The discussion came to a head in June, when Washington Post magazine columnist Gene Weingarten used his column — How ‘branding’ is ruining journalism — to say why he’s against journalists taking the time to brand.  It comes from a man I see that has had the luxury to build his personal brand during his almost 20 years at the Washington Post.

Reaction to the Weingarten column was swift, and came from all quarters, including: Steve Buttry, Director of Community Engagement & Social Media, Journal Register Co.; Owen Youngman, Knight Professor of Digital Media Strategy at Northwestern University’s Medill School; Jim Romenesko of the Poynter Institute; Jennifer Gaie Hellum, creator of the Brand Me A Journalist blog; and me, over at the NABJDigital blog.

I have a brand – Aviation Queen – but I didn’t create it. My brand was created by the industry that I’ve worked in since 1992, so I decided to run with it.  After all, I already stand out in aviation as the only female of color covering the industry.  I can’t hide, even if I wanted to.

I bought the domain name AviationQueen.com and use it for my blog. I created a Facebook fan page (which is dormant right now), a Twitter account (@AvQueenBenet) and a Flickr account (Aviation Queen). I have a Google Profile and a LinkedIn page, and I even spent money on my logo (from Julia Edwards Design) and had separate business cards made, via Vistaprint.  So why did I do all this?

• You have unique knowledge to showcase: If you cover a beat regularly, you get to know the ins and outs of your industry, along with its players.  That leads to expertise, which leads to things including speaking engagements;
• Your Company/industry sees you as invaluable: With your knowledge base, you’re seen as an expert and a valuable contributor; and
• Your brand can save you: I learned this up close and personal after I was laid off from Aviation Week last month after a great five-and-a-half year run. Thanks to my brand and social media, I received some great job leads (and expect to be hired very soon) and a healthy amount of freelance work.

I had the pleasure of moderating branding panels at the National Association of Black Journalists Annual Convention and Career Fair in August and at the Online News Association convention in September.

My panelists at both sessions – Natalie ”The Frugalista” McNeal, AP race reporter Washington, Today Show/CNN tech journalist and guru Mario Armstrong, Reuters social media editor Anthony DeRosa and Tumblr media evangelist Mark Coatney – all have their own styles, but there’s something we can learn from all of them when it comes to journalists branding themselves.

By Flickr user Ralmonline Alm

Kevin Roose takes readers of The New York Times to Oberlin, Ohio, to discover there are other options for mowing the lawn. He writes:

“Mr. [Eddie] Miller, 23, is the founder of Heritage Lawn Mowing, a company that rents out sheep — yes, sheep — as a landscaping aid. For a small fee, Mr. Miller, whose official job title is ‘shepherd,’ brings his ovine squad to the yards of area homeowners, where the sheep spend anywhere from three hours to several days grazing on grass, weeds and dandelions.

The results, he said, are a win-win: the sheep eat free, saving him hundreds of dollars a month in food costs, and his clients get a freshly cut lawn, with none of the carbon emissions of a conventional gas-powered mower. (There are, of course, other emissions, which Mr. Miller said make for ‘all-natural fertilizer.’)“

Miller’s business became the lead story of Kevin’s article about entrepreneurs turning “back to the land” as traditional job offerings dwindle.

The big question everyone has when reading this piece: How did you find a guy using sheep to mow a lawn?

Today’s Tip: Keep up-to-date on hometown news.

Kevin Roose

“A few months ago, I got an e-mail from my mother, who lives in Oberlin, Ohio, telling me – in that universal, mom-catches-far-flung-son-up-on-hometown-news way – about a guy in my town, Eddie Miller, who was renting out sheep as lawnmowers.” Kevin says.

Even though he covers Wall Street, the story was too good not to share.  He searched the Internet and asked friends to ask friends to find other agricultural businesses. He also looked at winners of past sustainable business competitions, and contacted agricultural experts to see if they knew of new startups, he says.

“I wanted to make sure it was a legitimate movement before blowing it out into a broader story,” Kevin says. “Lucky for me, it turned out to be.”

“When I started footnoted* eight years ago, the idea was simple: to start a daily conversation that built upon some of the concepts that I covered in my book, Financial Fineprint.”

It was a desire to keep that book alive and a mindset forged as a daily newspaper journalist that motivated Leder to start blogging on her site, footnoted.org (now footnoted.com). Leder’s site was acquired by Morningstar in February 2010 and she still runs it.

If you haven’t visited footnoted*, you need to. It is a window to SEC filings.

Michelle Leder

Each day, Leder (who has presented at Reynolds Center workshops) and her team take a close look at the things that companies try to bury in their routine SEC filings. As Leder says on the site: “Some posts are simply quirky little factoids (like the fact that Warren Buffett’s son relies on ConAgra for his health insurance) while others tend to focus on more serious issues.”

