Media/PR industry reporter

The Bulldog Reporter, which produces print, online and e-zine publications for the PR and corporate communication industries, seeks a part-time reporter to cover media and PR news.

The reporter will work 20 hours per week, write for a variety of mediums and be based in Oakland, Calif.

"A college degree and one to two years of journalism or related experience required," the ad states. "Online publishing experience a plus. Publisher Infocom Group offers a great working environment, strong benefits and solid compensation."

E-mail cover letter, resume and one representative clip to frankz@bulldogreporter.com. Links to your blog are a plus.

Location: Oakland, California

Journalism scholarship for Ohio students

Six $3,000 scholarships will be awarded to college journalism, public relations and communications students from Summit, Portage, Medina, Stark and Wayne counties in Ohio.

"The applicant must be active in any facet of journalism and/or public relations," the announcement states. "Applicants must be in good academic standing at a college or university. The applicant should be a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. Financial need will be considered."

Scholarships are offered by the Akron Beacon Journal. Deadline to apply is March 2. Download an application online.

Location: Akron, Ohio

Journalism scholarship for Illinois students

Students who either are from Central Illinois or attend college in the region can apply for a $2,000 journalism scholarship.

The Association for Women in Communications, Springfield Chapter, is accepting applications for its 2009 scholarship until March 6. Junior, senior and graduate level college students are eligible. Applicants must be majoring in communications, journalism, public relations or related fields and have an above-average grade point average.

Download a scholarship application online.

Springfield, Illinois

Paid internship @ YES Network

The YES Network, the #1 Regional Sports Network in the country and TV station of the New York Yankees and the New Jersey Nets, is offering a paid internship in Spring 2009.

The intern will work 20-25 hours per week. Duties include: identifying newsworthy soundbites and passages from YES shows for publicity purposes, handling information requests, researching and writing press release, biographies, fact sheets and other press materials, etc.

How to quote sources

The video below explains how to handle quotes in stories, including selecting which quotes to use, punctuating quotes and properly attributing them. The 30-minute tutorial is the newest Journalism 101 lesson I've created for CubReporters.org's education page. There are also some interactive exercises to practice your skills.

Please share it with your classmates, coworkers, professors and editors. Additionally, public relations practitioners can apply the lessons from the quotations tutorial when writing press releases.



-Mark Grabowski

Public relations internships

I’ve created a public relations internship guide for college students.

http://PRinternship.org

It’s very much a work-in-progress (feel free to send feedback), and nowhere near matching my journalism internship website in its depth and breadth. But it’s a start, and there doesn’t seem to be too many good PR internship websites.

It may seem odd to be talking about PR on a journalism blog. After all, many journalists view PR as “the Dark Side.” It’s all about “spin” and misinforming the public, they believe.

Guess what? Many PR people are equally wary of journalists, believing that the media is out to get them. They frequently accuse reporters of “spinning” stories.

As someone who’s worked on both sides of the fence, I know that both viewpoints are silly. When practiced ethically – as the vast majority of professionals in both journalism and PR do – both fields have similar goals. Basically, inform the public and tell the truth. Unfortunately, a few bad apples have given both fields an inaccurate reputation.

The reality is that there’s a lot of crossover between journalism and PR.

At many media outlets, for better or worse, we’re seeing a blurring of the lines between journalism and public relations. Many journalists eventually switch careers to public relations. At the university where I teach, public relations and journalism are combined into one major. I’m not saying that’s the way it should be. I’m just saying, that’s the way it is these days.

So, that’s why I’m writing about public relations on a journalism website. Because I know many of my site’s visitors may also be interested in careers in public relations.

-Mark Grabowski