The most underrated skill of all time:
how to sell oneself.
Photo by David Linhardt, with Rachel Seymour
We should all learn to be a little whorish.
At KU's outstanding journalism school, I've learned essentials of the craft: researching public information, organizing and editing a story, and convincing reluctant sources to talk. Then I took an advertising class, and I found the missing ingredient.
Ya gotta learn how to sell something, and how to make a deal. Donald Trump is right.
Keeping the government accountable, speaking up for those can't speak for themselvesâ€â€those are important journalistic ideals. I can write the story, but can I sell it to the busy masses? Maybe we're a little off by making the News & Information track merely about copyediting or reporting. Maybe we should teaching Whorin' 101: How to Sell Yourself and Your Work.
The job market for us j-school grads is killingly tight. Only the best survive, right? Sort of. It's more a combo of the few talented who can also market their skills productively. I can be Bob Woodward with my reporting abilities, but I should be Donald Trump in my sales ability if I want to land a great job after graduation.
Or if I want to sell a story to an editor in the daily budget meeting. And what about drawing in an audience to read the story once it runs in the paper? I'm not talking about more Anna Nicole coverage, but a marketing concept applied to both the craft of journalism and the search for jobs. (But not be a media whore.)
I'd like to learn that here at KU. Why not Donald Trump as guest lecturer? (Watch this flash animation. Trump might be promoting himself with this, ya think?)
Good point. We do actually teach some sell yourself skills. But maybe this would be a good blog assignment for this class. Sell yourself on the internet...