Wannabe Hacks In The News

Wannabe Hacks is already beginning to achieve what we set out to do: generate conversation and debate about journalism and ways of getting into the industry.

People are heading to the site, many are commenting on our blogs and there has also been healthy discussion amongst our rapidly expanding Twitter following.

We hope that this engagement continues and that Wannabe Hacks becomes a valuable resource for those who – like us – are wannabe hacks. Here are some of the great (and cautionary!) words of our friends and allies.

[This section is continually updated]

Fleet Street Blues – READ HERE

“Well, that was quick. The excellent Wannabe Hacks blog is but two and a half months old, but when it comes to brand building, self-promotion and all the other things advised by the bloggers-turned-journalists at the City University seminar on Tuesday, they’ve not just talked the talk, they’ve walked the walk.”

Redbrick Newspaper – READ HERE

“So should us wannabes admit defeat? Give up and go home? Not accord­ing to five Uni­ver­sity of Birm­ing­ham and Red­brick alumni. The cre­ators of ‘Wannabe Hacks’, a jour­nal­is­tic blog detail­ing the efforts of five recent grad­u­ates, are all try­ing to break into the indus­try in dif­ferent ways.”

Birmingham Guild of Students – READ HERE

“Alumni from the University’s newspaper Redbrick have come together to launch Wannabe Hacks, a collaborative blog tracking each of them in their attempts to launch a career in journalism.”

Cherwell Newspaper – READ HERE

“The five young men at the heart of it are the equivalent of laboratory mice, undergoing intense testing in the hope of discovering an answer to a question as unfathomable as a cure for cancer: What is the best way of getting a job in the media?”

Fleet Street Blues – READ HERE

“Wannabe Hacks – fast becoming the essential resource for journalism students and others wanting to break into the industry – has just published its first podcast… The Intern, The Chancer and The Freelancer, all apparently veterans of the University of Birmingham’s student paper Redbrick, share their tips on how to get started, tackling FOIs… and the importance of sleep. Well worth a listen below.”

The New Statesman – READ HERE

“We are, in effect, guinea pigs in our own experiment. Which path will be most successful? Who will still be jobless this time next year? Questions we cannot answer now, but we can light the way for those that follow. We want to be the recognised resource for students and graduates looking to enter the world of journalism. Advice from the horses mouth so to speak, rather from those already established in the industry.”

The Guardian – READ HERE

“Journalism may be stricken but it is far from death’s door. And that gives us, as young journalists, the chance to be the catalyst for change.But how are talented wannabe journalists supposed to navigate the minefield of options before becoming a journalist? Such questions were part of our decision to start up a new website, Wannabe Hacks.”

The Guardian – READ HERE

“Matthew Caines — another budding journo who writes on media blog Wannabe Hacks about his attempts to carve a writing career through freelancing — describes how he is able to make a living from working for Demand Studios, while continuing to pursue other writing opportunities.”

Word Nerds – READ HERE

“How about mentioning us on your blog, one of their subsequent tweets invited their followers.
That’s good – a bit of well-placed cheek is a vital ingredient for anyone in hackdom, I reckon.
But that’s not really why they’re getting a mention here.”

Fleet Street Blues – READ HERE

“It’s a neat setup – kind of like Reservoir Dogs, only with less shooting and more shorthand. They’ve been working hard to publicise the blog, and the early posts are certainly promising – the Freelancer explains what it’s like to juggle several different assignments in a few short hours, while The Student picks up on some slack fact-checking by the BBC while he was on work experience at a local paper.”

Journalism.co.uk – READ HERE

“Alongside working for Sartorial Male and taking on freelance work, [Matthew Caines] is one fifth of the team that run Wannabe Hacks, a blog that advises and helps aspiring journalsts.”

Rosie Niven – READ HERE

“I was therefore interested to read about four recent graduates who are going to test drive some of these diverse career paths. Their blog Wannabe Hacks will document their attempts to break into the media industry. Like all good heist movies each character has a distinct role: the freelancer, the student, the detective and the intern.”

Sarah Moore TV News – READ HERE

“In this new venture into the blogosphere, I came across a wonderful site by five guys who are all wannabe hacks. Check out https://wannabehacks.wordpress.com. To put it simply, they are five guys who are taking different paths to become journalists. They have a great post on whether it is best to take a postgraduate journalism course or an undergraduate degree.“

Andy Dickinson – READ HERE

“Recently I came across an interesting new blog called Wannabe Hacks. (@wannabehacks) It’s a group blog from five people all taking a different route in to journalism. It’s an interesting idea and one worth watching.”