These are truly tough times to be job-hunting, especially if you want to work in the media. The unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped in June to 11.1% from a high of 14.7% in April 2020. But its still the highest its been in my lifetime, and probably yours unless youre an octogenarian. Media organizations have been shedding like a dog in the summer heat. But thats not the case in public media yet.

Since the COVID-19 closures of all kinds of businesses, public media has seen a scary drop in underwriting revenue, and many leaders Ive spoken to say they are preparing for double-digit declines in sponsorship sales this year. Some stations have been able to qualify for PPP loans to keep their people employed and paid. But there have been layoffs, and there will probably be more.

Current is tracking layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts in our field. But one thing we know for sure is that we dont know the whole story. Stations dont send press releases when they have bad news. We find out about job cuts mostly through local news sites, social media and tips sent to news@current.org.

As far as we know, public broadcasters havent eliminated many positions. My own unofficial census as of Aug. 1 is a total of 209 employees have been let go or have been reduced to part-time. Thats about 1% of the pubmedia workforce. Still, as my favorite college professor used to say, Statistics are people with the tears wiped away.

Truth be told: Hiring has dropped off. Some stations are not filling open positions, and many universities have instituted across-the-board hiring freezes. But there are some signs of hope, at least for public media job-seekers.

Classified ads on publicmediajobs.org seem to be making a cautious comeback. Postings on Currents career site plunged in April a serious concern for Current, because job ads fund the words you are reading, the story you clicked on before this one, and more. May and June showed a bit of bounce, but still only half the jobs normally posted with Current most months of the year. July, however, was a hotter month in so many ways. We hope that hiring is trending upward (for you and for Current), but of course its too early to tell.

Why did June show an uptick in job ads? Here are a few theories. For many, its a new fiscal year and perhaps strong revenue growth from last year made it possible to invest in personnel. Maybe some of these new positions are grant-funded and wouldnt be subject to austerity measures. My third thought: Black Lives Matter. In the face of great scrutiny, pubmedia stations are trying to make progress toward fulfilling their pledges of diversity and inclusion.

So, back to you. How do you get a pubmedia job in a pandemic? Keeping an eye out for every opportunity is an obvious start. Im excited to announce that publicmediajobs.org has a new look. Check out that handsome homepage! When you get there, bookmark it! Job openings are posted there for 30 days, and if you snooze, you lose.

You should also sign up for Currents newsletter and follow @currentpubmedia on Twitter. Stations especially eager to get your attention are investing a bit more to have their openings listed on Currents homepage, in our newsletter or from our Twitter account.

When you go to publicmediajobs.org, set up a free jobseeker account. Tweak and upload your resume. Recruiters that post on publicmediajobs.org can look through resumes. If you want some feedback on your resume, Im offering to critique resumes for the first five early-career people who email me with RESUME in the subject line. Dont send the resume until I respond. When you write a cover letter or get that interview, please tell the hiring manager that you learned about the position through Current!

Heres something some jobseekers dont want to hear: Consider relocating to other states or cities, if you can. A few years ago, a young woman who aspired to work in public media asked, Do I really have to start in the middle of nowhere to eventually get into the big-league public radio game? There is no such place as nowhere, only places you dont yet know about. Competition for jobs at the major-market stations, NPR and PBS is fierce.

NPR received a whopping 20,520 applications for 27 internship positions this fall, compared to 2,597 applications for 55 slots last year. NPR spokesperson Isabel Lara suggested the surge is probably due to the fact that these internships are remote this year, and applicants dont need to move to expensive cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago or Washington, D.C., for this rare and coveted career-launching opportunity. Its exciting that so many young people want to bring their talents to public media, but I cant imagine how NPR will narrow that field!

So keep dreaming big, but realize that you can gain valuable experience by bringing your talent and energy as an intern or a professional to smaller stations in smaller towns. Its a chance to learn, grow your skill set and actually see the impact you are having on the station and the audience.

You might just have more creative freedom at a smaller station. And you might just fall in love with the community (and the cheaper housing) and decide to make it home for longer than you anticipated.

Put yourself out there and look for opportunities to network. Until in-person conferences are back, you can participate in public media webinars. Ask good, memorable questions and engage in the chat to boost your visibility and name recognition.

If theres a place you want to work, consider reaching out to a department manager and ask if they might be willing to give you 15 minutes of their time for career advice. People in public media can be very generous and helpful. Make sure to study the station website before that conversation so you can ask informed questions. As a hiring manager myself, I cant tell you how many times Ive interviewed someone who didnt take the time to poke around the website. Its embarrassing and certainly disqualifying.

