Thank You, Antone Clark!

Antone Clark, photo courtesy of Linkedin.com

Antone Clark gave me probably some of the best advice that I have ever been given in a good while in regards to journalism.

1. Stop saying the word, "like." 
This tip gave me a good chuckle. It's so true, I don't know why but this generation has a hard time with vocabulary, I blame texting.

2. It's okay to go off the record
That was an eye opener for me. I've always been reluctant when people want to go off the record. The way Antone put it, if someone is willing to go off the record with you, do it. Reason being, it will give you a fuller scope of the bigger picture of what is going on and you will have a better idea of what is happening behind the scenes if and when the information does go public.

3. Journalism people can do PR work. PR people cannot do journalism work
Well, there's not much to say about that is there?

4. Kids are coming into this field don't know how to work hard, it's a major concern
My stupid generation of entitlement. This is a major problem, and I've heard this more than once. You have to work hard, even if it's for free. You need to be able to do the work that no one else is willing to do and do it well. You cannot expect a job to just be handed to you.

5. Find your niche
News stories tend to regurgitate the same information over and over again. You have to find a different spin or angle sets you apart from the crowd.

6. Know how to report
Knowing how to report is much more difficult then writing a story.

7. Do everything you can to study the information of what you are writing about
This will help you seem more reliable with your information and can save you from embarrassing moments.

Anyways, he was a pretty inspiring guy. I appreciated all of the kind words and advice he was willing to share with me. He is my fuel to the fire today for my journalistic passions.. wish I could leave my receptionist desk and interview people all day. Thank you, Antone Clark.