image from jscoopmedia.com

As media outlets continue to crack down on edit staffers, jobless journos may be worried that those hard-earned reporting, writing, and editing skills won’t be put to good use again. But while most of our journalism and educational experiences are geared towards newsroom preparedness, our options don’t end there. This summer, I was passed along a column by marketing strategist David Meerman Scott, in which he encourages underemployed journalists to consider what he calls “brand journalism”—using newsroom skills in atypical environments.

Reading this was encouraging and liberating. Every organization needs well-crafted content, especially on the Web where sites have only milliseconds to snag a viewer. Granted, it can be difficult not to feel like you’ve slighted the journalism industry if you aren’t sleuthing city council records or providing up-to-the-minute coverage on your beat; but many companies, organizations, and institutions need professionals to be their voices in online conversations. There are obvious benefits to providing news and information via blogs, videos, and Twitter, and those tasks shouldn’t be left to people who don’t know how to get information and put it out there in an engaging way.

Journalists Are Content Providers
Chicago real estate agent Sheldon Salnick actively recruits j-school graduates to maintain his blog on the area’s condo market. “I think journalists have to think in a bigger perspective,” says Salnick, who relies on journalists’ ability to craft content that is concise, engaging, and well-received by the public. “Writers understand the media and know how to use appropriate phrasing. They key is getting the information and creating that message.”

Salnick says journalists are also quick to become “experts.” Even if they lack a background in real estate, journalists have the sleuthing and interviewing skills essential to determining what information they need and how best to get it.

J-School Skills Are Marketable
Former newspaper reporter Andrew Smith, 23, recently took a job as the coordinator of student engagement at the College of Coastal Georgia. Finding the best ways to communicate with the student population—a task that demands the research and reporting skills he garnered in the newsroom—is a crucial element of his responsibilities.

“Whether it’s talking face-to-face or sending emails, I’m always looking for the quickest way to get the most critical information from everyone,” Smith says. “With the thousands of interviews I conducted throughout my journalism career, I’m able to get information faster.” Smith added that knowing how to write and edit for clarity and brevity are advantageous skills he uses regularly.

New Industries Offer New Perks
Anna Harris worked as a newspaper copy editor before taking a job as an assistant editor with California State University Chico’s public affairs office. While her job is still that of a journalist—interviewing notable alumni, editing final copy, and juggling tasks and deadlines—Harris happily escapes the hustle and bustle of a 24/7 news operation. Unlike in her previous position, Harris now works in an environment that allows her to leave her work behind when the day is over.

The Dark Side Offers Benefits
To die-hard newsies, making the transition to public relations is a move to the dark side. But it can also be a smooth and logical transition from previous journalism experiences. Spencer Crooks, 28, spent most of college on staff at the weekly newspaper, but found himself a candidate for the PR department at YouTube when he hit the job circuit in 2006. Now a communications and public affairs senior associate, he uses his j-school skills to market through social media and to craft copy he knows journos will actually respond to. Crooks even has the opportunity to spread the work of citizen journalists who have found their niche on YouTube.

But Will There Still Be Journalists?
“There will always need to be a journalist to provide the context, and that is what is taught in journalism school,” Crooks says. “You learn how to take significant moments and define them in a locally, nationally, or globally significant way.”

(Considering a change? See Alex Horowitz’s recent blog regarding formal journalism education.)