How to be a Successful Journalist With No Prior Experience

(This is a picture.)

Photo by daniel sandoval. (License: Creative Commons Attribution)

Pull quotes which support your position are a great idea, if you need more pictures.

Have you got two or three hours and a laptop? Then you can write a professional quality journalistic article without having any relative experience in the field.

Thanks to burgeoning "citizen journalism" sites, the line between professional work and amateur editorializing is blurrier than ever, and publishing your own thoughts for the world to read has never been easier -- from finding insider sources to typing out your views, to syndicating them and finally, building a sizable audience.

But many would-be amateur journalists still seem intimidated by the job. Although there are well over a hundred million blogs in existence, that leaves hundreds of millions of voices unheard. Chances are, your mom isn't blogging, and in the internet age, there's no reason she can't have a voice just as credible as those found on sites such as the Wall Street Journal.

So, here's a guide for regular joes looking to make the leap into journalism. We'll lay out all the steps you need to take to build your reputation as a serious journalist, and present some expert opinion about getting it read.

1. SIGN UP AS A MEMBER ON A SOCIAL-NEWS SITE
   First, do some research. (Tip: This may also come in handy once you start writing your first article.) There are several "social-news" websites out there. One of those sites, newsvine.com, is owned by MSNBC, and is therefore a great place to start because it promises a massive built-in audience. There are other options, such as digg.com. Choose the environment in which you feel most comfortable.

   As you're signing up, it's a good idea to consider your screen name. The best part about journalism in the internet age is that it's very easy to pick a fake name, such as midwestmama and act as an anonymous journalist with just as much credibility as those in the mainstream media.

2. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO WRITE ABOUT
   Don't worry about this step too much. Journalism in the internet age isn't really about content anyway. Suggested topics include: Barack Obama, celebrities, Barack Obama, your cat, John McCain's latest opinion about Barack Obama, and abortion. Whatever you write about is journalism -- citizen journalism.

   Don't forget to have fun.

3. LEARN HOW TO LINK
   If you can format a link, you're 99% of the way to being an actual journalist. Often called "hyperlinking" or "using someone else's content as filler" -- all of the best journalists do it, and it's as simple as memorizing a bit of HTML:

   This is a hyperlink to an authoritative tutorial on creating HTML links.

   Most links start with "http" and are then followed by a webpage address. For now, don't worry about the meaning of http -- no one really knows anyway and knowing won't make your links work any better. The most important aspect of linking (as I've just demonstrated) is that you can present a topic and then link to someone else who has already written extensively on that topic, thus saving yourself a lot of time and effort. As journalism is about deadlines and speed, this may be the difference between repeating a story, and breaking a story.

4. GATHER YOUR SOURCES
   At first blush, finding reliable sources may seem daunting. Not so! As Amy Chozick from the Wall Street Journal has shown, gathering sources and content can be accomplished simultaneously, with little or no effort. (Tip: Pay attention to what real journalists are doing as they sometimes spill industry secrets without intending to do so.)

   Say you want to write about Barack Obama's issues with weight. Specifically, you may think he's too thin and that other people may think this too. The trouble is, you don't have any sources or evidence to back up your story.

   Oh no! Time to move on, right?

   Wrong.

   The internet is teeming with possible "sources" and evidence is only a leading question away. Simply join an online community or forum and ask the question you want an answer to. In this case, you might ask:

   "Is Obama too skinny to be President?"

   Now, chances are fairly strong that several of the initial responses may not fit the story you want to write. Don't worry about those responses. Given enough time, someone will probably eventually answer "yes" to your question, and -- voila! -- an instant source. The only thing left to do is pick the most interesting affirmative response. Part and parcel of respectable journalism is using the best content, rather than all of the content.

   It's important to note that, without sources, your writing will have little to no credibility, so grab hold of anyone you can get. Mining for sources is a big step in earning your wings as a respectable journalist, and it couldn't be easier.

5. JOURNALISTIC ETHICS
   For years, the largest obstacle to amateur journalism has been that pesky code of ethics that journalists are technically beholden to. Basically, that code is a bunch of gobbledygook technicalities about facts and truth which don't really apply in the internet age, due to several well-known loopholes. Take the following tidbit:

   "Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim."

   Journalistic ethics state that you cannot say this, and present it as a fact. But what about this:

   "Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim?"

   Perfectly acceptable. Now, you've presented an opinion and you've suggested a fact. Remember, you can post this question to a forum in an effort to gather sources and -- so long as even one person believes that Obama is a Muslim -- your article is real journalism.

   Quote that person, link to another website, and you've just completed your first article, not unlike one you might find in your local newspaper.

6. GATHER YOUR FRIENDS
   As an individual, you're a lone voice in a sea of voices. For that reason, it's a good idea to gather several like-minded friends who will agree to collectively post content about similar topics.

   Congratulations: You've just upgraded to a collective and have achieved a instant boost in credibility.

   There are various benefits to pooling content but one of the biggest benefits is the sudden ease with which you can accomplish the linking step of being a real journalist. Ten friends equals ten possible links in support of your position.

   It's also possible to split your rhetoric down the middle: Five far right voices against five far left voices will allow you to claim "no bias, no bull" -- just like CNN.

   (Tip: Balance doesn't require centrist opinions.)

7. UTILIZE PICTURES
   A nice looking picture -- any picture will do -- can add instant flavor to an otherwise bland article. Images are the "pearl necklace" of any successful journalistic endeavor. Like cilantro, they should be used sparingly -- not more than four or five per article.
8. CHOOSE YOUR HEADLINES WISELY
   A carefully chosen headline may mean the difference between a large audience and an empty comment thread. Simple but true: The best headlines cause people to skip the content in favor of posting angry, knee-jerk, emotional reactions. Once one person has done so, the rest takes care of itself. Sit back, and enjoy the page-views.

   Journalists usually don't even write their own headlines, so learning to do this well will put you in a league of your own and will give you a step up against your mainstream competition.

There you have it. A few easy steps to becoming a journalist. Just remember, the real deal is a dying breed, and now is a better time than ever when it comes to stepping in and staking your claim on a piece of journalistic real estate.

It's almost impossible to do it wrong.

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