(Part 2) Top products from r/Journalism

Since you said French or English and you've posted about Montreal, I'm assuming you're Canadian. In that case, I'd recommend Behind the Headlines: A History of Investigative Journalism in Canada. Dry, but will give you some great background into those that have come before you.

For more historical stuff, check out some anthologies of work by folks like Peter Gzowski or Pierre Berton.

Something else I'd recommend (not a book but still awesome) is the CBC's six-part series Spin Cycles about public relations. Incredibly in-depth, has a strong Canadian angle and demonstrates how closely linked the worlds of PR and journalism truly are.

If you're looking for great long-form writing, I enjoy the New Yorkers anthologies in topics like sports writing or profiles. If you're into music writing, a general best of music writing anthology is put out every year that includes work for a variety of publications.

And if you want some of the dark-side of Canadian journalism, you can check out Jan Wong's memoir Out of the Blue which documents her depression and how the Globe and Mail pretty much threw her out on the curb.

>did some research

If you have data on the economic and circulation-numbers state of community weekly newspapers in the U.S., please let me know. I'd love to read it.

I can only base my viewpoints on Pew's State of the News Media analysis on print news circulation, as well as generalized surveys and studies.

I have no doubt that print weeklies will survive for a while longer -- especially in some markets, like the rural midwest and in areas with a much older-than-average population base. But it's not an economically viable medium for transmitting news in the long term.

A book you should check out, when you get the chance, is David Mindich's Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News

>People still know they have to pay for my newspaper.

I'm sure that business model will last you well into the future.

>And web advertisement is worthless.

Yet somehow start-up online news sites and popular blogs have managed to make it work by developing new ways to metric ads, reach audiences for increased presence, and other ways of innovation. Interesting.

> get so tired of academics and people looking at the industry from on high saying print is dying.

Because by every available metric, print is dying. Please note here that "Print" means simply the publication of news using ink and paper. I am well aware that newspaper organizations do most of the original news production and reporting in the country. Which is why I highly support their turn to better online presences -- so they can reach the audience they want to reach, and we can all benefit from a properly informed society.

>Based on the big, national dailies you're trending an industry that includes weeklies, magazines, free papers on and on.

All of which are faltering, economicly, on the national scale.

I have nothing against your standpoint that community weeklies are important. They are where I got my start in journalism, where I did almost all of my professional work in journalism.

My problem comes at your dismissive approach toward blogging, self-reporting and entrepreneurial journalism. They are the nature of the modern market. They are how people get clips now, how people prove themselves, and how people cover a community and give voices to people in an era of failed print platforms.

It's a silly -- and frankly incorrect -- opinion to have toward the facts of a changing news audience and a changing news structure.

I'm lucky I'm the one teaching the journalists of the future.

Professional science journalist here. Stories primarily come from scientific journals (the big ones such as Science, Nature, PNAS, PLOS ONE, etc, and smaller niche journals). We read through the listings for the journals each week and pick out any that look worth covering. Many journals, especially the big-name ones, put out embargoed journal highlights and press releases before publication. For instance Science puts out its upcoming scientific issue Sunday night with a Thursday embargo. For the smaller journals that don't do embargoes, we typically will just keep an eye on the journals web listing of accepted articles. All articles these days indicate a "corresponding author" with an email address. I never really have issue getting my emails returned, but then again I work for a well-known glossy magazine.

Besides journal articles, there are press releases from institutions, universities and research groups. Some of these are public releases while others are embargoed. By far the biggest repository of these releases is EurekAlert.org, which is produced by AAAS (the makers of Science). While a lot of press releases are publicly available on the site, you will need to be a credentialed and registered member of the media to peruse the embargoed content.

We also will head out to scientific conferences. Depending on where you live there's likely to be a few conferences near you throughout the year. Some conferences, such as the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting, take place in the same place while others, such as the Society for Neuroscience's meeting, move around a lot. For press these events are free and we'll typically spend a few days reporting news stories, chatting with scientists for feature ideas, looking at posters and not getting enough sleep. Scientists often say the conferences are exhausting, but we do everything they do and then have to write about it at night.

