So you think you've got what it takes, by Sheena MacLean - 18th November 2004
(Credit:The Australian - Media)

About 1200 journalism graduates will be competing for up to 300 jobs in the mainstream media across the country this year.

Journalism lecturer Roger Patching, from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, estimates that about half of these jobs will go to journalism graduates and the rest to people with other qualifications. Large numbers will find work in media-related fields such as public relations and in non-media areas that require research and report writing skills.

So what do media managers look for in prospective employees, how did they get their start and what makes a good journalist? Media spoke to some senior executives to find out.

John Hartigan
Chief executive, News Limited

JOHN Hartigan, 56, started his career as a copy boy straight from school at Fairfax's The Sun. He says newspapers need inquisitive people who care about what's going on in their community and who want to fossick out facts. "Too often we see people who want to let the community know what their thoughts are rather than draw the information from others."

Hartigan is a strong believer in "the great university of life" where people bring broad skills, by way of experience, to their journalism. "Journalism is all about reporting for middle Australia, not just for the elite."

Newspapers need stories with broad appeal, not just because they fit one demographic or another. "This whole argument of AB audience share that you hear so much about at the moment is detrimental to both journalism, for us as an industry, but also from the readers' perspective."

The future, though, is also increasingly about specialisation. He supports the recruitment of people from a wider pool with expertise in non-media areas to be trained as journalists.

"It's all very well for journalists like myself who thought they knew enough about everything, but the modern world doesn't let you off the hook very easily."

He sees shortcomings with the present system where graduates come in and do a one-year cadetship. "I defy anyone to learn the breadth of skills that you need when you're working hands-on for a news organisation in 12 months ... court reporting, gallery reporting, police reporting and all the areas of specialisation, you just can't do it."

Anne Parsons
Chief executive, media buying agency Zenith Media

ANNE Parsons studied journalism and psychology before making her mark in media buying, and while she says they have both been useful at varying times and to varying degrees, she doesn't consider it has been instrumental.

Academic qualifications are good for personal development and all education is a positive, but it does not make the difference between a good practitioner and a bad one, she says. "Success is much more about persistence than anything else, including education."

She started her first media job when she was 18, studying part time and working as a waitress on the weekend to make ends meet because her media salary was so low.

She suggests young people should study what they are genuinely interested in, to capitalise on talent and encourage passion. "The communication industry is so broad and dynamic that any study can be put to good use, whether it's writing, IT, literature, psychology, science or statistics."

Mark Scott
Editor-in-chief, metropolitan newspapers, John Fairfax Holdings

MARK Scott looks for outstanding communications skills and people who can demonstrate a track record of being tenacious, "people who are desperate to find out the truth of what's going on".

He says people with those attributes come from a wide range of fields and trainees are by no means predominately graduates from communications courses. What Fairfax looks for is a fascination with learning and discovery and a fascination with telling stories.

For the past seven or eight years, Fairfax has taken on graduates for one-year traineeships in which they receive on-the-job training, structured curriculum and practical skills such as shorthand and media law as well as mentoring from senior journalists. When the year is up, trainees may or may not be offered a permanent job.

In recent times there has been more recruitment of advanced trainees from country and regional newspapers.

Scott says many of the great journalists of the past did not have tertiary qualifications. In fact, Fairfax is looking into whether it should take some cadets straight from school. He refers to the Melbourne Herald intake of 1979, which included John Lyons, former SMH editor and now with the Nine Network; The Age sports reporter Caroline Wilson; Robert Thomson, editor of The Times in London; and Peter Wilson, The Australian's Europe correspondent and Graham Perkin journalist of the year. All got their start straight from school.

Scott, 42, stresses there are multiple pathways into journalism and his experience reflects that. He taught English and history in his 20s, worked in politics, studied government at Harvard and worked in an education think-tank in Washington before his first job in journalism, as education editor of the SMH.

Peter Meakin
Director of news and current affairs, Seven Network

LIKE many seasoned media executives, Peter Meakin began as a copy boy, then a cadet journalist on a newspaper, Adelaide's The Advertiser. His two key requirements for reporters are the ability to get their facts right and a determination to find the facts and tell a story.

"There are some people who walk into our television stations equipped with little more than a memory board ... they just want to sit there and preen themselves ... but there's more to journalism than a make-up kit."

He says too many people apply because they want to get their head on camera and the message and information is secondary. "They figure with the state of the Australian film industry they're not going to get into feature films and television's a second bet. There is too much emphasis on 'me, me, me'."