If someone at a station agrees to a short chat, make sure to send them a thank-you note. If that person is actually working at the office instead of at home, send them a legible handwritten thank-you. Yes, its an old-school move (#okboomer) but your note will be read and appreciated, and your name just might be remembered.

But the most important thing you can do if you want to work in public media is watch your local PBS station and listen to your local public radio stations. Immerse yourself in the content and the fundraising. Support your stations if you are able. Engage in positive ways. If a local program wows you, share it on social media. Send the producer, reporter or host an email to tell them what that content meant to you. Sincere and thoughtful expressions of gratitude always make a positive impression.

Be patient and persistent. Dont give up. Public media is a great field to work in. We need all the talent we can attract and retain. Keep the faith.

Link:

How to find a pubmedia job in a pandemic - Current

Forgive me if I wax nostalgic about the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not for the confusion, fear and economic misery of the spring. But for the fact that the same confusion, fear and economic misery meant we heard nary a peep out of Alberta separatists.

For 10 weeks while Premier Jason Kenney pleaded for more and more federal aid those Albertans whose personal mantra is More Alberta, Less Ottawa were apparently happy with More Ottawa.

READ MORE: Are Kenneys Fair Deal complaints with Ottawa based on fact or fiction?

After holding rallies and making headlines last fall to rail against the federal government, the Wexit supporters fell silent as the federal government poured money into pandemic-beleaguered provinces, and none was more beleaguered than Alberta.

Well, now that provinces are gradually re-opening their economies and the federal government has stopped its daily announcements of economic aid, Wexiteers have emerged from their COVID-19 hibernation.

Those whose fevered dream is an independent Alberta have announced that two right-wing parties Wexit Alberta and the Freedom Conservative Party have joined forces to establish the Wildrose Independence Party. Not that they had much in the way of forces to commingle.

Membership numbers are fuzzy but the Freedom Conservative Party boasted 1,063 members while Wexit Alberta hasnt done much bragging about the size of its collective.

Their timing could have been better, though.

As separatists renewed their anti-Ottawa push, it became obvious Ottawa was pouring more aid into Alberta than any other western province.

In early July, Melanie Joly, the federal minister of economic development, said while British Columbia and all the Prairie provinces were applying for federal help, the demand is higher from Alberta.

READ MORE: Albertas government and opposition create toxic political atmosphere

And this week there was more awkward news for the Wexiteers.

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe, who has been researching federal/Alberta fiscal relations for years, wrote an op-ed piece declaring that for the first time in 55 years Alberta is getting more out of Canada than it is putting in.

Over the past decade, Albertans have paid about $20 billion dollars more in federal taxes per year than they received in transfer payments from Ottawa. Thats not because the system is unfair but because Albertans tend to be wealthier, healthier and younger.

But this year, thanks to a pandemic-ravaged economy and abysmally low oil prices, Alberta has become a fiscal catcher, not a pitcher.

Alberta and Albertans will be a net receiver of roughly $22 billion through the federal budget, says Tombe. Whats behind this shift? Massive federal spending on emergency measures to individuals and businesses, combined with much lower income and sales tax revenues raised from taxpayers. Alberta disproportionately benefits (in a narrow fiscal sense) from both.

This is also awkward news for Premier Jason Kenney who rarely misses a chance to bash the federal Liberal government for either ignoring or deliberately hurting Alberta.

Kenney is not a separatist. In fact, he has ridiculed the idea of separation, saying it makes no sense. However, he also plays a game where he stokes feelings of western alienation by assuring Albertans the provinces woes lie with federal Liberal policies not Albertas over-reliance on fossil fuels.

Mind you, during the peak of the March-April COVID-19 wave, while Wexiteers were biding their time, Kenney was biting his tongue while talking about Prime Minister Trudeau, his political nemesis.

READ MORE: Pandemic isnt over but Kenneys truce with Ottawa certainly is

Kenney even delayed until June releasing the report of the government-sponsored Fair Deal panel that looked into Alberta forming its own provincial police force, setting up its own pension plan and holding a referendum against the federal equalization program. He realized that releasing a report that thumbs its nose at the federal government while the province was still negotiating for more federal aid smacked of hypocrisy, if not stupidity.

When asked about Tombes article this week, Kenney tried to brush it off.

Obviously, this is a bizarre year, said Kenney. We havent seen a year like this in Albertas fiscal history since we went broke as a province in 1935.

