Ask the Recruiter

Q. I've been writing a monthly column for a local online publication that is suddenly able to pay me! But whereas they only wanted first rights before, now they want all rights. Is $200 enough for all rights? It seems great for one-time rights or even first rights, but all rights seems a bit much, especially if I reprint in non-competing markets like national online ethnic and adoption publications.

And do first rights mean anything anymore in this new digital age? How much are first rights worth when you can reprint again an hour later in noncompeting markets, which -- because everything is online -- is just as easy for a reader to find? How do I make first rights meaningful/valuable when there is no money to pay journalists anyway?

A. The rights issue is a thorny one. Some publishers are trying to have it all ways. They want to publish any material they get on all available platforms at no additional cost -- and tell their own staffs that they cannot freelance anywhere because everyone competes with them.

The secret, of course, is in negotiating...

In this week's career chat, I joined Poynter's Colleen Eddy for a discussion about what online editors are looking for in job candidates. Read the archived chat below where we talked about what skills you need to get a job with a Web site.

Twitterers can tweet their questions ahead of time using the hashtag #poynterchats. You can revisit this link at any time to replay the chat.

Q. How would you translate experience from another country in an exciting way without sounding like a "foreigner"?

I have lived in the United States since 2006, when I came from graduate school and, after marriage, became a permanent resident looking for opportunities in journalism, which is what I love to do. I currently work as a communications specialist in a health communications research center inside a university, but would love to come back to my original broadcast news field.

Right now, I find a few "major" difficulties with my job search (Please, let me know if I am correct):

• My experience with journalism is in Brazil, as I only had jobs inside academia in America. In Brazil, I had at least three years of part-time internships before graduation in 2005, and a hire in the largest newsroom of the country after that. I am not sure if employers here will value the internship experience the same.

• I am applying for jobs in New York, trying to relocate from St. Louis.

• I am not sure if employers get worried about my immigration status and don't answer me because of that. I have permission to work here, but career centers advised me not to mention these things in cover letters/resumes.

• Although I had some Mizzou Mafia friends, I don't have many contacts in the field in the U.S., much less in New York.

What would be the core steps to address these issues? Do employers actually hire people who apply to posts on JournalismJobs.com and similar sites? I am having difficulties in getting responses.

Best,

Luisa

During a time when the news industry is frantically searching for solutions and new directions, journalists' lives have been disrupted by cutbacks and job changes. Poynter Online wants to help by sharing stories of success seekers. We are offering how-they-did-it snapshots from people who faced employment challenges and found some measure of success.

BRIAN HLAVATY

Age: A boomer and proud of it. 

New jobs: I'm the journalism internship director at Oakland University, supervising dozens of journalism students each semester. I teach news writing, too. I'm also adviser to Saginaw Valley State University's student newspaper. And I do freelance writing and editing, plus work on Web sites. 

Old job: News editor in charge of the copy desk at The Saginaw (Mich.) News. I started as a reporter with a five-year plan and spent 33 years there.