I won’t bury the lede here: your company needs former journalists.
I may be biased because I am, after all, a former journalist, but I won’t wax poetic about the virtues of the Fourth Estate and the need to bring those principles to your workspace.
Journalists have plenty of skills beyond burning curiosity that will help you take your team’s performance to the next level.
At Ceisler, we see the value former journalists bring to our clients, with nine on staff, who go on the record sharing why journalism skills are still worthy of headlines post-industry.
Corinne Ahrens, formerly at Ms. Magazine
“Many reporters develop strong interview skills, which helps them tease key pieces of information out of clients and experts when drafting content.”
Taylor Allen, formerly at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Axios Philadelphia, WHYY, WURD, and Colorado Public Radio
“Through necessity, a lot of us know how to write, produce, take pictures, edit audio, edit video, etc. while dealing with crushingly tight deadlines.”
Jeff Barg, formerly at Philadelphia Weekly and The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Journalists know how to pick up a phone and call somebody. Sometimes, it’s the quickest way to get an answer, but too many people are unwilling to do it. And they can write — and write quickly.”
Thom Casey, formerly at Perry County Times and Athens Review
“Journalists build networks and relationships, articulate complex ideas and concepts in easy-to-digest ways, and understand the ever-changing landscape of how people communicate and interact.”
Keegan Gibson, formerly at PoliticsPA
“Journalists are great at learning about a wide universe of topics and translating them for a layperson audience.”
Kenneth Hilario, formerly at the Philadelphia Business Journal
“We ask the right questions, and we think in narratives, so we know how to tell our clients’ stories.”
Amanda Mueller, formerly at WEHT, WBOY, FOX43, WGAL and KYW
“Team leadership! Those of us who have worked in news management often know how to manage a team, maintain focus, develop a strategy and then pivot in high pressure situations, often during the most chaotic scenarios.”
Allison Steele, formerly at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newark Star-Ledger and Concord Monitor
“We know how to talk to different types of people and blend into different settings: from a boardroom to a courtroom, to a State House to a benefit gala.”
Dive deeper: Check out Allison’s blog on how journalism skills translate across the communications industry.
Shannon Wink, formerly at Billy Penn, WHYY and NEast Philly
“Journalists have a high BS detector. That helps us build trust with communities and ensures the stories we tell are authentic.”
And the #1 reason you should hire a journalist is…
Deadlines? What deadlines!?
Former journalists will hit those grueling deadlines for you, and more – because they’re used to stringent, high-pressure print or broadcast timelines that often start all over again the very next day.