There are a few other ways to get stories, such as from social media stalking, FOIA requests, government meetings, making contacts within the field, and looking at faculty webpages.

For anyone else considering entering science writing as a profession, I highly recommend choosing a science-focused graduate program instead of a more general J-school track. Good schools include UCSC (arguably the best), MIT, NYU and BU. For /u/foundanamethatworks I recommend A Field Guide for Science Writers as a good starter book. You can get a used copy for around $12 off Amazon.

Let me know a bit more about your situation and I can probably recommend some good resources. Also feel free to PM me in the future if you need any advice!

I quite enjoyed War Reporting For Cowards

You can either start working for a wire or large organisation that has correspondents and get sent abroad, or go abroad and get work for an organisation once you're out there. A language would help, or a regional specialisation at best.

I had a brief chat with Robert Fisk before I moved to the Middle East and it gave me a couple of good pointers. Try getting in touch with some journos you admire, give them a call, see if they can give you any tips.

There are several annual collections published as books. One of my favorites is the Best American series

• Magazine Writing http://www.barnesandnoble.com/mobile/w/the-best-american-magazine-writing-2016-sid-holt/1123830173?ean=9780231181556&st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Core+Shopping+Books_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP62465
  
• Sports Writing (There's a lot to be learned about writing from these folks even if sports will not be your friend's focus.) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01912OYOU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
• Science and Nature Writing https://www.amazon.com/Best-American-Science-Nature-Writing/dp/B01L9AJKYG
  
• Travel writing https://www.hmhco.com/at-home/featured-shops/popular-series/best-american-series/ba-travel
  
• Crime reporting https://www.amazon.com/Best-American-Crime-Reporting-2009/dp/0061490849
  
• Infographics (This is a booming sector of journalism with some of the best job prospects and best pay. These skills also open up the door to stories others won't see) https://www.hmhco.com/at-home/featured-shops/popular-series/best-american-series/ba-infographics
  
  Other journalism-related books that you might consider:
  
• Boys on the Bus, a must-read first person account of journalists' lives on the presidential campaign trail https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D5BFDKI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
• The New York Review Abroad: 50 years of International reporting https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LNDO2E/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  -Journalism's Roving Eye, a history of foreign reporting https://www.amazon.com/Journalisms-Roving-Eye-American-Reporting/dp/0807143596
  
• The New New Journalism https://www.amazon.com/New-Journalism-Conversations-Americas-Nonfiction/dp/140003356X
  
• Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0U30/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
• The Investigative Reporter's Handbook https://www.amazon.com/Investigative-Reporters-Handbook-Documents-Techniques/dp/031258997
  
• Precision Journalism https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Journalism-Reporters-Introduction-Science/dp/0742510883
  
• The Associated Press Guide to Newswriting http://www.barnesandnoble.com/mobile/p/the-associated-press-guide-to-news-writing-rene-j-cappon/1122972240/2675698122266?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Textbooks_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP20449&k_clickid=3x20449

Read as much music journalism as you can. Read it in NYT, the LAT, Guardian, WaPo, the Tribune, watch it on ABC, CBS, wherever. Figure out who you like. Read biographies and memoirs and history of music books. Then, write. Write a review of an album. You don't even have to publish it. Just try to write something kind of like your favorite music writers. Find your voice.

And also read about journalism in general. Read some books on newswriting. This is my go-to advice for all aspiring writers.

James Kershner's Elements of News Writing is a great practical guide that touches on basic practices and gives advice on how to write a variety of pieces, which you'll no doubt find useful.

Also, pick up a style guide and stick to it. AP style is pretty much the industry standard. You can get an older version that is much cheaper and still get ahead of the game.

Then read Zinsser's "On Writing Well" and "Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. They'll help you find ways to streamline your writing and cut the fat.

TL;DR write a lot. Read more.

