Freelance Journalism

Ruben Jay is a red carpet correspondent, podcaster, and blogger with over a decade of experience. He visited RTDNA to give some inspiring advice for journalism students.

After attending the school, Ruben began freelance journalism with many major studios. Studios he has worked with include Fox, NBC, and many others. He’s covered a magnitude of topics like wrestling, competition shows, and music concerts. Jay also worked with the widely known Christian radio station K-Wave for about a year. Today, he works with radio stations all over the world, is a freelance correspondent, and has his own projects.

Ruben worked with many companies as an independent contractor while also creating his own content. Jay explained the origins of his podcast called You’re My Best Friend which he describes as, “a podcast about life, friendship, and tacos.” He told students that his podcast, co-hosted by his friend Moxy Anne, started off as a way to learn about all types of people. Ruben explained, “we’ve had everyone from wrestlers, to pastors, life coaches, musicians. Everything you can possibly imagine. We ask everyone the same three questions. What’s your favorite taco? Are people allowed to have more than one best friend? And we ask people what their best quote is. And that’s how you get life, friendship, and tacos.” He’s also in the process of developing a long-form podcast and other ventures.

Ruben gave advice to students who are freshly graduated in the field of journalism. He advises, “ Definitely say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. That will be the driving force that takes you forward. This industry is basically built off of what is the last thing you worked on.” Jay advises that to be consistently working journalists may have to be independent contractors. He explains, “The future of this business is how many outlets can you work for at once. And by being an independent contractor you can work on your marketability for your next potential employer.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students do not have access to many opportunities this year such as internships. The journalism field heavily relies on what real-life experience you have had during your education. We asked Ruben about different avenues students can take to gain experience. He encouraged students to get out and make your own content. “You should all have your own websites. Have your own YouTube channels. Make a Twitter and Instagram account if you don’t have one. Even Facebook is super important to have. You should be doing what you can to get your name out there. The last thing you want when you graduate and go look for a job is to have no experience.”

Ruben gave some advice for how he has gotten to where he is today, “ A lot of practice.” he explained, “ I would spend most of my days in a studio practicing what I wanted to sound like.” He instructed that every type of news has a different delivery and as a journalist, you have to perfect whatever field you want to go into.

One major show that Ruben has worked with is NBC’s The Voice. He recalls how he landed the gig, “ I had a radio show that I put on every week. And it was called On Air With Ruben Jay. I reached out to a contestant and her PR person tuned in to the radio show. He ended up calling me and asking if I was interested in doing more stuff with them.” Ruben explains he jumped at the opportunity and ended up interviewing stars such as Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. He advised students that the best method to be seen is to reach out to a show’s publications and introduce yourself and ask about interview opportunities.

We asked Ruben if students should focus on one particular genre of journalism. Ruben stated, “ I am a firm believer that you should know as many skills as possible. Obviously, you will have the topic that you will focus on but you should also be willing to veer to different topics. You don't want to be the person when a news director wants a story on a breaking story and you can’t. You are losing opportunities.” He reaffirms his belief that journalists should learn to work on multiple areas whether it be writing, sound, graphic designing, or even editing.

He left students with one last piece of advice, “ Find whatever you are passionate about and really chase it. That’s what it’s all about. Don’t be afraid to publish something as long as you can stand behind it. Integrity is everything in this world.”

CSUN’s RTDNA was very glad to have Ruben Jay come to speak to us at our meeting and we can’t wait to have him back.

Check out the full video on the RTDNA YouTube Channel.