What is freelance journalism? Becoming a freelance journalist is much the same as being an ordinary journalist – the only difference is the people you work for.
- Freelance journalist jobs include working for TV, radio, websites, newspapers or magazines, being employed full- or part-time. These journalists will also have to give an idea to the editor of what they’re going to cover before they start reporting.
- Journalists gather information for a news story by interviewing people, by reading printed material and by observing where news and events are taking place.
- Becoming a freelance journalist requires emotional intelligence – presenting the facts in a factual, unbiased way free of personal feelings. You’ve got to present the facts, whether you agree with them or not, and portray events in an unbiased manner.
Freelance Journalist Definition
According to the dictionary, freelance journalism definition is the job of writing, editing, reporting, photographing or broadcasting news.
With freelance journalism, you have to be everywhere, investigating and reporting on a host of different events and issues that the public wants to know about.
A freelance journalism definition is essentially about the journalist investigating issues and events but making sure it’s done in a timely manner. Nobody wants stale news – it has to be up-to-the-minute fresh.
How to Become a Freelance Journalist
Just like you get draughtsmen who call themselves architects, you also get people who call themselves a freelance journalist when in reality they don’t have any qualifications.
How to become a freelance journalist requires getting to know what the job entails. A good idea is to join an online community of freelance journalists. Another good idea is to get a college degree in journalism and English. This is simply because jobs are scarce, and having this degree can open more doors. It’s the sheer nature of things.
Journalism is competitive and so is freelance journalism and without extra education, your chances of success are dramatically reduced. Writing skills are imperative in this job, and employers want people with excellent English. If you’re still at school and you’re interested in journalism, get some job experience by working for your high school and college newspapers or magazines.
Your Website Advertises Your Skills
Becoming a freelance journalist also requires having a freelance journalist website – without which you can’t really hope to have success.
This is because the whole world and his wife use the Internet every day. You can also opt to join a writing platform and find freelance journalism jobs online where you can apply.
Do You Want To Specialize?
Some journalists concentrate on one area of news – sport, the environment, business as well as topical, day to day issues and politics. A freelance investigative journalist, for instance, has to give the truth about people in government and in corporations who are busy with fraud and other illegal activities.
Their job is to bring this corruption to light so that they can be held accountable. How to become a freelance investigative journalist involves:
- A degree. These days employers want journalists with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, broadcasting, and communication. You can even supplement your undergraduate program with classes that go into dedicated investigative journalism.
- A portfolio, so that you’ve got something to present to a possible employer. Fortunately, most journalism courses make the students put a portfolio together which has samples of their work. Journalists should include some articles that prove investigative experience in their portfolio.
Journalism comes in a number of different forms:
- Writing
With writing, get all the facts and tell your readers where the information comes from. Your story starts with the most important happenings and events. This is known as the lead, and it summarizes the events in one sentence.
- News
Investigative stories, feature stories, and breaking news.
- Opinion
Editorials, columns, reviews.
- Online journalism
Blogs, wikis.
If you’re passionate about a topic, there is always someone wanting to read about what you’ve got to say. Gaming is huge, with more consoles available than ever. A freelance game journalism job can be just what you’re after. You’ll be reviewing video games in detail. This comes from playing games and understanding them.
Freelance Journalist Home Opportunities
When you do research, you’ll discover that there are opportunities to conduct journalism writing opportunities at home. Freelance journalism jobs from home can be found on different writing platforms of which WritingJobz is just one.
You can start looking for quality work and get to find work from decent, qualified employers. Working from home still has to be done in the right way if you want to succeed. With a writing platform, you will need to set up a journalism portfolio page where you can show clients where your skills lie.
Plenty of Examples of Rates Online
When it comes to freelance journalism rates, it’s a good idea to look at the NUJ freelance fees guide. This will at least give you a basic idea of what’s an acceptable rate and what’s not. Just as an example, a freelance journalist salary can be anything between $200 – $1500 for a day’s work.
How to be a freelance journalist doesn’t really require any additional education, but it can certainly help you get a better paying job. If someone likes your article and publishes it, you can essentially call yourself a freelance journalist – formal qualifications or not.
Knowledge Opens Doors
If you don’t have formal journalism education, you can still benefit from some journalism knowledge so that you know how to write work in the correct format and at the correct time.
Knowledge is power after all, and the more you know, the more confidence you have to pursue a very exciting career in journalism.