Speaker: Matt Monks
Notes by Britton Taylor
Discussion Leader: Patrick Swidler
To begin the discussion, Patrick posed the question with the field of
journalism, at first you have to put yourself through boot camp of sorts
by taking low paying jobs and working like a horse. He explained that
through the sacrifices he made, it made it possible to have more freedom.
He also touched upon the point that he learned to not be afraid to ask
someone for help and that Matt had to leave his comfort zone. One of the
main points was that you start out with nothing, making no money and you
work your way up. So Patrick asked how the class felt about this
philosophy.
Erin responded by saying that in this business you have to do that.
Jesse said that it would depend on where it brings me, play it day to day
and that having goals is what will keep me going through journalism.
Eli said that you can’t have too much pride in the beginning. He said you
will have to start at the bottom unless you have a great connection. It is
important to be flexible and try different things in order to figure out
what you want.
Pat responded again by saying that this is something interesting that we
might face, taking a job over another for less money (different reasons).
Christine the said that this went along with Matt’s ideology of doing what
will be good for you in the long run. American Banker has been around for
100 years, it has a good following, expensive subscription. And she said
that Matt was looking for the longevity.
Pat then responded that the market share day to day, you want to invest
yourself into a company that maybe is a little bit healthier and that
these skills you learn here do translate. Some skills he has gained and he
has applied them.
The one student said that the money was enticing, but I would choose the
job that is more interesting, at the end of the day “I am I doing what I
want to do and if not am I on the road towards that”.
Then someone said that it maybe would have been a better idea to take the
money, then pursue your dreams and make money while you can.
Professor Dufresne said that he feels that he is still young enough to
take the interesting jobs and that it is a personal decision.
Eli responded to this by saying he thought it was interesting because Matt
seemed young enough to want to still chase the money and then parlay that
into something he would eventually want to do. In the grand scheme of
things make money and settle down, but he still chose the less paying job.
Pat went on to say that overall Matt’s general idea overall is that there
will be jobs for us, something we should all take away from this
discussion is he never thinks of himself as having options to move
forward. This seperated him from the rest of the speakers. He was never
afraid.
Christine said that his positivity was good, he doesn’t get bogged down
after getting laid off and that this was refreshing that he still has hope
for journalism/print journalism.
Emily said that it was cool that he said he wants to be one of the last
print dinosaurs and that it was really refreshing.
Professor Dufresne said that people who say there are will not be jobs for
you are wrong, the skills you are learning now are great. In grad school,
the skills I had from reporting made it easier. The skills you are
getting, and not being afraid of rejection makes it easier for you to
succeed. In this market, if you have the skills and the determination, you
will go far.
Pat responded and said that the idea of being a journalist, if I were
interviewing a CEO, I personally have a problem of being nervous. Do you
enjoy going after the big fish?
Steve said that he didn’t completely agree. He said that he works for the
daily campus and talk to musicians, and that at some point we do want to
be on the cover of the mag, not the journalist.
Pat said that he was interested in business, “I would find it hard not to
say to hell with journalism and want to switch fields”.
Someone responded to this by saying that, “You have to look at journalism
as an art form. You have to be interested.”
Aaron said that you want to obviously be the star, but if you have the
abilities to crank out articles that no one else can, then you get
admired.
Christine responded to this by saying that journalists have the strength
to tell a story, and that means you have power over people.
Erin said that she felt that for broadcast journalism, “you get a two for
one deal, your face is out there, and you have a byline.”
Beren said that there was a whole other aspect to journalism that other
fields don’t have. “Your job changes day to day. You also have the
responsibility to understand things and then interpret it to the public.”
Professor Dufresne ended with saying that as a journalist, “a lot of
people I know are generalist, they like a lot of stuff.” He then went on
to tell the story of the Orchid thief. That ended the conversation.
Erin O’Toole said; Matt’s job seems interesting and I like what he had to
say about the city and not being afraid to be aggressive in the workforce.
Jesse Grab said: I think the most important thing to take away was the
definitive idea that we will get jobs in journalism if we want them bad
enough.
Joe Callahan said: Say in touch with fellow reporters, find mentors,
rejection is no big deal, focus on the basis of interviewing like a story.
Kate Monahan said: I thought his tips on getting jobs and the etiquette
were most helpful. I also was glad someone pointed out that lots of first
jobs are unpaid and fininacial support is necessary to survive in the
journalism world.
Emily Abbate said: He had a lot of interesting advice about graduating and
actually finding a job. He was a breath of fresh air.
Christing Gratton: Definitely stressed the binary nature of journalism
careers is the number one challenge and you have to be persistent.
Aaron Roy: He said that it was refreshing to finally have good news from
the journalism world. Gave us hope.
Amanda said that Matt’s tips about getting a job in journalism were very
informative and helpful.
Eli Pearlstein said that it is very useful the information that he gave us
in getting a journalism job.
Patrick Swidler said that Matt was hands down the most down to earth
presenter.
Beren said that I was surprised at Matt’s attitude towards professional
ethics, but also dually surprised that he still maintained what he thought
to be a fair attitude towards his sources.
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I thought Matt was my favorite speaker of the semester. He pointed out a lot of harsh realities that I feel I will have to face upon graduating. For one, I'm relying on my parents to pay my rent while I have an internship this summer.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my internship is unpaid, which is something that seems to just come with the territory in the first job you get, according to Monks. I think that for the next three years this reliance on my parents will unfortunately have to continue. Though taking his advice, I am willing to move anywhere to get a job. I want a job and hopefully that openness will help me to get one someplace.
I also was really impressed with his interview practices. That's something I have little experience with having only done two or three job interviews. I thought the thank you notes were a great idea. But despite what he said, I mean you're either qualified for a job or not. I'm not going to get a job in some field like business or sports that I know nothing about just because I speak and write well. However, in instances where there are many applicants that are well qualified including me, it could definitely create that edge that sets me apart.
I also thought that the advice of waiting to go to New York is something I will definitely heed. I don't want to struggle in a city like that, I want to wait until I can support myself before diving into that environment. I also think that the kind of work there if I was to go earlier isn't for me, as he described the bloody apartment where he had to do an interview for a job in Queens.
I would probably say the best thing about him was I felt like I am most on that track-Daily Campus, moving to another state after graduation, and eventually finding a niche/specialization and living in a city. These are all goals of mine, and Matt definitely gave me hope that even though it might suck at first, I can become stable financially within three to five years.
I also thought something no one touched upon in discussion was the fact that he clearly seemed bothered that he wasn't able to provide as a man for he and his girlfriend, and this strained his relationships. I think as a female this could make the ascent easier, since the expectation of being the breadwinner is not so much there.