In the late 1980s, TV broadcaster Linda Ellerbee wrote a GREAT book about being a woman working in the world of journalism. Some of the information may be a bit dated (though still relevant), but the book overall is fantastically written and quite funny. Your sister should definitely check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/So-Goes-Linda-Ellerbee/dp/0399130470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549210674&sr=8-1&keywords=linda+and+so+it+goes

Umm, i can't answer your question directly but it might be worth while checking out Stacy Percils Pearsall, books specifically this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Photojournalists-Field-Guide-trenches-photographer/dp/0321896610

Where she talks about what you're planning on doing.

Good luck.

>Reality is I don't even have any way of knowing that what you say is true. In fact, given your post history and utter failure to back up what you have to say with any sources whatsoever that it's not accurate.

Verifying everything I said is pretty easy for anyone that knows how to do basic research, especially since I broke down most of the points.

​

>Why didn't I think you were a journalist? Because most people who say "THE MEDIA NEEDS TO COVER THIS" aren't a part of the media.

I didn't say the Media Needs to Cover This, I asked a question, " Why aren't any news outlets covering the truth about what's going on with Vaping and Big Tobacco?"

​

>They're capable of recognizing that it's a complex ecosystem filled with different competing organizations with different competing interests.

It's more like competing journalists and it's not that complex of an ecosystem given that there is even more lateral movement in the industry today than there was twenty years ago and there was a lot back then. If you're not a Chomsky fan you should at least check out Bagdikian.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Monopoly-Completely-Chapters/dp/0807061875

I recommend you get your hands on Telling True Stories. This is an anthology of hands-on/how-to essays written by leading literary journalists. It had sections on how to do research, get close to your sources so you can tell their story truthfully, how to go about writing in the literary style.


Telling True Stories

Well, the obvious answer would be to read this:

Elements of Style

But Stephen King's On Writing is well respected (I'm reading it now, and it's told in a narrative. It doesn't feel like taking your medicine, if you're worried about getting bored.)

If you're looking for examples of quality writing that translate well into journalism, anything by Hemingway would be a good investment.

I don't have any ideas for you, as visuals weren't my bag (my thesis was in audio journalism), but check out a few issues of Visual Communication Quarterly for some inspiration. Newspaper Research Journal is another good place to look. As far as sources are concerned, David Perlmutter has some good stuff, especially as it relates to war imagery. Try this.

Capote. And I'm not talking about In Cold Blood. Hand Carved Coffins in his essay collection Music for Chameleons is one of the best examples of 'true crime' literary reporting out there.

> NYPost and WSJ are publications with known conservative tendencies.

That's incorrect. NYPost and WSJ's opinion-writing staff have known conservative tendencies. The publications' news staff has no political leaning that I know of.

> Are you saying that it's completely unreasonable for those of us without your insider knowledge to question whether political opinion played any role in these coverage decisions?

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Because the world (or the media) isn't run by shadowy men in black suits wearing black sunglasses. Go read inside accounts of what it's like to work at Fox News. If someone was controlling the media, we'd know about it by now because 1) a shitton of my stories would have been censored, 2) I would know someone who's stories have been censored.

> Should we not be suspicious when editorial policy lines up in a convenient way with ownership of a publication?

What makes you think there is an editorial policy that says that environmental stories can't be on the front page of the New York Post or Wall Street Journal? Did you mean one-time editorial decision? Because that's something that depends on which editor is on-duty that night.

Might want to get a copy of Sound Reporting, the NPR guide for radio reporting. I can't recall if it touches in the legal parameters covered by the FCC, but it lays out how NPR approaches pieces, uses sound/interviews, etc.

I worked in radio for a few years and rarely, if ever, had to consult FCC guidelines for a piece. So long as you're following strong journalistic guidelines, and aren't shamelessly repurposing someone else's copyrighted work, there are few legal parameters reporters and producers have to worry about.

Voices of the Revolution: The Dissident Press in America, by Rodger Steitmatter