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The Unconvential Guide to Freelance Journalism: Part 2 – setting up the business
So in Part 1 I explained why I wanted to answer the question of becoming a freelance journalist but also clarify exactly how difficult it can be to work as a freelance journalist. In this part I am going to tell you what, in Australia at least, you need in order to become a freelance journalist and to set up a business. Business type And the first thing you need to know is that yes, you are starting a business. And that you can be all by yourself as a sole trader, work with a couple of others in a partnership arrangement or set up a company with yourself working…
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The Unconvential Guide to Freelance Journalism: Part 1- demystifying the entire thing
A couple of weeks ago, a former university friend of mine (she was doing her BA, I was doing my MA) got in touch with me and asked me to meet her for coffee. I said “Sure!” And we did and she asked me a question: “How do I get into freelancing?” This was someone who has a job at a pretty top end publication but for whom it is a bit too stressful and not quite working out to be what she wants to write about. So I understand why she was asking me the question. I understand why she was considering the freelancing option. But I had to…
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Sri Lanka, December 2015 – February 2016
Destination: Colombo, Sri Lanka Duration: December 2015 – February 2016 Brief: I have crash landed in Colombo again, this time for two months and I will be taking on a bit of freelancing work as well as some work experience at a news organisation though as yet I am not entirely sure exactly what I will be doing so stay tuned. Follow the reportage/articles: Facebook / Twitter (I will update my website’s portfolio section when I can) Hire me to freelance for you: Email [email protected] / check out my website’s portfolio/Contently portfolio. Seriously, if you are a Sri Lankan organisation/publication or even an overseas one, make use of the fact…
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Surviving university as a journalism student
Stay away from the guild. No guild I have ever known has been without its share of drama. You don’t need to recreate high school all over again. Be aware of what they do as story ideas abound but maintain distance. Find a viable university paper or magazine that drama free or not is likely to run continuously without a hitch for the duration of your degree and join it. Even if isn’t at your university. See if you can wrangle your way in. Start a blog. Especially on the one part of journalism that you want to practice. Go big with a domain name that matches your real name.…
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16+ mobile apps that allow me to work from my phone
Robin Bower posted about how she wanted to start using her mobile more for work and Wordpress posting. I asked if she would like a rundown of how I used my mobile for my work and she agreed.
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2014 beckons
I don’t know what 2014 is the year of. Apart from being the Year of the Green Wood Horse. And apparently the International Year of Family Farming so please think about where your food and consumer goods come from and whether they are ethically and sustainably produced. But it is 2014 now. 2013 has gone. I was busy in 2013 and so it flew by fast. The editing conference is over and I can breathe again. In December you all nearly decimated my server by loving the How to tell if you are an editor post so much so thanks for that. Clearly humour wins you over. If you want…
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Five years!
It’s been five years since I started freelancing. Or at least it was on Saturday. Five years. Wow. A lot can happen in five years. I started freelancing because I knew it would take awhile to get my foot in the door and work in-house and also because I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to. Freelancing is great – it allows me to work with a lot of different people, it allows me to meet different people and it allows me to mentor some and be mentored by others. It allows me to try new things and to keep constantly learning. And I am reminded that it also means that…
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Tips for being a science journalist
A brief summary of my seminar (part of the UWA Science Communication Seminar series) on 6 August 2010.
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Interviewing as the science journalist
This was an area of great interest and concern when I curated the @realscientists Twitter account a couple of months ago. People had their horror stories and others wanted to know how it should be done. We tried to get a live interview up and running so people could actually watch me in action but time zones and technology conspired against us. Maybe one day we will manage it. If you are a scientist who would be up for a mock interview via a G+ hangout to be archived on Youtube let me know. Preparation: Research the person and the story and the science involved. Set up your notebook and…
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Mentoring: the why and the how of doing it
If you were to ask me if I was a mentor, my immediate answer would be “No.” “No. I’m not.” But I’d have to correct myself. It’s not quite true. I’m not set up as a mentor with a mentoring program. I don’t have regular meetings with a mentee of any sort. But yes I do end up mentoring people or being in a mentor like position quite often, very unofficially. And that’s because I believe that it is important. 1) I learn a lot from having to help or train or teach or supervise someone in their work. What I usually end up doing is having to really think…
