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WHAT IS FREELANCE JOURNALISM?
by Brian Scott
Freelance
journalism is one of the more hectic forms of freelance writing. If you want to
become a successful freelance journalist, you'll need to be comfortable with
spending much time hunting down stories, traveling from place to place, and
writing under short deadlines. If you enjoy all of that, and if you're
interested in some of the best opportunities for personal creativity, then
freelance journalism may be for you.
When we talk about freelance
journalism, we need to distinguish between two types: newspaper journalism and
magazine journalism. As a rule, newspaper journalism involves a much narrower
range of subject matter than magazine journalism, significantly shorter
articles, and a greater focus on form. Typical newspaper articles follow a
hierarchical format: the most pertinent information first, the least pertinent
last. For example, an article about a local parade would start with "The X
Parade will travel down Main Street at 10:00 Saturday in support of Y," while
it might end with "Onlookers are advised to bring umbrellas."
Additionally, writing as a newspaper journalist means that you need the
ability to find out about the news. Often, a journalist's day looks like this:
the editor assigns the journalist an article topic at 6 AM. By 8 AM, the
journalist is making phone calls to various parties related to the topic. For a
story on rising gas prices, this may include CEOs of oil companies, local gas
station owners, car owners (interviewed on the street or at gas stations), car
manufacturers, and local policymakers. Journalists usually interview anyone
with a meaningful connection to the topic, and who can provide some good,
succinct quotes and information.
Information-gathering goes on for
most of the day, usually ending around evening. The journalist then works on
the article, fact-checking where appropriate, before submitting it for
publication sometime that night, with the deadline depending on the individual
paper. Then the journalist is able to go to sleep--until 6 AM rolls around
again, and the next article topic comes in.
More leeway is available
with the larger "feature" articles. These appear in film sections, lifestyle
sections, health sections or other less breaking-news-focused parts of the
daily paper. Often newspapers publish these sections weekly, rather than daily,
to save on printing costs.
For example, the film section may only
appear on Fridays, the food section on Tuesdays, etc. The upshot of this is the
freelance journalist has more time to research and to work on an excellent,
well-rounded article. Using the same research methods (calling everyone
connected to the topic, scheduling interviews, synthesizing succinct points
from a large information pool), a feature writer constructs a more in-depth
look at a given topic than a news writer can achieve in a short column of text.
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Additionally,
there's occasionally more freedom in the choice of subject matter. Perhaps you
know about an excellent local band in need of a profile? Maybe you volunteer in
a community organization that does interesting work and deserves a write-up?
How about writing an article on the health benefits of soybeans? A newspaper's
"features" section can be an excellent venue and a personal one, which can be
rare in freelance writing. Additionally, feature articles don't depend heavily
on the hierarchical "news" format, making your job much easier (or harder, if
you find it difficult to structure an article without set guidelines.)
Magazine journalism is similar to the "feature" style of newspaper
journalism, albeit with much more generous word limits (and often more generous
pay rates.) The downside is that a magazine may not have as many opportunities
for publishing your work. The broader subject matter of a magazine may also
result in topics that require more legwork and potential travel expenses
(hopefully paid for by the magazine) than just a profile of a local
policymaker. To be an effective magazine writer, you'll need to look much
harder for article ideas, but the payoff can be well worth it.
How do
you scout out freelance journalism jobs? For newspapers, have some sample
articles written, a good working knowledge of style guides (especially
Associated Press style), and a willingness to work on whatever is available
until the editor or publisher promotes you to working on more enjoyable
assignments. For magazines, it's best to research your articles and write them
in advance; afterwards you can send query letters to the appropriate editors in
hopes of becoming published. In either case, submission information is printed
on the staff page of magazines and newspapers. You can also find submission
information online at the publications’ web sites.
The career of
a journalist isn't for everyone. Whereas many freelance writing projects are
about a predictable routine of research and writing, the variety and novelty of
writing news and feature articles eschews all routine in favor of a constant
flurry of ad hoc interviews, phone calls and general information-gathering. But
to some people, this is far from a drawback. If you're one of those people,
start developing your portfolio now, get in touch with some editors (either by
appointment or by query), and prepare yourself for a successful career in
freelance journalism.
© B.
Scott
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Scott has been
a professional freelance writer for more than a decade. He is an active forum moderator at Writing Answers, a vibrant community of writers helping writers.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
1)
The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Based on The Wall Street
Journal Guide by William E. Blundell
2)
How to Write Articles for Newspapers and Magazines by Dawn
B. Sova
3)
Writer's Digest Handbook Of Magazine Article Writing by
Michelle Ruberg
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