on doing your research

A girl on ed2010 (a networking resource for budding magazine professionals) recently posted on the message board asking about local magazines in Philly.

One response: "it kind of aggravates me when people who are just starting out and looking to intern come onto this site and say 'I know about the two biggest publications, but are there any others?' No, you want to get into journalism, then DO YOUR RESEARCH!"

It's a legit point, but it also sums up the entire purpose of this project. When it comes to journalism jobs, there aren't many resources. We're journalists, and that inherently means that we shouldn't need resources. By proving that we can dig through websites and mastheads galore to find the info we're looking for, we're also proving that we'll be sweet research assistants, fact-checkers, and go-getters. Finding the listings and discovering the process is all part of the test, so we jump through some hoops.

But we should be able to support each other, too. And that's the idea here. It's not about full disclosure. It's not about sharing my address book and contacts and leads. It's about sharing a little-documented experience, and all the ridiculousness that comes along with that.