After several dismal years, the employment picture for new J-school grads continues to improve. According to the annual University of Georgia survey, more 2011 grads found jobs for the second year in a row. Within six to eight months of graduation, 62% said they were employed full time, compared to 58% the year before and just 55% in 2009. The bad news? The gains in the job market were modest, the researchers said, and 2011 graduates faced job prospects still much more limited than did graduates four years earlier. On the salary front, too, there was good news and bad news for recent graduates. For the first time in five years, salaries rose for those leaving school with an undergraduate degree, with the average starting salary hitting $31,000. The down side? When adjusted for inflation, those grads still earned less than their peers did in 2006. Even so, newly-employed J-school grads say they’re more satisfied with their work than any previous class, going back 25 years. How could that be? “I think it probably reflects that if you’ve got a job, you’re pretty happy with it,” says lead author Lee Becker. Long term, however, the report paints a grim picture. The […]

Chances are reporter Brian Thompson and his (oddly) anonymous photog weren’t expecting a fruit basket when they arrived outside New Jersey’s Wayne Diamond and Jewelry Center, but did they deserve a beat-down? We here at The Lenslinger Institute think N…

Chances are reporter Brian Thompson and his (oddly) anonymous photog weren’t expecting a fruit basket when they arrived outside New Jersey’s Wayne Diamond and Jewelry Center, but did they deserve a beat-down? We here at The Lenslinger Institute think N…

One of the best parts about my job is the traveling.  I never know where my next shoot will be.  Maybe it’s in St. Louis, Little Rock, New Orleans, Atlanta, Memphis or even home in Nashville.  I love visiting these great cities but one of my favorite places has to be Chicago.  When I work […]

In the wake of the tragedy in Wisconsin…
Note on the Tragic Shooting at the Sikh Gurdwara in Oak Creek

Morning News Crews: We do more before nine a.m. than some people do all day. But then we pass out in a pile of dry cereal dust around quarter to three, roll off the couch and just hang there upside down until the dog begins licking us before it too col…