Hello!
The comments on this profile are unclaimed and thus are unverified.
Do they belong to you? Claim these comments.
Unregistered
aliases
- Pat Thornton
- Patrick Thornton
- Pat Thornton
Pat Thornton
Is this you? Claim Profile »
7 ヶ月 ago
in I’m in the gray, working with public relations on Megan Taylor: Web Journalist
@Megan,
Congrats on the job!
If you do enter back into journalism, I think you'll find that you learned a lot of valuable lessons at your current job. Moving forward, journalists will need to know how to market themselves and their content. The days of just producing content are over.
Don't be ashamed of PR. A lot of journalists call it the dark side for a variety of reasons. Some of it is a coping mechanism. They have to justify their long (often odd) hours, low pay and poor job security with something.
The thing is PR isn't all bad and journalism isn't all good. A lot of what they teach you in j-school about the nobility of journalism is false. Most newspapers, for instance, will not go after a prominent advertiser or they will hedge their coverage and headlines quite a bit.
My advice would be to enjoy the job you have and look into a variety of freelance opportunities.
Congrats on the job!
If you do enter back into journalism, I think you'll find that you learned a lot of valuable lessons at your current job. Moving forward, journalists will need to know how to market themselves and their content. The days of just producing content are over.
Don't be ashamed of PR. A lot of journalists call it the dark side for a variety of reasons. Some of it is a coping mechanism. They have to justify their long (often odd) hours, low pay and poor job security with something.
The thing is PR isn't all bad and journalism isn't all good. A lot of what they teach you in j-school about the nobility of journalism is false. Most newspapers, for instance, will not go after a prominent advertiser or they will hedge their coverage and headlines quite a bit.
My advice would be to enjoy the job you have and look into a variety of freelance opportunities.
7 ヶ月 ago
in $50 to the first API participant to out he newspaper exec. who thinks the current situation is just cyclical. on Zero Percent Idle
There are no words...
This person should be fired immediately for gross incompetence.
The real question isn't who said this, but rather how many other newspaper execs quietly believe this?
This person should be fired immediately for gross incompetence.
The real question isn't who said this, but rather how many other newspaper execs quietly believe this?
7 ヶ月 ago
in 2008/11/17/twitter-community-donts/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
@Sarah,
Excellent post. I think it's so important for people (especially businesses) to know what not do on Twitter. You can do all the right things to build a following, but if you make a few mistakes, it can really hurt what you're doing.
I made a post that adds a few more suggestions for what not to do on Twitter over at BeatBlogging.Org.
Excellent post. I think it's so important for people (especially businesses) to know what not do on Twitter. You can do all the right things to build a following, but if you make a few mistakes, it can really hurt what you're doing.
I made a post that adds a few more suggestions for what not to do on Twitter over at BeatBlogging.Org.
1 年 ago
in Ducks go quack, quack, cows go moo on Megan Taylor: Web Journalist
I have to resist the temptation by others to pigeon hole me as just a technical person. I have a journalism degree, and have been published in many newspapers.
Just because I can write CSS, record and edit audio, build a slideshow, etc, doesn't mean I can't do traditional journalism. In fact, if I couldn't do traditional journalism well, I probably wouldn't be able to do multimedia journalism well.
I think it's a natural reaction for people with less skills to try to brand Web folks as "just techies," who aren't "real journalists." It happens all the time at my job. It's sad really.
The modern journalist should have multiple skill sets.
Just because I can write CSS, record and edit audio, build a slideshow, etc, doesn't mean I can't do traditional journalism. In fact, if I couldn't do traditional journalism well, I probably wouldn't be able to do multimedia journalism well.
I think it's a natural reaction for people with less skills to try to brand Web folks as "just techies," who aren't "real journalists." It happens all the time at my job. It's sad really.
The modern journalist should have multiple skill sets.
1 年 ago
in Post-graduation plans on Megan Taylor: Web Journalist
Your plans sounds like a lot of fun. In fact, they sound a lot more fun than my life. Want to trade?
2 年 ago
in links for 2007-07-05 on Martin Stabe
Facebook will crush Myspace long term. Myspace wasn't the most technologically forward thinking site several years ago, and now that News Corp owns it, it just languishes.
The Facebook provides a much nicer user experience with much more to see and do, plus it is a lot more secure and free of spammers everywhere.
What's shocking to me is how many people have stayed with Myspace this long. It's a terrible site, filled with people trying to sell you something (or prey on you). Plus the security is incredibly lax.
Facebook has continued to add more and more features all the time, while Myspace is the same experience it was years ago. It wasn't anything special then and now it looks and feels just plain dated.
It is, yet again, another example of how content is king. Myspace has been coasting for a long time because it is so large and now other companies are growing quickly because they put out considerably better products.
~Pat
www.patthorntonfiles.com/blog
The Facebook provides a much nicer user experience with much more to see and do, plus it is a lot more secure and free of spammers everywhere.
What's shocking to me is how many people have stayed with Myspace this long. It's a terrible site, filled with people trying to sell you something (or prey on you). Plus the security is incredibly lax.
Facebook has continued to add more and more features all the time, while Myspace is the same experience it was years ago. It wasn't anything special then and now it looks and feels just plain dated.
It is, yet again, another example of how content is king. Myspace has been coasting for a long time because it is so large and now other companies are growing quickly because they put out considerably better products.
~Pat
www.patthorntonfiles.com/blog
2 年 ago
in links for 2007-07-01 on Martin Stabe
Martin,
I posted a review of the new CNN.com site at my blog (www.patthorntonfiles.com/blog).
Overall, I like it, especially compared to the old CNN site. It's a technologically beautiful site. They just need to hire a few more journalists to really make it shine.
I posted a review of the new CNN.com site at my blog (www.patthorntonfiles.com/blog).
Overall, I like it, especially compared to the old CNN site. It's a technologically beautiful site. They just need to hire a few more journalists to really make it shine.
