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| Rejected by robots - a would-be young journalist writes from the north | Rejected by robots - a would-be young journalist writes from the north |
| (2 months later) | |
| Everybody knows it's hard for graduates at the moment. I've heard all the advice, excuses and put-downs and I know it's down to the individual person to pave their own future and grab a slice of the proverbial pie that they've worked hard for. I've been told: | Everybody knows it's hard for graduates at the moment. I've heard all the advice, excuses and put-downs and I know it's down to the individual person to pave their own future and grab a slice of the proverbial pie that they've worked hard for. I've been told: |
| It's all about experience. You need to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Just look at our CEO, he got this job by advertising himself on a billboard… | It's all about experience. You need to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Just look at our CEO, he got this job by advertising himself on a billboard… |
| But how much experience is enough experience? Are we really gaining experience or are we just providing employers with free labour, as more and more advertise for placements and internships which will be unpaid? | But how much experience is enough experience? Are we really gaining experience or are we just providing employers with free labour, as more and more advertise for placements and internships which will be unpaid? |
| "Move to London if you want to break into the media industry," is another stock tip. It's long been a dream of mine to move down to the Big Smoke from lowly Newcastle, where, according to the mindset that we have to move, we haven't quite grasped the whole media thing. I heard through the grapevine last week that someone had spotted an Apple Mac in Byker, but apparently it was just coal in a shiny white box. | "Move to London if you want to break into the media industry," is another stock tip. It's long been a dream of mine to move down to the Big Smoke from lowly Newcastle, where, according to the mindset that we have to move, we haven't quite grasped the whole media thing. I heard through the grapevine last week that someone had spotted an Apple Mac in Byker, but apparently it was just coal in a shiny white box. |
| We're simply a ship-building city Up North, renowned for Ant & Dec, Alan Shearer, tangerines in Christmas stockings and tangerines in V-neck t-shirts 'tashing on' with other sub-humans in a certain MTV show. The Geordie Shoreificiation of the great city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne has only created monstrous caricatures of some of our worst traits, tainted our reputation and rendered it difficult to be taken seriously on a national scale as a city of fantastic arts and culture. | We're simply a ship-building city Up North, renowned for Ant & Dec, Alan Shearer, tangerines in Christmas stockings and tangerines in V-neck t-shirts 'tashing on' with other sub-humans in a certain MTV show. The Geordie Shoreificiation of the great city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne has only created monstrous caricatures of some of our worst traits, tainted our reputation and rendered it difficult to be taken seriously on a national scale as a city of fantastic arts and culture. |
| Those of you who aren't consumed by these myths of the mysterious north will know that Newcastle, in particular, has been undergoing something of a cultural renaissance in the last few years. We had the Turner Prize in 2011, like. However a combination of lack of income, funding and even customer interest in professional media means that whilst news outlets and magazines are coping, they're nowhere near thriving. Able job-seekers are required to move down south - that land of opportunity. | Those of you who aren't consumed by these myths of the mysterious north will know that Newcastle, in particular, has been undergoing something of a cultural renaissance in the last few years. We had the Turner Prize in 2011, like. However a combination of lack of income, funding and even customer interest in professional media means that whilst news outlets and magazines are coping, they're nowhere near thriving. Able job-seekers are required to move down south - that land of opportunity. |
| However, this creates a number of problems. The media is London-centric. There are no two ways about it. Fair enough, the BBC has moved part of its operation to Salford, near where I now live in Manchester, which is a step in the right direction but it doesn't greatly change things. The need for budding news-makers to begin their careers in London seems to create a class gap. Yep, that's right, I've dropped the C word. | However, this creates a number of problems. The media is London-centric. There are no two ways about it. Fair enough, the BBC has moved part of its operation to Salford, near where I now live in Manchester, which is a step in the right direction but it doesn't greatly change things. The need for budding news-makers to begin their careers in London seems to create a class gap. Yep, that's right, I've dropped the C word. |
| It goes something like this: those aiming to excel in the media or creative industries move South or to London (I aimed for the middle ground and moved from the relative tranquillity of Newcastle to 'the new London'. I, too, was drawn in by the lure of MediaCityUK and more opportunity). Those who can afford to, or who can commute from homes in London, begin unpaid internships. Those who can't afford to, don't. Do you see where I'm going here? Our news may be run by the well-educated but I think it's safe to say that it isn't really a level playing field of opportunity. Put it this way: if Whitley Bay FC took on Chelsea, there would only be one winner. | It goes something like this: those aiming to excel in the media or creative industries move South or to London (I aimed for the middle ground and moved from the relative tranquillity of Newcastle to 'the new London'. I, too, was drawn in by the lure of MediaCityUK and more opportunity). Those who can afford to, or who can commute from homes in London, begin unpaid internships. Those who can't afford to, don't. Do you see where I'm going here? Our news may be run by the well-educated but I think it's safe to say that it isn't really a level playing field of opportunity. Put it this way: if Whitley Bay FC took on Chelsea, there would only be one winner. |
