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Topic: Schofield Media -- freelancers getting paid?
| Author | Message |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/10/2007 8:17:41 PM | show profile Honestly, I don't know why you guys are so hopped up about all this. They publish magazines which contained articles about the advertisers. The magazines are primarily written by in-house editors, who probably aren't a happy lot working in this environment. Occasionally, they hire freelancers, maybe because the advertisers supply their own copy for the articles or something. But their use of freelancers is so minimal they don't want to even mention it, because they don't want to deal with answering inquiries. If there's anything more than this, I don't see it. And really, a lot of this stuff isn't that unusual. Nor do I see any article brewing on this situation that would be particularly saleable. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/10/2007 8:17:44 PM | show profile Honestly, I don't know why you guys are so hopped up about all this. They publish magazines which contained articles about the advertisers. The magazines are primarily written by in-house editors, who probably aren't a happy lot working in this environment. Occasionally, they hire freelancers, maybe because the advertisers supply their own copy for the articles or something. But their use of freelancers is so minimal they don't want to even mention it, because they don't want to deal with answering inquiries. If there's anything more than this, I don't see it. And really, a lot of this stuff isn't that unusual. Nor do I see any article brewing on this situation that would be particularly saleable. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/10/2007 10:50:41 PM | show profile My guess is this means a company hires a freelance writer to produce a column that features interviews with the company's executives, and then gives the column to the magazine for free. I've had companies hire me for this purpose. Sometimes they want the byline to go to one of their execs, sometimes they want a freelancer's byline on it. ---"with the exception of outside column contributors who are free to hire their own writers, such as the exception you found"- WTF is all that about. "Yeah, we really love your magazine, except for the writing. Can we hire somebody 3rd party to write our story for your magazine?"-- |
| writesonwater | Posted – 4/11/2007 3:05:00 PM | show profile Agree with Dribble on this one. This is just the kind of publication this is -- they are advertorial-driven, it sounds like. There are many kinds of magazines published out there -- find one that accepts freelancers and go for it. Or, to get into this one, write for one of their clients. Having worked as an advertorial director for two mid-sized news organizations, I'm familiar with the tension between editorial and advertorial. People need to just get over that. Especially if you want to tap into advertorial writing, which calls for excellent skills in many instances, and which can pay rather well. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/12/2007 2:53:21 AM | show profile The only thing I found interesting about this thread was how journalists, whose job is to uncover facts, leapt to all sorts of wild conclusions based on scanty slivers of information. Well, that and the basic lack of media sophistication of most of the posters in this thread. --Agree with Dribble on this one. This is just the kind of publication this is -- they are advertorial-driven, it sounds like. There are many kinds of magazines published out there -- find one that accepts freelancers and go for it. Or, to get into this one, write for one of their clients. Having worked as an advertorial director for two mid-sized news organizations, I'm familiar with the tension between editorial and advertorial. People need to just get over that. Especially if you want to tap into advertorial writing, which calls for excellent skills in many instances, and which can pay rather well. -- |
| Mr.X | Posted – 4/13/2007 3:16:15 PM | show profile Schoflied Media (the inside scoop) It seems as if there have been many questions regarding Schofield Media. I can answer all of them. I worked for the company for quite some time and located this thread via a web search. Let me know what you would like me to answer and I will. All replies are a matter of fact and not fiction. I can not tell you in what capacity I worked for Schofield. I do this in order to protect my identity and such. I will keep an eye out and answer questions as soon as I can. FIRE AWAY! Plese post questions only. Thanks. ------ Mr. X |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/14/2007 3:05:09 AM | show profile No offense, but this is pretty lame. But if you have something to contribute to the thread, feel free. --Posted ? 4/13/2007 3:16:15 PM | show profile Schoflied Media (the inside scoop) It seems as if there have been many questions regarding Schofield Media. I can answer all of them. I worked for the company for quite some time and located this thread via a web search. Let me know what you would like me to answer and I will. All replies are a matter of fact and not fiction. I can not tell you in what capacity I worked for Schofield. I do this in order to protect my identity and such. I will keep an eye out and answer questions as soon as I can. FIRE AWAY! Plese post questions only. Thanks. ------ Mr. X-- |
