Oregon daily emerald., February 20, 1981, Page 5, Image 5

J-school grads struggle
for scant newspaper jobs
Editor’s note: This is one of a series of articles on
the job-market success of University graduates.
By BILL MANNY
Of the Emerald
Finding a job as a journalism graduate these
days may not be impossible. But it’s no piece of
cake, either.
"I hate to recommend selling shoes,” says
Barrie Hartman, managing editor of the Eugene
Register-Guard. “Maybe this is the year to go to
Europe.”
Newspapers are ravaged by the same econ
omic problems as any other business, Hartman
says. In a recession, employers can’t afford to add
workers. The same applies for most jobs in jour
nalism.
“It’s going to be tough," he says. “If papers
aren’t cutting back, they're holding the line.
They’re not filling the jobs that are vacant.”
Journalism Dean Galen Rarick is “cautiously
optimistic."
“Right now it's fairly tight,” he says. But there
are opportunities. Recruiters were on campus this
week and more are expected.
The journalism school continues to receive
leads on job possibilities and maintains a “job
opportunity” book in the J-school office.
But getting a job, Rarick says, usually means
a willingness to "go where the jobs are.”
And almost all J-school graduates land jobs
in the field if they’re persistent, he says. More
often than not they begin with small to middle-size
publications. And that's the place he thinks the>
should be.
"That’s probably the best training for a young
journalist. You get to do a little bit of everything.”
A third of the school’s graduates are in the
news-editorial sequence, and a quarter in adver
tising. About 10 percent graduate in each of the
school’s public relations, magazine and televi
sion-radio sequences. All of the school’s majors
face a similar job struggle — advertising people
have a slight job-finding edge, and magazine a
disadvantage.
Graduates who get a first newspaper job can
expect to start at $175 to $225 per week, says
journalism Prof. Roy Halverson.
While he says it's still too early in the year to
see how June grads will fare, Halverson sees
“relatively few” jobs available this year.
Offers often come to the school for interns
and stringers, he says. But that doesn't provide a
good indication of the full-time jobs available.
There is a shortage of good copy-editors, but
few recent graduates are likely to fill those jobs.
Halverson says most editors want copy-editors
who first have been “copy creators.”
At the Register-Guard, Hartman says the
news department is operating two positions short.
“We’re holding the line here," he says. "I've
been told very explicitly we’ve got to hold the
line.”
And though the local economy may be in an
especially severe period, Hartman says the job
shortage is a national phenomenon.
A person with ability who’s willing to take
what she/he gets can find a job — “if you’re really
committed to this field and you look real hard.”
Fortunately for University graduates, the
journalism school has an excellent reputation.
To better chances for getting a job, Rarick
says students should concentrate on their
education in and out of the classroom. "Keep
yourself active in something journalistic. And
don’t goof off on the academic."
While they don't see current opportunities
the same way, both Rarick and Hartman agree the
future looks better than the present.
“All in all, the long range is very good,”
Rarick says. “And the immediate outlook is ac
ceptable.”
Labor group votes to protect
University teaching projects
The University's Environmental Law Clinic
has found support from the American Association
of University Professors, which approved a mo
tion Thursday to protect teaching projects from
outside interference.
AAUP passed the motion after extensive
discussion over its exact wording.
The revised motion states, "The University
Chapter of the American Association of University
Professors therefore resolves that any interfer
ence with the educational program of the Law
School by persons who dislike the positions
advocated by clinic professors or students on
behalf of their clients would be a serious infrin
gement on the academic freedom of the Univer
sity professors to teach by a variety of methods,
free of outside influence.”
AAUP Pres. Katherine Eaton said AAUP will
send the motion as a letter to various newspapers,
state legislators and Law School Dean Derrick
Bell “to let them know that we are, in fact,
concerned about the issue."
Eaton said newspapers statewide have
received letters from University donors alluding to
donation withdrawals if the Environmental Law
Clinic isn’t shut down.
"It is an organized effort," she said.
AAUP members also discussed State Board
of Higher Education Chancellor Roy Lieuallan's
proposal for a policy change in financial exigency
declarations.
The University declares financial exigency
when it must fire untenured and tenured faculty
because of severe cutbacks in funding.
Lieuallan proposes that during financial
emergencies, the state board may declare finan
cial exigency simultaneously on all state institu
tions instead of campus by campus.
"We don't have to do that yet,” Eaton said.
“We have to look at all the options."
it
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