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It happened again.

Another newsroom has been shut down and I am out of a job. Again.

When I got into this business, there were no signs of the instability that would crater so many publications and decimate the profession. I had every reason to think I would spend the rest of my life doing what I loved.

I am not a job hopper by nature.

But to string some relevant cliches together: Life happens. Technology happens. And business is business.

It’s time to move forward.

This last one was a non-traditional newsroom. We were a small, but mighty operation. A handful of laid-off journalists making a go of a legal news website that had moved from purely sponsored content to legitimate news.

This one didn’t last quite a year. But we sure had fun while we were doing the work.

There were three of us at the core: The editor (our fearless leader), and two staff writers. I was one of the writers.

We all worked from home. But we still had the newsroom mentality. So, every Monday morning, we had a phone call. We’d talk about national events and we’d plan out the week. We offered each other advice and sources. And then we’d get to work.

I searched for ideas, kept a running list for everyone and wrote about legal issues, from COVID-19 vaccine challenges to LGBTQ rights to Fourth Amendment search issues involving cell phone location technology.

It was supremely interesting work. I love learning new things. And this job had all kinds of opportunities for that.

But the website owner couldn’t make the numbers work. And two days after my birthday, I got the call. We were closing shop.

So here I am again. Looking for new opportunities.

I’m about to write the next chapter. I have no idea how it will unfold.

Looking for a new career means I must find ways to apply the skills I’ve honed over decades of journalism and to explain how they would be useful to potential employers.

So, let’s talk about just a small sampling of those skills and what they mean.

• Understanding and adhering to deadlines: This is a big one, especially for any journalist who worked for a newspaper or a scheduled broadcast. There is just no excuse for missing deadline. The paper will be printed, and the show will go on as scheduled. You can’t have an empty page or dead air. You just can’t.

Journalists will work late. We will work the phones. We will get creative. But we will not make things up or fudge the work. We know our reputations and the reputations of our employer are at stake each time we hit “send” or go on the air. So, what do we do? We get it done.

• Communications: That is the essence of what we do and who we are. We understand language and the written word. We’re careful how we use it and respectful of its power. We’re masters of good grammar, spelling and punctuation. We cherish expression.
• Creativity: Again, this doesn’t mean we make things up. It means we figure new and different ways to approach assignments. Sometimes this means we must find a new angle on something that’s been done before. Other times, it means we figure out how to shake loose information someone is withholding or find alternative sources of information.

It also means we come up with ideas that will engage our audience or accomplish some other goal. How do we hold a public official’s feet to the fire? How do we do an interview with a reluctant subject? How do we find subject matter experts? How do we find credible sources of data? How do we take a dry topic and make it entertaining, engaging and still reliable?

• Subject matter experts: Speaking of subject matter experts, journalists often fill that role after covering the same topic over time. We are the people who learn the subject and all its intricacies. We gain the knowledge to explain it. We immerse ourselves and we absorb it. And if it’s something we haven’t written about before, that’s not a problem. We study it until we understand it and can explain.
• Talking and listening to people: We’re curious. We want to know what interests other people and how they approach life. We want to help them tell their stories through us. We love asking questions and following up after we hear the answers. Our loved ones might find this annoying sometimes. (Why do you ask so many questions?) But in the workplace, this is a valuable quality. We understand our coworkers and clients and we help them connect to others.
• Studying: We’re professional students. We get an assignment, go out and learn it and then explain it to our audience. We are not intimidated by new things. We are not boxed in by what we already know. We’re adaptable and open to new ideas, different software systems and organizational requirements.
• We care: Most of us became journalists because we want to make a difference. We’re passionate about what we do and about doing it right. We give a damn about the quality of our work.

That’s my initial take on my journalist skills. It’s just a snapshot, though. It should give a good overall picture of the kind of employees we are.

If you’re a hiring manager or a recruiter, I hope it’s clear how much of an advantage a journalist can be to your company.

My name is Elaine Silvestrini. But you may have noticed that from the top of the page.

I am and will always be a journalist, even though the owners of my last paper had different ideas for all of us. But journalism is in my cellular makeup. It pulses through my veins. It’s how I think. It is how I am.

I love the written word. I love telling a good story. I talk to people to explore who they are and what they know. I ask questions. I read. I dig. I process all this information and push it out through my fingers against my keyboard. I help people connect with each other and with information about their world.

I am a student. I am an information translator. I am a teacher.

I miss working in a newsroom. But my interests, talents and constant curiosity have served me and my other employers well. This goes both for my jobs as an assistant criminal investigator and as a marketing senior content writer.

It’s all about learning, teaching, connecting, exploring. It’s about being serious, focused on details and knowing what questions to ask. It’s about having fun and being juiced by the pursuit.

I have focused much of my career on writing about the law. I am kind of a geek about things like civil liberties and the Supreme Court. I even used my vacation one year to go to the Senate confirmation hearing of a Supreme Court justice. I now volunteer for the American Civil Liberties Union and serve on the boards of directors for both my local chapter and state affiliate.

But my writing is not limited to the law. I have covered general news, mental health, health, consumer finances, education, politics and lots of other subjects. I am adaptable and curious. I want to help people.

As for the rest of who I am, I can tell you I was born and raised in New Jersey, where I spent more than half of my journalism career. I went to college at what is now Rowan University in Glassboro and started working before I graduated at the Gloucester County Times.

From there, I went to work at the Asbury Park Press. I lived in Ocean Grove in the house that used to be owned by Southside Johnny’s grandmother. We spent nights and weekends at the Stone Pony, much of the time in hopes of spotting Bruce Springsteen.

I had a fellowship with the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, which promotes sensitive reporting on victims of violence. As part of that fellowship, I was privileged to travel to Rwanda, where I met with genocide survivors, members of non-governmental organizations dedicated to preventing further genocide, journalists and government officials.

Part of the Dart training I received focused on the effects trauma reporting has on journalists. This training served me well on Sept. 11, 2001, when about 300 people in my newspaper’s coverage area were killed. I helped the newsroom traverse that difficult time. I also wrote about some of the victims and their families. It was gratifying that most of them felt we helped them connect with the community.

In 2003, I moved to Florida to work for The Tampa Tribune, where I stayed until it was bought by the competition and shuttered in 2016.

Within a month of that shutdown, I started working for the federal public defender as an assistant investigator. And in 2017, I moved to Orlando to take a job as a content writer for a marketing company. Here, I cover topics from prescription drugs and medical devices to retirement and annuities.

I live on a small lake with my husband, Jim, and our three cats, one of whom is a rescue from a big hoarding situation in Orlando.

So now you know a little about me. I hope to share some of my work here so you will know more.

Thanks for stopping by. Maybe we’ll meet one day and you can tell me about yourself.