Entrepreneurial
Journalism Summary
It is made up of
freelance journalists. A freelancer is someone who is self-employed and hired
to work for different companies on particular assignments.
Every freelancer
faces challenges that can be summarized to:
- · Finding work
- · Income
- · The future for freelancers
There were
different perspectives from freelancers on the field
Adrian MacLeod,
a media consultant, was negative on how he saw freelancers in general. He sees
that freelancers don’t get paid enough
for the work that they do, and that finding
work is hard to begin with.
Fleetstreetfox,
a freelancer for 20 years and a blogger, thinks that the industry has not
changed at all. The only difference is that now there are more people in the
field.
Sally Brockway,
also a successful freelancer, thinks that the field was a lot better in the
past. Her main issue was the money.
She says that today she would be happy to get paid half of what she used to.
Sally also does not recommend freelancing as a career,
Ian Abbott, an editor,
says that the use of freelancers over time has decreased.
Currently,
publications are choosing younger freelancers over the people that are
experienced and working. This is because the newer journalists are willing to
be paid less. Another reason is that the publications can train the new
journalists to work the way that they want them to work.
It is advised
that future freelancers need to create something different by getting stories
that nobody else will get. It is also important to form a strong network,
because knowing people is what helps freelancers get employed and advance in
the field.
As times are
changing, freelancers should stay up to date. New media should be embraced and
used as a tool. Twitter, for example, is great for personal branding and
networking. Freelancers should follow and interact with people. Their posts
should be something worth sharing.
CHALLENGING QUESTIONS:
·
“I was a writer for 40 years. Now I’m a
content provider. And content is free” (P J O’Rourke, 2012). What are the
differences between a “writer” and a “content provider” and how do they affect
modern freelancing.
I think a “writer” is somebody that writes basically anything in general, and
therefore anybody can write and publish his or her work online. So this here is
one of the reasons why people nowadays are wondering why they are supposed to
pay people who just write basically and post online.
A “content provider” is somebody that provides people with content
for them to make use of it. We can freely access and gain information through
social media, anyone’s personal blogs or any other free publications that
offers gaining information and we do not have to pay for any of it. To
journalists, "content" is reading material or information of value to
their target market. To us, the best content comes from writers.
·
Should freelancing be better regulated to
prevent undercutting? Or is it every freelance for themselves?
A freelancer’s
lifestyle does not allow many people the freedom to reach for better
regulating. If any freelancer asks or argues about his or her payment they
might as well just not get the job, because there are many other people who
wouldn’t mind working in this career as long as they will be gaining any kind
of money.
I think the
regulations need to be changed for the people who work a lot and get way less
than what they really deserve.
·
“Video killed the radio star” (The
Buggles). Has digital journalism killed traditional print media freelancing?
Well I think
that digital journalism overall is taking over print media somehow and there
has been a huge decline that print media has been facing nowadays. Print media
will only live with the generation that grew up using print media. In the
generation we are living in now it seems that digital media will take over.
·
In new age of “citizen journalism” when
anyone on the street can publish fact or opinion, what role is there for the
freelance journalist?
The Freelancers are responsible for handling their
own business finances. They also have their own PR team. The journalists
take all the posts of people as free content and they are the ones that can
reach out to people for more information. They have a kind off something we can
call power in writing something.
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