Back Issue's Josh Gwynn on finding his voice as a host

Welcome back y'all!

Or welcome period, if this is your first issue. To catch you up, Starting Out is a partnership between me (Hi! I'm Alice!) and the folks at Transom. We're glad you're here!

If you frequent a certain corner of Journalism Twitter you might have seen this tweet from The Washington Post, advertising their fall internship program: 

The third bullet in particular stood out to me: “Students must have had previous experience in a major newsroom.” Sorry, what? I was not the only one who was upset: 

The Washington Post has since deleted that tweet and issued a correction: “We've deleted a tweet that didn't match the language in our FAQ on intern applications. We've also updated the language on prior experience. Experience in a major newsroom is not a requirement and all applications are considered.” 

Though the tweet has been taken down, posting it in the first place does damage. And it's a problem that’s bigger than the Post. These “must haves” further the idea that in order to even have a shot at a major career opportunity, you have to already be at an elite (and expensive) institution and/or have a selective, high profile publication on your resume. 

And if you believe all of those things, why bother applying? Setting this kind of perimeter at the outset immediately cuts out a huge swath of students who these institutions would be lucky to have in their newsrooms. 

One more thing before I hop off my soapbox and give you the rest of the newsletter: why the restriction around being a student? This is a policy lots of newsrooms have, and it disqualifies people who are changing careers or can’t afford to take a low paid internship postgrad. Plus, as people have pointed out, the class of 2020 should at least get a grace period given how that year went.

This month: Josh Gwynn, who co-hosts the fun as hell Back Issue with Tracy Clayton. Josh spoke with me about making the show you want to hear and the magic of the Notes App...

Josh Gwynn is a host and lead producer at Pineapple Street Studios

Alice Wilder: How did you get into radio?

Josh Gwynn:  I went to grad school at The New School. And they have this program where you can take the survey classes -- graphic design, film, audio class, video -- and then you decide what track you want to go down. And this was at the time when Trayvon Martin had just been murdered and there were a lot of conversations around Black folks and the Black experience. And that's when I kind of fell in love with podcasts because I was just trying to absorb as much information to wrap my mind around what was happening.

I'd always known about podcasts, but I always thought it was like something that white business people did. And then I heard The Read and I was like, “Oh, there's people that talk like me and are interested in the stuff that I'm interested in.” 

Resources

Should I list the things I’d rather do before writing a cover letter? 

Weeding the garden on a 90-degree day, going to Trader Joe’s on a Sunday,  incorporating St. Ives Apricot Scrub into my skincare routine…

I’m not a fan. 

Before I started writing this section, I tweeted asking for people’s cover letter advice, and hiring manager’s pet peeves. Some people said something to the effect of “I hate reading them.”

That got me into a state, thinking maybe cover letters shouldn’t be a default if hiring managers don’t want to read them and job seekers don’t want to write them. 

I brought this up to some friends in The Industry and the wonderful Alex Sujong Laughlin had this to say: 

I think I agree with Alex. I see why cover letters can be more than just a drag to write, but I still think there’s room to make them more useful to everyone involved, like giving applicants really specific parameters and questions to answer.

That being said, most jobs require cover letters, so let’s talk about how to write ones that will get you an interview. I compiled a list of Do’s and Don’t based on responses to my tweet. Thank you to everyone that shared advice!

Do:

• Spend a little time on why you want the job and a lot on why you’re a great fit for it. 

• Tell a story! Take this time to show (rather than tell) your writing skills. 

• Provide examples of what you’d bring to the table through an anecdote or two about how you accomplished something in the past. Don’t just say you’re creative (or hardworking or collaborative) prove it.

• Make it clear that you’ve listened to the show you’re applying for. 

• Re-read the job posting and make sure you’ve used some of the keywords from that posting in your letter, so that screening software used by HR will mark you down as a match. 

• Ask a friend or mentor to read the cover letter before you send it out. And remember to say “thank you” when they do! 

• Read the letter out loud — my English teacher mom always recommends doing this to catch typos and awkward phrasing. 

Don’t:

• Write a summary of your resume. That’s what your resume is for!

• Start your letter with, “My name is XYZ and I’m applying for ABC job.” Instead, tell a story or share your excitement about the position.

• Compliment a station on a show they don’t actually make. For example: don’t write to NPR about how much you love Serial or to American Public Media about how funny and informative It’s Been a Minute is.

• If you’re applying for a public radio internship, don’t start by saying how you grew up with public radio. It may be true, but those hiring managers have heard it a million times. 

My last piece of advice? The hardest part is getting started. Pour a glass of wine (or whatever beverage makes you feel fancy), put on a trashy TV show and just start. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be done. 

Classifieds

Internships

Audio Intern, The Washington Post, $750/week

Podcast Intern, The Wall Street Journal, $900/week

Audio Production Intern, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Multimedia Intern, Barron’s Group 

Podcast Intern, Council on Foreign Relations
 

Associate Producers

Associate Producer, NFL

Associate Producer, Call and Response
 

Fellowships

Mental Health Equity Reporting Fellowship, The 4am Fund, Offers $1,500 to $3,500 grants to support freelance journalists in their work on stories about equity in providing and receiving mental health care.

Podcast Fellow, The Intercept, $20/hr 

If you're hiring interns, fellows or other entry level positions, send your job postings and rates to startingout [at] transom [dot] org (or just respond to this message) and I’ll list them in the next issue. Please note that Starting Out features only paid opportunities. 

Josh Gwynn recommends

The Stoop: It’s hosted by my editor Leila Day. It's so beautiful. I love the way that she ties in all these feelings.

Today, Explained: I'm trying not to be as in the news as we have been for the last couple of years, but they do such a good job at explaining what's going on, but also making sure that you feel good, I just love their quirky sound design.