Jalopticons swell in rank
Our good friends over at Jalopnik have recently expanded their virtual office to include a couple new cubicles for bloggers Eric Tingwall and Laura Burstein. Laura joins the team as an established blogger and car nut having written for CNET.com and Forbes Auto. Ray Wert, who she'll likely surpass as the best dressed blogger of the bunch, found her on Facebook.com. Ray trolling Facebook for new recruits is a little creepy, but you can't argue with the results.
Eric's path to Jalopnik, meanwhile, is the kind of rags to blogging story we love. He's a student at Michigan State University majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Journalism who won a writing contest sponsored by Inside Line, the prize for which was a trip to the Frankfurt Motor Show. That's where he met the Jalopnik crew, and Ray ultimately wined and dined him with a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. Earlier this year he was just a schlub with a dream, now he's an underpaid and overworked blogger. Dreams can come true, people.
You may be surprised (or not) to learn that most bloggers on the Autoblog team are not professional journalists, either. We like it that way, because the passion of an enthusiast usually stays lit far longer than that of a veteran journalist. We're always looking for more bloggers to join the Autobot, errr... Autoblog team, so if you've got passion, know the difference between 'its' and 'it's', and have a sharp wit to match those good looks, follow the jump to learn how to submit yourself for consideration.
A good candidate must exhibit:
- A demonstrated passion for autos
- Prolific knowledge of the auto industry
- Ability to write with wit, concision and authority
- Consistent schedule
- Self motivation
- Possess a fast computer (laptops are best) and fast internet connection
- Own a decent digital camera and know how to use it
- Have the software and knowledge to create and manipulate photos
- Are available to blog on an almost daily basis
- Keep a valid drivers license
- A subject line with your full name
- Your full contact information including physical address, email, daytime/evening phone numbers, IM user IDs
- Brief bio of yourself telling us why you're the right blogger for the job
- Three sample posts written in the Autoblog style
- A list of cars you currently own
- Three suggestions on how to improve Autoblog
- Your nomination for 2007 best auto of the year and why
Secret Tip: Operating and maintaining your own car blog is a big plus.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vivek 7:41PM (10/02/2007)
Not much of a blogger, but can you guys tell us what is this basic payscale for an entrylevel blogger? :)
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Vivek 7:42PM (10/02/2007)
Now you know why i am not a blogger, replace "this" with "the".
Eric M 12:09AM (10/03/2007)
I think if they told us what the pay scale was, nobody would apply. Haha.
Unbelievable 7:48PM (10/02/2007)
"Just another schlub with a dream"?
I'm sure he's pleased to be called a "schlub", do you ever say anything intelligent John?
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Philthy 10:06PM (10/02/2007)
Captain Sensitive returns to save the poor defenseless people of the internet from mean words and the forces of blogger evil! Lighten up pal.
Drew 8:06PM (10/02/2007)
The job description is kind of vague in stating if this is a permanent, full-time position. Any clarification on that? I see the "Are available to blog on an almost daily basis" requirement but that really doesn't tell me anything because, done right, this position requires a ton of research work.
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Eric 9:15PM (10/02/2007)
It wasn't a Pumpkin Spice Latte, it was a Caramel Apple Cider.
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John Neff 10:02PM (10/02/2007)
Hahaha, hey Eric. I took some artistic license there and cited the first drink I saw on Starbuck's website. Welcome to the blogging world!
Lisa Beamer 9:48PM (10/02/2007)
"You may be surprised to learn that most bloggers on the Autoblog team are not professional journalists,"
bwahahahahahahaa
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RockStoneSteel 9:52PM (10/02/2007)
How do I say this politely, but no, I'm not surprised that the Autoblog staff is not comprised of professional journalists. And my biggest disappointment with reading Autoblog is that a grammatically correct article is honestly the rare exception.
For the list of candidate requirements you should insist that candidates first and foremost demonstrate the skills to articulate clearly and correctly. Then Autoblog should have peer reviews of EVERY article before publishing for correctness of facts and grammar. It would only take two minutes of skimming to proof read most articles and would significantly raise the level of professionalism and respectability of the website.
...and no, I'm not applying.