He admitted Alberta has benefited disproportionately from the federal government but he still thinks the system is skewed against the province: I expect that when we get back into anything like a normal economic cycle post-COVID-19 that we will continue to face the structural challenge that Alberta has within the federation for the past five decades.

Put another way, if we get back to normal and Alberta is once again the wealthiest per-capita province in the country, Kenney will once again simplistically and cynically claim Albertans are being unfairly treated by the federal Liberal government.

CLARIFICATION:A previous version of this column positioned Melanie Jolys comments in relation to specific aid programs rather than federal funding more generally.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the authors alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.

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Don't tell the separatists but Alberta is lapping up federal aid in record amounts - iPolitics.ca

Screen Shot from YouTubeCambridge-South Dorchester High School alumnus John Handley gave this years commencement address on June 5.

Hello, and thank you Talayasia [Young, Senior Class President], that was incredibly kind, and you should be proud that you are the President of the amazing, dare I say it legendary, Cambridge-South Dorchester class of 2020.My name is John Handley. I am only here because Oprah had a last minute booking for the Tonight Show and Anthony Fauci is busy searching for a cure for COVID.

I promise not to take a lot of your time, but I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to celebrate this amazing night with you! From one Viking to another, congratulations, you have done it, you have graduated high school, and no one can ever take that away.It has always been one of my dreams to be a commencement speaker at C-SD. I know some of you probably think that is ridiculous, but truly, this is a high honor for me.

I imagined getting up on stage in front of familiar faces in a gym that was way too hot even though the AC was blasting, listening to all the proud mamas who keep screaming and clapping even though some teacher, Im talking to you Mr. Horsey, keeps telling them to quiet down. Most of all, I imagined being able to see how incredibly proud each of you would be as you received your diploma and I would remember when my friends and I sat right there and did the same.

Thats not quite how this is, is it? Lets be honest. None of this is how any of us had planned. Some might even say you have been dealt a bad hand. Your graduation is remote, your time with friends has been cut short, no senior class play, no senior season of sports, and as you are stuck at home, things are not much better.A plague endangers us while we witness yet again the pains of racial injustice. It may feel that the weight of reality has gotten the jump on you, and that the oppression is here to stay.

I say noWhat you are experiencing now is a beginning; it is life on the cusp of a new dawn. Together our great minds are using science to develop a cure for this wretched disease and other diseases like cancer and diabetes. When we turn on the TV and see people in the streets, we are not witnessing oppression, no, far from it.We are seeing freedom. Look and you will see people of all ages and colors, along with police officers and politicians saying, We have had enough and, There is a better way. While some claim that white and black and policeman and civilian are more divided than they ever have been, I say no. I see a great joining in a common cause to ensure that all citizens have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

And as I witness this new beginning, I see the Cambridge-South Dorchester Class of 2020. You are emerging from a chrysalis, to be the change that this world needs and is expecting.Yes, I know that you did not get to experience the same things that classes before you did, but that is because you are not like them. You are different. You are the class of 2020, the class that can change this world.

As you go out into this world, please let me remind you of where you are from, you are graduating from Dorchester County. Sometimes I know that that may not feel like a lot or maybe you think that it is not meaningful, but you stand on the backs of giants.You come from one of the oldest European communities in the United States. Freedom fighters like Harriet Tubman and Gloria Richardson were born here determined not to leave it the way they found it.

Dorchester begot six governors, one of whom, Holliday Hicks singlehandedly kept the state from seceding, dramatically changing the dynamics of the Civil War in favor of the Union. There are also masters of their crafts, the great writer John Barth or the ship builder Jim Richardson.Come visit me in Annapolis and see the name Senator Fred Malkus plastered on all the walls. Ask your parents about Art Reinkwitz or Doug Fleetwood. Or Antwan Lake and Mr. Batson.

Our ancestors have been sharpened by working the rivers and plowing the fields and by volunteering and investing our community for centuries. You may not realize to what extent, but you have been forged from the pain of protest and riots that many or our parents and grandparents remember.

From greatnessYou come from greatness, you come from experience.Of course in preparation for this speech I did the most stereotypical thing someone in my position does, and that is to find some quote from some vaguely recognizable person we may have heard mentioned in history class. I went to my book of classic American Speeches and was drawn to the famous Give me Liberty or Give Me Death speech given by Patrick Henry to the convention of Delegates in Virginia 1775. As I read, I could move past one line and that line was this:I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of my experience.

