Jimmy Veilkind is an online journalist for politickerny.com writing about politics in New York especially locally. The relatively new website publishes articles in the New York Observer. Tonight I had the privilege of getting to talk with Jimmy as he spoke to my digital journalism class.
A photo of Jimmy Vielkind courtesy of the Times Union.
Vielkind a graduate of Columbia University has only been working for his new company for a few weeks. He used to be a full time reporter for the Times Union. Since Jimmy has now had experience working for both the online journalism world and the print world I got a great deal of information about both types of companies.
The main reason Jimmy left the Times Union was he loved the fact that he would be working online if he took his new job. Vielkind says “The internet is the way to go.”
Jimmy explained how online journalism is the future. As the online journalism world gets bigger the print media gets smaller. Vielkind also said “I think a newspaper will eventually be a niche just like magazines.”
Vielkind said there were both positives and negatives to the online world. He talked about how it was a constant 24-hour work cycle which can be a pain but at the same time you dont have to use words all the time. Jimmy talked about the importance of pictures used in online journalism. “Pictures can be used instead of words.”
What I found interesting is Jimmy did not always want to be a journalist. He actually went to Columbia and majored in Urban Studies. The reason he likes being a journalist is because he said “it is fun.”
Jimmy talked about working at The Chronicle which is a local newspaper in Glens Falls, NY. He talked about how on his first day on the job he had to go to the grand opening of a roller coaster and he ended up getting stuck on it. “It was my first day on the job. I thought it was hilarious.”
From that point on Jimmy was always interested in journalism. He also knew he wanted to work online. When Jimmy left the Times Union for this company many people had their doubts about whether or not it was the right career move. Jimmy Vielkind is convinced he made the right decsion. He is convinced online journalism is the future.