Today, she celebrated the eight anniversary thanking her readers and asking for feedback: Eight mostly wonderful years of digging…

Go, dig around and send her a note.

Oh, and here’s that very first post from eight years ago: If only we were so lucky….

Last fall, I was approached by two documentary filmmakers from Los Angeles. Both had big dreams.

A few weeks later, I was visiting with Jim Kennedy, vice president of strategy at the Associated Press. He talked about some fascinating new projects .

And several weeks later, I was talking with David Cohn about his innovative media business, Spot.us.

Randall Smith

Those conversations launched a fourth one with Ton Stam, a chaired business professor at the University of Missouri.

“I think that we should do a class,” Stam said.

And with that inspiration, Stam and I worked all weekend late last October to put together a syllabus that would take both business and journalism students deep inside media organizations that are reinventing themselves.

Our goal was to teach our students about business and to write a lot about it. They would be exposed to the inner most workings of a company: budgets, senior executives and industry dynamics. The project would require a lot of work.

Stam recruited two other business professors to help teach, and I found five businesses that either had a new idea or problem that could use help from a highly motivated student team.

Here is the list of our recruits:

• The Associated Press, the historic wire service that’s had revenue declines due to the changing media landscape;
• Spot.us, a unique start-up that promotes crowd funding of curated stories;
• Kachingle, a Silicon Valley start up that encouragesreaders to contribute voluntarily to their favorite websites;
• The Media Policy Center, a Los Angeles non profit that wants to film a documentary on the future of democracy;
• The Chicago Sun-Times, a metro that is trying to maintain its suburban presence.

Here are some of the lessons that we learned on our path to teaching business journalism in an entirely different way this spring:

1. You must have access to the top people. Every week, our teams met with either the owners of the businesses or the top executives. In the case of the Associated Press, the team met weekly with Jim Kennedy and talked once to Tom Curley, the chief executive officer. The Chicago Sun-Times team met with publisher John Barron, and the Kachingle team met with founder Cynthia Typoldos.
2. You must go to them. Our five teams spent several days with the entrepreneurs at their businesses. That meant trips to New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and Chicago. Talking on the phone is one thing, but seeing the operation and the supporting cast is a must. Group dynamics are an important piece of any operation, and you can’t be truly contextual without seeing things for yourself.
3. You’ve got to do the research. We lectured on media, internal/external analysis, marketing and finances. After each of the lectures, students did more research and wrote five page stories/papers (minimum) on how those various aspects touched their particular business.
4. Student teams must be self-selected. Like everything else in life, you must work on something where there’s a sense of passion. Oftentimes, I awoke in the middle of the night to see my phone buzzing because the students were exchanging so many emails. Our estimate is students worked on this class an average of between 20 and 30 hours a week. The point is that there must be a commitment and a genuine curiousity.
5. Finally, there must be a sense of competition. At the end of our class, we asked our students and businesses to make presentations about what they learned. Those presentations were judged by a group of business executives and journalists. You can see our presentations at: http://www.rjionline.org/events/rjinnovation-week-recorded-sessions#monday

We had a number of positive comments from the participants:

Said Jim Kennedy: “I have led class projects with a number of institutions through my work on APstrategy, and the RJI experience was unique. Most often, the participants look to be led by the business mentor, sometimes spoon-fed. That was not the case with the Reynolds team. When one of the students shot up out of his seat in the first 15 minutes of their on-site visit and drew a market-opportunity graphic on the easel in the office, I knew I had some real rocket power at my disposal. They took our idea and advanced our own thinking, which is all you can ask for from these collaborations. It was a great experience all the way around.”

Said David Cohn: “The journalism/business class lead by a co-hort of professors at Missouri is amazing. I wish they had a class like that when I was a graduate student working on my masters in journalism. I would have learned a ton of practical skills along with a deeper appreciation of running a business. That’s what I’m doing now and I’m learning ala trial by fire. That said, the students were a big help, giving me a solid ground upon which to think about the future of my business, our obstacles, our potential and more. I’m left not only inspired by the students – but energized to tackle the ideas they presented.”

One final takeaway: We had planned to offer this class only during the spring semester. But the word has gotten out to both businesses and students, and new companies are approaching us about another run in the fall.

Some have hired our students for the summer. And the hiring was not been limited to students in this class – we were able to find jobs for several others.

This is a graduate course and it was filled with about half with MBA candidates and the other half with master’s/PhD candidates in journalism. Surprisingly, some of the MBA students in last spring’s class are now active in the journalism school.

If you’re interested in our syllabus or learning more, please contact me at: smithrandall@missouri.edu

Randall Smith is the Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

Marcia Parker

We’ll chat live from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 14 with Marcia Parker, West Coast editorial director for Patch.com, the hyperlocal-news venture in which AOL has invested tens of millions of dollars.

