Despite the increasing challenges, freelancers continue to be a vital workforce within the journalism space.
Freelancers produce independent, quality and innovative journalism that promotes healthy democracies, ignites public debate and brings the powerful to account. However, to this day, there is no statistical evidence for the number of active freelance journalists in Europe. Nor is there a concise overview available of the opportunities, working conditions, and legal frameworks for freelance journalists, and how these differ between the various European countries.
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A simple guide to Irish Media Deadlines by MediaHQ. Aimed at PR professionals, but also useful information for freelancers looking to send in pitches.
The European Journalism Centre’s guide to pitching development stories as a freelance journalist is based on real-world advice and experience from both editors who receive pitches and freelance journalists who send them.
The guide is primarily intended to support freelance journalists in improving their pitches and chances of being commissioned and/or hired by news organisations and publishers. We know that editors receive a high volume of pitches and truly hope this handbook helps you prepare winning pitches that stand out from the crowd and can improve your stories on development issues.
Download the free guide from the Freeance Journalism Assembly.
When most of us start submitting articles to as many outlets as we can find to commission them, you probably don’t see yourself as a ‘business’. You’re just grafting, trying to earn a few bob and hoping each story won’t be your last.
Many young freelancers will be holding down other work, maybe not journalistic, just to make ends meet. Others will be providing services for free, interning in the hopes of being held on.
But you are a business, at least in the eyes of the Revenue Commissioners. And as such, you need to structure your working week.
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The Missouri School of Journalism’s Roger Fidler has been developing journalism eBooks, or “newsbooks”, since 2001. He tells ICIJ how eBooks make investigative journalism easier to access and read on mobile devices, and could provide a valuable revenue stream.
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As freelancers, our instinct is to grab every gig that comes our way. Personally, I’ve never found it easy to decline work, especially if I’ve said yes to similar jobs in the past. But how will that short-term paycheck affect my long-term career goals?
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Credit control is something every small business has to deal with, and freelance journalists are no exception. At some point in your career, you will find yourself dealing with late paying clients, clients who are slow to pay, and sometimes, clients who just refuse to pay.
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