Monday, April 21, 2008

Q. After completing my second daily reporting internship and finishing graduate school, I'm casting applications far and wide in hopes of landing a job with a mid to small market daily.

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The other day, I received an offer to work as an editor/reporter for a small weekly paper close to a large metropolitan area. Now, I have to decide between that offer and a summer multimedia reporting internship at a mid-size daily.

My goal is definitely to start out in journalism as a daily reporter, but I know how competitive the job market is, and I don't want to pass up a job if other offers will be in short supply after completing a third internship. My internships, multimedia experience, clips and degree haven't attracted any interest from daily papers thus far.

Thank you,

Quandary

A. You said your goal is to start out in journalism as a daily reporter. A job at a weekly does not meet those requirements.

Joe Grimm

Of course, you're figuring that any job is better than no job at all.

This third internship, which would be at a daily, sounds more in the direction of your desired career path. After the internship, you will be more qualified and should be able to get a job offer comparable to the one you have now -- or something better. Like a job at a daily.

I am concerned that if you start at the weekly, even though it seems to be in a desirable area, you'll still have that hurdle to clear -- from weekly to daily. This job, while offering you some stability, could delay your career quest.

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Coming Tuesday: This freelancer loves journalism, but worries about steering clear of conflicts of interests -- and wonders whether his validity might be questioned.

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