An open letter to journalists: You have an amazing career opportunity on the Dark Side

A fascinating convergence is upon us right now bringing a perfect opportunity for open-minded journalists.

Sadly, many mainstream media outlets are reducing their staff journalists. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television outlets are facing tough economic challenges and unfortunately that means that many talented reporters and editors have been (or will be) laid off. I’ve had a chance to speak with several dozen journalists over the past few months and many are downcast about career prospects.

At the same time, many organizations -- corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, and educational institutions -- finally understand the value of what I call "brand journalism," creating interesting information online that serves to educate and inform consumers. People in companies now realize web marketing success comes from creating content-rich web sites, videos, podcasts, photos, charts, ebooks, white papers and other valuable content.

However, many of the companies I speak with are trying to figure out who will create the content that they need for their online initiatives. Marketers, executives, and entrepreneurs say things like: "David, I need help. If I knew how to create great content, I’d already be doing it."

At every speech I deliver I say to corporations one of the best ways to create great Web content is to actually hire a journalist, either full- or part-time, to create it. Journalists, both print and broadcast, are great at understanding an audience and creating content that buyers want to consume—it’s the bread and butter of their skill set.

What this convergence means to you, a smart journalist:

You went to J-school to learn how to tell a story in words and images. Yes, the employers who traditionally hired your skills are shrinking fast. But there is an entirely new world out there for you to consider. Please keep an open mind about this.

I’m not talking about PR and media relations here. This isn't about writing press releases and trying to get your former colleagues to write or broadcast about you. Instead, I'm talking about creating stories as you are now, but for a corporation, government agency, nonprofit, or educational institution instead. You've probably not seriously considered that there are potential employers outside of media companies.

Yes, there are new potential employers. And they need you and your skills. Now.

You've learned that you need to look at all sides of a story. You wonder how can you be balanced if you work for the "dark side." I get that. I worked along side Pulitzer Prize winners at the late, great Knight-Ridder for six years myself so I understand. But if you realize that your skills are in demand right now, you’ve got a new and fascinating opportunity.

You don't need to compromise your integrity. You still tell stories. You still practice your craft. You still have followers who care about what you do. You still change people's lives.

Please realize that I am not advocating the old-school "advertorial" model. Advertorials such as those late-night cable TV shows about a product or the full-page product information "reports" found in trade journals is not what I'm talking about here. The idea of using your journalistic skills should be to educate and inform, not to overtly sell products.

While some of you would rather wait tables than work for "the man," others of you will find the opportunity refreshing.

It may even make you more marketable for traditional gigs with publications, as long as you continue to create quality content while pioneering this new form of corporate journalism. Consider Ben Edwards who went from Tokyo Bureau Chief of The Economist to director, new media communications at IBM and back again to publisher of Economist.com.

If you are a broadcast journalist, you could find a gig like Kathy Saenz landed. Kathy is a former TV reporter for WFTX-TV, the Fox affiliate in Ft Myers, Florida, turned marketer and corporate communications manager at Neighborhood America.

Editors are in demand by companies that create terrific online media rooms such as Cisco Systems. You could find yourself running the online media efforts of a billion dollar company. Is running the Cisco news room really that much different than running a newspaper Web site?

Sure, Web marketing represents a dramatically different job description from, say, beat reporter. But is worth considering.

What do you think?

Are you a journalist looking for work?

Are you working in an organization that needs to hire the skills of a journalist?

Comments

[Zack Simpson]

Great letter, interesting insight. I got my degree in public relations over a year ago, but ran into a difficult job climate. I ended up with a company that does internet advertising, but I work on the marketing and PR for the company, not the clients.

As a result, I've been able to write and work in what you call "brand journalism". I think your concept is really the hybrid future of marketing and PR - an online consciousness and communication pipeline for companies of all sizes.

I feasted on your "New Rules" and I believe quality online information and content is critical for success in today's business world. Thank you for continuing to share your thoughts and genius!

[Andrew Davis]

David,
I completely agree. As a former television news producer I'm keenly aware of the need for great story tellers in today's environment. When 1.5MM blog posts appear everyday, you've got to have great content and real stories if you want to stand out.
Journalists are a wonderful resource and should be embraced with their objective point of view and knack for efficient story telling they can work for us anytime!

I wrote about this same concept recently after reading an article in Mass High Tech magazine.
http://blog.tippingpointlabs.com/2009/02/online-content-marketing-blurring-the-lines-between-branding-and-journalism/

[Kevin]

David,

I couldn't agree more. I'm a former sports writer and I have been helping to run a legal blog.

www.seriousaccidents.com/accident-blog/

While I'm still blogging and working on my own website on the side -- www.takingbacksports.com/drsportsfan -- many different companies are turning to blogs and SEO websites to advertise their product/service.

