The news industry has always been a difficult field to get into, and with many publishers and organisations now operating with smaller budgets and teams, getting a staff role is increasingly unlikely. That means many journalists will enter the profession as a freelancer. The Fetisov Journalism Awards recently held a webinar to discuss how independent journalists can thrive in this new media landscape – here are key takeaways.

Getting the pitch perfect

‘The pitch is the most important part of the process,’ said Sarah Topol, freelance journalist and contributing writer to the New York Times magazine. 

Learning how to pitch (and how to pitch well) could be the difference between a piece getting commissioned or not. Cristiana Bedei, freelance journalist and consultant, explained:

‘A pitch doesn’t just say “I’d like to write about climate change”, it presents a clear angle and some context as to why the story matters now. Editors want stories, they don’t want topics. It’s also important to include some potential sources as well, because it’s not an editor’s job to look for them for you.’

She also added that there are lots of archives online of successful pitches that you can browse, including websites such as JournoResources in the UK.

Research, reliability, and credibility

Preparation is key for any article you are writing as a freelancer but especially so if you’re covering a certain community or region. Sarah Topol did ‘around three or four months of reading and interviewing from home’ and ‘getting first hand accounts’ before going to Guam to write a piece about the country. She stressed the significance of doing your own research and ‘understanding the situation’ before ‘asking people to give up their time to talk to you.’

This level of preparation can again help to secure the commission for that pitch. But once you get it, it’s time to prove your reliability by hitting deadlines. Cristiana said that ‘freelancers that file on time, follow the brief and deliver polished work will be more memorable to editors’ and this is more likely to lead to a repeat commission. 

Relationships can also be established with editors with a particular niche or topic that you cover regularly as a journalist. Cristiana spoke about this, too:

‘I don’t think a niche is essential, but I think having an area of expertise at the beginning can really help you to come up with more story ideas. You’re going to read more articles about that topic and you can then think of different angles for your work. It will also help you build credibility in that field.’

Taking advantage of grants and how newsrooms can help freelancers

Take advantage of help where you can get it, especially financially – this is something that Fabian Federl, freelance writer and foreign reporter, makes use of:

‘In the last four or five years, I usually do not do any stories that are not backed by a grant before. The story that I won the Festisov Journalism Award for was backed by an environmental grant from Journalismfund.eu. It was enough money to get me to the location and pay the photographer’.

For freelance journalists that work across multiple regions or countries, it’s beneficial to make the most of funds, grants, and scholarships that are available. Publishers don’t have thousands to help cover reporting costs and this can be the difference between getting the commission or not.

While publishers may not have massive reserves of funds to aid freelancers, Cristiana believes that newsrooms could work more fairly with them. She recommended the following points:

1. Timely payments
2. Rate transparency
3. Clear instructions on how to submit a pitch and which contacts to send it to
4. Same protection for freelancers on risky assignments as staff get

Aidan White, FJA advisor, backed this up by saying that ‘we need to make the conditions for the transition into journalism as easy as possible. We can do this by providing good information, pointing people towards networks of support, encouraging employers to respect freelancers, respect their rights and provide them with the maximum amount of support that they can’.

If you’re a freelancer in need of some help finding sources for your next article, whether that be a case study or an expert, then sending a request via the Journalist Enquiry Service can get you what you need.