Grant Marek’s Post

From a Gen Z, I'm not gonna lie. I'm scared.  "CUT" has been one of the more popular words, if not actions for companies across all industries in the last year.  Yet, creative industries, although propelled by originality and authenticity, have seemed to make cuts the most. ABC News, Barstool Sports, Buzzfeed, and more have all made significant cuts within the last year.   Yet, there is such a stale feeling. As if giving a gritty "Fuck You" to the originality and authenticity of man. From a financial standpoint - I truly understand. New advances and changes make some people expendable. But it leaves me to ask,  "If skilled employees are expendable - where can I fit?" - Will I be hired for youthful ideas, to be let go at the end of the year?  - Do companies have my best interest at hand, or am I a DEI checkpoint? I had always dreamed of working for brands such as Buzzfeed and Vox Media - These cuts ARE NOT a deterrent, yet a mental roadblock causing pivots.   I guess this is an ode to companies, publishers, brands, that have woven American culture into my life. Guiding me to understand that little video clips and pictures are meaningful. They're not just media, but snippets of culture. Now run by strategy, not personality.  Because that's what matters. (I say sarcastically.) https://lnkd.in/ecFwfBvX https://lnkd.in/es42Nedx

If being a journalist was a sustainable lifestyle, I never would have left. I loved being in a newsroom — the buzz, the stress, the deadlines, the comradery, and the excitement. (Not to mention election night pizza!) But after 10 years, the pay, uncertainty of the future, layoffs, and hours weren't working for me anymore. I consider myself a "recovering journalist" because let's face it, you can take the girl out of the newsroom, but you can't take the newsroom out of the girl. My next career was marketing, and it didn't click for me. I wanted it to. If not journalism or marketing, what would my mass comm degree get me? Enter internal communications. It's journalism ... internally ... for a company. No wonder I have a passion for what I do! Because my heart is always going to beat hard for journalism, and my skills are still being used daily. So I guess journalism is sustainable - it's just called internal comms now. ;)

Hire 👏 A 👏 Journalist 👏 If you want a candidate whose work is accurate and clean, hire a #journalist. If you want a candidate who thinks about how the #audience will interact with your #content, hire a journalist. Want presentation skills? #Communication skills? Ability to meet deadlines? Composure under pressure? Ability to thrive in a changing workplace? Project management? Journalists, especially ones who have worked at daily newspapers and small-market broadcast stations, are multifaceted, multitalented, omnichannel producers who can work under lean conditions, effectively engage with all kinds of #stakeholders , deliver on goals and thrive under adversity. Don't stress if they don't have the specific roles on their resumes you think match your job. They are experts at learning what they don't know quickly. #hiring #journalism #contentmarketing #editorial #communications #marketing #pr #publicrelations #brandedcontent #internalcommunications

HIRING ALERT: We've focused a lot over the past 8 years at Barrett Media on covering the sports and news media industry through a mixture of daily industry news, expert opinions, and conversations with broadcasting professionals. It's helped us create an online community for media folks, and bring together the industry through our sports and news media conferences. Our crew has grown from one (me) to now twenty-four contributors including six full-timers. Having great consulting clients and advertising partners has made this possible. We're still very much a small business, but we grind daily to help, challenge, and promote the media industry. Having said that, finding people who love to write about the media business, can do it consistently, have passion for it, and know the issues facing folks on the inside isn't easy. You've had to work in radio, TV, sales, digital, etc. to tell these stories properly, and it doesn't matter if you've worked in sports, news, music, tech, marketing, podcasting, etc. However, talking on the radio or TV or selling ads or programming a brand is different than staring at a blank screen, and creating a compelling news story, feature or column. I say this because I'm working on a few things to make our brand even stronger. I'm going to be adding in a few new areas soon, and would love to hear from broadcast professionals who have an interest in covering, and writing about the business. A simple email with your resume and writing sample works. Just reach out to [email protected] and if there's a fit, I'll follow up. Thanks in advance for your interest! #Broadcast #Broadcasting #Radio #TV #Television #Marketing #Sales #Sports #News #Music #Media #Jobs #Business #Digital

I’m #hiring. Know anyone who might be interested? #broadcastmedia #tvpresenter #newsreporter [email protected] REPORTER - JHB & KZN Research: Conduct research and write scripts on topics prior to broadcasts. Identify newsworthy events and developments and generate unique story m Generate thought-provoking and compelling stories. Check electronic media (wires), social media, and articles of interest.   Interviews: Represent the organization at conferences, press briefings, events, and interviews. Interview eyewitnesses, authorities, and people of interest in news stories. Script Writing: Write scripts in line with visuals. Transcribe and summarize events for further news purposes. Provide a time-coded shortlist with all scripts for Sub-Editors. Check facts with relevant stakeholders to ensure that stories are accurate and unbiased. Deliver a well-researched story including a video that has unique angles for online audience.   Reporting: Work collaboratively with cameramen and other members of a reporting team. Attend and report on events that are of interest to the public. Deliver scripted, spontaneous, live, and prerecorded reports on newsworthy events. Conduct live and on-camera interviews that are hard-hitting and probing. Conduct live reports from the field ensuring accuracy and objectivity. Ensure that stories have depth and quality. Conduct in-studio lives that are professional and informative. Provide the news desk with regular updates on stories by adhering to the editorial deadlines. Ensure that there is adherence to story deadlines. Take a multi-media approach to individual stories done by use of graphics and animations thereby ensuring good sound quality, still pictures as well as  moving visuals and overall content are shared, prepared, and edited properly, and ready for air.   Requirements Qualifications: National Senior Certificate NQF level 4 National Diploma Media Studies/Television/Journalism and/or Communications NQF 6   Experience: 5 years of experience in news, Television, and/or Broadcast Journalism is essential.   Competencies: Code EB, an Articulated motor vehicle license is essential. Own Vehicle is recommended Intermediate knowledge of MS Office Suite Ethical and professional research and reporting skills. Excellent communication and presentation skills. Able to form and ask probing questions to interviewees. Passionate about the news and current events. Well-spoken, engaging, and knowledgeable about news events. Critically minded meticulous, and excellent recall of facts. Adventurous, calm under pressure, and determined to uncover the truth. Great interpersonal and rapport-building skills.

