Networking and playing the long game are the keys to success in journalism, at least according to Theodore Kim, director of newsroom career programs at the New York Times.
“If you do these things, you will accelerate your career. You will skip these steps,” he said in a panel on Thursday. “We’re here at the New York Times. [It] took me 20 years, doesn’t have to take you 20 years.”
Kim was joined by Keiko Morris, the director of journalism recruiting at the Times, for a conversation about how students can best position themselves for success in an ever-changing field.
The event took place on Thursday at the Annenberg School for Communication building.
Kim said anyone could use their cell phone to capture a moment, but what helps to distinguish a journalist is their ability to decide on “the best way to tell [the] issue” rather than defaulting to the easiest or most brainless option. They prioritize “ultimate clarity” and “focusing on the thing that people will get value from, regardless of platform.”
“The kind of reporting that you do will only elevate the kind of content that you get,” said junior journalism major Andriana Yatsyshyn, to enthusiastic agreement from Kim and Morris.
Further, Kim considered the Times a “newsroom of specialists,” recommending that journalists hone in on and develop one skill to perfection. In his opinion, being a generalist would not “compensate for your ability to do the job at hand really, really well” if hired to a particular beat or section.
Morris, however, warned against “putting yourself in a silo.”
Instead, she recommended that aspiring journalists familiarize themselves with as many ever-evolving elements of reporting as possible. “Just be game.”
When it comes to artificial intelligence, she said students should not fear it, but should “turn your curiosity towards [innovations] and really explore.”
In terms of how to decide on a specialty, Kim said you “have to be convicted on an elemental level … don’t rely on the inertia” of already existing in one place. “Interrogate” your niche to reveal if it truly is your passion.
Many students had questions during the panel about how to permeate the increasingly saturated journalistic job market in light of more overt government censorship.
“You just have to get more creative,” Morris said.
She acknowledges it may be hard and require more in-depth sourcing, but it’s worth it not to fold to the demands of administrative forces attempting to censor journalistic reports.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration barred Associated Press journalists from the White House for refusing to change how it referred to the Gulf of Mexico. Thursday, a similar theme persisted as journalists left the Pentagon because they refused to agree to government-imposed restrictions on their work that would require authorization before final publishing on all reports.
Kim said that the New York Times in particular was “not daunted” by the pressures media outlets seem to be facing.
The panel coincided with the opening of the application period for the New York Times Fellowship, which Kim oversees, along with the New York Times Editing Residency and the New York Times Corps. Applications for the fellowship will be accepted through 5 p.m. EST on November 19.
“We will be moving up the deadline slightly to give us more time to look at the thousands of applications that we typically receive,” he said in a social media post about the fellowship program. “So start preparing your materials. We’ll also be leaning into data and video positions this year, so be on the lookout.”