Choosing Where to Live for Your First Journalism Job

I intend to post a few times about location, because it was so crucial to me when I graduated. I actually refused all job offers from in-state newspapers (even though I interviewed at some to get interview practice), because I wanted to move out of the state so badly. More on me later.

For this initial location post, I'd like to use Jessica Beym, staff writer for the Gloucester County Times (26,000-circ. daily in New Jersey), as an example. I met her when I interviewed at the GCT for a municipal reporter opening and had a trial day there. I was given a tricky story, and Jessica helped me out a lot with it.

I ultimately stopped pursuing a full-time position at the GCT. However, Jessica is a smart and sophisticated journalist, who is still wonderful to talk to.

Here's what her experience was with the location-selection process:

After Jessica graduated from Rowan University, she lived close to Trenton. She said that was ideal for her because it was where her parents lived. So after college, Jessica moved home to save money.

For her first job, she took a freelance position at the Trenton Times. She turned down two full-time offers at other newspapers, in favor of the freelance one. Jessica said her reason for her decision was that she didn't want to work full-time immediately out of college, and also because she wanted to move home.

Then, in the fall, she began working full-time at a bi-weekly in Princeton, New Jersey. After a year, she moved back down to southern New Jersey, because she wanted to move in with her boyfriend there. And that's when she started working full-time for the GCT.

"I guess you can say location plays into it as a major factor," Jessica said. "If you don't have any ties to any specific place, then you have many more options, I would think."

As you can see, Jessica took many factors into account in choosing her first post-college reporting job. And location dictated a major part of that choice. Sometimes--as with Jessica--the "who" (family, lover or friends) will control the "where." Sometimes this won't be the case.

Whatever you choose, keep this in mind: Reporting is a career which you will be interacting A LOT with the locals and be up close and personal with the community. If you don't like where you are, this could have a very harsh effect on your reporting experience.

Of course, location may not be important to you at all, and you'll make different decisions based on factors that are. Deciding what's valuable to you and what's not will determine how the whole job search will play out. Remember that you're the one with the wheel in your hand, so it's completely up to you in the end.

More on location soon...