2014-2015 tb-two* staff application

NOTE: WE HAVE OUR NEW STAFF; APPLICATION PERIOD CLOSED for 2014-2015!

We'll tell you online and in print in the spring when we'll be taking applications for the '15-'16 school year. Thanks for your interest. Any questions? Email tbtwostaff@gmail.com

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* 1. Full name

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* 2. School you will attend in the fall

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* 3. Grade you will be in 2014-2015 school year

freshman

sophomore

junior

senior

Note any special circumstances or programs (IB, magnet, early college, etc.)

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* 4. Your email address

THIS IS IMPORTANT! We communicate primarily by email, so if you aren't committed to checking your email and are unable to respond within 24 hours, don't apply. SERIOUSLY! We sometimes have questions on deadline and we must be able to reach you, and the questions are often too complicated to text.
ALSO, you must have your OWN professional email address (not a friend's or parent's, and no cutesy name, because we won't know who's emailing us). Your address should include at least your last name.

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* 5. Phone number where we can best reach you

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* 6. This number is . . .

my cell

my home

Other:

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* 7. Check all tb-two* positions you are interested in (now or in the future)

Writer/reporter

Photojournalist

Video/multimedia journalist (state whether you have access to your own equipment in "other" box)

Social media specialist

Editor

Critic

Other (please specify)

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* 8. Home address (include city and zip)

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* 9. Emergency contact (full name, phone number and relation to you)

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* 10. Do you have reliable transportation?
Note: Meetings, held once per month on Wednesday or Thursday at 4:30 p.m, are MANDATORY. If this time will not work for you, please do not apply, as we will be unable to accept you. If transportation is a problem for you, you should seriously rethink whether you can make the commitment of being on staff.

Yes, I drive and have access to a car.

Yes, I have a very patient and committed parent/taxi service.

Yes, but I live far away and might have trouble making the meetings.

Yes, but I am already over-committed at school and might have trouble making the meetings.

Other:

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* 11. Staff meetings take place once a month on a Wednesday or Thursday, 4:30-6 p.m. (Week may vary; schedules are available at summer training session, more info below.) Can you make that?
List your extracurricular activities and days in the "other" box. If you know you will have football, lacrosse or rehearsal EVERY DAY at this time, we can't accept you on staff. Many coaches are understanding if you need to miss one practice a month, and you will be able to tell the coach what days your meetings are at the start of the season. You should consider tb-two* the same priority as these activities if you're serious about being on staff.

Yes

Not sure (explain in "other" field)

Other:

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* 12. Which meeting location works best for you?
We meet in both St. Pete and Tampa, and will do our best to assign you to the location that is most convenient for you.

St. Petersburg office: 490 First Ave. S., St. Petersburg

Tampa office: 1000 Ashley Drive, Tampa

Doesn't Matter

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* 13. In approximately 300 words, tell us why you want to work for us, what you will bring to tb-two* and what you want to do. Please say more than "I am passionate about writing or photography." Show us, don't tell us. We want to learn something interesting about you, in detail.

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* 14. Describe any relevant journalistic experience.
J1, newspaper, yearbook, software you are comfortable with, writing and photography ability, etc. NOTE: All staffers will be expected to interview people they've never met. Please let us know if you have experience with this type of reporting. Personal essays and columns are rare on our pages; reporting is the norm.

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* 15. SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK

Writers: Please copy and paste two non-fiction writing samples here. No poetry or research papers, please. If you do not have any journalistic writing, a personal essay or non-fiction short story will do.

Photographers/videographers/multimedia folks: Please include links to your photo gallery or video samples. If your work is not available online, please send work to our staff email, tbtwostaff@gmail.com, and include in the subject line: Application samples.

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* 16. Please provide the name of a reference, including email and/or phone.
This should be a teacher or adult editor. No family members. Your best friend's mom doesn't really count, either.

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* 17. REALLY IMPORTANT! Describe your ability to come up with and talk about story ideas. (Check all that apply.)

I'm comfortable speaking in a brainstorming group.

My friends call me the silent one.

I look out the window and say "I wonder what else that store with the flamingos wearing dresses sells?"

I'm really not very curious.

I know the difference between a term paper subject and a really interesting slice of that subject.

I'd rather write a Wikipedia entry on gardening.

