Maybe you smoked too many cigarettes when you were in High School You sat around, inside dark rooms with your dork friends watching the sliced onion smoke curl up to the dim fluorescents, talking about how great it must have been back then—all high ideals. Maybe, you like the look of the Fedora; you like the look of the dark trench coats with the belt pulled tight against your sides, with the rain pouring down. Maybe, you’re all grand notions of changing the world through noble questions.
Whether it’s your misguided conceptions of temporary cool or your overwhelming need to know–you crave to write for the daily news. Just how do you go about doing that? In the time of free untrafast Internet news, is it even worth the trouble? What’s the gig? Is there a career in daily news? How do you get into it?
You hear it all the time. “It’s dying,” some say. Some give scoffed looks when you tell them you want to work for the daily paper. They might list dead newspapers: Tucson Citizen, Cincinnati Post, and Albuquerque Tribune. They might list the ones teetering on failure like Detroit News, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Los Angeles Times. [1] They won’t tell you they read it in the paper, but they probably did. “It’s in death throws,” they might say and it’s all hogwash.
Not to suggest that things aren’t up in the air. They are—like midget trapeze artists at the circus—thing are all over the place. Papers are having a rough go at it now. USA today puts some definition to it [2]. They write, “Virtually every major newspaper announced staff cuts. […] Year after year publicly traded companies have been losing market value.” Stocks have been punching holes through the floor. There have been closures of long standing papers, but typically the closures are an area’s second and lesser paper outlet. The State of News Media report [3] suggested some sour ideas for the hopeful news writer; a quarter of all news jobs from 2001 had been cut by 2009.
Things are looking rough, but not as much as some would tell you. USA Today while reveling the dangers to print news, also bring silver linings, “Nearly half of all adults read a newspaper every day and spent $10.5 billion last year to do so. The average newspaper generates a 10% profit margin.” They point out that the market value loss results from the lack 20% to 30% profit margins they enjoyed previously. So it goes. Maybe the print news industry is shrinking, how should potential news writers feel about this?
As it stands write now, absolutely fantastic. Papers are still pulling down 10% profit margins inside a crippled economy. (That’s more than BMWs are making in good times [4], yet I haven’t once heard that Beamers are as good as dead.) Advertisers are pulling away, as they always do, across the board in a slumped economy [5]. And as they always do, in boom times, advertising will bloom. But, let them say that the paper is dying. They have been saying that since free radio. All the while, sit back and rub inky hands together. As potential competition is discouraged from entering the field that is still routinely pulling down a profit, that can only up your chances. Great news. This is your window of opportunity if you can stick it out.
Things are sour now, but they’re changing. No one yet knows how things will fall. Google gets the brunt of the disdain from those condemning the internet’s role in the death of the news media, but few are doing as much to save it. James Fallows writes in The Atlantic, “The Company’s ultimate ambition is in line with what most of today’s reporters, editors, and publishers are hoping for.” [6] Google is pressing to prop the news industry, knowing quality journalism is paramount to society and their business as well. But, it remains uncertain what news media will look like in 10 years. One thing is certain in Google’s mind, “Of course people will end up paying in some form—why even talk about it? The important questions involved the details of how they would pay, and for what kind of news.” [6].
But are you thinking, “Wait a God Damn minute. Back up. You said papers were cutting staff. How can that be a good thing?” I’ll concede, it’s not a great thing—but it is somewhat handy for the aspiring journalist. Newsrooms are cutting fulltime staff, but news worthy events are still flooding the world, and papers would like to cover them. Because of the staff cuts, editors are using more often than ever freelance journalists. You. You right there, reading this. You are a freelance journalist. Right now. Why not?
Years ago, when newsrooms were swollen with staffers, editors had little need to go outside for additional content. Why pay someone else, when you got Ol’ Lumpy sitting around already getting paid? That is no longer the case. So with the shortage of staffers and the need for content, this could be your ticket in. What is there that separates you from any other freelancer in the eyes of an editor? Not a whole hell of a lot, save for how crafty you are with a pen. So, get crafty.
Prepare Yourself : Learning to Write Again
You know the same edicts that you heard from every damn writing professor in every class you took, “Write. Just write.” Those still apply. You need to be writing. Diligently. You’ve done well in school. Your professor found your term paper on Stendhal to be exceptionally thoughtful. You’ve even got a few shorts rolling around in publications. That is all well and good, but writing for newspapers is a different beast— you should familiarize yourself with it.
Go through the Pulitzer’s list [7]. Whether your passion lies in investigative, feature, editorial or commentary, read them all. Some of the wining articles of past years are hard to find, some are not. Mrs. Kellys Monster [7] is freely available. Franklin won the first Pulitzer feature prize and his articles are routinely inspiring. Read 2010’s Breaking News Reporting Prize Seattle Times’s article [8]. Read all you can find. Again, be diligent. Find out what makes a really fantastic article tick. Consider it your first beat. This is your goal—to write brilliant news stories. If for nothing else, know your competition.
If reading great work was enough to make you a great writer, we would all by Modern Shakespears by 16. Sadly, this is not the case. There are some great books out there on writing great news stories. I’m assuming you find it comfortable to learn from a book. Mark Kramer’s Telling True Stores is a helpful tool on forging your writing into a daily news form [9]. It is a good general and well respected manual for non-fiction story writing. Alone it’s not enough.
