About.com is seeking a guide to write a site about journalism. (Full disclosure: I consult for About.com.) We are looking for someone experienced in journalism, and perhaps journalism education, who is committed to citizens’ media.
The primary target for the site is citizen journalists who want answers to questions about doing journalism — everything from interview tips to libel cautions to gadget recommendations. But the site should also be useful for anyone interested in how journalism is practiced. I hope that this becomes a useful resource and guide for those who want it and a place where people can come to ask questions and share information. And, no, I’m not suggesting that bloggers need training in blogging, but I do hear people all the time wishing for helpful guidance on the law and Freedom of Information Act requests and gadgets for podcasting. So for those who want help, it will be at About.com. This should be a gift to the blogosphere and citizen journalists from About, which is building stronger relationships with bloggers.
The primary job of an About.com guide is to write articles that cover specific topics. Those can be high-altitude explanations or they can be practical, nitty-gritty guides (see, for example, this overview of business ownership structures in the entrepreneurs’ guide). Over time, an About guide will write hundreds of articles covering great swaths of information. Thanks to About’s experience at search-engine optimization, those articles will rise like yeasty dough in Google search results as people again and again look for and find help on specific topics in journalism.
You should know that this is not a blog about journalism and neither is it a chance to be a media critic, though there are some elements of both here. The home page of an About.com guide site uses WordPress to have the guides post links to their latest articles and outside bloggers and resources and to sometimes comment on current news in the area. Just to be very clear: About is not bringing on someone to blog about journalism; it will link to folks who do that. About is looking for someone to create this journalism resource.
This page explains the compensation for guides. And this explains the About guide training program. Though the hours are completely flexible, know that this is a commitment of time. The way to build an effective site — and with it traffic and money — is to constantly add more focused and helpful information in articles.
Please do not apply to me; I’m not the guy. Go here to apply.
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About.com is also seeking people to make short videos to extend the helpful content they now create into video where that would be useful. About’s video experts will create 2-4-minute how-to videos on health, cars, gadgets, parenting, and home. Like the articles I describe above, they should be informative and helpful and long-lasting in value. They will pay a flat fee per video. Interested? Email Jessica Luterman at About: jluterman@about.com.