Other (please specify)

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* 18. Submit a minimum of three story ideas you would like to see in an upcoming issue.
If accepted, you'll be expected to pitch lots of ideas (see previous question). In fact, bringing story ideas to monthly meetings is a requirement to be on staff, so if you are not comfortable with that, PLEASE DON'T APPLY! Make sure your ideas are focused; for example, "teen pregnancy" is a term-paper topic, "spend a day with a teen mom and write about how she copes" is a tb-two* story.

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* 19. There will be a mandatory THREE-day training this summer, tentatively set for Aug. 6-8. We know people travel in the summer, but this is really important. If you are accepted and absolutely cannot be at the training, you are required to schedule an appointment with the editor to pick up your training materials, have your press pass photo taken, etc. WILL YOU BE ABLE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY TRAINING?

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* 20. How committed are you to social media?
Staffers are required to promote their tb-two* work on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to help us drive traffic to our website, tb-two.com. Check all that apply and list the websites you go to often to stay informed in the "other" box.

I live on Facebook.

I seldom or never use Facebook.

I'm a tweeting maniac.

I use Twitter to keep up with the news.

I've never used Twitter.

I visit tb-two.com regularly.

I have a blog (list URL in "other").

I'm interested in blogging.

Other:

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* 21. How committed are you to being a tb-two* ambassador at your school?

We deliver bundles of tb-twos to your school on Thursdays but what happens to them after they are dropped off is up to you. Staffers are responsible for making sure tb-twos are made available to students, which includes introducing yourself to your principal and the school's faculty/staff tb-two* liaison (we'll tell you who that is) and knowing the plan for distribution (there are many ways; you'll learn about them at training). We need you to help us get the word out to teachers that tb-two* is good for students to take home and read, even if the teachers aren't using them with their curriculum. No Thursday should go by without you laying your eyes on tb-two* at your school. Check all answers that apply to you.

I can email tb-two*s distribution expert by 8 a.m. if the papers don't get delivered to the school.

If a teacher looks at me funny, I cower in the corner.

I'm comfortable talking with teachers and administrators about the value of tb-two*.

I don't really care if my friends see my work in tb-two*.

I'm comfortable suggesting to teachers and administrators the best way to distribute tb-two*s to students on Thursdays (service club project, delivery to each English class, etc.)

I'm comfortable putting copies in the dedicated news racks and handing out copies in the bus line, at lunch, etc.

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* 1. Full name

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* 2. School you will attend in the fall

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* 3. Grade you will be in 2014-2015 school year

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* 5. Phone number where we can best reach you

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* 6. This number is . . .

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* 7. Check all tb-two* positions you are interested in (now or in the future)

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* 8. Home address (include city and zip)

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* 9. Emergency contact (full name, phone number and relation to you)

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* 12. Which meeting location works best for you?We meet in both St. Pete and Tampa, and will do our best to assign you to the location that is most convenient for you.

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* 13. In approximately 300 words, tell us why you want to work for us, what you will bring to tb-two* and what you want to do. Please say more than "I am passionate about writing or photography." Show us, don't tell us. We want to learn something interesting about you, in detail.

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* 16. Please provide the name of a reference, including email and/or phone.This should be a teacher or adult editor. No family members. Your best friend's mom doesn't really count, either.

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* 17. REALLY IMPORTANT! Describe your ability to come up with and talk about story ideas. (Check all that apply.)

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* 20. How committed are you to social media?Staffers are required to promote their tb-two* work on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to help us drive traffic to our website, tb-two.com. Check all that apply and list the websites you go to often to stay informed in the "other" box.

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* 22. What else should we know about you?Feel free to include a resume, questions or logistical issues you're dealing with.

* 12. Which meeting location works best for you?
We meet in both St. Pete and Tampa, and will do our best to assign you to the location that is most convenient for you.

* 16. Please provide the name of a reference, including email and/or phone.
This should be a teacher or adult editor. No family members. Your best friend's mom doesn't really count, either.

* 20. How committed are you to social media?
Staffers are required to promote their tb-two* work on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to help us drive traffic to our website, tb-two.com. Check all that apply and list the websites you go to often to stay informed in the "other" box.

* 22. What else should we know about you?
Feel free to include a resume, questions or logistical issues you're dealing with.