The world of freelance journalism presents many avenues of writing. From presenting the facts of recent news stories to conducting interviews that reveal corporate secrets to reviewing a recent publication, as a freelance journalist you will enjoy the freedom that comes with researching topics that interest you.
What Do Freelance Journalists Do?
Journalism refers to the collection and presentation of news or information. As a journalist, you will gather information, assess its validity and truth, organize the facts into a favorable article, and then present it to the public.
When you choose to become a freelance journalist, you will sell your work independently rather than working on a salaried basis for an employer.
You may charge by the hour, by the project, or based on other relevant factors and you may work for several different clients simultaneously. This gives you the opportunity to choose topics you enjoy and sell them to a variety of sources.
Finding Your Niche As A Journalist
From straightforward news stories to the in-depth digging required of investigative journalists, there are many different types of journalism to explore:
News stories--These are very straightforward assignments. They simply relay the facts surrounding recent local, national or international events. The writing is meant to be unbiased, accurate and straightforward.
Investigative journalism–These articles uncover little-known truth about a person or event. Your investigation may reveal hidden scandal around significant, but covered situations. In many ways, investigative stories are considered the hardest in the freelance world.
Feature writing–These articles are designed to be front-page material. Your work will interpret trends, topics, events, or people while striving to provide depth and a wide scope to your piece.
Reviews--Designed to present opinion as well as the facts on a subject, these pieces offer an intelligent, informed, and well-organized presentation of your ideas.
Columns–Because columns are subject to personal writing style, columnists often gain a loyal reading audience. This avenue of written expression gives you a lot of freedom since you can filter events through your own experience and opinions.
Photojournalism--photojournalists are visual reporters, sharing their stories and experiences through skillful digital and/or print photography.
Getting Started In Your Freelance Journalism Career
While freelance journalists may seem to have the freedom to write on whatever topics strike their fancy, it’s not always that easy. In fact, at times, freelancing can be an incredibly tough gig – especially when you’re first getting started.
Before jumping out into the big world of writing, some training will help you get started on the right path. A variety of sources offer courses in writing as well as other topics of special interest, including:
Professional and ethical standards–You must understand and follow the accepted rules and guidelines for professionalism within the industry.
Contracts and journalists rates–Setting rates isn’t easy. You will need to learn what the upper and lower limits for project rates should be, and where your work should fall on that spectrum.
Safety, security and insurance—It is important to take some precautions to protect yourself when you step into the world of journalism, and that starts with knowing where to find the right information about security and insurance.
Legal considerations–Sometimes the nature of journalism can open you up to lawsuits. Make sure all your legal interests are covered to protect yourself if someone tries to take legal action.
Why Social Media Matters For Freelance Journalists
Social media presents a whole new world to you as a freelance journalist. Likes, shares, and tweets are essential for gaining recognition, so it’s important that you work on developing a social media presence.
Interaction in social media venues is a requirement for your success in freelance journalism. Simply churning out well-researched, quality content will not be enough. In order for that content to be seen, you must be in tune with the interests and social activity of readers.
No matter what field you choose to enter, as a talented freelance journalist you can enjoy the freedom of pursuing interesting projects at your own pace.
EDITOR’S NOTE 09062021:
I recently received this comment from Mikayla Faber from the Teaching Alliance, San Diego, CA, USA:
“I know you’re busy, but I’ll be sure this email is quick and worth your time. I’m contacting you after finding a number of journalism and journalist resources on your page: Exploring Freelance Journalism Opportunities (freelance-work-guide.com)
Because of this, I thought you might like to know that Maryville University just released this resource guide titled, The Rise of Digital Journalism: Past, Present, and Future. (The Rise of Digital Journalism: Past, Present, and Future | Maryville Online)
This guide provides detailed insights and resources on the following topics:
- The Evolution of Modern Journalism in America
- How Journalism Has Evolved in the Digital Age
- Tools for Digital Journalist
- Different Types of Journalism
- Journalism Job Resources
- In-Demand Skills for Journalism
- Future of Journalism
Feel free to check out all the other online resources the guide provides here: https://online.maryville.edu/blog/digital-journalism/
Because of the related topics, I thought this guide would be a great addition as a blurb in your blog or inclusion on one of your resource pages. So, please take a look and feel free to share it with your audience.
Would love to know what your thoughts are?
Hope you’re having a lovely Tuesday!
Kindest regards,
Mikayla Faber
Don’t want emails from us anymore? Reply to this email with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.
Teaching Alliance, PO BOX 70207, San Diego, CA, 92167, United States”
My comments are, that this is an excellent article that looks at the future of digital journalism at a time when there is great change in digital journalism. I strongly recommend that you read and share it.
All online journalists, which is nearly all journalists, need to be up to date with what is happening because if they are not then their income will be badly impacted. One of the most important changes is GPT-3, OpenAI’s powerful new language generator which can write an essay from scratch. Your can read more about GPT-3 on Wikipedia by clicking here.. If you had any doubts about the ability of GPT-3’s ability to write an essay from scratch, I invite you to read this article that appeared in The Guardian entitled A robot wrote this entire article are you scared yet, human? which you can read by clicking here.
I will be interested in hearing your comments about GPT-3. Please comment at the bottom of the page or on our Facebook page by clicking here.
