What Makes a Great MJ?
What exactly is an "MJ," you ask? An MJ is short for multimedia journalist. Many students often start out as MJ's and then move onto being reporters, web producers or producers. In my opinion, MJ's should never be valued any less than a producer or a reporter. Their list of responsibilities is just as extensive and range from researching a topic, conducting interviews, shooting b-roll, editing video and posting on social media outlets. Without MJs, we would not have any sound bites or video to air.
So what qualities make the perfect MJ? A great MJ is willing to go to any location to shoot an event or get an interview, whether it be a stranger's home, the airport, a landfill or Skid Row. If he or she does not have a car, he or she will find an alternative mode of transporation. Sure, we may not be in New York or San Francisco, but public transportation is still easily accessible for us.
The perfect MJ needs to be flexible with his or her day. MJ's cannot expect to come into the Media Center to sit around and surf the web. As producers, we are more likely than not to send an MJ out into the field to cover a story. We want MJ's to be able and willing to go off campus. There is nothing worse than having a lazy MJ who wants to do nothing but sit by a computer.
The ideal MJ also needs to be willing to learn. Prior to the start of the semester, every MJ goes through a series of workshops that include camera training, editing and FORK. However, it goes without saying that it takes more than a few hours of workshops to actually learn the process. When I was an MJ, I personally did not feel 100% comfortable doing what I was doing until the third week of the semester. The first several weeks are indeed tough, but the best MJs take those first weeks as a learning experience. They recognize their weak areas and strive to strengthen those areas as the weeks go by.
This semester, I have been thoroughly impressed by a few MJ's in particular. The ones that stand out to me have gone above and beyond what they are asked to do. They have gotten more interviews, shot more b-roll and edited quicker than we had ever expected. With the 6 p.m. deadline looming over us each week, each and every little thing our MJ's do are very much appreciated by everyone on the team.
