KJB102 assessment 3
Introduction
Entertainment and music journalism, a media and communications field in which I hope to one day make a career, has recently undergone significant changes due to the rise of digital media and, as such, has significant and specific challenges associated with it. In order to develop professionally, it is important to both understand these issues and to consider ways in which they can be used to my advantage. What I see as three of the most important current issues include; building an original and professional style, becoming better at networking and interpersonal relations, and media convergence. Recognising the key personal and professional characteristics that will help me to effectively overcome these challenges will be critical to my development as a journalist in the modern era.
Building an original and approachable style
Concurrent to the rise of social media and user-generated content has grown the importance of bloggers and social media ‘influencers’; it is now relatively simple to become a freelance journalist, particularly in the music/entertainment field. Therefore, it is, now more than ever, extremely important to develop a ‘voice’ which is both unique and accessible. In itself, this is a form of personal branding, a process by which ‘individuals… differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leverage it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal’ (Collins, 2012). The challenge associated with creating this unique style is, I believe, twofold; consistency and approachability. Firstly, I must be consistent in the views I offer, and, more importantly, whilst I should be distinct enough to get noticed, it is also important that I conform to the stylistic conventions of the genre.
CareerHMO, a popular online career-improvement platform defines consistency as important because ‘…how well we stick in people’s minds after we meet them, either online or in person. The key to maximizing our stickiness as professionals is to keep our personal brands as consistent as possible’ (Career HMO, 2015). This ‘consistency’ includes not just the image I want to convey, but the associated views and values; as I am interested in music journalism, it would be counter-active to post about political topics. I believe this poses a significant challenge, as consistency in any one area is difficult to maintain, especially due to the fact that social media has blurred the lines between ‘personal’ and ‘public’, making it more difficult to separate a professional identity from a personal identity. In order to overcome this issue, I believe it will be important to maintain two separate online presences, in the manner of many professional journalists; in this way, I would effectively be able to differentiate between personal and professional views, making it a lot easier to be consistent.
Similarly, the approachability of my style is very important. Jake Cleland, a journalist for Fasterlouder, the music division of popular Australian news website Junkee, writes that, ‘…while it’s undeniably true that holding onto your convictions should be a central concern for music critics, the value… placed on unique, distinct voices seems to contradict the reality of the current marketplace.’ (Cleland, 2013). Essentially, Cleland’s words acknowledge that, whilst it is important to still be personal and distinctive, it is also extremely important to not be too personal in style. Here, ‘personal’ refers to the idea that it is ‘you’ writing directly for the audience in the manner of a rant; whilst this approach previously brought success for individuals such as Lester Bangs and Robert Christgau, the contemporary magazines, such as Pitchfork, require writers to have a much more measured approach (Cleland, 2013). To bypass this challenge, it is therefore necessary that I incorporate into my ‘personal brand’ elements of traditional music journalism, and take care to be professional in style, rather than simply individual.
Overcoming shyness/reservedness
Noted psychologist Carl Jung pioneered the theory of extrovert/introvert personality types; of these, the ‘introvert’ can be defined as someone who ‘get[s]… energy from dealing with the ideas, pictures, memories, and reactions that are inside [their] head… [and] often prefers doing things alone…’ (Martin, 1997). Essentially, people with an introverted personality type are more generally reserved, and require stimulation from within, whereas extroverts look to other people and surroundings for stimulation. Currently, the media landscape appears to favour naturally outgoing and extroverted people, as this type of person seemingly makes a more entertaining interviewer, a key skill in the field of entertainment journalism. As I personally am an introvert, and can find social situations challenging, learning ways in which I can either overcome my reservedness, or use it to my advantage, will be of paramount importance. Although this is a challenge mainly applicable to interviewing, I believe that it also necessarily translates to all areas of media and communications.
In a 2012 article for Poynter, journalist Beth Winegarner writes that her natural shyness and reticence had originally held her back as a reporter, and, as a result, had found it necessary to ‘…develop… methods for tricking [her]self into [talking to strangers’ (Winegarner, 2012); evidently, as a professional journalist, she sees that it is necessary to overcome ‘shyness’, and the anxiety that stems from conversations with strangers. Of her ‘methods’, the most relevant is, I believe, research and preparation. Knowing background information on the subject will, according to Fred Zimmerman, a noted journalist for The Wall Street Journal, allow me to ‘theorize about what the person’s attitude is likely to be toward you and the subject you are asking about, … Based on this theorizing, develop a plan of attack that… might mesh with the person’s probable attitude and get through his or her probable defences’ (Columbia University, n.d.). Here, it can be seen that extensive, or even cursory, background research will allow the interviewer to be more comfortable in the situation, and overcome feelings of awkwardness. In short, one method for overcoming my own, albeit relatively mild, social anxiety will be to do always ensure that I am prepared and know what to expect, thus putting myself at ease and allowing me to competently carry out my job.
However, there are also ways in which I can use introversion to my advantage; Jen Retter, in an article entitled ‘How This Introvert Built a Successful Career as a Journalist’, detailed the ways in which a naturally reserved personality acted as an asset in her career as a journalist. One of the points that she makes is that her ‘… introverted observational skills allow [her] to change… approach, based on [the] interviewee’s temperament’ (Retter, 2013). Essentially, being an introvert, being naturally analytical of the behaviour of others, will allow me to pick up on the more subtle cues of an interviewee, and allow me to do a more thorough interview. This is supported by Columbia University’s ‘Four Principles of Journalism’, which states that a fundamental interviewing skill is asking ‘questions that are relevant to the source and that induce the source to talk’ (Columbia University, n.d.); being an introvert will actually benefit me in this respect, as I will be able to perceive the attitude of the interviewee, and therefore steer the interview in the correct direction. In all, although it is important to overcome social anxiety, I will also be able to use this perceived obstacle to my own advantage.
