Job Q&A
by Naomi Wax
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Evan Berland is the managing editor of PoliticalWag.com, an online town hall featuring topical discussions about local, national and international politics. He's been at PoliticalWag's Boston office since just before the site's recent launch. Berland has a bachelor's degree in English and in American Studies from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and ten years' experience as a political journalist, most recently as chief capitol reporter in Connecticut for the Associated Press.

Monster.com: With elections coming up and all the hype about the Internet, this must be an exciting time to work at a political Web site.

Evan Berland: Yes. As far as the juncture of politics and the Internet, the field is wide open. Candidates are raising money on the Web, online voting is coming soon, and sites like PoliticalWag.com are the places where candidates increasingly will go to get in direct touch with voters and where voters will be heard by candidates. What better way to learn about important issues than in an online forum with the players and other interested people?

EB: I help develop the discussion topics, write and edit the introductions to the discussions and supervise a crew of moderators who take charge of the discussions. We all do many things here, so I also lend a hand with public relations, marketing, site design and business strategy.

EB: I guess the day really starts with listening to All Things Considered on the radio when I wake up and reading the papers on the subway on the way to work. Throughout the workday, I'm brainstorming ideas, monitoring the news, communicating with the growing crew of moderators, and writing and copyediting content. In addition to that, there are meetings with marketing and public relations people, handling payroll, and constant conference calls, so it can be difficult to pull away and go home.

EB: The start-up life sure is a roller-coaster ride. But the troughs make the peaks feel more exhilarating when we hit them. Being in on an up-and-coming Web site like PoliticalWag.com makes it feel like there are no boundaries to what can happen on the Internet.

EB: I really like the excitement of politics joining with the wide-open possibilities of the Internet. And having a hand in all parts of the organization makes for a super learning experience -- something akin to an accelerated MBA boot camp.

EB: The high price of coffee in downtown Boston.

EB: Boston's a great town. It's young and exciting and really has become a dotcom hub for the Northeast.

EB: It's a wonderful place to work (and I'm not trying to score points here with the bosses). Right now we have four full-timers, a whole bunch of consultants, a dozen moderators and freelance columnists and cartoonists. We're casual -- in dress and in structure -- and everybody's opinions and suggestions are valued. The CEO, Will Richmond, really has fostered an atmosphere that makes everyone part of the big picture and happy to put in the long hours.

EB: This is my first foray into the new media/tech field, which is one reason why PoliticalWag.com is so exciting. After working for newspapers and then spending five years covering politics for the AP, it seemed the perfect place to land. The "fluid" quality and deadline pressure working for the AP wire makes it more similar to working for an Internet company than if I came from a standard newspaper. It made for a natural transition when I finished hiking the 2,165-mile Appalachian Trail in the fall.

EB: No, although I'd figured that I wouldn't want to work for anybody who looked down their nose at what I had done, and the guys here thought it was pretty cool.

EB: Working for a news outlet is probably the best bet, whether it's online or in a more traditional medium. I'm not a big believer in journalism classes. Basically, the skills that make a good news editor or reporter are valuable here: quickly interpreting information and translating it in a compelling fashion. Being able to keep track of multiple tasks is essential and takes a lot of

EB: For the most part, in college I'd stayed as far away from computers as I could. And now I'm making up for it with a lot of reading and on-the-job-training.

EB: I'm online all day, so I generally get my tech news on the Internet.

EB: Make sure you are having fun, and wear a hat when it's cold out. But that's the same advice I'd give anybody in any field.