Editors need not apply?

[Jude]

Just found this job at the ABC New Media positions site -

New Media Producer/Presenter, Broadband News & Information

* Salary range $34K - $49K + super
* 2 full time positions
* Location: Brisbane

Key Responsibilities

1. Compile broadband news bulletins and related broadband information services
2. Under supervision, write, edit and present material.
3. Record and edit video content using Avid xpress.
4. Use compression and file transfer software for delivery of content.
5. Communicate with duty producers and executive producers and anticipate problems.

Selection criteria

1. A tertiary qualification in journalism or solid practical experience in journalism.
2. Strong editorial judgement.
3. The ability to produce accurate and concise copy.
4. Understanding of multimedia treatment of stories.
5. Experience with television news production techniques including presentation would be an advantage.
6. Experience with digital editing tools, multi-media production tools including desktop audio-visual production would also be an advantage.
7. The ability to work as part of a small team and to meet deadlines.

Closing Comments

1. The position, which involves shift work, would be suitable for a highly motivated program maker keen to contribute to Australia¹s leading new media service.
2. Applications may include non-returnable audition tapes or CD.

More info at http://www.abc.net.au/jobs/newmedia/default.htm


Maybe someone who has a uni degree in Journalism, but now works as an editor could apply? Or maybe the editing bit isn't really important at all, and anyone who can push buttons on a keyboard can do it.

Am I being overly sensitive, or do other people feel that the concept of having an editor to do the editing is being progressively phased out? I would love to work in the new media area, but .. editors need not apply?

[vfok]

They do teach students to do simple audio/video editings in a journalism course at uni. Back in my days working on campus (which is 4-5 years back), Final Cut Pro and/or Adobe Premiere was used by jorno students.

Still I doubt if an average jorno graduate will have experience working with an Avid Xpress.

This does look more like a jorunalist position than an editor's.

But it's always been like this these days: they want multi-talented workers to do several people's jobs but only have to pay one. It's depressing.

[Jude]

I think you've hit the nail on the proverbial, vfok - its depressing. I sometimes feel like I am learning to craft the perfect horseshoe while the rest of the world is buying model T Fords.

I know that there always have been and always will be low budget jobs that just need someone to slap it all together, and fine and good - not many editors would relish those jobs anyway - but when large institutions like the ABC (seem to) start disregarding that it takes skill and an understanding of what you are implying with your cuts/shot choice/pace etc, not to mention understanding and adhering to the broadcast medium technical parameters ...

I guess most people can't tell what is good and what is not, though. Maybe it's not at all important if no-one in the intended audience can tell the difference.

[shilby]

Unless I'm mistaken I don't think JACKASS was nominated for any Academy awards and certainly there was no public outcry at it's exclusion, so I would hazard to guess that the great unwashed can indeed tell the difference between quality and mindless entertainment. Everything has its place, and trends come and go.

The art of editing a well crafted news story in my opinion is about succinctly imparting the facts. Is a talented journalist capable of delivering this? They'd better be or their career will be short, but I think this was always the case. So if the role of news editor is to be absorbed by the journalist, as long as the fundamental principles of journalism are delivered, then the product is being delivered satisfactorily.

Now, if news delivery moves into the area of deliberately inciting and emotive response from the viewer through story telling techniques, THEN we have entered the specialist realm of the EDITOR, journalism must pay credence to the art of story telling.

So while I agree that the trend is to rationalize the roles of people within networks, the editor will always be in demand, purely for their unique skills. The news will always rate so long as it delivers information accurately, but if the viewer has no empathy for the "victim" or "hero" in a '60 Minutes' or 'Australian Story' then it'll be more than just the Journo looking for a job.

As far as technical skill .... as a crusty old linear onliner, I grind my teeth daily at the crimes I see going to air.
But even 10 years ago when I was punching out news stories for a Sydney network, I truly cannot remember ever editing a story onto a SP master where the master tape hadn't been recycled way too many times. Dropouts meant nothing in news - all that mattered was getting the tape into the BetaCart on time. "It ain't no story, If there ain't no pictures" - was a favourite, if over used cliche of many a news director.

Personally I belive that the news room should always use the skills of a professional editor for a multitude of reasons but economics rule, the market demands more information and ENG is an expensive business. The sad thing about this rationalisation is that the industry is slowly closing off a valuable training ground for a necessary part of its skilled work force, the question should not be, Does the News suck today?, but will 4 Corners suck tomorrow.