Media convergence
The rapid development of mobile technology, and the subsequent rise of social media, has forced the communications industry to radically change the way that content is delivered. Due to this expansion of platforms, in order to reach a sizeable audience segment, content must be delivered by combining a variety of different media; this is known as media convergence (Media Convergence, 2011). In regards to entertainment journalism, media convergence has been a mixed blessing; although digitisation and the internet has made material much more accessible, it is also largely free. Due to the fact that it is free, many media outlets now practice a further form of media convergence known as ‘native advertising’, where an advertisement is written in the style of a legitimate article. The reason that I believe media convergence will pose a significant challenge is because I will need to develop not only new-media friendly writing skills which will fit into the ‘buzzfeed culture’, but also the ability to smoothly integrate different forms of communications, in particular, advertisements.
The digitisation and convergence of media has spawned a slew of entertainment news websites, typified by Buzzfeed and Gawker, and the result has been for a stylistic shift towards shorter, simpler articles; listicles. Generally, listicles involve splicing facts with pop culture references, making for a quick and, often, entertaining read, the aim being to ‘condense any subject into a manageable number of discrete facts or at least factoids’ (Poole, 2013). A 2015 study by Microsoft Canada has shown that the amount of time that young people are spending online has decreased the average attention span to only 8 seconds (Richards, 2015); and, as digital media will only keep expanding, it will therefore be crucial to learn how to write in a form that will be both eye-catching and easily digestible. Actually writing in the form of a listicle is not too difficult, as they can be of relatively low-quality and still be effective (Robbins, 2015); but it is a different style to traditional journalism, which is what I believe will be challenging. I am confident, however, that I will be able to write in this style if it is necessary.
In addition, it is also highly likely that, as a young journalist in the entertainment industry, I will be required to write ‘advertorials’, another stylistic adjustment I must learn to employ effectively. An advertorial is, essentially, a convergence between advertising media and journalism; a piece of sponsored content made to look like an opinion piece (Shewan, 2014), the written form of native advertising. Given the rise of digital media, and the fact that it is now an expectation that consumers receive their news for no fee, I find it likely that I will, in the future, have to write an advertorial, or, at the very least, sponsored content. Advertorials have appeared in popular entertainment-news sites such as Gawker, and they are used by sponsors because the ‘click-through rates tend to be much higher than typical advertisements and engagement is usually much stronger’ (Shewan, 2014). The advertorial itself should have, according to Neville Medhora, an advertising blogger, ‘70% good content, and… 30% promotion’, without any points of ‘blatant advertising’ (Medhora, n.d.). Evidently, subtlety will be key when attempting to write a piece of sponsored content.
Conclusion
It can be seen that there are many different skills, both personal and professional, that I will need to develop in order to enter the entertainment journalism sphere. In brief, these include: consistency and approachability when developing a personal brand; preparing for and listening carefully when conducting an interview; and learning to write in new-media friendly styles such as listicles and advertorials. I believe that an effective and purposeful use of the above skills will enable me to find work in the changing field of entertainment journalism, and overcome many of the issues that have been raised by the digitisation of media.
Bibliography
-. (2011, December 12). What is Media Convergence ? Retrieved from Mediaconvergence.wordpress.com: https://mconvergence.wordpress.com/about/
Career HMO. (2015, June 15). Personal Branding 101: Consistency Is Key. Retrieved from Career HMO.com: http://careerhmo.com/personal-branding-101-consistency-is-key-by-joel-caney/
Cleland, J. (2013, September 2). The most important issue facing music journalism today. Retrieved from Junkee.com: http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/the-most-important-issue-facing-music-journalism-today/848997
Collins, B. (2012, June). The Importance of Personal Branding: Uses of Personal Branding for Career Development and Success . Retrieved from California Polytechnic State University: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1048&context=joursp
Columbia University. (n.d., – -). Interviewing Principles. Retrieved from Columbia University: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/isaacs/edit/MencherIntv1.html
Martin, C. (1997, – -). Extraversion or Introversion. Retrieved from Myers-Briggs Foundation: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/extraversion-or-introversion.htm
Medhora, N. (n.d., – -). Advertorials: How To Write Them & Why They’re Awesome. Retrieved from KopywritingKourse.com: http://kopywritingkourse.com/advertorials-how-to-write-them/
Poole, S. (2013, November 12). Top nine things you need to know about ‘listicles’. Retrieved from TheGuardian.com: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/12/listicles-articles-written-lists-steven-poole
Retter, J. (2013, December 18). How This Introvert Built a Successful Career as a Journalist. Retrieved from Quiet Revolution.com: http://www.quietrev.com/how-this-introvert-built-a-successful-career-as-a-journalist/
Richards, A. (2015, May 18). MILLENNIALS’ ATTENTION SPANS ONE SECOND SHORTER THAN GOLDFISH. Retrieved from Infowars.com: http://www.infowars.com/millennials-attention-spans-one-second-shorter-than-goldfish/
Robbins, L. (2015, May 21). 5 Reasons Why the Listicle Is Here to Stay. Retrieved from LukeRobbins.me: https://lukerobbins.me/blog-posts/writing/5-reasons-why-the-listicle-is-here-to-stay/
Shewan, D. (2014, July 7). Native Advertising Examples: 5 of the Best (and Worst). Retrieved from WordStream.com: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/07/07/native-advertising-examples
Winegarner, B. (2012, April 23). 5 ways journalists can overcome shyness during interviews. Retrieved from Poynter Institue for Journalism: http://www.poynter.org/2012/5-ways-journalists-can-overcome-shyness-during-interviews/170873/
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