| aroughfirstdraft | Posted – 4/14/2007 1:52:51 PM | show profile A question for Mr. X As I posted earlier: - "What happens when a company changes it's mind and backs out of an interview? Is the story killed? Are any monies generated of said story by Schofield Media refunded?" |
| getmeoutofhere | Posted – 4/14/2007 10:07:38 PM | show profile ditto to dribble's comment For a bunch of writers challenging the ethics of Schofield, many of you have treated the so-called subject with as much prejudice as you can muster before knowing anything substantive about the publisher or exec director. I know that that first whiff of an expose is exciting, but it's safer (and more ethical) to give any subject the benefit of the doubt until you uncover something legitimate. |
| Mr.X | Posted – 4/17/2007 11:20:50 AM | show profile Killing the story To address Dribbledrive?I only offered my thoughts and insight to help your group as writers. Forgive me for offending by not posting all of my thoughts. I do need to be careful what I write out of respect for some of my past colleagues. I?m certain you can understand. Schofield Media keeps a low profile because of the money they make. In Europe it is a popular business model. Not so much here in the States. When you think about it?it?s a brilliant idea really. Good clean stories about major companies and every magazine pays for its self and staff with money to burn. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/17/2007 1:50:13 PM | show profile It seems the real question, then, is their process. When they approach companies, do they conduct the interviews -- and only later tell them the stories will be killed if they don't buy an ad? Or do companies know they have to buy an ad before they are interviewed if they want their story to run? ---Schofield Media keeps a low profile because of the money they make. In Europe it is a popular business model. Not so much here in the States. When you think about it?it?s a brilliant idea really. Good clean stories about major companies and every magazine pays for its self and staff with money to burn. -- |
| sunblue | Posted – 4/21/2007 4:04:25 PM | show profile | email poster Mr. X---Questions about Schofield Hi Mr. X: I'm writing because I've gotten a very bad feeling regarding all these posts. Recently, I was offered a position for a start-up company which has proposed a similar model to the Schofield model being discussed. Basically company profiles with a "news" bent. It would not be identified as an advertorial. The ad reps would pitch the company being profiled, any related suppliers and other interested parties for ad space. The principals are from the UK and I'm wondering if I'm dealing with ex-Schofield people here. If you're willing, please e-mail me at reelwerk@aol.com so I can ask more specific questions. Thanks. |
| Mr.X | Posted – 4/24/2007 3:51:19 PM | show profile RE: How the story is issued I interviewd a major high end hotel group...it took me three months to set up the interview. Two days after my the initial interview...I asked the CEO of the group for a list of his vendors...he was totally disgusted with me. He felt as if I had crushed his trust. This was my main reason for leaving the company. Why is it so hard to be honest? Hey...we will do a story on you if we get a vendor list and if the vendors support the story. Simple right? |
| sunblue | Posted – 4/25/2007 2:11:02 PM | show profile | email poster "advertorial" strategy Wow Mr. X: Based on what I'm hearing, I'm not entirely surprised but still appalled. Obviously, there is no editorial integrity at Schofield. I spoke to one very well-known publishing expert in the field and told him about the situation and he said it's widely known within publishing circles that the editorial reputation of Schofield pubs is so bad, they won't hire any editors or writers who have worked there. As one J prof told me regarding this situation, "this is not journalism. This is marketing". There is no editorial independence and should you wish to do a story on a company that would not advertise, you would not be allowed to do so. What I don't get is where is their readership coming from? There is little to no news value to the reader with these types of articles (except to the companies being profiled). Do they do readership studies? Are the pubs all free subscription based? The more I hear about this place, the worse it sounds. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/25/2007 2:21:39 PM | show profile The only thing that appalls me is the notion that they sandbag saying they want to do stories in order to get in the door and only then tell them they need to buy ads. If that's true, it's slimy. Personally, I've never read any of their magazines so I have no idea of their quality or value to readers. Just because a company pays to have their story placed doesn't mean the story has no value. For instance, I have written sponsored advertorials which, in readership surveys, actually drew higher marks from readers than the journalistic editorial contents of those issue. If a company is smart, they realize that the best way to get out their message is to make that message compelling and valuable to readers. --"advertorial" strategy Wow Mr. X: Based on what I'm hearing, I'm not entirely surprised but still appalled. Obviously, there is no editorial integrity at Schofield. I spoke to one very well-known publishing expert in the field and told him about the situation and he said it's widely known within publishing circles that the editorial reputation of Schofield pubs is so bad, they won't hire any editors or writers who have worked there. As one J prof told me regarding this situation, "this is not journalism. This is marketing". There is no editorial independence and should you wish to do a story on a company that would not advertise, you would not be allowed to do so. What I don't get is where is their readership coming from? There is little to no news value to the reader with these types of articles (except to the companies being profiled). Do they do readership studies? Are the pubs all free subscription based? The more I hear about this place, the worse it sounds.-- |
| nellie bly | Posted – 4/26/2007 8:15:26 AM | show profile sunblue- I'd never heard of Schofield prior to this thread, but regarding trade mags featuring advertorials and their readership.... As a contributing writer for a high quality trade, I first discovered what you might call competing publications chock full of advertorials when I went to trade shows. At the shows there were about 6 different magazines all offered for free to show-goers. Two of the titles, including the one I worked for, featured articles that would have fit in consumer magazines, advertising did not determine who got coverage, and writers were paid. The others gave you coverage if you paid for an ad--articles were staff written or contributed for free by "consultants." I discovered that many of the people in the field we were covering did not distinguish between the two types of publications. This surprised me at first, but then when I had to explain the difference I realized, hey theyre not journalists. In fact the people who had booths at the trade show were thrilled to be in these advertorials which they or their companies had paid for. They would display them in the booth and also give away copies. From a journalist's pov it was dismaying, but the advertorial feature in what I considered a 2nd rate mag was worth more to them than being one of several companies mentioned in an article I had written for respectable magazine. That's the impression I got. |
| sunblue | Posted – 4/26/2007 10:20:43 AM | show profile Advertorials Hi again: I just have to post once more on this topic in response to Nellie's reply. First, as a B2B editor and journalist, I have nothing against advertorials. They certainly have a place in many B2B magazines. They offere a definite value to the advertiser and, when executed well, can offer some information value to the reader. However, these pieces should very clearly be labeled as "Advertorial" or "Sponsorship" and not be disguised as traditional editorial. And, as Nellie indicated in her post, there is no doubt that these advertorials are very valuable to the advertiser or company being profiled. They are valuable to them because they are essentially an indirect form of PR and marketing for them. That's why they frame the articles, distribute them at trade shows and the like. Generally, but not always, these articles are fluff pieces which serve to promote the company and its products. At Schofield, when you look at the actual writing, you'll find, for the most part, that the profiles are always, always positive, complimentary, and pat-the-company-on-the-back kind of articles. What's more, if the company does not choose to advertise or release its list of suppliers for additional advertising, the article will not run. THat is not journalism, it is advertising or marketing. Finally, it may be that some advertisers or readers may not see a difference between the two types of publications Nellie aludes to. It's all in the focus. Is the purpose of the magazine to provide useful, newsworthy information to the reader or to provide advertisers and companies a tool to market themselves? For advertisers and the companies being profiled, the value is in the promotion to their company, not in providing true value to the entire readership and a fair and balanced reporting of industry news. I dare say most people know the difference between an informerical and CNN news report. Which holds more value for the viewer? Which holds more value for the advertiser? I think it's clear. If you were to ask those very advertisers which type of publication they would turn to when they wanted to learn something about their industry, gain business knowledge or obtain how-to news that would help them grow their business, which of the two magazine formats would they choose? Editors and writers are charged with meeting the needs of the reader, first and foremost. They are responsible for setting the editorial direction of the magazine and establishing the editorial integrity of the publication. |