Most people who work, (in any field, in or outside this industry) prefer to do the best job they can for the satisfaction that it brings. Maybe it is just another role for professional editors to encourage and educate those who will be performing some of our old duties as our industry changes and creates new opportunities for us.

vivre les ASE

WaZ.

[Matthew]

Well I've noticed there are two kinds of editors.

There are those who love the job no matter what its paying, share what they know, never stop learning, love to discuss the craft of editing - and are the sorts who are likely to join this Guild not just for access to the Editsearch job list.

Then there are those - and believe me I've met 'em - who edit because its a job, its just the job they do and they go home and don't think about it until the next shift starts. Usually on a regular wage. Who needs a guild?

That's a waste of a good job, I guess.

MT

[rachelw]

Well. What can I say? All those duties, shiftwork, and such a woeful salary. Really, this goes beyond searching for cheaper ways to work - and deskilling our industry. I think it points to our need to educate young people who are fresh out of school looking for that 'first job' on what constitutes being totally worked to death and fleeced at the same time....truly, that one sounds like a fair bit of responsibility and stress for anyone, much less an inexperienced youth. I think that is what they are aiming for as the salary is less than that of a tape op.

As for how it deskills our industry - well, a lot of talk about editors learning their craft in news - I remember it as a sort of evil fight against time that can certainly give you strong decision-making skills, but there are other environments where equally valuable skills are learnt, and with the same level of transferrable skills. So losing some news jobs here and there probably won't be the end of the world. But jobs like these do point to a significant problem. That of a potentially uninformed and largely unskilled/inexperienced element in the workforce. And this presents a multitude of problems, which management (in some cases) take full advantage of. One is that once you've got someone doing a million duties, one or two more won't kill them, so you have a cheap, efficient and malleable labor force. Another is that of course young people are often easily manipulated and cowed into working beyond their capacity, because they don't yet have defined boundaries and strong personal negotiating skills. Another is that when you push someone too far for too long there is no way of knowing how that could affect the work environment. Poor management and poor job structure can come back to bite an organisation in the tushy, which is an issue nobody tends to care about untill it is too late. Jobs that are deliberately aimed at young people, and have more duties involved that their liver-spot addled managers, have one thing in mind. Cheap, replacable, keen labour. There's a lot of kiddies out there who could do the job, but how long would they last? Who cares!! Get another one when this one breaks!!!

The problem with a job like the one advertised, is that there is probably a minefield of negative lessons waiting for whoever the successful applicant is. Old school management is alive and well in Australia. I learnt Total Quality Management at University, then went to work for a network...it isn't about taking any 'duty of care' issues seriously. It often isn't even about adhering to union-set regulations. It's about driving people into the ground and making enough money to earn yourself a bonus.

I despise these sorts of roles because beyond deskilling our industry, they promote a type of management and work-culture that is unfortunately deeply ingrained in Australian companies and pretty much beyond retribution.

[Matthew]

... tushy??

[Daz]

Sounds like a pain in the ass

[vfok]

Originally posted by Matthew
Well I've noticed there are two kinds of editors.

Actually, there are also those who used to be the first kind but changed to the second kind.

If one's hopeless in networking - knowing the right people especially where the clients are, doesn't have much of an impressive cv after graduating from film school, and have only the skills of an editor, it's either take a dodgy regular-wage offer or work as a waiter/ess.

After all, hey every editor wants to cut a film, but we all have to eat. ;)

[Daz]

I got this from a web site of a mate of mine, Steve Pang. He nicely encapsulates the Editor's Dilemma.

daz
------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHOOSE AVID
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updated March 2003. With apologies to Irvine Welsh.

Choose Avid. Choose a 60hrs-a-week job. Choose a career in post. Choose a box of Jaz disks. Choose three fucking big monitors. Choose digibeta decks, hard drives, VHS machines and patchbays. Choose DLT back-up, vectorscopes, and plug-ins.

Choose 'NTSC has set-up.' Choose colour bars.

Choose 'Go to capture mode'. Choose an Avid T-shirt and matching baseball cap. Choose an ergonomic chair on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose digitizing and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning.

Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing progress bars, pouring fucking cappuccino into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable edit suite, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up assistants you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose Avid.

