It was 13 Mar 2009, when Ann Treacy commented:
> David,
>
> Your comments got me thinking about the flip side of an issue I´m been
> mulling over.
>
> I get most of my info online. I miss professional journalists. I miss the
> goal of unbiased or impartial reporting. I miss a newspaper, TV and radio
> with its general scope (though I do like the Twin Cities Daily Planet for
> my local news). But I love the speed and ease of getting news online.
> (Eases refers to on my desktop, found through search engine or RSS,
> articles that are conversational, generally brief and often peppered with
> fun controversy...)
> Do you think that education makes the difference? Is that why you´re
> going back? Generally old media creators have gone to school for their
> craft and many of us online have not.
Well, certainly for getting a job in Old Media, education makes a
difference. I'm ambivalent about whether it should. But even if it ought
not make a difference:
1. There are a lot of folks unemployed with degrees and whatnot In These
Troubled Times. Need the credentials to compete.
2. Producing media for other folks & companies means living up to their
standards, not mine. Need the skills to do that effectively.
3. My podcasts are Okay, but not Great, as to technical quality. I
write, record, and edit "by ear," and have learned web design and podcast
distribution by trial and error and asking more experienced podcasters the
right questions. But I don't really know what all those terms, numbers
and specifications mean. Need the knowledge to make my own productions as
good as they can be, and as I wish they would be.
> Going back to school may not be practical for many of us. So is there a way
> to build or learn those old media schools by partnering with old media? Or
> does the speed of the new media make it a different animal? And in that
> case is collaboration even more important?
Old media skills? Yes and no. New media skills? Certainly. Many of
those skills are the same, using different tools. And maybe the old media
folks will be willing to put someone with those skills to work.
There probably are ways of learning those skills; for example,
volunteering for an organization that also includes folks with those
professional qualifications with whom you're allowed to work, and who are
willing to take the time to teach you what they can. For video editing,
one might look at the Public Access Channel for the local Cable company.
They generally offer (free?) classes in video production and editing.
That won't make you a pro, but it's a start, and if you have real talent,
you might end up good enough. If the Old Media folks would accept you.
Trouble is, if I expect to get paid for the work, employers are going to
expect me to have formal credentials. I could be wrong, but I sincerely
doubt it. I think wistfully, from time to time, that some clever person
who was looking for a talented, experienced, but untrained podcaster might
come to me and offer me work on the strength of my existing (rather nice)
podcasts.
I also sometimes wish I could fly. And I wanna pony. Just sayin'. ;-)
For a volunteer or charitable organization, though, I think the level of
skills I've acquired by-guess-and-by-golly would probably be fine for may
purposes. I participate in the Podcasters group on Yahoo Groups. What
they/we tend to tell new people who want to be podcasters, is to start.
Create A Podcast.
You probably already have the hardware you need to start, there's decent,
free software (I use Audacity; most of us do), and most of us came into
this cold and clueless. The other thing Everybody Says: most people who
quit podcasting, quit about their fifth podcast. So if you can do six or
more, you're likely to be able to continue. You might not, but you can.
Starting out is the hard part. And there's a natural tendency to want
everything sounding perfect and professional from the start. But New
Media is all about "preaching to the choir," talking to those interested
in what you have to say. "Your" Folks will make allowances (up to a
point) to hear your content. Do your best, but don't expect to be perfect
when you start out. Your first episode will Suck. It's a rule.
And if one is interested in learning about podcasting and how to start,
the Podcasters group is a good entry point. There are also a number of
good books on the subject. Some of the authors of those books are in the
Podcasters group. And there are, of course, a number of good podcasts on
podcasting.
How'd I start? With a cheap mike, an old laptop, free software, and a $5
a month account at Libsyn. And I recorded Episode Zero.
It Sucked. It's a rule.