| Foreigner | Posted – 4/27/2007 9:39:40 AM | show profile I thought of this thread this morning when I encountered an ad for an "editorial researcher" for an unnamed B2B trade pub at CareerBuilder.com. It says the job involves "qualifying businesses" for stories in the magazine, and goes on to say that the stories are necessary to generate advertising for the magazine. Guess this sort of garbage goes on a lot. |
| nellie bly | Posted – 4/27/2007 10:04:14 AM | show profile I wanted to clarify that the advertorial articles that make up the bulk of the magazines referred to in my previous post were NOT identified as "advertorial." I mean if you pick up the NY Times Magazine or one of the major travel magazines you'll see "advertorial" printed right at the top of the page. So you know the 10 page spread on the Caribbean was paid for by the hotels featured in the piece. The B2B mags mentioned in my post don't disclose that info to the reader. So a reader who was not familiar with the magazine's business model would not know it was pay-for publication deal and take the info at face value. In the field I was covering, many potential readers/trade show visitors are total newbies--people looking to get into this type of business who are shopping for ideas and equipment. |
| alim20 | Posted – 5/16/2007 12:50:53 AM | show profile Schofield Media Sales Guy Insight Hello I used to sell ads for Schofield Media and left recently over being burned out and just tired of their "two page script." This is not a bitter take on thier business model or anything because I am someone who has come to accept there is a darkside to every business that makes a profit. I averaged $30k a month in sales, and that was a lot for me because I never really succeeded in sales at other companies. I dont know why but I suspect Schofield Media's genius is thier business model. After 2 days of sales training I was given a 2 page script. The first page teaches you how to get around the gate keeper (secretary) and the second is what to say to the person who makes the advertising decisions. Basically 90% of my sales came when the advertiser had a good relationship with the company we were writing about. They did not have to know anything about our magazine, circulation or other facts I would think would be important. All I had to do was mention their supplier, the story we were going to write about them, and how it would look great to showcase "their relationship" by them taking out a quarter, half, or full page ad. The prices were [information removed by moderator] If they passed out from those prices I could lower the price to anything I wanted but it had to be [removed by mod] for a quarter page. Schofield is like Mcdonalds. Just like you have burger flippers, fries, and cleanup crews all working their part, I was just the sales guy. Some one else was hired to find me leads (editorial researchers) and all I did was call on the leads (folders) they gave me. Each folder had a sheet talking about a company, potential story ideas, and most importantly VENDOR LIST. Whenever I got a folder and it had a vendor list of 50 or more names I knew I could make $20k off of it. Sometimes my folders where small with 5 names, but if the supplier makes a lot of money off the company were writing about those companies dont care about a measely [removed -mod] full page ad. Sometimes vendors would ask for magazine details, we would just tell them anything to get them to shut up and they never asked for verification. I knew sales reps who inflated circulation and that always bothered me. But I am just a guy trying to pay rent and Schofield paid nice commission. for every [removed -mod] I sold I got $50. So my average month was 30k. My commission was 1200. My base was 22k. There is a 30k salary but if you choose that you only earn commission on sales over 25k. I worked their for less then a year. The people are nice but some of the managers are sexist (I am a male but my manager made sexually inappropriate jokes and comments about women employees way to much) The beauty of that job was that all you had to do was read the 2 page script and make 120 calls a day and you were guarenteed to make commission. The bad part about the job that I hated was the 8-5 schedule with 2 15 minute breaks and 1 hour lunch and you live life like a robot. The fancy magazines and upscale office look fools you into thinking you work for a high profile business. But its a boiler room and a company that has perfected the manufacturing system for publishing. I did not even need a company to send email they hired 2 people to do nothing but send our emails and media kits to vendors. I dont hate the company, I just felt if I wanted a career in advertising I should apply somewhere else where you truly learn to sell ads and not live off making vendors feel guilty enough to pay for ads. If anyone would like furthur followup questions to someone who knows a little (I dont know much) feel free to email me at alim20@hotmail.com |