It took my boss a bit of convincing, but he's now beginning to realize that hiring journalists (or at least professional writers) is the way to go.

But not a lot of businesses get that yet and are using in-house staffers or part time college students to do this.

Glad to see you're out there helping out the former fourth branch!

[justin locke]

well at the risk of a complete non sequitur here is a blog i happen to really admire:

http://doublebassblog.org/

this guy is a freelance bass player in chicago area, does this blog all in his spare time and it has become a major force in the clasical music world, not just basses. talk about content rich-- he does podcast interviews, videos, guest bloggers, and great formatting too. whenever he does a blog on me, sales jump bigtime. his name is jason heath, great guy, recommended as a role model and who knows what he might do for the right price??

[Brad Brooks]

I live this dual life as a radio host (calling myself a journalist is an insult to those that ply the profession) and in a tech firm - in a marketing role.

I think the results you get come from your intention. If you start with "What do I need to say to sell something?" you'll end up sounding contrived and your readers will see right through it.

But if you start with "What can I say that will teach, inform, encourage or help?" the tone changes completely. In other words, ask the question "How can I serve?"

What I've found fascinating are the results to the bottom line on the two approaches.

Where we've taken an "inform and instruct" approach, our results have easily outdistanced our "hard sell" approach.

[seamus walsh]

David, Great post! I agree, we are now publishing OPC (other peoples content) on our website and our B2B content match service is in the works. We have 30 independent writers and journalists signed up to be part of our April launch.

This is a win-win, to the writers looking for work and to our clients who need custom content.

[Kelly M]

The blogs/websites I follow and check regularly have a writer that updates often and asks the readers questions. People don't just like to be talked to they like to feel like they are part of a community too. I appreciate when a blogger writes the way they speak, it makes the blog more fun to read.

[David Meerman Scott]

Wow. Excellent insights here. Thank you all for commenting. I especially appreciate the comments from journalists.

[Michelle Tripp]

Inspiring Post, David! Pro journalists also have an advantage they need to start leveraging: familiarity with interviewing and story assembly, series writing, and basic journalistic prescience. A lot of bloggers don't have the benefit of those skills or the experience of using them on a daily basis. What could be a daunting time for journalists can be very exciting if they realize they have an edge on homespun bloggers.

Not to mention instead of working on the crime beat of the local "rag" their voice can carry on the web, and their stories can make a difference on a broad scale that never would have happened in a corporate newsroom.

@michelletripp

[SpiritintheVillage]

David this is a great post and a reminder that everything is changing. Companies will be looking for ways to engage and there's an opportunity for jounalists and marketers to tell stories, make it personal, interesting and bring customers into the fold.

On the other dark side I see sales (especially those who are customer focused) as having a unique ability to guide this process of building customer relationships and helping to create content that gives value for the client.
Kevin

[Emily Sheetz]

Yes, we are brilliant and will make you lots of money, dear companies. We can give your website a voice, a soul, a brain, and - dare I say? - a heart. In these times of unrest and company CEO weariness, a great writer will make your company seem not so evil. Listen to Mr. Scott and embrace us writers, companies, what do you have to lose?

[Lorraine]

David, I agree 100% that journalists are superbly qualified to take on marcom work for businesses and non profits.

In a recent post PoynterOnline noted "10 Reasons You Should Hire a Journalist"--mentioning journalists' incredible work ethic and their ability to multitask, meet deadlines, use the web,etc.

See the whole post here: http://bit.ly/qx45P

It's all true, true, true.

But there are fundamental differences between marketing/communications writing and journalism.

Yes, good copywriting uses elements of story telling. But marcom tools are always written with the audience in mind and are aimed to engage, persuade and move readers to action.

No, content needn't be "advertorial" or hard driving, red fonted long copy.

But there's no getting around marketing copy's aim: to sell products and services.

I'm not so naive as to think journalism doesn't also have the ulterior motive of selling magazines, but still...

There is a ethos inculcated in journalists that's different from copywriters.

And even if journalists are willing to change careers, it takes training to make the transition--to even learn corporate and marketing vocabulary. To understand job titles and industry structure.

Not to mention the learning curve for grokking new formats: web content, direct mail, collateral--so different from straightforward feature writing

It's a HUGE transitions and one that many of my middle aged journalist friends are finding extraordinarily hard to make.

[David Meerman Scott]

Lorraine, Thanks for commenting.

I am not talking about "marcom" and I am not talking about "copy-writing". My idea is not to create sales brochures online.

This blog and my books are about the idea that valuable content on the web that helps people to solve problems brands a company as one worthy of doing business with.

What I advocate that journalists do for companies is not overtly sales related but is instead creating interesting stuff that engages.

This is what journalists already do.

