A flair for checking yo-self.
It’s a fantastic world of opportunities we live in at the moment. Opportunities that allow us to communicate stories through more varied mediums and wider audiences than ever before.
Slightly ironic then, that one of the most important skills a new journalist needs these days is being made increasingly important by the number of employment opportunities being taken away.
That skill is the need to hone an efficient and methodical way to self-critique.
Newsrooms are becoming smaller across radio, newspapers and TV. Journalists are having to cover more stories across a wider area with tighter deadlines, and the number of people employed to focus on ‘quality control’ is falling.
For this reason, every time we finish a piece we need to give it a proper look and make sure it’s correct. Not just for the final output to be the best it can be at the time, but also so we can learn from it.
Take two minutes to ask questions of yourself; ‘how could I have made this more engaging?’ ‘Is there anyone I could’ve spoken to that I couldn’t/didn’t?’ ‘Can I justify every sentence?’. If you haven’t got the time to fix it, write it down. Start a log, and work on fixing common errors.
If we do that, we’re helping ourselves to learn, even in busy environments where the main focus is on just getting enough content. With the number of people on newsroom payrolls rivaling the number of goals Malta score in even their best world cup qualifiers, honing your ability to self-criticize will make you stand out from the crowd.
