Baffling as it may be, many student journalists don’t have a Web-first mindset. They think of themselves working solely for a print product and think the time for learning new skills is tomorrow, not today.

How do we help them see the light?

Show ‘em the facts.

Looking for a to-the-point, persuasive blog post to help you in your endeavor? Mindy McAdams just posted it.

In response to a survey preceding a journalism job fair, 86 newspaper editors and publishers from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio said these are the skills students need to put themselves in the strongest position to land an entry-level job in the newspaper industry today:

Diverse skills: multimedia storytelling, including audio and video; Web-first reporting; report/write for both printed publication and online (45 out of 86)

Writing skills: writing on deadline; writing brief and fast, including for Web site; attention to grammar, spelling, clarity, organization (40 out of 86)

Curiosity and enthusiasm (16 out of 86)

MORE THAN HALF (!!!) want reporters to have a diverse skillset, and my guess is the other half sure wouldn’t mind it if you had one, either.

The rest of the post is just as fact-filled and interesting, including a bit about why you should freelance while still in college.

I’m not trying to pontificate from on high here. I know I have plenty of skills left to learn and a dwindling number of days before graduation. Believe me, those two facts are the source of most of my stress.

The point is that at least I’m aware of my shortcomings.

If we don’t have the right state of mind, we don’t stand a chance at changing how we report the news.

Rob Curley’s two-year-old post still holds true: “Skillset is important. But mindset is most important.”

Mindy just gave us all a tool to use to kick people in gear and get our news organizations innovating again.

[ Photo by minxlabs ]

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