As I reflected on why that phrase kept replaying in my head, I finally realized what was bothering me, and that is: It is completely wrong.As you have walked through life to this point, it feels like you have had one lamp, your lamp, illuminating your pathway, fueled by good and bad experiences. Sometimes that light is so dim you cant see, other times it is so bright you forget that there ever was any darkness. That feeling is wrong.Your path has been illuminated by the light radiating from the lamps of those around you. Every single day you have walked in the light of others experiences allowing you to grow into the amazing person you are.

There have been the lamps of teachers giving you knowledge and wisdom through their hours of unseen preparation. You receive light from your parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, and loved ones.You may not realize it but you have walked in the light of this community, drenched in the rich illumination of the experiences of the generations that came before. Each and every person who has affected you has allowed you to use some of their light so that you can put one foot in front of the other.

Think about it, think about who you are because of others. Yes, you worked incredibly hard, and have crossed the finish line of a race that started 12 years ago. But please for a second, stop, turn around, and look at the lanterns that have lit your path to this moment.That being said, now is the time for celebration! This is truly a momentous occasion in your life, an occasion and celebration that you deserve and is eternally yours. We, the great community that surrounds you, congratulate each and every one of you for your accomplishment.Now go into the world in peace, to pick up your lantern and shed your light on someone elses path, for you are the class that is different than all others, you are the Cambridge-South Dorchester Class of 2020.Pump it up, go Vikings, thank you very much.

John Handley is a 2010 graduate of Cambridge-South Dorchester High School and a graduate from the University of Maryland, where he received his degree in Government and Politics with a minor in Philosophy. He is currently the Legislative Director for Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot where he advocates for good government, transparency and fiscal responsibility. He currently resides in Annapolis but considers Cambridge and the chicken farm where he grew up his home.

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Guest opinion: Address to C-SD Class of 2020 - Dorchester Banner - Dorchester Banner

This year marks the 60th consecutive year that the U.S. Senate has passed a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA. The NDAA is one of the most important pieces of legislation we pass each year, as it authorizes funding for the Department of Defense.

The bill we recently passed authorizes funding to support our armed forces and their families throughout fiscal year 2021. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chairman of that committees Cybersecurity Subcommittee, Ive been working with my colleagues on this legislation to make sure it provides the resources necessary to keep our troops safe, strengthen our national security and support military families. This is especially important as our adversaries, especially China, seek to gain strategic dominance over the United States as they grow their militaries in quality and quantity.

Of all our near-peer competitors, China is continuing to strengthen its powerful grip on its own people as well as expand its influence across the globe. This year, weve seen China perform an ethnic cleansing of Uighur Muslims, many of whom are being held against their will in concentration camps. While imposing this abuse of Uighur Muslims, the Chinese Communist Party, which governs China, has meanwhile issued a new law on Hong Kong that would strictly punish anyone who opposes the Chinese government, in effect the Chinese Communist Party. These profound violations of human rights are painted by the Partys state-run news service in the best light possible while hiding and distorting the truth from its citizens.

On an international level, China has unlawfully claimed most of the South China Sea a major shipping channel as its own sovereign territory. This, despite the fact that many of our Southeast Asian allies have legitimate claims to islands and areas in the South China Sea.

Weve recently seen an escalation of aggressive actions by Chinas maritime forces against U.S. ships in the South China Sea, which are there to maintain freedom of navigation and make sure free trade can continue within this critical artery for international commerce.

This type of aggression is a prime example of why our armed forces need to remain the strongest in the world. We can fulfill that requirement by giving our armed forces all they need through the NDAA that we have passed every year for over half a century.

The fiscal year 2021 NDAA that we just passed was designed to support the National Defense Strategy. The National Defense Strategy provides clear direction for restoring our militarys competitive edge in an era of re-emerging, long-term great power competition.

As our near-peer competitors like China and Russia continue to advance their own weapon systems and strategies, we must make sure our armed forces have the tools and capabilities to deter aggression by these adversaries against the United States, our allies and partners. We never want our service men and women to go into a fair fight U.S. troops must always have the advantage.

The B-21 Raider bombers coming to Ellsworth Air Force Base in the near future will be a critical part of maintaining that deterrent. The B-21s will play a crucial role in neutralizing Chinas threat because the long-range strike bomber will put them at risk if they choose to act out.

International threats against U.S. interests will continue to grow, but we have the best military in the world. It isnt just weapons systems that make our armed forces strong, though they are indispensableits the men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform. At the end of the day, the NDAA is about making sure they have everything they need to do their job, keep us safe and protect freedom. Im glad we were able to pass this important legislation and show that, in Congress, we can work together when we share a common interest.

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Making sure the U.S. military remains the best in the world - Brookings Register