SAJAforum

CONV: Conversations on diversity: Strapped news budgets limit opportunities

When a tip came in about the opening of a large Hindu temple in Lilburn, Georgia, reporter Rahul Bali was the obvious choice in his radio station to cover the opening.

“They needed someone to bridge the gap,” he said. “I had to report, but also to educate.”      

His Indian background also played to his favor when he traveled through African-American neighborhoods in Atlanta.  Bali was seen as an unbiased observer since he wasn't identified as either a member of the black or white communities.

Although no longer in the South, Bali continues to be the only person of Indian origin at his current radio station, WTOP in the D.C. Metro area, where he is often assigned to topics with a multicultural element. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, he helped to inform a curious public about the Islamic society in America.   

As was the case in Bali's radio stations, much of the journalism world does not reflect the growing diversity of the population. And cuts to newsroom budgets are making the situation worse.   

TV/SCIENCE: Unusual TV hosting opportunity

TV producer and former SAJA board member Anita Shah, sent in an unusual TV hosting opportunity below. Take a look. And when you apply, tell 'em SAJA sent you.

SEEKING COOL DIVERSE SCIENTISTS TO HOST MAJOR NEW SERIES

TV Production company seeks young, dynamic scientists to build shows around for major cable networks including Discovery Channel, Science, History and National Geographic Channels.

Help us cast a group of scientists who defy the “geeky scientist” stereotype!  We’re interested in hearing from scientists of all backgrounds and specialties who would easily be mistaken for artists, rappers, models, or musicians.

We are casting several scientists who embody an “up-to-the-minute” look and who can engage broad audiences by explaining science in lay mans terms.

We’re hoping to reinvent the way that people think about science and scientists.  Maybe you love mollusks as much as your Mohawk. Perhaps you think carbon is as cool as your Converse sneakers.  Or maybe you spend as much time in the science lab as on the slopes. Perhaps you’re even pursuing a modeling career on the side??

Requirements: you must be professionally employed in a scientific field aged between 25 and 45.  You must be energetic, articulate and have an infectious love for all things science!  To apply, please send a photo and a brief description of yourself (including your area of concentration) to: networkcasting[at]gmail.com

This is a major television opportunity for the right people.

JOBS: Journalism Opportunities in India

That's a photo of an event we held at Columbia Journalism School last week. More than 45 people showed up on Friday, Jan. 4 (Jan. 4!) for a discussion about "Media Opportunities in India" led by Pankaj Paul, managing editor of Delhi's Hindustan Times and former managing editor at the Wilmington News Journal in Delaware (one of several SAJA members who have moved to the subcontinent in recent years).

When I am at a gathering of American journalists, I often feel like I am at a funeral - with lots of tears shed about appears to be a dying business. But when I am in India, it's exciting to be in a place where newspapers - and other media - are growing. For example, in New York City we have five local English dailies (not counting two free ones). In New Delhi, I stopped counting at 10. In the U.S. we have one major national business daily. In New Delhi, there are at least five. America has five or six all-news channels (depending on whether you count The Weather Channel), while India has 42. You get the picture.

Listening to Pankaj talk about opportunities in India and his paper in particular was exciting and his enthusiasm was contagious. In fact, he ran out of interview spots when he met with some of the students later. I expect several of Columbia students - almost all non-Indians, will want to work with him this summer and beyond.

A report by Maura O'Connor, a Master's student at Columbia Journalism School. Post your comments below.

-------------------------------------

The managing editor of one of India’s largest English-language papers, The Hindustan Times, dropped by the new Stabile Student Center at Columbia Journalism School last Friday to talk about the extraordinary media opportunities currently available in India.

JOBS: South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Training Program

We don't usually post jobs here (paid SAJA members get access to the SAJA JobsDatabase Blog - click here to become a paid member), but occasionally post items we think are worth your knowing about. Below is an annoucement from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel we wanted to share. It's being posted here because it's part of a program "designed to encourage journalists from underrepresented communities and backgrounds to consider careers in journalism" (also because it's in sunny South Florida and I am freezing here in NYC). A side note: Sun-Sentinel has long been a SAJA supporter. Sharon Rosenhause, the managing editor, was the Los Angeles Times South Asia correspondent 1976-79 and continues to take an active interest in the region and the diaspora. Kathleen Pellegrino, the recruitment editor, has been to several SAJA Job Fairs over the last few years and been very helpful to our members.