| How are you supposed to pay rent? How are you expected to eat? In case you haven't realised from these rapidly-scrawled ramblings, I've had a spot of bother trying to break into the world of journalism. I graduated in the subject last summer and have completed work experience at newspapers, news channels, websites and magazines but the oh-so-personal human resources emails from companies I've dreamed of working for don't seem to think that's enough. I've been receiving rejections from robots. What makes c3po qualified enough to reject me? Not only that, but why can't he provide any reason behind my lack of success? I'm demanding answers. Oh, and won't this open letter show initiative. Won't it look good on my CV? What a sorry case of double standards. | How are you supposed to pay rent? How are you expected to eat? In case you haven't realised from these rapidly-scrawled ramblings, I've had a spot of bother trying to break into the world of journalism. I graduated in the subject last summer and have completed work experience at newspapers, news channels, websites and magazines but the oh-so-personal human resources emails from companies I've dreamed of working for don't seem to think that's enough. I've been receiving rejections from robots. What makes c3po qualified enough to reject me? Not only that, but why can't he provide any reason behind my lack of success? I'm demanding answers. Oh, and won't this open letter show initiative. Won't it look good on my CV? What a sorry case of double standards. |
| This may seem like your writer's obituary but it's born from necessity. Not because I've given up, not because I'm resigning myself to a fate of employment I never once dreamed of whilst reading Hunter S Thompson; whilst basking in the musky scent of a morning newspaper; while dreaming of Fleet Street; the notion of being a 'hack'; of being first on the scene to report back to the newsroom; of manically battering keyboards to get copy out in time for deadline… | This may seem like your writer's obituary but it's born from necessity. Not because I've given up, not because I'm resigning myself to a fate of employment I never once dreamed of whilst reading Hunter S Thompson; whilst basking in the musky scent of a morning newspaper; while dreaming of Fleet Street; the notion of being a 'hack'; of being first on the scene to report back to the newsroom; of manically battering keyboards to get copy out in time for deadline… |
| Maybe I have romanticised the industry. The fate and day-to-day running of news outlets doesn't necessarily reside in their hands now. Since we consume the majority of our news free of charge, companies are relying on advertisements to stay afloat, meaning budgets are a lot tighter and the wage bill must be kept to a minimum. Perhaps I'm naively crying out for things to be like I imagined and this keyboard tantrum will only warn off others who haven't yet reached the precipice I'm struggling to cross. If that's all I'm achieving then I apologise, but I heard the same worries from employers and parents who tried to warn how hard the pursuit of employment would be. | Maybe I have romanticised the industry. The fate and day-to-day running of news outlets doesn't necessarily reside in their hands now. Since we consume the majority of our news free of charge, companies are relying on advertisements to stay afloat, meaning budgets are a lot tighter and the wage bill must be kept to a minimum. Perhaps I'm naively crying out for things to be like I imagined and this keyboard tantrum will only warn off others who haven't yet reached the precipice I'm struggling to cross. If that's all I'm achieving then I apologise, but I heard the same worries from employers and parents who tried to warn how hard the pursuit of employment would be. |
| I did what all ambitious youngsters do and ignored good advice. | I did what all ambitious youngsters do and ignored good advice. |
| So maybe I am biting the hand that feeds me - but only because I've nibbled, sucked and moisturised the slender, cigarette-stained fingers of journalism for long enough to know what lies beyond the ordeal. | So maybe I am biting the hand that feeds me - but only because I've nibbled, sucked and moisturised the slender, cigarette-stained fingers of journalism for long enough to know what lies beyond the ordeal. |
| "Oh, how bitter of you…" I can hear the university naysayers and the happily employed bleat, as those of us post-higher education struggle to pin down any sort of long-term employment. This is the product of a seemingly flawed system where now degrees mean so little but can cause so much long-term financial damage. We can blame the coalition, the recession and the poor jobs market which it has spawned. I can blame the decline of a news industry which I already knew was in decline, but at the end of the day I can only blame myself. | "Oh, how bitter of you…" I can hear the university naysayers and the happily employed bleat, as those of us post-higher education struggle to pin down any sort of long-term employment. This is the product of a seemingly flawed system where now degrees mean so little but can cause so much long-term financial damage. We can blame the coalition, the recession and the poor jobs market which it has spawned. I can blame the decline of a news industry which I already knew was in decline, but at the end of the day I can only blame myself. |
| I've caught my reflection in the window of the Costa Coffee I'm stealing internet from on a dark Wednesday afternoon and my face has taken the form of a bitter man. Months of monotony have taken their toll. If this were a film scene I'm adamant critics would be calling it 'poignant'. The kind of scene where it would slowly zoom into my face as I stop tapping away at the laptop, look out into the dark and realise: "Oh, maybe it's my fault after all." Cue end credits. The thoughts of a biopic seem a tad premature but when all creativity is stifled into summing up 'why you would like to work for the company' in 300 words, a mind tends to wander. | I've caught my reflection in the window of the Costa Coffee I'm stealing internet from on a dark Wednesday afternoon and my face has taken the form of a bitter man. Months of monotony have taken their toll. If this were a film scene I'm adamant critics would be calling it 'poignant'. The kind of scene where it would slowly zoom into my face as I stop tapping away at the laptop, look out into the dark and realise: "Oh, maybe it's my fault after all." Cue end credits. The thoughts of a biopic seem a tad premature but when all creativity is stifled into summing up 'why you would like to work for the company' in 300 words, a mind tends to wander. |
| Maybe today would have been better spent filling in another application form. | Maybe today would have been better spent filling in another application form. |
| Glen Keogh is a Geordie journalism graduate currently residing in Manchester. When he's not writing about news or culture he's probably working in a call centre. He Tweets here. | Glen Keogh is a Geordie journalism graduate currently residing in Manchester. When he's not writing about news or culture he's probably working in a call centre. He Tweets here. |
| Any thoughts? What's your take on Glen's experience? The Northerner is alas among those who cannot pay - yet - but we hope that having the platform is at least some help. | Any thoughts? What's your take on Glen's experience? The Northerner is alas among those who cannot pay - yet - but we hope that having the platform is at least some help. |
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