He says many of the J-schools are not providing "hungry" journalists, people who love to break stories and create a bit of havoc. Overall, though, they are turning out some very good people and "some of our best" have come from J-schools.

"I also question that, with the increased complexity of life these days and our needs to specialise, whether people have a sufficient background in things like law or finance. To be honest, it's easier

to teach a lawyer journalism than it is to teach journalists the law sometimes."

Lucinda Duckett
National editorial development manager, News Limited

LUCINDA Duckett, 40, had a traditional indentured newspaper training in Britain, starting off on a weekly and gaining Fleet Street experience before working as a reporter, sub-editor and assistant chief-of-staff on The Daily Telegraph in Sydney.

"We look for a passion for newspapers and it has to be newspapers. Being passionate about the media doesn't cut it ... we look for people who really are interested in current affairs, who are passionate about knowledge."

She finds it astonishing how many would-be reporters profess to have that interest, only to fail the simplest current affairs test or demonstrate in interviews that they have not been reading newspapers.

News Limited newspapers across the country have their own recruitment and local training schemes, and the selection process varies. In Melbourne, for example, there is a cadet intake once a year. Applicants go through a series of tests and interviews.

Separate to these is a national umbrella training program that covers all journalists, providing online and face-to-face training in several areas, including court reporting and media law.

The vast majority of recruits, roughly about 90 per cent, are graduates who do a one-year cadetship before being graded. School-leavers undertake a three-year cadetship. There are also unpaid internships in Sydney lasting several weeks where people can gain reporting experience.

John Cameron
Director of news and current affairs, ABC

JOHN Cameron's introduction to journalism began at 17 as a cadet on a country newspaper in New Zealand. In the early years he worked as a sports reporter on a metro daily, went to London, where he worked on suburban newspapers, and then worked in commercial radio in NZ before joining the ABC.

He says reporters have to have an inquisitive mind, good general knowledge, a genuine interest in news and current events and, critically, a storytelling ability, as well as a good grip of the English language.

"In broadcast terms, one of the key things we look for is an acceptable voice. Someone who can communicate conversationally and comfortably. Obviously, we can't afford to alienate viewers with poor quality presentation. By the same token, we don't have a beauty contest mentality."

Cameron, 52, says he has been sceptical about the value of some journalism courses, "but to be fair in recent years some of our very best people have come through the J-school system".

Chris Anderson
Director of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited

CHRIS Anderson, 59, began as a copy boy on The Daily Telegraph under Frank Packer and went on to become chief executive of John Fairfax Holdings, chief executive of Optus, managing editor of the ABC and group chief executive of Television New Zealand. Three weeks ago he gave this year's Andrew Olle media lecture.

Anderson is not as dismissive of journalism schools as some executives and says very good people are coming through, although he says they instil a bit of a collective herd mind-set. He says you cannot make a hard and fast rule about recruitment: many fine journalists had prior outside experience in industries such as banking and teaching. "There's no one answer, that's the main thing."

But you do need to have a good general knowledge and to read voraciously. It's a must to read not only the daily papers in Australia but also foreign papers and magazines to be aware of what's going on. "I know that's a cliche but it is sometimes quite frightening how young journalists don't read."

Journalists need to be suspicious and sceptical but not cynical. "You need to question but you don't need a level of cynicism about life or about institutions or about the way things run because, by and large, you always come from a perspective where you don't believe anything. That's a bit of a danger."

Max Markson
Managing director, public relations company Markson Sparks!

MAX Markson's first job was as a spotlight operator at a nightclub in the seaside town of Bournemouth in England for which he received 50p a night. He was 16 and still at school. These days he runs a high-profile company involved in corporate PR, celebrity management and special events. He has brought out former US president Bill Clinton three times to the region and next year brings out Cherie Blair.

Markson, 48, started off doing publicity and promotional work but has no formal training in the area. He says there are just three things people need to succeed, whatever business they are in: persistence, enthusiasm and focus.

He looks for a positive attitude and confidence.

His tip: If you want to do a job, offer yourself for free somewhere for month, "and if you're any good, they'll offer you a job".

Mary Davison
Editorial manager, Nine Network

MARY Davison, 43, did a degree in English in Britain and a one-year accredited journalism course before a two-year traineeship with ITV television in Britain. She came to Australia to work for SBS before going to Nine, where she was London bureau chief for 11 years and producer for Brian Henderson.

In recent weeks she has been sorting through 2000 applications to compile a short list of 15 for two news and current affairs traineeships. They are rotated on various programs but are not guaranteed a job at the end of the year-long stint. She has been shocked by the poor level of the written applications and has disregarded 20 per cent of them at first glance.