Journalism Training Program
Applications are being accepted for a newsroom-training program for news
reporters at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  This trainee will be part of
Tribune Company's Metpro, a two-year program designed to encourage
journalists from underrepresented communities and backgrounds to consider
careers in journalism.  The chosen candidate will receive six months of
training at the Sun-Sentinel starting in Fall 2008.  

DESI AMERICA: A Job Ad Shows How NJ is Changing (America, too)

An unusual job ad came into SAJA HQ today:

The Home News Tribune, a daily newspaper in East Brunswick, NJ, is interviewing candidates for reporter positions. Three years of daily newspaper experience is preferable but not required. The Home News Tribune is also reviewing candidates for editing positions that may be available in the near future because of an internal reorganization. In both cases, knowledge of South Asian culture and languages is a plus. Please e-mail resume and clips to cpaolino [at] thnt.com or 35 Kennedy Blvd., East Brunswick, NJ 08816.

This might be the first time SAJA has ever received a job description from a mainstream news organization with the words "knowledge of South Asian culture and languages is a plus" in it. So we turned to former SAJA president and New Jersey expert, S. Mitra Kalita, for an explanation and how this had come to pass. She is author of the "Suburban Sahibs: Three Immigrant Families and Their Journey from India to America," a definitive nonfiction book set in New Jersey.  Kalita, who's on leave from the Washington Post and writing a column for Mint, a new business newspaper in India, sent us the following thoughts from New Delhi (though the photo below is of her and her daughter Naya in the Mughal Gardens of Srinagar, Kashmir).

I am grinning as I read this job description because in so many ways it is an affirmation that the media are ready to go beyond the lone "we're here" story to truly in-depth, insightful and meaningful coverage of our communities. Perhaps we've been recognized as a target market for readers and advertisers, a great juicy beat or a bit of both.

There's a line in my book, "Suburban Sahibs", about how I could not find one single in-depth story on the Dotbusters saga in a New Jersey newspaper and yet the horrible hate crimes played such a role in moving a community southward into the depths of Jersey. I found countless such stories crying out to be done in the course of my time in the housing complexes and sari shops off Oak Tree Road--and I've been happy to see many have been written over the last few years. All I have to say to the lucky journalist who lands this job is that s/he will have a blast covering, defining and understanding this community--warts and all, please. If you need any help, holler. And I bet you'll find stories that bring you to Delhi (definitely Surat and Baroda in Gujarat!). There's no such thing as a a local story, after all... Especially in central New Jersey.

Read more about "Suburban Sahibs" at DesiWriter.com and post your thoughts on all things Jersey below.
Mitra's writings  about India can also be found at LiveMint.com her family blog, Homeland Insecurities.

APPOINTMENT: Rajendra Roy, new film curator at MOMA

The Museum of Modern Art just named Rajendra Roy its Chief Curator in the Department of Film, where he'll oversee the museum's 22,000 film archive. The position starts in July. He previously served as Artistic Director at the Hamptons International Film Festival. From MoMA's release...

Mr. Roy will lead a staff of 20 in MoMA’s Department of Film. The Museum’s diverse film exhibitions encompass approximately 700 titles per year and span the history of the art of the moving image beginning with the late nineteenth century. Dynamic presentations include a wide range of international films such as annual presentations of cinema from Germany, Brazil, and Canada, as well as the acclaimed New Directors/New Films, a popular festival that showcases emerging filmmakers. The kaleidoscopic programming encompasses all genres and forms of cinema, from classic and repertory to experimental and contemporary.

Roy is young - in his mid-30's - and according to an October 2002 profile in India Abroad, by SAJAer Aseem Chhabra, had set out to be a musician and actor when he arrived in New York (he got a degree in political science and French lit from UC San Diego, and also studied at the Sorbonne). His tastes range from indie to world cinema to the downright plebeian; it'll be interesting to see if he programs any "teeny-bitch movies," as he calls them. From the IA profile...