At Patch, Parker has hired more than 150 journalists herself. The venture has “hired more than 750 this past year, and as our CEO has said publicly, we aim to have 1,000 sites launched in 2011,” she said in an e-mail. “We are still hiring for the remainder of our sites planned for 2011.”

Ina recent article,  The New York Times put the pay of those journalists at $38,000 to $45,000 annually, but Parker said, “We have not discussed salary info publicly nor confirmed what the NYT reported.”

AOL's hyperlocal venture, Patch.com, is operating in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

Before joining Patch, Parker was launch manager for California Watch, part of the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting. She taught at and was assistant dean at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. She’s been a director of programming for AOL’s small-business channel and assistant managing editor at Intuit’s Quicken.com, the personal-finance website.

She also is a veteran journalist, having been a reporter and editor with several news organizations, including Crain’s New York Business and the Contra Costa Times, where she was business editor, and then managing editor. Parker also founded  and served as editor of two magazines, one a regional  magazine and another for South Asian women.

Parker graduated from Indiana University with a degree in journalism and political science and earned a master’s degree from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

At 1:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 14, bring your questions here for Parker on Patch, hyperlocal news, entrepreneurship and the skills you need for digital media.

Photo by Flickr user Robert S. Donovan.

The deadline is Jan. 14 to apply for a new semester-long program in entrepreneurial journalism offered by City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism. Fellowships and scholarships are available for top applicants.

The Particulars

Instructor: Maya Payne Smart,
freelance business journalist and
founder of WritingCoach.com

Location: Online

When: Noon or 4 p.m. EDT Aug. 16-18
and noon EDT Aug. 19

Registration is now closed.

Beyond writing, reporting and editing chops, thriving financially outside of a traditional newsroom requires one major skill that most journalists lack: salesmanship. Commercial considerations make many journalists squeamish because they are taught that their job is to inform the citizenry, tell compelling stories and bring truth to light.  But like it or not, all of these goals require money.

In this free Webinar, “Sales Strategies for Freelance Business Journalists,” participants will learn simple things they can immediately incorporate into their daily work to help them identify great writing clients, win more assignments and earn a healthy living. You can attend a daily, hourlong, interactive session at either noon or 4 p.m. EDT on Aug. 16-18 and noon EDT on Aug. 19.

Attendees will learn how to broaden their view of available opportunities, present themselves and their story ideas in a compelling fashion, and bolster their freelance-writing income. Different surveys have pegged freelance business journalists’ annual income at $25,000 to $40,000 a year. Salesmanship is the key weakness that keeps many capable journalists from thriving outside of the newsroom, according to your instructor for this Webinar, Maya Payne Smart, freelance business journalist and founder of WritingCoach.com.

An informal survey in fall 2010 of 67 freelance business journalists by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers found that nearly three out of four freelancers said they are making less now than when they were employed full-time by one media outlet. Image by Flickr user sskennel.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• Who is looking for freelance business journalists
• How to decide whom you want to work with
• How to consistently turn leads into clients

AGENDA

Aug. 16: Who Hires Freelance Business Journalists? — A wealth of opportunities is available for freelance business journalists in the traditional, new media, trade, academic, newsletter and custom-publishing fields. Too many freelancers think their options end with newspapers and consumer magazines.

Aug. 17:  Branding and Marketing Yourself — Learn how to evaluate your brand identity and marketing messages. How much should it cost to market yourself?  Check out these specific examples of how real freelancers have used 20 different tools (business cards, advertising, PR, direct mail, networking, trade shows, speaking, joint ventures, ezines, link exchanges, Google Ad Words, search engine optimization, affiliate programs, e-mail marketing, article marketing, blogging, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) to reach new clients.

Aug. 18: Closing the Sale — How do you get from a lead to a prospect to a customer to a client? How do you win repeat business? What are the best electronic options for storing and organizing prospect, customer and client data? How can you evaluate your sales and marketing efforts and improve results?

Aug. 19: Ask the Hiring Editors — Get your questions answered in an online panel discussion with editors and others who hire freelance journalists. Find out how to establish and maintain good client relationships.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Maya Payne Smart

After spending six years in the trenches as a freelance business journalist, Maya Payne Smart founded WritingCoach.com to help journalists, authors and other writers build profitable businesses. Her mission is to provide the tools, information and advice that freelancers need to thrive, from marketing basics to advanced business-building strategies. Smart teaches entrepreneurial journalism courses for the Society of Professional Journalists, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism and other organizations for wordsmiths. With Poynter.org careers columnist Joe Grimm, she taught the Reynolds Center’s  highly successful “How to Be an Entrepreneur as a Business Journalist” Webinars in 2009 and 2010. She serves on the boards of the Society of American Business Editors & Writers and James River Writers. She holds degrees from Harvard University and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

“Business journalists are poised to succeed as freelancers because they can read financial statements and analyze business trends, but too often they fail because of an ingrained disdain for sales.  They want to write and report, but haven’t worked up sufficient enthusiasm for market research, self-promotion and pitching,” she said.

