Calling all newspaper jobs out of hiding...

Newspaper jobs? Those days are long gone.

Is this a joke? Your professors didn’t actually tell you there were any newspaper jobs left, did they?

Don’t be discouraged, there will be lots of outlets in the future for documentary photography, even the traditional still kind where the pictures don’t move and don’t have sound. But jobs at papers are few and far between. And fading fast, unfortunately.

Lauren-see post ‘The Saratogian seeks a photographer’.

http://journalismjobs.com/

http://nppa.org/ Be a member and check the job bank.

http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/

http://journalism.berkeley.edu/jobs/ Lot’s of links here.

http://jobs.myspace.com/a/ms-jobs/list/q-Photojournalist++ Video & stills listings.

But yeah, supposedly, long term prospects for this career path aren’t too promising.

wow, journo job ads on myspace?

Lauren…I don’t think, just from a point of historical perspective, that a PJ job in the major media companies is going to be advertised in any “want ad” column. Your “professors” are there because they are not working in the business and have to teach. Schools have to make money…get over it. There ARE jobs out there ,small but a beginning, that can lead to other things. Pack your bags and move for a few years and climb the ladder.Make personnel relationships with editors and not cyber illusionary BS. People “on line” are invisible and don’t care.
Just a thought.

I second Anton, Noah, and Jethro. Take it from me, I tried for three years but finally gave up. It’s weddings for me at this point, maybe even for a stretch. Recession or not, people will get married and usually saved a chunk of change for that special occasion. Working to get a portion of that into your own pocket is a decent living.

Um, has anyone looked at all the staff jobs I have posted in the assignments section over the past year? Sure most of them are at small and mid market papers but I know I have posted a few from the AP looking for staff shooters as well. This post makes me feel like there is little point in taking the trouble to sharing what I find anymore….

Damaso… Looks like everyone wants to be a star right out of the box.The curse of the cyber world. Don’t stop your posts.

G.

Damaso, your posts do grab my attention and I appreciate them, as well as Erica’s job and grants links.

Thank you both.

Damaso, I think I submitted an application through one of your leads. Though unfortunately I wasn’t the one the paper hired or I wouldn’t be suffering weddings ;-) I appreciate you taking the time to share us opportunities you find over the web. And may I thank Erica as well.

http://web.mac.com/peterpayne/weddingwork/Welcome.html
and
http://kingweddings.com/intro/

Says it all really. These are guys who work on one of the national papers alongside me here in the UK. The way things are headed I’ll be joining them with a wedding photo site pretty soon!

Damaso, your posting of jobs is a great service to the ls community, so I hope you’ll continue…

I was being a bit sarcastic in my first post…there are jobs out there, though they are really hard to come by. Unless you get really lucky, you’ll have to be willing to relocate, and you won’t get rich or famous. But if it’s what you want to do, keep at it.

Gregory is right, these jobs aren’t always advertised, so you need to make your own contacts and get people to know you. And of course keep shooting during this process to make your portfolio better. Good luck!

I dunno, I just find it annoying. Sure there are fewer staff jobs but do people think they will get a job, let alone an internship at the Times straight out of the box? Looking at the ONE image on the original poster’s LS Page (with no link to a website or more photos), I think she won’t be getting any staff jobs soon.

And what is so great about staff jobs? If I had gotten one out of school I doubt that I would have spent 18 months in Indonesia, traveled to Rwanda and Tanzania or started my project about Europe . I would have shot a lot of supermarket openings and state fairs. It is really hard to do personal projects and long form work while having a staff job at a daily.

All that said there are a lot of gigs out there as Erica and I point out on a regular basis. As someone who is not even looking for a staff job I am constantly tripping over them. Did anyone from this board apply for the AP job in Philly? How about one of the editing jobs so we can get some LS people some gigs? I say quit whining and cowboy up….

ditto.

am in the caribe but will try to post again jobs when I finish my website…time for a ting

Professors and universities don’t tell the truth. They all just want students and their fees. My former university is currently opening up a photo journalism course. It’s totally aimed at the old-school staff at a newspaper shooter. But as we all know, Germany has been the leading country in laying off staff photographers at newspapers. Most newspapers over here don’t have photo staff anymore.

All the students are promised to enter a healthy industry with enough jobs. I spent hours with the professor in charge trying to educate him about a better schedule (focussing on freelancing, the business-side of freelancing, corporate-publishing, multimedia, etc.). He just didn’t care.

Side note: I went the corporate photography route to make a living. Documentary photography became kind of a side stage for me. It’s fine. Maybe someday…

I know that it took me nearly a year before I found a place that would hire me full time. I freelanced my butt off and was paid next to nothing by the paper, so I shot band promos, weddings, and anything else I possibly could to pay the rent. Then in January this year the paper put me on staff.

You have to start somewhere, and I’ve ended up at a great daily local paper. And while this isn’t the job I want for the rest of my life, it’s a start down the path I want to go. A smaller local newspaper is a very forgiving environment.

Stay positive, but work hard, it’s not supposed to be easy.

If you are in New York, the Times Ledger in Queens