{"id":4802,"date":"2009-10-25T14:46:55","date_gmt":"2009-10-25T05:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=4802"},"modified":"2009-10-25T14:46:55","modified_gmt":"2009-10-25T05:46:55","slug":"sunday-tangent-eric-johnston-on-getting-freelance-reporting-jobs-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=4802","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Tangent: Eric Johnston on getting freelance reporting jobs in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Handbook<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"Foreign<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\"<\/a>\"JAPANESE<\/a>\"sourstrawberriesavatar\"<\/a>
\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito<\/p>\n

Hi Blog. \u00a0Went out mountain cycling yesterday and became a cropper: \u00a0went over my handlebars on a steep trail (good thing I was wearing a helmet — my bike came down right on my head) and bent my fingers right back on my right hand. \u00a0Will go easy on the typing today.<\/p>\n

I attended the Japan Writers’ Conference<\/a> last weekend in Kyoto (even presented, handout here<\/a>). \u00a0A very good time with some very good presentations, one of which was Eric Johnston’s excellent presentation on how to find freelance journalist jobs in Japan. There was so much information in his powerpoint that I asked if I could blog it here for wider consumption. Yeppers, he said, so here are some excerpts. Download the whole powerpoint below for the full story. Arudou Debito in Sapporo<\/p>\n

===========================
\nREPORTING OPPORTUNITIES IN JAPAN:
\nA Practical Guide
\nBy Eric Johnston
\nDeputy Editor
\nThe Japan Times
\nOsaka bureau<\/strong><\/p>\n

Japan Writers Conference
\nOctober 18th, 2009<\/strong>
\nEXCERPT:<\/p>\n

This presentation assumes. . .<\/em>
\nYou have an interest in straight reporting and writing news features on a wide variety of timely events, as opposed to writing a personal opinion column, doing book, music, art, or restaurant reviews, or writing up interview pieces.<\/p>\n

You have a love of, and preference for, traditional print and broadcast media and appreciate the traditional editorial methods they embrace.<\/p>\n

THE BASICS <\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting Started: What All Successful Freelance News Reporters in Japan Usually Have <\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Bilingual business cards
\n2) A Web page with their articles
\n3) A bilingual PC
\n4) A cell phone capable of international calls
\n5) Easy access to a host of basic facts and figures about Japan, including major on-line daily news stories
\n6) A decent digital camera
\n7) Receipt books and notebooks for accounting purposes
\n8) A local Japanese person who serves as your “fixer\u2019\u2019, either paid or volunteer<\/em><\/p>\n

PART I
\nMAKING CONTACT WITH JAPAN-BASED NEWS MEDIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

How Much Experience Do I Need Before I Can Realistically Expect To Be Considered for a Job?<\/strong><\/p>\n