But why would I want to do something like that?

;)
_
http://www.stevepang.clara.net/chooseavid2003.html

[rachelw]

Man, are we cranky or what??!?

[Daz]

Yeah, must be a Scottish thing.

[rachelw]

I'm only part scottish. the rest of me is Jewish. I got freckles and an occasional hankering for giffilte fish. Totally beyond the limits of taste. Fortunately most people don't even know what giffilte fish is, so they can't understand how disgusted they ought to be. The other joy of my rather mixed up lineage is that family gatherings are sort of like a Woody Allen film on cheap drugs. It's best avoided by either working like crazy or making a fort in the yard (out of giffilte fish) to hide in.

[shilby]

OK, so I'll oblige....

Lifted from:
http://holiday.allrecipes.com/AZ/GefilteFish.asp

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
1 1/2 pounds red snapper fillets
1 pound black cod fillets
1 pound ling cod fillets
2 1/2 large onion
4 carrot
5 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons ground white pepper
3/4 cup matzo meal
3/4 cup ice water

2 onion
2 carrots
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup white sugar

METHOD
1 Grind the fish, 2 1/2 onions and 4 carrots together. Place fish mixture in a wooden bowl. Using a hand chopper, add eggs one at a time. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 4 teaspoons salt and white pepper and continue to chop until very well blended. Stir in the ice water a little at a time throughout this process. Add matzo meal and chop again. Check to see if mixture is thick enough to bind together to make an oval gefilte fish ball and if not add in more matzo meal.
2 Meanwhile, fill two large heavy stock pots half full of water . Into each pot slice one raw onion and one sliced carrot. Add fish skins, if desired. Sprinkle in paprika, salt, black pepper and two tablespoons of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let boil for 10 minutes.
3 With wet hands shape the fish balls and carefully drop into boiling stock. Cover slightly and cook over medium-low heat for 2 hours. When done, let fish sit in the pot for 10 minutes, then remove pieces carefully to containers and strain remaining stock over fish balls, just barely covering them. Chill and serve. They will now keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

Serves 8

[Jude]

lol. Properly cut, that would make a great fort. ;)

I'm half Romany, so we also have many great foods that the rest of the world thinks are excellent building materials. :)

[rachelw]

aaiigh! My secret shame is revealed in all its nekkid glory!! I must advise all intrepid chefs that making giffilte fish is really, really smelly. Like a fat rendering plant gone far beyond wrong. Your neighbours will never speak to you again. May I suggest we stick to editing...although I am curious to know about the incredible inedibles of Romany....

[Jude]

Probably poppyseed cake would be one of the most suitable for building with - it's solid, sort of rectangularish and might even be bulletproof, given that it weighs a tonne. I'm always surprised that people don't like it though.

Mortar would have to be mashed salted herring in oil, or six week old borscht. ammunition would be pelmeni. No, scrub that, I really couldn't waste pelmeni like that.

What would be a good Jewish weapon-food? And what is Matzo? I often hear it on TV and have no idea what it is.

[rachelw]

Matzo....well, a long long time ago, a lot of my ancestors decided to walk off into a desert, and when they went to the supermarket for supplies, they forgot yeast. We eat matzos to remember the time when somebody forgot to buy yeast, as an eternal guilt trip, so that the guilty party's soul shall never know peace.

Matzos are a large, flat, square unleavened bread that tastes like sawdust. Properly ornameted with chopped liver, it is a staple of the high holy days, and can be used in conjunction with gifilte fish to create a sturdy fort. However, in using matzos to create your perfect hideout, you may wind up being mistaken for a buffet platter and eaten by your relatives.

Matzos look like overgrown saos/saltines with no salt. I am not very fond of them, but have a keen attraction to them when found in the supermarket. Matzo meal, which is like an evil bread crumb, is used to make all manner of dumpling, esp. handy for making matzo ball soup, which is really really good if make properly.

And what's wrong with borscht?? Hey, my borscht kicks butt!

I suppose we ought to get back to talking about films...

I've misplaced the web address of the site for my last documentary, I feel like a total git...have had to email my director in korea, feel so stupid, but I thought that while I am here I may as well embarrass myself

[Jude]

Thanks for the matzo info Rachel :) Note I did say *six week old* borscht - fresh borscht roXors my soXors as those noisy young people say today. Completely the cats pyjamas. ;) lol