Talent
Media talent worth keeping an eye on
Shen Lu left China to study journalism in the U.S. She writes perfectly in both languages.
But she finds it hard to get the career she wants on either side. She faces press restrictions in China, while U.S. newsrooms aren’t keen on hiring Chinese journalists. “If I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, I doubt I’d make the decision to study journalism again, because the news industry—both in China and in the U.S.—seems to be a world designed to keep people like me out.”Here’s another dream job.
Nieman Lab is looking for a staff writer. Wooo.ICFJ’s TruthBuzz is looking for five full-time fellows to work in newsrooms in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and United States.
The fellows will help local reporters expand the reach and impact of fact-checked stories.Marc Lourdes, the digital head for CNN Asia, is leaving after two years in that seat.
I’ve seen it; nice view. I’ve been trying to get Marc to write for Splice. But failing which, I’m sure he’ll be enjoying his time off till the next big thing. 🍹🍹🍹This is fantastic. There are 16 scholarships available to attend the Dart Center’s training on crisis zone reporting.
Everything from risk assessment to first aid and trauma.Uncovering Asia is a major gathering of investigative and data journalists in Asia held every two years.
This October, it’s in Seoul. There’s a fellowship available to attend the conference — covers travel. Worth a shot.Hong Kong Baptist University is launching a new fellowship aimed at mid-career journalists in Asia.
Fellows will get to meet Pulitzer Prize winners and attend seminars. A monthly allowance and airfare will be provided for the 3-month fellowship.Someone is trying to build an open-source, blockchain-based licensing system for content.
Ok, not just someone — Jarrod Dicker ran the digital-research lab at The Washington Post. We think he’s worth watching.Asian Journalism Fellowship is looking for applicants to join their 2018 cohort.
It’s a fantastic program that brings together seasoned journos from around the region to live and work for three months in Singapore. Details here.Kelvin Hung is a full-stack web dev and creative coder in Hong Kong.
His website is an example of how effective a one-pager can be. He uses all the bells and whistles, including Three.js, TweenMax, and Lodash, but who cares — will you just look at what happens when you move your cursor towards the silhouette of him sitting on a rock coding.The Washington Post wants to hire a journo who can help identify and use new storytelling tools, and evangelize the newsroom’s work internally and externally.
Public speaking is a must. Sounds like a dream job to me (though I’d rather keep doing these newsletters).Aman Sethi is the new Editor-in-Chief of HuffPost India.
He was formerly an Associate Editor at Hindustan Times. He was also the Africa Correspondent for The Hindu.
This is life as a fixer in Myanmar’s increasingly hostile media space.
Arrested while assisting a pair of TRT journalists, Aung Naing Soe spent two months in prison last year. But he says the job is worth the risks.Financial Times wants a creative producer on the team.
They’re looking for someone to take news stories and transform them with visuals, data, photos or videos. It’s fantastic. Best part — you get to work with the amazing Robin Kwong.Here’s a dream job.
Washington Post is looking for a Southeast Asia correspondent. “We are seeking a high-energy, nimble correspondent with a record of distinction in bringing clarity to opaque subjects.”It’s been a tough time for local reporters in Myanmar.
That’s why we’re happy to see that AFP awarded its prestigious Kate Webb Prize to Mratt Kyaw Thu. The 27-year-old won the prize for a series of articles published in Frontier about the violence in Shan and Rakhine states.Here’s something of a dream job.
Media investor MDIF is looking for a digital media specialist to “plan, manage and execute different types of technical assistance and capacity building across MDIF’s portfolio companies, generally in emerging and frontier markets.”I stumbled on this gold mine of advice recently.
It’s great for entrepreneurs, or just about everyone. Fantastic advice in here on leadership and management. I assure you, these aren’t cheap tips. They’re worth your time.MTV Asia is looking for someone to write and co-manage content on their digital platforms.
They’re seeking great writing skills, a love for music and pop culture, and social media wizardry.Carrie Gracie quit as the BBC’s China editor over what she called a “crisis of trust” around how the broadcaster paid its female staff.
Gracie alleged that she was paid 33% less than her male counterparts. “For far too long, a secretive and illegal BBC pay culture has inflicted dishonorable choices on those who enforce it. This must change."There’s some good, sage advice here — photojournalism pitching tips.
Not just for photogs, but equally good for anyone pitching stories. “We don’t send people to, let’s say Syria or Iraq, just on speculation that there might be cool pictures to take. We want a specific story or project.”
As mistrust grows amid the Rohingya crisis, Myanmar tightens restrictions on foreign media.
It's getting tougher on the ground. This is Victoria Milko's story.Dow Jones is looking to hire a social media editor in Beijing.