MEDIA: Reggie Stuart on Journalism

• "I like this stuff - I live it, I breathe it... And next year, it will be 40 years."
• "We have been declaring ourselves dead even more than people outside the business have been declaring us dead... We are not dying."

Reggie Stuart knows everyone in journalism. Well, perhaps not everyone, but it sure seems that way. Walk around a journalism convention with him and you won't be able to have a prolonged conversation. Senior editors will interrupt to say hello. Publishers will stop by to shake his hand. But it isn't just veterans who want a piece of Reggie - it's young folks, too. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people he has mentored over the years and he continues to find and nurture talented newbies all the time. His title now is corporate recruiting consultant for the McClatchy newspaper chain, but for years was the chief recruiter for Knight Ridder and the first person from the company that many a young journalist met. His mission: To find talent for the chain and to encourage journalists any way he could, even if they wouldn't be working with him. He cares about diversity of all kinds - gender, race, ethnicity, economic status - and fights to create inclusive newsrooms across the industry. Before he became a recruiter, he was distinguished reporter and correspondent for The New York Times and KR.

I have known him for 14 years now, thanks to our alma mater, Columbia Journalism School (we were a mere 22 years apart), and our work with Society of Professional Journalists (he's a past national president), and his constant support of SAJA and its members. Asked about Reggie, Shashank Bengali, a foreign correspondent for McClatchy who Reggie recruited to Knight Ridder, wrote the following from his temporary assignment in Baghdad:

Reggie is one of the most decent people I've ever met. He cares about reporters, he keeps in touch and he's never shy about giving advice. You could fill several newsrooms with the talented journalists he brought to Knight Ridder and nurtured over the years.

Yesterday at Columbia University, Reggie was speaking to a group of editors from the Spectator, the undergrad daily, and I had a chance to listen in. I decided to make a little video as he answered questions about his start in journalism and the future of the industry. Take a look.

GOVT: Outrage at India Menstrual Form

[ UPDATE April 12: The Indian government has scrapped the order. ]

When Indians move to the U.S., they are often surprised to learn that their resumes are not in the right format for the American job market. For instance, Indian resumes are often two-three pages - and that's just for 21-year-olds. They stuff them full of every high school and elementary school "achievements" and details such as father's name, date of birth, citizenship, etc. I had one of these weighty resumes when I worked in India, too. Turns out American employers expect typical resumes to be one-page long and without information that would be out-of-bounds here - including that date of birth and father's name. Each year, I counsel students from India and other countries about this.

Why am I writing about this now? Because I was reminded about the general attitude to privacy by this BBC story (which is the most e-mailed story at the site as I write this): "Outrage at India menstrual form."

BUSINESS: Jobs - US & India

Here's a strange juxtaposition of stories from the SAJA E-mail Discussion List (a daily collection of articles in the U.S. press about South Asia and the Diaspora; only a tiny fraction show up on SAJAforum; if you'd like to subscribe at no charge, go to http://www.saja.org/lists.html).

Students Fear for Job Prospects in U.S. Visa Crunch (Reuters, April 6) by Jim Finkle:

As foreign students prepare to graduate from U.S. universities this spring, many worry that a record number of applications for U.S. skilled-worker visas may cause them to lose jobs they have already been offered.

Fresh university graduates are vulnerable to being rejected for the H-1B visas designated for skilled workers. A record 150,000 H-1B applications were filed in one day this week, nearly double the number U.S. authorities are allowed to grant in a given fiscal year.
<snip>
ome employers feel it is no longer worth the hassle to obtain U.S. visas for their staff.

Internet entrepreneur Rakesh Mathur spent years securing visas to hire engineers for a string of companies he founded in Silicon Valley. With his current venture, a Web technology company known as Webaroo, he decided to hire the bulk of his workers overseas, with 15 employees in the United States and about 100 in India.

"The demand for talent is very real," he says. "And there is a shortfall of trained talent in the United States."

