Networking: Keep in Touch

The great thing about t.v. is that even if you stay at the same station your whole career, everyone else will leave and you will know people across the country. That said, it makes sense to network. A lot of you already do this with college classmates on Facebook or MySpace. In the past, I've also mentioned LinkedIn, which is a business networking website you should check out if you haven't already.

Another great way to network is just stay in touch. If somebody you know pretty well leaves for another station, get their email. Send them the latest gossip from their old shop. If you hear of a job opening, send it their way, even if they might not be interested. They'll be thankful you thought of them and also might return the favor.

I'm a big fan of workshops. The smaller ones are better I think for meeting folks. RTNDF has a Women and Minorities in Management Training seminar that is super. The Investigative Reporters and Editors conference holds a great, reasonable conference where you can meet people. There's also Poynter, State Press Clubs, Unity, National Association of Hispanic Journalists... I could go on and on. Some also try RTNDA's big conference, and LOTS of people disagree with me- but I'm not a huge fan. Even though there are lots of news directors there, I think it makes more sense to meet people who doing the job and can pass on leads to you. My current job, for example, I found out about because a good friend already works for the company.

If you don't have a card, get one made. It's easy and non-threatening to exchange cards and then follow up with an email-- "Hey, great meeting you. Here's an article I thought you'd be interested in," or "Do you mind if I send you a tape for feedback?" or "May I get your advice on something?" I try to write down where and when I met the person on the back of a card and sometimes a detail or two about them because I have a horrible memory.