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Eric M 10:37PM (10/02/2007)
You have clearly never read Dan Roth's articles. Well, maybe you did. Were you the guy complaining about the big words?
Anyways, after you spent all that time thinking of fancy words, I applied. While I'm admire those who can craft an articulate paragraph or two, I like cars more.
I'd rather my reports come from people who actually like cars, rather than write stuffy "Harvard" sentences and complain about the lack of cup holders in a Ferrari. If that kind of thing presses your car button, Car & Driver is still in print.
(I hope AOL Media and it's many subsidiaries don't own C&D. I think the conversation would go like this: Csaba Csere: Fire HIM! John Neff: We, uh, didn't hire him yet)
RockStoneSteel 11:31PM (10/02/2007)
Eric M,
It's unfortunate that you mistake correct grammar with "stuffiness" or some sort of fluff such as discussing cup holders. In fact, I'd like to see a lot less fluff and conjecture and a lot more straight forward facts. If by car enthusiast you want someone who can describe ad-nauseum detail of a model year's new front fascia having beveled chrome trim as opposed to radiused..., then you're at the right place.
And I certainly am not willing to trade off auto enthusiasm for good journalism. I want both! Some Autoblog authors provide that, but most do not. I understand occasional mistakes in grammar, but it is just too frequent on this website. It is obvious most of the authors don't even read their own articles before shipping them off to the web.
The candidate qualifications put so much emphasis on hardware, software, and speed, but perhaps they should focus more on journalistic quality over such quantities.
simonyun 11:39PM (10/02/2007)
@Eric M: Loving cars is a good thing. So is knowing the difference between "its" and "it's" or at least caring enough to learn it before posting a comment declaring that you've just applied to be a professional blogger. I'm sorry, but to get paid for writing, it's not a very high bar to have to clear.
Eric M 12:01AM (10/03/2007)
@RSS (Hey, wait a minute RSS...)
Anyways. Yes, I like both facts AND discussing design.
"Good journalists," (at least how you are thinking of them) in the automotive industry probably get paid much more, for much less work than what the AB team does. For how often a new article pops up in my RSS reader, I can handle a misplaced apostrophe or two. What I can't handle is waiting a whole month to get an article written by people who are far more concerned about things in cars that I don't care about, or viewpoints that I find to be tired.
Generally, I like Autoblog, so I'll continue to read.
Eric M 12:10AM (10/03/2007)
I should add that came out far to negative and "preachy." I think it's the three hours of sleep I've been working with.
BirdmanSTX 2:01AM (10/03/2007)
Eric, I totally agree with you. It gets a little tiring hearing people comment here about punctuation or the random misspelled word that made it past the spell checker. The way I look at it, Autoblog is free for us readers, and costs me nothing to read besides a few short minutes (checking again every 30 minutes or less now that my adiction is in full-swing). I enjoy the point of view of the article poster, even if I don't agree with it. Everyone has their own point of view, and I've never taken opinion from Autoblog staff as their way of trying to adjust my opinion to match theirs. They are free to post what they want, and I'm free to not read it if I don't like it.
All in all, I think you're doing well already by not taking what people here say about your posts personally. :)
WillDaThrill 3:32AM (10/03/2007)
Oops, sry, I wuz lukin 4 engrish litrachur blaug. Must hav klikd on da rong webcit.
ironpony42 10:08PM (10/02/2007)
Come on, if automotive journalism isn't a dream job, you're not true car geek. I don't know how many times I've found myself reading a car mag, and pondering my future as an autoscribe. To be tossed the keys to the latest Porsche product, or to some other lustful machine for a weekend of high rpm frolicing. Paid trips to international autoshows and events. Those perks don't come with my current job. I'd be won over by a Latte too.
Signed -
Shlub with a dream
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BirdmanSTX 2:04AM (10/03/2007)
I think being thrown the keys to a new Aveo to thrash around the track or neighborhood and writing about how bad or good it is would be just as fun.... well, maybe not just as fun as a Porsche, but still more fun than I have on most days at my current job :)
Ray Wert 11:33PM (10/02/2007)
Or, you guys can always come over to our neck of the woods and join a team with some charisma, chutzpah and a bunch of other big words beginning with "C." We're taking applications as well. Send them in to tips@jalopnik.com.
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