"These are people with great references, with high academic qualifications, but they can't spell and don't know how to construct a sentence. I find that really frightening." Despite that, the general level of applications is "pretty good", she says.

"What I'm trying to get away from is this idea that if you are going to do a traineeship with Nine you are going to be on television, because probably only 10 per cent of the people who work for the Nine Network are on television." For every on-air person there are another five or six behind the scenes.

Campbell Reid
Editor, The Daily Telegraph

CAMPBELL Reid, 46, started in journalism in New Zealand after a six-month course at a technical institute that taught basic skills such as interviewing and note-taking, after which students gained on-the-job training on small country papers. After about six months, you were perfectly equipped to cover the entry-level kind of jobs like a car crash or the local court, says Reid.

"But now the basic journalist graduate seems to be perfectly well-equipped to tell me why my splash [the front page story] is biased, but is unable to cover the story themselves."

"Cynicism is the cancer that can eat away at journalism and you have to fight its onset.

"Journalism schools nowadays seem to be about the behaviour of people like me and try to read my mind - basically cast commentary on whether what I'm doing is right or proper or not, as opposed to learning how to be a reporter or a journalist themselves."

Reid says he looks for enthusiasm and curiosity, "and once you've got those two things, you can build on skills as a writer and the qualifications of a good reporter".

The Telegraph looks most favourably on journalism graduates from the University of Western Sydney - "they seem to be taught the fundamentals and understand where our readers live". After that editors look favourably on those with a law degree. "It's a sad indictment that journalism courses haven't been able to convince people like me that their graduates are the ones I should take on."

Recent recruits to the Telegraph include some who have married other qualifications with journalism training - a qualified carpenter, a medical doctor, a lawyer and a stand-up comedian.

Michael Gill
Publisher and editor-in-chief of Fairfax Business Publications

MICHAEL Gill, 51, started out as a BHP trainee in Newcastle and worked in financial services before "seeing the light" and entering journalism.

Many people in the trainee intake will have started their career somewhere else with experience in another industry such as banking or some sort of business, but they also hire a few who have recently graduated.

Gill says they choose people on a case by case basis and he places a lot of emphasis on interviews because qualifications on paper are not always a good indicator. He wants people "who understand what the nature of our work is", who have demonstrated a level of discipline and expertise.

Glenys Rowe
General manager, SBS Independent

GLENYS Rowe has been to art school and university, made films and worked in advertising for years before joining SBS, where she commissions a host of programs from independent producers, from feature films and animation to documentaries. She's involved from the ideas stage through to the finished project, which involves talking to the creators of the ideas. "You get a gut feeling for what's going to take off ... I'm sure it exists in advertising as well."

Her advice for people wanting to work in the media is to follow your nose and make it happen. "Just do it. It's a bit like the Nike ad. And don't wait for money, don't wait for people to tell you that it's good ... you learn so much more doing a job than sitting at a desk dreaming about it."

Garry Linnell
Editor-in-chief, The Bulletin

WHEN Garry Linnell, 40, started his journalism cadetship straight from high school at The Age in 1982, his intake was one of the last to include a substantial number of school-leavers.

In those days the split was 50-50 school-leavers and graduates.

He says journalists first and foremost need a strong sense of curiosity. Too many "want to tell you what they think rather than report what they see". He detects a degree of closed-mindedness that wasn't obvious some years ago. He would like to see less interpretation, less analysis, less comment and more digging.

Linnell sees the bigger problem for journalism not at the entry stage but further down the career path, trying to keep older journalists. "We lose generation after generation." In the US, those over 50 are held in high regard because of their knowledge and experience yet, outside of Canberra, there aren't that many in Australia. He finds working with older journalists invaluable.

"If you've got more of a middle-age to late-age base to build on, that's where your younger ones will learn from."

Marena Manzoufas
Head of programming, ABC TV

MARENA Manzoufas, 54, has an honours degree in history and worked on the taskforce inquiring into multicultural television in the 1970s and then on the setting up of SBS in 1980.

There will be few people in Australia who watch as much TV as Manzoufas. At the ABC she identifies programs to buy and only about 20 per cent of what she sees makes it to the screen. She also works with the director of television on the structure of the TV schedule and monitors the TV ratings daily to analyse where the audience is going and whether it's shifting.

"If there is an age demographic or sector of the audience that is not coming to us, then we have a look and see what we can do about it."

TV is tough to break into but it helps if you have tenacity, flexibility and willingness to work hard, "but that's true of anything, and not particular to television", Manzoufas says.

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