In PRESS AHEAD’s 5 Questions series, journalists share practical advice about journalism jobs and newsroom careers.
Emerging technology, changing audience habits, evolving business models and more can create a zigzag path of opportunity beyond a traditional journalism route.
Robin Kwong is one whose career path has twisted, turned but always intersected with the “new”: building news games, launching products on wearables and pioneering data projects for more than a decade at the Financial Times and for the past three years at the Wall Street Journal, where he’s now taking on the role as “new formats editor.” He also embraces the new as a co-founder of The Contemporary Narratives Lab, a network of different disciplines coming together to explore innovative story creation.
In this Q&A, Robin talks about starting in news when you’re an introvert, thinking about roles beyond editor/writer and working in the “rewarding (and amazing and fun)” industry of journalism.
Why journalism as a career for you?
I probably had the most counter-intuitive reason for wanting to break into journalism initially. I studied philosophy in college and didn’t really know what I wanted to do afterwards, except that I knew I liked reading and writing. I was painfully shy and socially awkward growing up, and as graduation approached, it got to a point where I decided I needed to do something about it. So I thought: “What if I got a job that forced me to speak to strangers all day? Maybe that would help.”
It certainly did, but over the next 18 years of my journalism career I found it to be rewarding (and amazing and fun) in many other ways. There are few other jobs where you are paid to learn about the world and other people, and to figure out — and help others understand — what is happening. The advent of digital journalism also created room to reinvent my role, to experiment and to forge new paths.
What was your first job and how did you get it?
My first job was as a cadet reporter at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. This was a two-year, on-the-job training program that put us through 6-week rotations in every section of the newspaper. I got into the program because I had worked as a summer intern at the SCMP while in college, and stayed in touch with editors there. The six-week rotations forced us to quickly get up to speed on many different types of reporting and writing: as a court reporter, then a business reporter, then a features writer, etc.
My SCMP cadetship was also particularly memorable because it was interrupted. The paper’s gossip columnist went on maternity leave while I was on rotation there, and I was asked (at the age of 21!) to step in and write the column for more than half a year.
What specific advice/examples do you have for someone breaking into journalism?
I hesitate to offer definitive advice partly because the journalism industry has changed so much since I was a cub reporter, and partly because everyone’s starting situation is different.
However, I have many colleagues and friends in both the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal who got their start, and invaluable training, through the internship programs at both papers. It was the same for me with the SCMP’s cadetship (which sadly no longer exists). These programs are competitive to get into but I would recommend them as a starting point. (The Journal’s internships are open for applications!)
In recent years, the diversity of roles within journalism have expanded hugely beyond reporters and editors. You could be a project manager, a newsroom developer, a community moderator, an audience engagement strategist, a data analyst, etc. I’d advise keeping an open mind and exploring these different domains until you find the type of work in journalism that energizes and sustains you.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever gotten? Or lesson learned?
The bedrock journalism lesson for me, borne out of a mortifying early correction, is to always triple check everything before you hit send (or publish). A related lesson that I only learned later on is to not let the fear of making a mistake stop you from trying something new or taking a risk.
Anything else you’d want to tell student journalists/early career journalists?
This is a mentally (and occasionally physically) tough profession that is undergoing a lot of turmoil and change. It is easy to get burned out and disillusioned, so it is important to find or build your support network. Fortunately there’s now more awareness and support for mental health in newsrooms (The Headline Network in the UK, for example, does great work) so there is help out there if you need it.
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Thank you for sharing your experience and specific advice, Robin!
For more about Robin, follow him on Twitter @RobinKwong or read more about him at his site.
— Amy
Here’s a cat gif for further inspiration and as thanks for reading. And if you want to learn more about finding jobs and navigating newsrooms, sign up to get future posts in your inbox. It’s more fun than a cat dreaming about a journalism dream job.
👇 More good stuff after the cat 🐱👇
Good stuff links!
Insights into journalism interviewing: What ‘The Trump Tapes’ reveal about Bob Woodward (Washington Post)
Round-up: Bad winter coming for U.S. media companies (Axios)
Why some of the largest publishers are breaking up with ad tech middlemen (Digiday)
What publishers can learn from the creator economy (Digital Content Next)
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