Every paper has its own voice. If possible, try find writer’s manual from a touted journalist in your area. I live in Oregon; The Oregonian is the big daily. Jack Heart worked at the Oregonian for many years as chief editor before retiring. He wrote A Writer’s Coach [10]. It is a great Oregon-centric manual. Submitting an article to the Oregonian enlisted all of Heart’s tools would give you a leg up on the competition—a dirty somewhat manipulative leg—but a leg none the less.
But most important, read the papers you wish to be writing for. Know their style, know what works. Know their tilt on language use, levels of impartiality and acceptable personal voice in articles. All this could decide which way the teeter totter of your publications fall. Editors are far more likely to use your story if it already feels like it’s theirs.
So You’re Writing Brilliantly: Now What?
You’re sharp and ready. You’re comfortable interviewing. You can dance up and down the latter of abstraction with your words. You’ve been humming Eye of the Tiger for weeks. Every time you put pen to paper, damn if you’re not eloquent. But where in all hell do you go from here?
Now this here, this is the question. A journalist I know, Larry Bingham, who works for the Oregonian and the Baltimore Sun before that says, “Bylines, it’s all about bylines―where ever you can―grab ‘em.” [11] That’s the nice thing about editors and the good staff journalists, they read papers. Not just their own. They read everything looking for new stories—the unanswered questions. So, get out there and write. That dinky Hobo paper, write for them. That little monthly about dogs with a circulation of 1500, ya, why not? You could learn something about dogs and hobos along the way. You’re throwing your name out like grass seed, you’re honing your craft, finding your voice―whatever you want call it. Spend some time doing that, work your way up. Occasionally stop by the paper of your choice, ask them if there is anything they need written. “I’ve got some time,” you can say. Write a blog, do drink reviews for a tiny local website. You like to drink. It won’t hurt.
But this is where Bingham differs from some; he recommends getting bylines before writing articles. “Get an assignment and then do the work. Don’t waste your time.” [11] But not everybody feels the same. If an editor hasn’t read your stuff, if she can’t trust you to produce well and on time, why would she bank on a nobody? So there is another school of thought.
Evan P. Schneider [12] is a book reviewer; he wasn’t always. Once, he was mid-twenties spirited and tiring school teacher in Colorado, with wordy aspirations. He read a book; he wrote a review. A now defunct weekly paper starting in Colorado was just figuring how to get things going. He sent them his newly written review. It took a few tries, but he got published—has been ever since. Schneider has made a career from pitching work that was already written.[13] There is some logic to this.
It can be easier for an editor to look over a piece of work and decide whether the paper has room, whether the writing is up to snuff, than it is for that same editor to look you up and down and divine whether you’re the stuff good writers are made of. On the other hand, bleeding over a story for 30 hours just to have an editor scoff is a great way to really clench your bowels. Use what you got, decided what works best for you, and there is no reason to not try both.
The Down Side
So there is a lack of staffers in the newsroom, but a heaping of stories that need to be written. You’re a freelancer now, get to work. You can find it, get out there—but don’t expect much moolah.
You know all those ex-staffers, a lot of them are freelancers now too. All the people like you who haven’t even broken in yet, they want stories also. There are lots of us out there, and the editors know it. As a result—paychecks are getting slimmer. The Los Angeles Times published an article chronicling this trend [14]. They report, “Freelance writing fees -- beginning with the Internet but extending to newspapers and magazines -- have been spiraling downward for a couple of years and reached what appears to be bottom in 2009.” Many outfits offering a C-note or less for 800 word articles. Writers of yesteryear making $70,000, have found themselves canned and now working, “harder for half the money.” LA Times reports a poor result to this occurrence, pieces getting shorter with more fluff and less investigation—a very real loss in journalistic quality. This, at exactly the time when journalism needs to prove its worth in a forgetful world, is counterproductive. You can use this. It might take some work. It is all about the writing. Your competitors aren’t producing top-shelf work. Take the time, make gems. It will pay off.
How does a hopeful freelancer counter the lack of available funds? Again, that is a question with many answers. The LA Times suggest that you, like any small business, should diversify your outlets. Write for everyone you can. Write for whale and weight watchers. Write for Gamblers Anonymous and piggybacking that article with one on beating the craps odd for Gabling Times. Get in good with as many places as you can. If any editor asks you if you can write this or that reply with confidence, “you bet.” You can figure out how as you go.
But this isn’t a universal suggestion. The Society of Profession Journalist has a different recommendation for freelancers, “Editors want writers they can trust, and so having a beat or specialty is a strong selling point. It gives editors a better understanding of who we are and the impression we know our stuff.” [15]
Either way, know your strengths. If you’re flexible, be flexible; if your dedicated, be dedicated. Whatever happens, it might not be the straightest route, but you’ve been true.
It’s possible: you can do this. Don’t expect to make much money at first—if you are after money, go into marketing. Wordy types have done well in marketing. But if you’re in it for honesty, noble pursuits, and a sense of justice, keep writing, pitching, and networking. The economy will come back, so too will the advertising dollars. Print might not ever find another hay day of 30% profits; it might not always be ink on paper, but it will be around far longer in some form, than we will. Now is the time for you to get into the game. No one knows how the dust of modern journalism will settle, but make sure some of it settles on you. Because you’ve taken the time to hone yourself into a brilliantly sharp writer, as the jobs come back. Your first in line.
Things are already starting shore-up in print media. The stability is coming back. Google and the like sites are working with publishers to set up pay-walls for content for publishers that want them, other options for publishers that do-not [17]. This has been a rough block for publishers and journalists alike, but things are starting to clarify. There are still noble careers in wordy journalism, and if you craft well, you can make some money along the way. Give it a try. You can to/o.
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