David

[Maria Schneider]

Thanks for suggesting this David. How would you recommend journalists and editors approach companies who are looking for wordsmiths?

[Adele Revella]

I want to add my plea to David's and ask the journalists out there to PLEASE consider making this transition. Buyers deserve access to content that is informative and useful to them. Buyers can't be bothered with corporate speak -- they want to see that this company has exactly the right solution to their problem.

During the eleven years I was VP Marketing in three tech companies, I hired three journalists for marketing positions. They were some of the best hires I ever made -- one went on to be VP Marketing after I left.

How to get these jobs? Talk to the VP of Marketing about the impact their current written content is having on buyers. Ask them how much time their team spends writing stuff that no one reads. Tell them that you are trained to quickly assimilate information that you are unfamiliar with, and present an argument that is persuasive and compelling. The smart people will hire you. You don't want to work for the others anyway.

[Kyle Austin]

Very interesting post David and it got me thinking about the overarching idea that all companies seem to be realizing: "Every Company is a Media Company."

The supply and demand factors you point to, caused by the economic and media meltdown are further entrenching the idea within most organizations.

In fact, according to a study released in December by Junta42, 56 percent of marketing decision makers plan to increase spending on content marketing for 2009. Social media tops the list (68%), followed by e-newsletters/email (60%), blogs (56%), case studies (55%), online video (51%), white papers (46%) and micro-sites (43%).

More will follow, with the guidance from the very journalists and editors you mention, along with marketing and communications practitioners, agencies and folks across the blogosphere and Twittersphere that understand the tools needed to create and aggregate content which: is easy to find and search-able (i.e. Google friendly), generates page views, is linkable, isn’t looked at as intrusive, doesn’t sound like an advertorial and increases dialogue around niche areas with current and prospective customers.

David Carr of the New York Times eloquently said in August of last year that “We are all Arbiters of the News.” The Fortune 500 are looking for a few of “us” to be “CEO’s.”

[Matt Gentile]

David,

Great post. This supports the reason that I come to your blog to post news content like our recently announced First Time Homebuyer's Survey. Yes, I released it via Business Wire, "Century 21 Real Estate First-Time Home Buyer Survey Reveals Increasing Demand Despite Concerns about the Economy."

See link, http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/century-21-real-estate-first-time/story.aspx?guid=%7BF8722CBD-30C6-4840-9034-4C348756982B%7D

(I know it's long, but wasn't sure if I could post a twitter shortened link in this space?)

but I'm also selectively releasing it to key blogosphere opinion leaders such as yourself because I understand the value of your media enterprise in the new news distribution paradigm.

Best Regards,

Matt Gentile, Director, PR
Century 21 Real Estate LLC

[Stefania]

That's true!
I'm a journalist who had to move to marketing. I've been working for a company where I tried to introduce the story-telling approach to advertise our products, but it's very hard: Managers are not always ready to accept this new concept and they often try to turn true stories into some kind of "advertorials" using claims instead of titles and abused expressions...

[Adam Swarr]

Your comments give me hope David! I'm a formers news reporter trying to break into the marketing world, with no luck to this point. Maybe instead of sending potential employers my resume I'll just sent them a link to this blog.

[David Meerman Scott]

Adam, keep the faith. You might want to create your own site or blog with links to your work. David

[Kevin McCormick]

David, very inspiring post! I've been following your posts for quite some time. I am a former PR manager for a Detroit auto company who left in November and hired myself out to show companies how to share their messages in a new way, using your principals in "The new Rules of Marketing & PR."

It's early in my transition, but the signs are very encouraging; I have several clients and am busier than I expected to be at this point.

Keep spreading the (new) truth and I'll keep being a fan. Thanks for what you do!

[Barbara Grace]

Yes, yes, yes. I work in educational marketing and believe the opportunities to share stories and create dialogue helps break down institutional barriers. To date, educational marketing meant brochures and quarterly journals written in dry, uninspiring tones. Good copy that establishes connections is an opportunity for schools to get more creative, journalists to do what they do well and families to gain inspiration and knowledge.

[Nettie Hartsock]

Great post David. I find that my decade as an online journalist has really gifted me in so many opportunities on the Dark Side! And it's wonderful to have both sides of experience to draw from.

[Peter Spielvogel]

There is an old sales adage "fact tell, stories sell." So, hiring a journalist who knows how to tell a compelling story is a great way to build a strong marketing team.

Thanks for all your insightful posts.

[Brett Duncan, MarketingInProgress.com]

Isn't everything an open letter now? (j/k)

Perfect idea, and I'd have to think this type of employment could at least be more lucrative overall. If content is king, then great content is master of the universe. Journalists have that kind of potential.

Your post has me thinking of who I should think of hiring . . . .