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Topic: Bilungual Arabic/English an asset for J-School?
| Author | Message |
| mmelkhatib | Posted – 11/18/2008 3:15:59 AM | show profile | email poster I am in the throngs of applying to various J-School programs, amongst them NYU, Medill and USC. I hope I don't get shunned for asking this but I was wondering if speaking/writing another language- in this case- Arabic could sway ad comms from admitting someone with at best, an average academic portfolio. (3.5 GPA 1290 on the GRE) Adding to my chagrin is my relative lack of experience. I was a student reporter for two years and served a 6 month stint on an Arabic language blogging consortium (so much for writing samples- hah!). It also doesn't help that I am currently working in a field far removed from journalism or reporting (as a peon err admin assistant at a non profit) Any advice would be incredibly helpful! Shukran :) Mohammed |
| mkelly | Posted – 11/18/2008 8:01:45 AM | show profile Here's what you do 1. Move to the Middle East. 2. Begin freelancing for publications back here. 3. Bank the money you'd be wasting on J-School. Seriously. Don't waste your time here. If you have the natural instincts to be a reporter, just go do it. The Arab world is one of those places still so corrupt and screwy that anyone with chutzpah (so to speak) and a quick mind can bulls--t his way into a job with a Western media company. |
| mmelkhatib | Posted – 11/18/2008 9:44:43 AM | show profile Oddly enough, it was the editors of Al Jazeera who recommended that I continue onto J-School- otherwise I was a little too wet behind the ears for them. I went down to their HQ a number of times (I was living in Qatar at the time) and I guess my lyrical waxing didnt quite fly! :) The freelancing thing sounds attractive but labor laws in the Middle East are a little screwy. I cant get a work visa unless I am sponsored by a company. I do intend on going back to the Arab world once I graduate. Mohammed |
| chucho | Posted – 11/18/2008 10:25:55 AM | show profile Ahlan, Whether or not to go to J-School is for you to decide. All I can say is language skills are always considered an asset. Universities also value diversity, so as an Arab (I assume you're Arab) I would think you get a few points for that, too. As far as needing a work visa. Not really (except perhaps Saudi, which is hard to get into). You could go and work on some stories on your own on a tourist visa. But, I think you're right that you need to get some college experience. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily need a journalism degree. You could get something else and work your way into the university paper. I was in a newsroom at a paper in Jersey about 10 years ago on a visit -- they were teaching Arabic to some of their reporters because there are a lot of Arabic speakers in the West Patterson community. My point: get some clips and a degree of some sort (though not necessarily a journalism degree), and your language skills will be valued. You might consider taking Spanish, too. I bet a lot of organizations would like somebody who can speak both Arabic and Spanish. In fact, I am willing to bet that in the USA, while Arabic speaking reporters is rarer, most papers seem want Spanish speaking reporters. On the other hand, knowing Arabic really opens doors for foreign correspondence in a huge part of the world (the MENA region). Afwan wa hadh saeed ---- my lame attempt at Arabic ;) that I cannot speak :( |
| mkelly | Posted – 11/18/2008 10:34:38 AM | show profile There must be more media outlets than Al-Jazeera. And can't you bribe your way around the labor laws? Not that I outright advocate breaking the law, but I do advocate getting things done-- that's what editors look for in overseas correspondents. What would happen if you just quietly started filing copy from overseas and media companies quietly transferred money into your bank account? |
| Grateful Deadline | Posted – 11/18/2008 11:36:58 AM | show profile There isn't a lot of opportunity in U.S. comm schools to practice journalism in languages other than English, although a few j-schools now teach Spanish-language journalism because the approach is a little different from English-language journalism. So language would not be a primary factor for admission to j-school, though it certainly would be valued in the professional world. However, a student with life experience in the Middle East would be seen as an asset to the school's diversity. While this would be valuable anywhere, it may be viewed even more favorably by universities in areas with big Middle Eastern populations, such as Michigan and Southern California. Essentially, you would become part of the school's educational process for other students, exposing the unexposed to the larger community in which they'll eventually work. |
| mmelkhatib | Posted – 11/18/2008 11:03:55 PM | show profile Ahlain Chucho! Fursa sa'eeda :) I am also applying to Gerogetown's Comm Culture and Tech program. As I have a background in Communication theory for my undergrad- having some consistency is a definite asset. Besides, Georgetown has a campus in Qatar and I am looking into doing a semester abroad placement in Qatar- maybe even intern at Al Jazeera. The sky is the limit- that is- unless I dont get admitted! Mkelly- Getting those correspondent jobs isnt easy. How would I go about wooing over editors? Where do I begin my search? I have yet to come accross an international affairs correspondent position anywhere. Perhaps the hiring process for those is a little different. |
