Journalists and their Journeys to Main Street Hub: Part I
By: Main Street Hub
Tags: Company Culture, Careers, Work, Career Advice, Journalism

Our team members have one thing in common — they want to help local businesses thrive — but everyone has varied backgrounds, skills, and interests.

Several of our Hubsters joined our company after studying or working in journalism.

Whether they’re using their photography skills to take photos for local businesses or their writing skills to compose perfect posts for our customers, their backgrounds in journalism have been integral to their success here at Main Street Hub.

Don’t miss part two of this spotlight series next week!

We sat down with Production Manager Derek Stout and Senior Community Manager Jordan Haeger to chat about their journalism backgrounds and how they use the skills they’ve learned to excel in their roles at Main Street Hub every day.

Derek Stout

Production Manager, Content Team

Tell us about yourself.

“I grew up in New Mexico. I started working at Main Street Hub in January doing freelance photography and videography, and then, I started full-time in May. I went to school at the University of Texas at Austin. I left Austin for a few years and came back about a year ago.”

Why did you decide to go to UT Austin and study Journalism?

“One of my older brothers was going there at the time, and my other brother was living in Austin. I was a Studio Art major originally, doing a lot of film. My brother was in the journalism school at the time, so he convinced me to take a few journalism classes and see if I liked it — I did, so I went the photojournalism direction.”

How did you get into photojournalism?

“I was into photography for a while — I probably didn’t do it very well, but I was definitely interested in it. I took some photojournalism classes and started working at The Daily Texan and developing a passion for that. I ran with it. It’s fantastic.

“For someone who’s generally curious like myself, it’s nice to shoot something completely different every single day not nailed to the same subject. I tend to get bored really easily, so that’s one way to combat that, doing different assignments daily. I really appreciated entering into photojournalism.”

What did you do after college?

“When I graduated, I got a fellowship with Princeton and got placed at a newspaper in Cambodia. I ended up signing on with that newspaper and working there for 16 months. After that, I moved back to New Mexico for a while and started doing a lot of commercial work. I built up a really big client base there and got to a pretty comfortable point and naturally, I got a little bored so I left and came back to Austin. I was taking gigs where I could, still going back and forth to go to Albuquerque to shoot for my clients there. I ended up doing a lot of work for Main Street Hub, and now, I’m here full-time.”

What has been your favorite story to photograph?

“I’m still working on this long project I’ve been working on for a couple of years with horse tracks. It’s been a lot of fun. That’s been great.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to leave traditional journalism and come to Main Street Hub?

“I think there’s a lot of skills with photojournalism that are applicable across the board. In photojournalism, you’re trying to make something that doesn’t look good presentable for readers. Most photojournalists have the ability to talk to people, ask the right questions, and a general sense of curiosity which is why they’re in the field in the first place. They’re usually willing to go the extra mile with whatever they’re working on.”

How have your photojournalism skills helped you in your role as Production Manager at Main Street Hub?

“I think the ability to be flexible in any situation has been the most beneficial for me. There are new problems and new things we’re dealing with every day that we don’t have an answer to yet, so we’re just kind of workshopping it on the fly. I think the ability to adapt to the situation quickly is applicable.”