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Move to digital paying off
for some former Buffs
By Danielle Alberti
As journalists face an uncertain future, many have migrated away from traditional news outlets to embrace new media technology. CU J-School grads are no exception as Colorado’s tumultuous media market has journalists scrambling.
David Mason (’06) |
David Mason (’06), a broadcast news graduate, left his job at KDVR-Channel 31, Denver’s Fox affiliate, to become a production specialist at CodeBaby.com, a media company that creates animated avatars that guide users through a client’s Web site.
Mason joined the CodeBaby.com team to edit videos while still working for FOX. Now working there full time, he said he analyzes customer use of the animated characters in order to gauge their effectiveness.
Fairlight Baer-Gutierrez (’03) was working at YourHub.com when she was approached by examiner.com, a Denver-based Web publication that offers niche articles from a community perspective. “Examiners” are hired based on ability, and their pay is determined by how many Web users view their pages, Baer-Gutierrez said. They are free to
Fairlight Baer-Gutierrez (’03) |
publish as often as they like, she added, and they cover a variety of topics – from fashion to education and spirituality – at a “hyper-local” level. “They are available to share quality content based on the expertise they have,” she said.
Starting as a content channel manager in November, Baer-Gutierrez said she quickly moved to content operations manager, now supervising projects for the Web site, which now hosts almost 6,000 examiners. “It’s a very exciting ‘hyper-local’ model,” she said. “It helps people connect and find content they’re interested in.”
Jake Harkins (’02) was editor at Yellow Scene Magazine when he said he decided that it was time for a change. Taking a leap, he took on a freelance position at examiner.com. Harkins, who also was a sports writer for The Durango Herald and managing editor of the Aurora Daily Sun & Sentinel, began working with examiner.com in February as a restaurant writer. He has since become a channel manager, moderating examiner.com’s content for bars, clubs and restaurants. He said he continues to publish his culinary insights on the examiner.com’s site.
Harkins said his challenge in the transition to examiner.com was finding a balance between his “traditional” journalism background and what the industry has become. “I guess the Internet is what everyone has to do now,” he said. |
