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Limping economy slows hiring reboundBy Levi j.long Monitor Staff Job seekers at the NABJ career fair may find increased employment opportunities compared with last year as some newspapers and broadcast companies start rebuilding staffs amid a sluggish economy. The rebound in hiring is uneven among employers with job openings, and most recruiters say they are focusing on experienced journalists over recent college graduates. Knight-Ridder Inc., the nation's second-largest newspaper company, has 150 openings at its 31 daily publications, said Reginald Stuart, a recruiter representing the company at the job fair. That's about double the number of positions that were available last year, he said. "We're definitely bouncing back," Stuart said. "Last year was the worst" for hiring by the industry, he said. Knight-Ridder plans to fill most of its openings with veteran reporters and editors, Stuart said. In previous years there were more openings for entry-level journalists, he said. The rebound for jobs in broadcast began in 2002 and is expected to continue over the next year as the economy and advertising recover, said Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. Hiring will get an extra boost as networks and local stations increase staffing to cover the 2004 elections, she said. "I see no reason why it won't continue," Cochran said of the rebound in broadcast hiring. The ABC television network has 15 openings, said Amy Barnhart, a recruiter representing ABC Inc. at the job fair. That's up 15 percent from the number of jobs available last year, she said. Cochran said most of the available broadcast jobs are for producers, rather than on-air talent. The employment picture at some newspapers hasn't changed much from last year, recruiters say. They cite the economy, the Iraq war's negative effect on advertising and the dot-com bust. "It's a bad market for us," said Cheryl Butler, a recruiter for The Washington Post. "We only have a few openings. ... It's like that everywhere." Butler said The Post's goal at the career fair is to make contact with experienced journalists to build a roster of job-seeking veterans who can be contacted when openings occur. There is greater demand for copy editors than reporters at The Post and throughout the industry, Butler said. At The Wall Street Journal, the pace of hiring is still below what it was a few years ago, Cathy Panagoulias, a recruiter for the newspaper, said in an electronic message. The Journal has openings for reporters and copy editors, she said. Hiring of recent college graduates seeking journalism jobs continued to worsen last year, according to results from the 2002 Annual Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication Graduates. The nationwide survey by Lee Becker, a professor at the University of Georgia, found that the number of journalism graduates with full-time job offers within six to eight months of graduation fell for the second straight year. The survey says that minority graduates are particularly affected. Graduates from minority groups were less successful than graduates overall in finding journalism employment, the survey found. Mike Tolbert, 22, part of the NABJ-TV student project, graduated in May from New York University with a bachelor of arts in broadcast journalism. Since then he has had a couple of job offers and turned down a television reporter's position in Montana. "I wish I hadn't turned it down," he said. Tolbert said he wanted to stay in New York City but now is willing to move anywhere for a job. He remains optimistic. "There's a push for diversity in newsrooms. Minorities will be hired." The employment survey also found that recent recipients of master's degrees in journalism were having difficulty finding jobs. "The job market has been tough to say the least," said Katrina Matthews, 26, who is part of the NABJ Radio student project. She graduated in May with a master of arts in journalism from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Her hunt for a job as a radio news producer has resulted in rejection letters. She has accepted a public relations job with a state housing agency in Baton Rouge. Becker said students shouldn't take rejections personally, and they shouldn't give up their pursuit of a journalism job. "The reality is [the job market is] difficult, and there's not much consolation in that," he said. The employment survey found that there was an increase in the percentage of graduates who regretted their decision to go into journalism. The survey also found that beginning reporters' salaries changed little in 2002, with the median salary at $26,000. Levi J. Long can be reached at levinabj@hotmail.com. |
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