

It's good to hear you're employed. I'm going into my last year of college, I'll be working in the same industry as you, hopefully. If there is anything I really miss about these forums it's ConcreteSchlYrd's and your intellectual power bombs.

[Troll King]

Well, after some people said my job was a dead-end, I guess I was extra motivated to have it lead somewhere.

[Cops]

Well, after some people said my job was a dead-end, I guess I was extra motivated to have it lead somewhere.

Izor tried to give me career advice too, I was like 'no way dude'.

[Squeezer]

cool news TK. Motorcycle.com is kind of a big deal, is it not? They own the domain name for motorcycles after all. Are bikes a particular passion of yours or did you take the job for other reasons?

I recently switched to a double minor in journalism and creative writing. Just learning the ways of the AP stylebook, but it's fun and I have a job lined up in September writing for a local arts and entertainment editorial. I can't wait to be paid to write...the schmucks :P

[Scurvy]

I just recently posted some older drawings and stuff on a blog. For those still interested, the link is www.seanwallace.blogspot.com

[Liquid Blue]

Question for Cops/Squeezer-

have either of you done freelance writing before? Just curious, I can't ask if TK has done it since technically it's his day job. Do your professors suggest having alot of freelance experience on your resume before you apply to magazines/websites?

[phata$$]

Very cool stuff Scurvy. When I progress along in my life and have some money to spend, I wouldn't mind supporting.

BTW What happened to those t-shirts that you were designing? Any progress?

[Cops]

Question for Cops/Squeezer-

have either of you done freelance writing before? Just curious, I can't ask if TK has done it since technically it's his day job. Do your professors suggest having alot of freelance experience on your resume before you apply to magazines/websites?

I've only done a few freelance jobs involving video shooting and video editing. I've been told to get as much freelance experience as possible, it might not pay much but it gives you experience and your name gets talked about. I've also started sending in editorial comments to my local school newspaper. It might not be full print stories but it's good to contribute.

I think your resume should have some solid contacts as well as a few jobs you've done to make extra cash. It also helps to help some experience in something related to the job you're applying to.

[Squeezer]

Question for Cops/Squeezer-

have either of you done freelance writing before? Just curious, I can't ask if TK has done it since technically it's his day job. Do your professors suggest having alot of freelance experience on your resume before you apply to magazines/websites?

I got a job with one of my school's newspapers. We have like 16,000 kids so the Journalism department does a news specific paper that all journalism students have to take for a year, an environmentally specific paper (we're a huge Eco-Science school...boring) and an small town specific paper that covers the culture of our area. These provide a lot of freelance type experience in addition to being run by asshole editors that still freelance themselves.

The paper that I work for is paid for by students' tuitions and covers mostly student events and arts and entertainment. It's been a ton of work but great experience. I've had to clean up a little and kick my laziness because I have 3-4 articles on top of homework due every week. We're a 7 person operation. 3 Writers, one editor, one assistant editor one events coordinator/Public relations coordinator and a photographer. All of us have to work our ass off to produce a weekly but we do it all except the printing, which is done on the local newspaper's presses. I actually turned in two articles for our halloween edition today.

I would say either try and freelance or start a blog. Blog's are lame shit but if you don't have journalism experience (schooling) it's hard to get a job in today's market. Hell, it's hard for people with degrees. This industry is shifting away from physical print to online writing. News websites are really taking off, so they're the ones with all the jobs. Blogging teaches you to write in the online style, with hyperlinks and such. You'll be benefited by constant practice. I'd say go for it man. You seem pretty inquisitive. If a special event rolls into town, do some research, go down to the event and don't be afraid to talk to everyone. You wont need all the quotes and info you'll get, but you'll relish getting a full experience. Try to talk to the right people that can get you interviews with the people you need (IE high ranking/subject people). Don't be pushy. Act natural and don't be afraid to show personality but also be impartial. Once you've polished it and feel comfortable submitting it, mail the article to your local newspaper (or email it to the editor) with a letter explaining what you're sending.

After that keep in contact and hope for the best. You might even get paid.

[Cops]

Squeezer's pretty lucky. My school has one paper but it's run by the print journalism students. I can't really do print stories since it's the print journalists job to run the paper. The student union would never fund an independent newspaper, they are quite possibly some of the most useless people at my school.

I think the advice about the blog is a great way to get experience writing in a specific format. Forums are less effective, but this forum has done nothing but make me learn how to construct my thoughts on virtual paper.

There's plenty of great books on news writing but it all depends on what type of website and writing you'll be doing. I could recommend a few books on how to write a news story. Everyone has their own way of writing but generally until you know exactly what needs to be in a story it's best to stick to a formula.

[Troll King]

Having experience on your resume is never a bad thing. In this industry, that matters a lot more than your education really.

I feel kind of lucky with my experience in journalism school after reading Squeezer and Cops' comments. In my school's program, the focus is almost entirely on producing a full, finished product. Squeezer mentioned a seven-person team producing their campus paper. For us, it's a project for a full class of 20-odd editors with about 50 writers. Everyone has to spend a semester in their first year as a beat writer for the campus paper, even if you're heading into the radio or television journalism streams. Those in print like me had another semester on the newspaper's editing team and another semester in he magazine course producing two magazines.