Read the full story and contrast it with the following story from India.

High-tech firms in India search frantically for trained workers (Associated Press, April 6) by Tim Sullivan:

Nearly two decades into India’s phenomenal growth as an international centre
for high technology, the industry has a problem: It’s running out of
workers.

Perhaps India can attract the America-trained students - Indian and non-Indian?

Post your comments below.

OUTSOURCING: "Boston Globe, not Bangalore Globe" - New Union Ad Campaign

The Boston Globe's union has launched an ad campaign against the outsourcing of some aspects of the paper's classified advertising department to India. From a short article by Robert Gavin in the paper:

The Boston Globe's biggest labor union has begun an advertising campaign decrying the paper's plan to outsource the jobs of about 50 workers to India. In radio ads that began yesterday and in an ad published today in the Boston Herald, the Boston Newspaper Guild urges Globe readers and advertisers to call the newspaper and its parent company, The New York Times Co., to oppose the move . "It's the Boston Globe, not the Bangalore Globe," the print ad says. The Globe rejected publishing the ad "because it did not meet our standards," a spokesman said. In January, the Times Co.'s New England Media Group launched a buyout program to cut about 125 jobs at the Globe and Worcester Telegram & Gazette, including those being outsourced. Globe officials said the outsourcing decision is difficult, but necessary for the paper's long-term health.

Here is that ad, as a PDF. Reax?

SAJAforum is keeping close tabs on this nascent trend of outsourcing of some journalism work to India:

• NYT Might Outsource Jobs to India - Feb. 5, 2007
• Rumors of Outsourcing at Time - Jan. 10, 2007
• Joe Grimm on Outsourcing of Journalism Jobs - Nov. 30, 2006

Got a thought on this, or got resources to share? Post them in the comments section, please.

JOBS: Major Indian publication looking for freelancers in NY, SF, London

[We don't usually post jobs here - SAJA has a jobs list for paid members; if you sign up for membership, we will send you information on how to access it. We do, on occasion, post jobs or opportunities that are fairly uncommon and also indicate coverage or hiring trends.]

This came to SAJA a few minutes ago from an editor at a major business magazine in India (we know the publication, but they have asked not to be ID-ed here)

A leading Indian business publication is looking for freelance reporters
based in the following cities: San Francisco/Silicon Valley area, New York
and London.

Focus areas: The New York-based position will require a focus on Wall Street, related
industries and general India-related business issues in the US.

The Silicon Valley-based will require a focus on the IT industry and general
India-related business issues in the US.

The London-based position will require a focus on the City and general
India-related business issues in the UK/EU.

Interested candidates should send in their resume, three clips in Microsoft
Word format and two professional references to jspocha[at]hotmail.com

Details on requirements, payment, etc, below. Tell 'em SAJA sent you...

OUTSOURCING: NYT may outsource ads to India (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Talk of outsourcing classified ads to India was met with anger and disgust from employees.

UPDATE: The New York Times joins other newspapers that outsource ads to India.

Original post follows...

From the New York Observer:

“Our belief is that they’re planning to subcontract some office work—billing, production, advertising,” said Barry Lipton, president of the [New York Newspaper] Guild. “Their probable decision is to outsource it, most likely to a company in India.”

A Times Company spokesperson confirmed that the company is considering outsourcing jobs in the C.O.F. department to India.

That's C.O.F., as in Customer Order Fulfillment, which processes orders for ads to be placed in the paper: "representatives answer calls and take down relevant ad information—size, date and edition."

INTERVIEW: Gaiutra Bahadur on being laid off from Philly Inquirer

[ UPDATE, June 17, 2007: Gaiutra Bahadur named Nieman Fellow at Harvard. See her new Q&A with SAJAforum. The item below is from Jan. 2007.]

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently announced a major round of layoffs, which it says is based on a severe decline in advertising revenue. That's depressing enough for anyone who's in the business, given how vicious the industry has become. But it was particularly painful for black journalists - of the 71 journalists who lost their jobs, 16 were black. That translates to 23 percent of the layoffs, although black journalists represent just 11 percent of the newsroom staff. That prompted an official response from the National Association of Black Journalists:

"...as an organization, we are troubled by what seems to be a growing trend in the industry, which is to lay off African-Americans and minorities at a lopsided level. That trend was demonstrated severely today by The Inquirer’s elimination of a disproportionate number of African American journalists."

