By Erica Ogg — University of Southern California

Students, professionals and journalism educators gathered Saturday morning at the 2004 ONA Conference in Hollywood for The Apprentices: Career Advice," an informal breakfast discussion focused on the practicalities of entering the professional world of online journalism. 

Nora Paul, director of the University of Minnesota's Institute for New Media Studies, moderated a panel that included Robert Basler, executive news producer of Reuters.com; Andrea Panciera, editor of The Providence Journal's projo.com; Janice Castro, assistant dean at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism; and Fred Mann, general manager of philly.com.

The panelists stressed that students interested in entering online journalism should focus on strengthening their journalism skills, more than honing their technical abilities.

Basler said today's young journalists are more Web-savvy than ever, although an in-depth knowledge of the Web is not necessarily a requirement to get hired at Reuters.com. Strong journalism instincts and an ability to think textually and visually are the ideal qualities Basler said he is looking for in job candidates.

Being a "writer first" is more important than knowing Flash, Basler said.

Panciera agreed, saying she looks for journalism skills and does on-the-job technical training.

The panelists also gave advice on what they look for in a resume.

Panciera said she liked a focused, one-page cover letter and said it's important for a candidate "to be able to explain exactly what [job] you're looking for."

Mann said he preferred applicants who demonstrate knowledge of his site, which is associated with The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.

He also suggested applicants provide a resume in an electronic format.  "Resumes with links to clips or Web sites are pretty cool," he said.

The panelists also agreed that an essential characteristic for a journalist is passion.

Castro listed her ideal qualities in a journalist: "Self-starter, ethics, responsibility, passion. You need journalistic skills to get in the door," she said, "but passion will set you apart."

Educators in the audience asked the panelists how to instill passion in their students.

Mann said that "a range of coverage" would generate passion while Panciera said passion came from impacting a community.

The discussion concluded with the panel agreeing that journalism education is never complete, particularly in the ever-changing online medium.

"A wonderful puzzle we're trying to solve," Castro said.