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When Jon Chattman didn’t like the restrictions placed on him by editors, when he saw his writing becoming mundane, when he longed for more excitement in his career, he took a chance. Drawn to the potential and novelty of the Internet, he abandoned print and is riding the wave of innovation known as the World Wide Web where, in 2005, he launched a pop-culture reporting site, thecheappop.com.
The job Chattman holds to make money while he invests his energy in Cheappop is writing and running a Web site for iTVX. These ventures follow his early years as a reporter and editor. “But journalism doesn't pay the bills,” he says. “I've yet to find a job that pays in the field. That's something I wish my peers and professors in college told me beforehand!”
“I see print surviving, but it will be mostly online. Most magazines won’t survive. Most print will be read on the Internet, not on paper,” Chattman says. “More industry dollars and ‘sense’ will shift to online editions.”
For students and novice journalists, the shift means learning the technological skills that are fundamental to Web publishing. But it also means a shift in philosophy, a way of thinking about news and information that seems intuitive to those people who are already participating in virtual communities, posting blogs, and making quick choices about which streams of information they will follow, which content is personally important to them.
Chattman recommends internships as essential training for all journalists. He advises students to give thought to their own strengths and to identify their passions. “Best bet is to write what you like for free. Then hope someone pays you to do it,” he suggests. “In other words, reach out to outlets and see if they’d take you on for a couple months pro bono. It could lead to a job in the future.”
As for ethics and standards in the new age of media, Chattman’s advice is the same as it would have been when he was in college and the SPJ Code of Ethics was “drilled into” him: Be honest. Be true to yourself. Write what you love.
By Linda Loomis
lloomis@oswego.edu
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