They want “a magician who can transform hardcore journalism into social media stories that can go viral.”Sad week for the folks at Mashable Asia in Singapore.
Packing up, closing down. The decision came by email to the team at 3 am Singapore time. Classy work, Mashable HQ! But there's all that great talent out in the wild. Get them.Valerie Madon, the Chief Creative Officer of Havas Southeast Asia, has a bone to pick with agencies who won’t evolve because they’re just too lazy to learn new things.
"It’s a very different way of thinking, but who is to say we can’t change things with this much data in our hands?"Universities are doing a disservice to their students if they’re only teaching the craft of journalism.
FFS, teach some business skills already, like PR.In a vaguely substantiated rumour, Radhika Jones from NYT Books will replace Graydon Carter as Vanity Fair editor.
Carter steps down after 25 years. Jones’s resume in print overqualifies her for the job — Grand Street, Artforum, Moscow Times, Paris Review, and Time magazine — but, interestingly, the magazine’s digital director was also considered.And The Information wants reporters.
Among the beats to cover: Facebook, Alphabet and Asia. Because Asia is one country.Gimlet is hiring a digital editor.
That audacious podcast startup that got us all excited a few years ago with their audacious podcast Startup (#seewhatididthere) wants someone to edit their email newsletters and other digital channels. It’s a full-time role in Brooklyn, NY, and the deadline is Friday, November 10.Young people making news apps?
Maybe things are better than we think. Here’s a 15-year-old entrepreneur in New York who made his first product: RadioNe.ws plays audio news summaries. Works on desktop; doesn’t work for us on mobile in Chrome or Safari so far, but hey, cool idea, @riIeywz.Mary Hamilton ran audience development at the Guardian.
She recently quit the company after six years. Here are 13 things she’s learned about audiences. Among them: “The most important commodity most people have to spend online is their attention. If you want to gain their trust, don’t screw about with it.”Probably not the kind of talent we’d normally cover in this category, but you’d have to be pretty talented to run Google like Sundar Pichai.
Bloomberg has this fantastic profile of the CEO and how he’s managed to keep things running in an incredibly tough year. An NYU prof said “Google would be the scariest company in the world if you didn’t believe they had adult supervision.”Our friends at Hack Pack are running a survey to find out how much money freelance writers are making around the world.
They’re hoping to bring transparency to the industry. We salute them.
If you want a career in journalism, this could be a good place to start.
We asked some of Asia's top journalists and editors to share their best advice for aspiring young reporters.
Academics say Malaysia’s journalism schools are producing mediocre graduates.
Some J-schools are adopting profit-driven models that teach students how to create advertorials and follow content templates.Chen Siyi, who works for Quartz, wants a different narrative of China — one that goes beyond the default Western stories of human rights and bad air.
"I can please an American audience with a 'China sucks' story that confirms their stereotypes; or I can surprise them with a 'China is awesome' story because I want to defend my country." Read her bold and honest thoughts -- they're shared by many Asian journalists working in international media.Our Better World is looking for someone to lead their in-house content team and manage their regional network of content creators.
Singapore-based. Details here.Singapore broadcaster Mediacorp named Tham Loke Kheng as its new CEO.
She was pulled from PCCW in Hong Kong where she ran the pay TV business.What’s the best advice you’ve received as a reporter?
Here are some good ones. "Report against your own biases. That is, include the reporting that has a chance of proving you wrong, not just confirming what you already think or think that you know."
Splice is looking for freelance writers from across Asia to cover the media industry.
Our mission is to take the lid off the industry to better understand this region’s nuances, challenges and opportunities.
Leading Millennials: Cristina Maza, freelance reporter
"Once someone has the journalism bug, there isn’t much you can do to stop that person from reporting."
Leading Millennials: Didem Tali, freelance reporter
"I became a financially sustainable freelance journalist by trial and error and figuring most things on my own. Being a freelance journalist is basically running a small business."
Leading Millennials: Robin Kwong, Financial Times
"Make public commitments, and get others to help hold me accountable to them."
Leading Millennials: Kirsten Han, Freelance Reporter
"Don’t take rejections to heart. Pitch rejections are par for the course."
Leading Millennials: Rebecca Pazos, SPH
"I love the feeling of being the first to know something."
Leading Millennials: Elizabeth Law, Agence France-Presse
"I was taught that if your work improves the life of just one person, you have done your duty in public service."
Leading Millennials: Kyle Malinda-White, Freelance Reporter
"Everyone should get out of their safe zone for a while. The best experiences we have as people are the ones in unfamiliar environments."
Leading Millennials: Victoria Ho, Mashable
"It’s hard to see someone else have the story and not you, and question the decisions you made earlier."