| alim20 | Posted – 5/16/2007 6:41:04 AM | show profile Furthur Observations About Schofield Media Sorry to bore you guys with my insignificant observations but since I left that company and discovered this blog and anger towards the company I am doing some soul searching. Schofield Media is the third company or organization I have worked for with successful business practices or models that are controversial. I once worked as a sales rep for a multi level marketing firm called Equinox International. They were also featured on the cover of INC magazine as the fastest growing privately held company. Then after five years of millions of dollars in sales the government shut it down as a illegal pyrimid scheme. How embarrassed was I? It's founder Bill Gouldd settled out of court and got to keep 8 million, a mansion, a car, and one rolex. I got nothing. Before that I was a member of Louis Farrakhans NOI. I sold the Nation of Islams Newspaper the Final Call for hours for free, paying little attention to how inside the newspaper ALL the ads were for Farrakhans businesses and his large DVD/Video/CASSETTE catalogue. I was making him a millionaire and I did not mind working for free because I felt religiouslly enlightened and inspired. he got rich I got nothing. Then after other jobs I accepted a position for Schofield. Basically for making them 30k a month I got a measely 1200 in commission. Its young owners are millionaires and I am a has been hoping from job to job. I am not bitter but I have got to stop making people millionaires and start something where I make the majority of the profits. I dont hate Andrew and his brother Chris Schofield, just as I dont hate Bill Gouldd or Louis Farrakhan for all getting rich pimping thousands of foot soldiers like me who just answered an ad or went to a speech and decided to join this "cause." But I read this board and learn that basically I was an extornist. That doesnt make me feel good at all. In my defense I have to blame the rich CEOs of the vendor companies. Those greedy bastards are the blame because if they were not so scarred of upseting the company we would write a business profile about they would spend their money wisely on ads that truly reach the target market they would benefit from. But from my experience these guys really wanted to impress the feature company by showcasing thier relationship with a full page ad. Andrew Schofield is just making money by manipulating big business interest in companies that are really living off the feature company. The only time a vendor got pissed about being asked to pay for an ad is when they are bigger then the company we wrote about. When the money they make off the company is not huge. But when the company we wrote about is huge like Walmart, their suppliers are drooling at the mouth at a chance to be the VENDOR with the biggest ad. Why make me feel like an extortionist for providing a service to these greedy vendors? So I have mixed feelings about working for that company. I really can't find any company that makes millions and makes me proud to be a member of it. It's the dark side of capitalism folks, and if you hate it then you should not live in America. Schofield is just a british guy beating american's at thier own sick evil corrupt game. He is no worse then Bill Gates and his monopoly at Microsoft, or Ray Croc and his death causing food chain McDonalds or haliburton and their war benefitting board of directors. I don't understand why some of you are angry at Schofield when not one of you can name your company and defend it as being 100% fair and legal and not exploitive of something. just my humble observation. |
| gnarstar911 | Posted – 1/24/2008 8:29:56 PM | show profile | email poster Schofield Does anyone have more info on Schofield? I was considering working for them and having serious doubt now after reading these chat logs. Can someone email me directly to have a convo, (preferrably someone who has sales experience actually working there)? gnarstar911@gmail.com Thanks |
| Quatermain | Posted – 2/13/2008 1:20:32 PM | show profile Schofield is one of the more reputable ones in the "profile" model - typically, if a company pulls out of the profile, but a profile mag has sold ads, they'll cadge info from the company's website and run a profile anyway. Publications like these have very little visibility outside of their interviewee/advertiser base. A very unreputable house is Say One Media, which used to be Conquest Business Media. When the new management took over, the writers, printer and landlords ceased to be paid. |
| Beethoven | Posted – 2/25/2008 9:43:25 AM | show profile Say One bought out Conquest after they went under.It's exactly the same set up & same directors |
| PWR | Posted – 2/28/2008 10:23:02 PM | show profile | email poster Similar company on the radar I considered going out for a position at Schofield and quickly reconsidered when I found this thread. Since then I had an interview with a small publishing firm here in Chicago called Avenir Publishing. Big surprise: They're from the UK and have the exact same business model as Schofield. I interviewed for Strategize, their broad-based b2b title, and was particularly aghast when they plunked down their mag's annual "green" issue. (This was back when everyone and their brother was publishing a green issue.) Strategize's "green" issue was basically one huge sponsored advertorial from Big Coal, which was touted as a clean alternative to foreign oil. As a writer who's done a bit of green journalism, it was disgusting. |