| ICB | Posted – 11/18/2008 11:25:24 PM | show profile mkelly, you are such an ass hat. Pay no attention to him, OP. I have a pretty strong feeling he's just a 45 year old, never-even-been-to-Canada, smalltime newspaper editor who likes to consider himself daring and worldly. He has a great flair for giving out useless and possibly dangerous advice in keeping with his loose and fast, manly man self image. Perhaps he is excited by the upcoming Bond film. Young impressionable people should ignore him. |
| brodgers | Posted – 11/19/2008 2:02:05 AM | show profile One of the longstanding mysteries of this board for me is why people love to badmouth mkelly. yes, he might be a tad snarky and harsh at times but come on! haven't you people ever dealt with veteran editors and reporters? in my humble experience, that's how most of them operate. Regardless, I think his advice here was quite right on. Assuming the original poster is truly fluent in both English and Arabic, do you have any idea how marketable your skills are? Even more so than Spanish, which is way more common and easier to learn. If your goal is to work in the Middle East you have a huge leg up. mmelkhatib, of course you haven't "come accross an international affairs correspondent position anywhere," those are usually only given to veteran reporters who have paid their dues (and, I don't need to tell you that their numbers are dwindling). this is where freelancing comes in. Yes, of course, it might be dangerous to freelance without corporate backing in some places, but not everywhere. And if you feel like you're too green for freelancing, why not try to get an internship somewhere or to work as an assistant to a foreign correspondent? The UAE, for example, is seeing an explosion of media right now (as you probably know) so why not try to squeeze yourself in there somewhere. Heck, offer to work for free if you want to get your feet wet (still way cheaper than grad school). After a while you might decide you want to go to j-school anyway but then not only will your chances of getting into the school of your choice increase due to your work experience but you'll also have some contacts in the media world in that side of the world when you get your degree. |
| mkelly | Posted – 11/19/2008 10:23:14 AM | show profile >How would I go about wooing over editors? Well, when I've done it-- and please go f--- yourself, ICB-- I just was overseas, saw a good story, and started emailing editors I knew back home: 'Hey, I'm in Cambodia, and I have an interesting story about economic development here with a local tie-in to your city. You want it?' Yes they did, and there was one clip. Ditto for some scientific research in New Zealand, and some travel writing in East Africa, and an opinion piece from China. It's also how the overseas correspondents I use now work with me. Really, I don't *know* the news that's happening there; I have only a good sense of what I think it is. They're the ones I depend on to get me the story. I don't really know whether my Beijing correspondent has the proper work permissions to be there. I just know that he's there, and he gives me good copy that I need, and I know how to wire money into his bank account once the story is filed. The same goes for my writers in London, Europe and India. In fact, if you knew your stuff and were based in Dubai, I'd be asking you to email me privately to talk further. That's how it works for me, anyway. Maybe ICB does it differently. Your call as to who you want to listen to. |
| mkelly | Posted – 11/19/2008 4:36:59 PM | show profile I also can't help but notice that ICB offered no actual insight into how to be an overseas correspondent. How about it, ICB-- how have you done the job? Or are you too busy concocting your own facts about people you don't like to have any real advice for someone who needs it? |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 11/19/2008 9:55:56 PM | show profile All I can add is that I'm pretty sure that many US papers would love to have a reporter who was fluent in Arabic. (Uh, we're supposed to be caring about the Arabic community now, right? Tough to cover people when we can't speak their language.) Find a good story in your area, pitch it and freelance it. I'm not usually a jschool person (I usually side with the brilliantly sardonic mkelly) but I think it might give you a huge leg up. What about CUNY's grad program? It's probably cheaper than the others and I hear it's pretty good. I am so kicking myself for taking stupid effing French in high school. All I can do is sing "Jingle Bells" like Pepe Le Pew. |