Of the handful of journalists at the paper who are South Asian, two staffers, Gaiutra Bahadur, and Madhusmita 'Maddie' Bora lost their jobs. According to this piece in the Philly Weekly, Maddie left the Indianapolis Star for the Inquirer just two months ago even though she was told she'd be laid off early this year.

“The Inquirer was one of only four American newspapers I knew of growing up in India,” says Bora, “and I loved it. It was so well written … If I had to do this all over again, I’d do it, because I always wanted to work here, and I’m glad I did.”

Gaiutra agreed to answer a few questions posed to her by SAJAforum.

JOBS: Rumors of Outsourcing at Time

We have written here in the past about some outsourcing of American copy-editing jobs to India (see: "Joe Grimm on outsourcing of journalism jobs"). In a New York Observer article about speculation resulting from a consulting company's evaluation of Time editorial operations, I noticed this:

Another rumor in circulation (which many staffers regarded as farfetched) was that McKinsey would recommend outsourcing copy-editing jobs to India.

 

A Time Inc. spokesperson declined to comment on the details of the rumor mill. But Bangalore or no, will McKinsey’s study results be followed completely when they finally come out?

 

“McKinsey is not running Time Inc.,” the spokesperson said.

   

Read the full story: Friday Time Awaits Chic Designer and McKinsey Cuts, by Michael Calderone.

McKinsey is very bullish on India outsourcing in various industries. Perhaps it might be for certain aspects of journalism as well.

What do you think of this possibility and the general idea that American copy-editing jobs could be done in India? [BTW, it's unlikely you will find the word "copy editor" on many resumes in India; the word used there is "sub editor" in India]. Post your thoughts below in the comments box.

See a sample Chennai sub editor job ad below (it's not for a journalism company though). Two quick observations: "grammar" is spelled wrong and the word "fresher," which may confuse Americans, is the equivalent of "freshman" and in this case refers to folks with no experience.

JOBS: Joe Grimm on outsourcing of journalism jobs

Am sitting in a packed classroom at Columbia's Journalism School, watching Joe Grimm, the recruiting and development editor at the Detroit Free Press, as he runs mock interviews in front of our students (grainy photo via cellphone).

In the world of American journalism job hunting, Grimm is a rarity: he's an seasoned, warm, well-connected, genuinely friendly recruiter. He has been at the forefront of using technology and his knowledge to raise the profile of his paper and improving access to job information for everyone, whether they are interested in "the Freep" or not. For years now, he has been running the JobsPage, which I consider one of the most useful sites in our business (if you haven't bookmarked it, please do). In recent weeks, he's also been writing for Poynter's new Career Center. His column is called "Ask the Recruiter" and is filled with material applicable to journalists of all levels of experience.

Earlier today, I read one of his pieces in another part of the Poynter site, about the possible outsourcing of copy editing jobs to India: Offshoring: Coming Trend for Copy Desks? The deck says: "As more and more companies move work overseas, there are steps that U.S. journalists can take now to make themselves more essential."

Sure, there have been some basic business reporting/data-entry jobs moving to India, but I hadn't read much about copy editing jobs moving.

It starts with a hypothetical (I wish he'd used itals for this part):

A newsroom, bedeviled by missed deadlines, a short-handed copy desk and a lack of editing candidates, gets creative.

It finds a company that offers editing services. The company is overseas, perhaps in India or Singapore. Powered by fiber-optic connections that carry data all the way around the world in less than a second, the off-shore company offers a money-back guarantee on deadline performance. In a pinch, it could throw 30 editors at an edition, three times as many as the newspaper could ever afford to deploy in its own office.

The quality is good. Hundreds of thousands of people in India grow up in English-speaking schools, and they're working hard to build careers. The work is cheap by U.S. standards. The rate is a third less than what the American newspaper is paying. There are no health benefits, vacations or sick days, and no utility or equipment costs to the newspaper.

