LostRemote SocialTimes Allfacebook AllTwitter MediaJobsDaily FishbowlNY FishbowlLA FishbowlDC more TVNewser TVSpy GalleyCat AppNewser UnBeige AgencySpy PRNewser semanticweb.com

writing

6 Tips for Finding Sources Worth Their Salt

When it comes to journalism, the credentials of your sources can make or break your article. Fortunately, there are a number of tools that can help you weed out the nobodies from the knowledgeables online.

By now, you’ve surely heard of HARO (Help a Reporter Out), but founder Peter Shankman, said writers can also look to trade organizations for leads. “Each trade or industry has an organization behind it that serves as spokespeople for the industry,” he explained. “They’ll always take your call.”

Get more tips in 6 Surefire Ways to Find Sources in the Digital Age.

– Nicholas Braun

ag_logo_medium.gifThe full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

Land Up to $2 Per Word at Bicycling

Bicycling, the world’s largest cycling magazine, is looking for writers who can cover the hobby from new and fresh perspectives. “There has to be a bigger story besides the fact that you rode someplace cool,” said senior editor Emily Furia.

Bicycling tries to appeal to the biking community as whole, as opposed to other cycling publications that focus on specific subcultures. And, with half of the content in the mag provided by freelancers, these editors are more than willing to take on new scribes who lack experience or whose ideas need polishing. “In the case of freelance pitches, we will typically work with the writer to refine the story angle and format,” said Furia.

Get all the details and editors’ contact info in How To Pitch: Bicycling.

Nicholas Braun

ag_logo_medium.gifThe full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

Journos With Strong Researching Skills Wanted at Cure

With almost half of its content provided by freelancers, Cure is accepting all pitches related to the research and treatment of cancer. The magazine is published quarterly and distributed freely to cancer patients and healthcare professionals.

So, what makes a successful pitch for Cure? Editors say they look for  ideas based on emerging research, commentary on current practices, or personal experience. Featured freelancers have also written about topics that are relevant to readers throughout the country, such as coping with the treatment process or advice on finding the appropriate doctor.

For more, read How to Pitch: Cure [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

Nicholas Braun

ag_logo_medium.gifThe full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

How to Make Your Writing Clips Stand Out

Nothing says more about your ability as a journalist than the content of your clips. The  published articles you submit to prospective employers can make or break your chances, and simply deciding which material to include can be a daunting challenge in itself. Fortunately, there are certain techniques that will help your writing portfolio stand out from the crowd.

Christy Karras, a veteran freelancer who has written for Time, Forbes Asia, and The New York Times told Mediabistro that she tends to choose stories she believes show off her writing and editing skills.

“That could be a deeply analytic magazine feature on the finances of a major city-state that shows my ability to digest complex information and write about it in an engaging way, it could be a news story on a crackdown in the Gulf that shows an editor how well sourced I am in an environment that might not be very friendly to journalists, or it could be a feature profile that I think displays some narrative chops,” she said. “It just depends on the message I’d like to get to the individual editor.”

For more, read 6 Tips for Submitting Freelance Writing Clips [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

– Nicholas Braun

ag_logo_medium.gifThe full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

Will Write for Food: The Digital Freelance Journalist Dilemma

I am exhausted from following the explosion of opinion about how much freelance journalists should be paid after writer Nate Thayer took on The Atlantic for offering to publish his work, for free.

It used to be that freelance meant you were a free-agent. Now, it just means you work for free, or scraps.

I understand Thayer’s anger, and I’m glad he started the conversation. And as much as I respect (want to be?!) Matt Yglesias or Alexis Madrigal and hear them on the fact that there is no easy solution to pay smart writers and writers have to write and gosh, darn, they never did really make any money anyway– hearing them talk about why I should write for free makes me envision doing very mean things to them. Because they’re in. And they’re not even trying to tell us — digital natives who aren’t entirely shocked by the fact that we can’t make a decent living, yet still hopeful — that it gets better. What they’re saying is “write for free and maybe you’ll be able to make your own brand someday, but we sure as hell can’t pay you for it. We definitely can not even hire you for menial writing labor.”

Read more

<< PREVIOUS PAGENEXT PAGE >>