Build Your Own Brand

John Bell, Oglivy (photo courtesy, Michael Flynn

Guest speaker John Bell had some good advice for working journalists who may be facing a shaky future as big media companies shed jobs.

 Journalists should consider doing their own thing, Bell advised. If you expect to make a living as a journalist in the future you can't afford not to build your own brand, he told Public Communication and Interactive Journalism students on Saturday.

Bell pointed to
The Huffington Post -- with its impressive roster of editors and correspondents -- as an example of what entrepreneurs can do. Bell described the site as a collection of personal brands publishing under a single banner.

Self-branding and being your own boss is great. But while you're waiting for your brand to take off, consider embracing the change that is sweeping the industry.

Freelance journalist Mark Glaser says the loss of traditional journalism jobs is offset by a rise in opportunties in digital media.

When The New York Times said last winter that it was
slashing 100 newsroom jobs, company still had plenty of openings for digital jobs, Glaser writes in a "Mediashift" article on PBS.org.