Could it happen? In some respects (though not yet the copy desk), it already has.

He goes on to cite interesting example of jobs being offshored by newspaper companies. And, from what I know of the quality of best Indian copy editors (called "sub editors" there), I wouldn't be surprised if some kinds of copy editing jobs (longer-term stories and such) start moving on a trial basis. He also gives several things that copy editors can do now to make their jobs more useful and relevant and keep them from going abroad. "Maximize your value" is the title of his sidebar.

It's typical Joe Grimm - balanced, steady and gives you useful, actionable information. It's well worth reading.

Read his full story here and post your comments at the end of the Poynter column or at the end of this post: http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=112040&sid=62

- Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia Journalism School prof & Dean of Students
 

JOBS: India-based positions - reporter, designer

SAJA usually publishes job listings in the SAJA Jobs Blog, open only to paid members of SAJA in North America, but the items below are specifically for people based in India, so we are sharing them here. If you apply, please let Kurt know you found him through SAJA. Feel free to CC saja@columbia.edu so we know you are interested in opportunities like this (subject line = Freelancer in India) and be sure to list yourself in the FREE SAJA Freelancer Forum.

Dear SAJA:

FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSE: FDS) is looking for independent contractors. The
reporter position should be based in or near Mumbai, the designer position should be in India, but doesn't have to be limited to Mumbai.

FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSE: FDS) is seeking bright, globally minded, English-speaking people who see the Internet-enabled flat world as their opportunity to become independent contractors to a first-world client.

FINANCIAL REPORTER --  FactSet is looking for a highly motivated independent reporter/contractor to provide weekly editorial coverage of the Indian and Asian corporate finance marketplace, including reporting on activities in the mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, and IPO markets.

FactSet is a global provider of corporate finance data and editorial commentary, which is used by regional, national, and global investment banks, management consultancies, law firms, CEOs, CFOs, and government agencies. FactSet also is a major provider of data and commentary for national and international news media.

Job Qualifications: Position requires reporter/contractor to be based in or near Mumbai, India. Position requires experience with business reporting. Corporate finance news reporting experience a plus. Candidates must be able to turn around multiple 500-1000+ word stories by the end of each publishing week and must be willing to make numerous interview calls to industry executives, private equity principals, Wall Street analysts,and investment bankers. Position will also require some production work, so a general working knowledge of Quark XPress 6.5 is required.

Job Description: Develop and write stories around the topics of corporate finance with a focus on the Indian and Asia markets, using FactSet's world-class data applications and primary interview sources. Work in conjunction with staff based in US and UK to produce weekly corporate finance publication.

Salary: Negotiable

Send Resume and Editorial Clips - Email Only
Contact: Kurt Kunert, Publisher, FACTSET MERGERSTAT LLC, at kkunert[at]factset.com.

FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSE: FDS) is seeking bright, globally minded, English-speaking people who see the Internet-enabled flat world as their opportunity to become independent contractors to a first-world client.

Also see SAJAforum's interview with Anil Srivatsa, who's moved to India from the US and is hiring.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER -- FINANCIAL PUBLICATION -- FactSet is looking for a highly motivated independent graphic designer/contractor to support the production of FactSet's corporate finance publications, which cover the mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, and IPO markets in the US, Europe, and Asia.

FactSet is a global provider of corporate finance data and editorial commentary, which is used by regional, national, and global investment banks, management consultancies, law firms, CEOs, CFOs, and government agencies. FactSet also is a major provider of data and commentary for national and international news media.

Job Qualifications: Position requires the designer/contractor to work with Quark XPress 6.5, Illustrator CS, and Adobe Acrobat 6.0. Position requires understanding and experience with designing for business publications. In addition to providing support for production of FactSet's corporate finance publications, designer will also be encouraged to develop a signature graphic style of the publications over time.

Salary: Negotiable

Send Resume and Design Samples - Email Only
Contact: Kurt Kunert, Publisher, FACTSET MERGERSTAT LLC, at kkunert[at]@factset.com.