Old hires new
Great news for the future of journalism: TVNewser Brian Stelter has been hired by The New York Times business section to cover media online and in print.
The reason that’s good news — besides Brian’s energy and talents now adding to the paper of record — is that it shows how anyone can take on a beat, do it on their own, make it their own, and rise up to the top of the field. Nobody covered TV news as well and completely as Brian. That’s why TV news execs read (and fed) him. That’s why the Times hired him. He did this without a journalism degree or any degree, actually — or even the legal ability to drink beer. On a blog, nobody knows you’re a dog. They just knew that he knew his stuff.
Pay attention, journalism students: When I suggest that you blog, this is what I’m talking about. Take a beat. Add journalism to the discussion around it. Answer a need. And if you’re good, good things can happen.
Pay attention, also, editors: There is talent working outside your newsroom. Go find that talent. Nurture it. You don’t even have to hire it.
Long ago, when Brian went to Media Bistro, I briefly tried to counsel him not to take the job because I thought he could build something bigger on his own. His move there was good for him — it paid him — and good for Media Bistro — it let them own the beat he owned. And it’s equally a good move for him to go to the Times.
But hiring is not the only way to find, engage, and nurture such talent. A media organization could syndicate content (as washingtonpost.com is doing with PrezVid at Channel08). It could sell ads for the blogger (as washingtonpost.com, again, is doing with its blog ad network). It can provide promotion and services and knowledge.
I’m delighted for Brian. He’s a star. The official memo from Times business editor Larry Ingrassia says:
You read about him on the front page of The New York Times last November, in “The Kid With All the News About the TV News.” Now you’ll read him in The New York Times.Brian Stelter, the TVNewser blogger, is joining the Times next month as an 8i reporter to cover the media world for NYTimes.com and for the paper. . . .
So dedicated was Brian to his blog that he updated it – posting an item about NBC News – between interviews with Times editors in our building recently.
I sent email to Brian urging him to learn from his new colleagues, of course, but also to remember that they have a lot to learn from him. I hope they know that.
Tags: journalism, nytimes
June 12th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Some churlish sort will be quick to say that it’s come down to this: The goal of all those revolutionaries is to get a job with the old media.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
[...] not to move to Mediabistro, but later changed his mind — has some thoughts on the latest move here. blog, NYT, tv | Share [...]
June 12th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
[...] Jeff Jarvis says “here’s what I’m talking about” regarding TVNewser Brian Stelter being hired by The New York Times business section to cover media online and in print. [...]
June 12th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Great post Jeff! All “old media” needs to stop being “old media” its just a little flexibility & experimentation. In this sea of change, I think opportunities are greater than threats. For big and small outlets/persons. Congratulations. I am a devoted Buzzmachine reader from Chile.
June 13th, 2007 at 4:27 am
[...] like their MySpace pages or Facebook profiles. As Jeff Jarvis avised journalism students when he beat me to this post overnight: “When I suggest that you blog, this is what I’m talking [...]
June 13th, 2007 at 7:23 am
[...] BuzzMachine: Blogger lands job at the New York Times Jeff Jarvis on TVNewser Brian Stelter’s job at the New York TImes: “Pay attention, journalism students: When I suggest that you blog, this is what I’m talking about.” (tags: Journalism newspapers bloggers blogs education) [...]
June 18th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
I agree, the hiring is great news for the future. One takeaway is that while Stelter uniquely defined the beat on his blog - note the old world term applied in new world way - the old fashioned way: He reported, worked sources and wrote interesting tales. The hiring reinforces the mantra that content is king. This is less about technology, more about talent. Strip away the bits and bytes and what you’re left with are the ideas. It makes you wonder whether all the noise about social networking amounts to an evolution or revolution. At any rate, good for Stelter - and media of all vintages.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:42 am
[...] Jarvis makes a good point: Pay attention, journalism students: When I suggest that you blog, this is what I’m talking [...]