FIRST-TIME ATTENDEES

Check out our Technology Help Page for connectivity requirements, helpful tips and an instructional video on how to access Reynolds Center Webinars.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

This free Webinar is sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. If you have any questions about the Webinar or the center, please e-mail Executive Director Linda Austin or call 602-496-9187.

An informal survey of 67 freelance business journalists by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers found that nearly three out of four freelancers said they are making less now than when they had a single employer as a full-time journalist. Image by Flickr user sskennel.

An informal survey completed by 67 freelance business journalists indicates they make an average of $25,000 to $30,000 a year, and two of every five were laid off.

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) asked freelancers to respond to the survey in October and November.

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism found a little higher pay for freelance business journalists. In its most recent industry research | (PDF) (see the last page), the Reynolds Center employed a market research firm to survey 473 business journalists nationwide in April and May. That phone survey found freelance respondents with less than 10 years experience had a median salary of $40,000. That meant half of the 67 freelancers interviewed made more; half made less.

Freelancers with 10-19 years of experience reported a median salary of $57,500, the Reynolds survey found. Journalists with 20-29 years of experience made the most with a median salary of $63,300, and those with 30-plus years of experience had a median of $47,500. That compared to medians of $70,000 to $102,500 for the 139 wire service journalists — the highest-paid group among freelance, print, online and broadcast journalists.

The SABEW survey found that if paid by word, freelancers receive an average of 75 cents to $1 per word. If paid by article, post or project, the average rate is about $250 per assignment.

“More than two-thirds of those who responded said they would not go back to a full-time business news job if they could find one,” says a post about the survey on SABEW.org. “The freelancers noted their flexible work schedule and ability to work for multiple media organizations and at home as the reasons.”

SABEW asked freelance business journalists to respond to a confidential, online survey that asked for their location, their compensation, the type of media outlet where they worked, and length of time in their current job and in business journalism, according to the SABEW website. The survey was conducted by SABEW’s volunteer director of research, Chris Roush, at the University of North Carolina, where he is the Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Scholar in business journalism.

Bill Mitchell leads entrepreneurial programs at the Poynter Institute, from which this photo came.

The Poynter Institute, with funding from the Ford Foundation, is offering two digital-media entrepreneurs $10,000 each in contracted accounting, legal, research or promotion work, plus coaching and mentoring by Poynter faculty and its Ford Fellows in Entrepreneurial Teaching.

The winners must advance Poynter’s ideals of “standing for journalism, serving democracy.” According to an e-mail from Poynter:

“Winners will spend up to two weeks this winter at Poynter in St. Petersburg, Fla., receiving guidance on their journalism — and business — idea. Then, over the next six months, we’ll continue to coach the venture.

We’re looking for projects that would benefit most from incubation and whose progress might yield insights for other journalism start-ups around the country.”

Applicants must have initial funding for their business, an idea for a sustainable business model and be willing to have their project shared as a showcase for lessons learned.

To enter, e-mail a video of under three minutes with the basics of your business idea, plus your name and contact info, by Oct. 12 to pitch@poynter.org. Include:

• Your name
• The project’s name
• Your contact info
• The problem/opportunity you seek to address
• Your solution, or your idea
• Who else is doing this
• Your planned revenue streams
• The skills and credentials of you and your team

Finalists will receive a follow-up questionnaire by Oct. 15 and must respond by Oct. 20. Winners will be notified by Oct. 27.

For more information, e-mail pitch@poynter.org.

For self-guided training on how to be an entrepreneur as a business journalist, check out these archived Webinars from the Reynolds Center featuring freelancer Maya Smart and Poynter careers columnist Joe Grimm.

Image courtesy of Flickr user perpetualplum.

The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting (FCIR) – a new, nonprofit news organization — will pay up to $2,500 to finance investigative projects that affect Florida.  

Deadline to apply is Sept. 30.  

The center “is particularly interested in funding projects dealing with government corruption, waste and inefficiency; immigration; education; and social justice,” according to its website. “Projects will be distributed on FCIR’s website, published by media partners, and made available to news outlets across Florida. Stories in English will be translated into Spanish for wider distribution, and stories in Spanish will be translated into English.”  

Interested journalists should e-mail no more than a two-page proposal outlining the project, a resume, three clips and estimated completion date.  

Launched in 2010, the center is financed by a $100,000 grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.  

The center is at the International Media Center, a nonprofit program at Florida International University in North Miami that trains journalists in Latin America.