| mmelkhatib | Posted – 11/20/2008 6:13:23 AM | show profile Wow. I am thoroughly humbled by all of the advice and support from everyone! It is ironic that the editor at my college paper turned down quite a few of my pitches because they were too focused on issues dealing with the Muslim and Arab community. (mind you that I began working right after 9/11). Then again, I may have been a tad too focused on the things I knew how to write on the best. Is there a genuine market out there for human interest stories on the Middle East? One that does not necessarily involve red eyed extremists or pyrotechnics? I mean clearly, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect between my own perception of newsworthiness and the standard line towed by the American media establishment. Al Jazeera is great in that respect and I do think that Americans could stand to benefit from reading about the more mundane elements of living in the Arab world. Mkelly- How do you come into contact with correspondents in the first place? Do you already have contacts in place or do you seek them out? If you ever need someone to write up something from Qatar or Beirut- PM me! :) Note: I am not there right now, but I plan on going to Lebanon over the Christmas break. Brodgers- Awesome advice- you have given me more food for thought than I can chew! The way I see it- unless J-school can damper my prospects (as I have heard from other posters) I should consider using my time there to ratchet up my contacts and clip portfolio. Besides, I have been in contact with Al Jazeera officials and they told me that J-School is a sound option given my goals. Anyways- it is way too early for me to foretell how things could turn out a year from now. I could just as likely not get accepted to the programs I want (or not get the necesarry funding) and may very well end up on the streets of Dubai or Abu Dhabi or even Damascus (much cheaper!). HisGirlFriday: I am kicking myself for not applying to CUNY's program! I have heard great things about their program... sighh :( French... had to take it and I hated it! French was pretty much compulsory up until HS. This was back in Lebanon mind you so I gather that this is not surprising. :) Has anyone here watched Al Jazeera's English service? They have a ton of clips on youtube: www.aljazeera.net/english. |
| df | Posted – 11/20/2008 4:27:25 PM | show profile mkelly's advice is right on on - besides one tiny little thing: do not fuzz around with working papers. As a someone who has worked a good half of my work life in countries other than my home country - if you want to make a living out of being the person on the ground, make sure your papers are in order. Allways. otherwise your career is cut short when your next entry is denied. |
| jmm | Posted – 11/22/2008 1:59:17 AM | show profile My god, sorry mkelly, I think that advice was terrible. YES, your arabic is going to be a huge plus to ALL the j-schools. Your grades and scores are respectable, not dazzling, but very respectable. If in school you show you have talent, you will be scooped up by any of the major publications which desperately need fluent arabic- english speaking reporters. If you are good - good reporter, good writer - you will be desirable not just to arabic publications, but all news publications, wires, dailies, weeklies - anyone with foreign correspondents, anyone with a middle east beat. Please -- apply and don't sell yourself short. Arabic speakers are in short supply. If you never become virtuoso at reporting, it will not be possible to access the broadest opportunities, but you will find something that suits you. You should have less worry. |
| jmm | Posted – 11/22/2008 2:00:50 AM | show profile Oh, also, the J-schools actually PREFER if your undergrad training in NOT in journalism. |
| jmm | Posted – 11/22/2008 2:06:17 AM | show profile Hey kelly, working illegally in UAE can get your dissappeared, for starters. You are way off on this one. If she is a good writer, J-School with her arabic will give her opportunities at the NYT, reuters, agence french presse, al jazeera, bbc, abc, cbs, wash post, and top notch pubs in mid east etc etc etc. but you want her to scrounge around for a job at some self-censored B2B rag in UAE or qatar or something, or stringing with no visa somewhere. give me a break. |
| chucho | Posted – 11/22/2008 9:24:44 AM | show profile >> Hey kelly, working illegally in UAE can get your dissappeared << LOL! |
| mkelly | Posted – 11/22/2008 6:15:07 PM | show profile I dunno, the advice worked for me, and it works for the foreign correspondents I use now. I know some people here are all about getting credentials and lining your ducks up in a row, and yadah yadah yadah. Others are about just doing it. I'm in the latter camp. |
| mkelly | Posted – 11/22/2008 6:20:35 PM | show profile And by 'credentials' here, I mean more getting the right educational degree, and interviewing for the right jobs, and all that. Life is short, folks, and experience trumps credentials every single time-- at least, for editors you want to work with. So really, just go do it, already. |
| Grateful Deadline | Posted – 11/22/2008 9:48:22 PM | show profile I'm kind of with mkelly on this one, because a U.S. j-school education is an education in U.S. journalism. Journalism is practiced somewhat differently elsewhere. I'll make a wild guess that at least half the correspondents I worked with at two very large Western newspapers never attended college at all, and they were top-level reporters and writers. They knew their countries/regions inside and out, and had a ton of street smarts pertinent to those places, which you sure can't get in a classroom. Arabic will help you outside j-school, not in it. Cultural affinity will make a nice addition to the campus community; in other words, exposure to you becomes part of the educational process of your peers. That's the value of international students to U.S. universities. |
| arewrites | Posted – 11/27/2008 12:54:11 AM | show profile Have you talked to Al-Arabia? |