Are you thinking about hiring editorial talent into your team? People with journalism backgrounds can sometimes come at their roles ego first - looking for the byline or the personal impact. Yet brand journalism is about making an impact for the company, with consistent audience research, b2b insights and high level thought leadership integral to the success of efforts over time. Sometimes an internal hire is the right choice, and sometimes developing a relationship with a trusted external partner that can mix and match talent with challenge works well. What experiences have you had in working with external talent versus internal hires? https://lnkd.in/gC-4T7D4

It's been a tough few years in the #journalism world as many great reporters and media personalities have found themselves unexpectedly unemployed. I know a lot of companies and organizations are looking for marketing/communications/media relations people, and I have three reasons why you should really consider them for your next opening, even if they don't have the PR backgrounds. 1. They know storytelling - It was their job. They were trained to tell good stories and tell them in a way to connect with and impact an audience. That's what you want in your storytelling, not a glorified sales pitch. 2. They are able to adapt - It's all they've done. In the last 15 years, the journalism world went from very siloed worlds of radio, television, print and online to multimedia journalists, where you had to be able to do everything (including shoot your own video and photos plus handle social media). They will continue to evolve with whatever new technology, gadget or app comes along. It's in their blood. 3. They know newsrooms - Gone are the days when you can send out a news release and instantly get several media outlets to cover your event or story. Former reporters know what makes a good targeted pitch, and will help your event or story look great in the eyes of a reporter (like a good hook, visuals, setting up multiple people for interviews, etc). Good media relations folks also know which stories make certain reporters tick. For example: I never send a pitch about engineering research stories to crime reporters. It might sound like common sense, but you'd be shocked at how many bad pitches make it into a reporter's inbox and gets deleted almost instantly. A lot of really good people from the journalism world are looking for work right now. If you're hiring for someone with a communications background, you would do yourself a massive favour by looking at some of them. #Media #Journalism #MediaRelations #PublicRelations #Storytelling

As we all have watched the shrinking wreckage of local newsprint, journalism, and magazines occur with the advent of an increasing digital transformation where everyone has become or is becoming a content producer or packager over the past few years, we have seen tons of local papers close, magazines disappear, and journalists lose work or become gig producers. The advent of AI breakthroughs into the mass market and democratization of the technology's availability, have also caused folks to experiment, test, and begin to rethink the concepts of intellectual property, and how to defend it, such as the recent actions at the The New York Times re training language models such as with ChatGPT and others. Now, we see mass layoffs at Sports Illustrated. This after my then boss, a digital guru, spoke of the splintering of audience attention relative to sports content starting back in 2015. Curious what threats you are seeing in your business, and what you think this portends. ESPN and others are also increasingly under the gun from market and transformational pressures. Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK has seen massive headwinds over the past decade and more, too, constantly seeking new digital leaders for their local papers. My heart goes out to all who have to contend with increased job insecurity as our economy and its transformation move at an increasingly frenetic clip. But I'm curious - what do you think of today's action - and what do you think happens next? This also for some reason brings the old term "to the victors go the spoils" to top of mind. Who do you think are the victors here, and do you think we're doing enough as a society to cushion the falls to those who are not, and do you think our current approach should remain? If so, why? If not, why not? PS As a guy who's done transformations over the years, helps owners assess current state, build plans, & develop pro-formas to accelerate growth, and often goes in to help execute them as a fractional, interim, or full-time executive, what do you see as your headwinds? And are you set for navigating them? If not, do let me know, happy to chat. I've done it for packaging moving into eCommerce and fixtures moving into digital, among others. #shameless #plug #sportsbiz #contentproduction #magazines #journalism #profitability #digitaltransformation #industrytrends #layoffs #predicitions #ai #futureofai #humanity #politicaleconomy #thoughtoftheday

Last week, I had the humbling opportunity to give a guest lecture to graduate students pursuing their Master’s Degree in PR at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. We discussed the role and challenges of a Creative Director, both at an agency and in-house. It was an insightful conversation that shed light on what young professionals are currently processing and preparing for as they begin to enter the creative workforce. Here's a great question they asked: “What are agencies looking for from entry-level creatives who are looking to break into the industry?” From my experience, the answer is simple: your uniquely creative POV. Who are you and how does that come through in your style and work? What are you saying about the human experience through your craft? How do you see the world? Often, creatives will emulate other styles and artists when they are getting their start, and this is part of the process. But, with time and proper mentorship, I believe the most important thing we can offer our clients, and more importantly the world, is our unique creative expression. No matter our creative discipline, we are storytellers. We should always be evaluating what story we are telling through our work. Is it unique, and is it compelling? If so, agencies may just hire you to tell more of them. What do you believe agencies are looking for from fresh creatives entering the workforce? Thanks to Toya Holness for the opportunity to learn from the next generation of talented professionals. #usc #creative #creativedirector #agency #storytelling