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9.3: Freelancing

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    294888
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    Freelancing is not new to the digital era; it has always been part of journalism, but in recent years, there has been a rising demand for freelancers. As many newsrooms have been forced to downscale because of financial difficulties and declining advertising income, many of these sometimes rely on freelancers to help them tell their stories. It is often less expensive for newsrooms to pay freelancers per article than to keep someone as a permanent staff member. This means there are many newspapers, magazines, and websites who would pay you to use your stories. One major advantage of being a freelancer is that you can decide what you would like to write about and who you would like to write for (The Writer’s Bureau, 2022). Some media houses might expect specific stories from you. A major disadvantage, though, is that you need to find media organisations who are looking for freelancers and need writers, sub-editors, multi-media journalists or graphic designers. This is not always easy, as there are many people who choose to do freelancing nowadays. You will be competing with well-established writers.

    To find freelance work, you will need to talk to people, make contacts, and find out which newspapers or websites in your area are looking for content. Then get in touch with the editor or news editor and ask to send them a sample article. As a freelancer, you need very good journalism skills, and your stories should be complete and accurate and cover events that will be of interest to the readers of the publication you are writing for. You should read the publication, know it well, know what they write about, and then try to find gaps in the news they cover and present some new stories about events that are uncovered for publication. If your work is good, there is a better chance that they will keep asking you to write more stories.

    There are also online platforms that connect people all around the world to freelance opportunities. Fiverr and Upwork are two of the most well-known freelancing platforms. You need to create a profile, explaining what you can do, and companies from all around the world may get in touch to offer you possible opportunities. There are many good opportunities on Upwork for content creators, but you need to be careful that your skills are not exploited and that your clients do not underpay you. Shop around and find the best opportunities.


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