rant about current journalism industry
so like iām a freelance science writerĀ
not by choice, but because i graduated in 2019 and there were no (ethical, non-clickbait) jobs out there, right? so, fine, iāll be self employed until i can find something better.Ā
well, the pandemic hit and lots of news outlets laid off lots of journalists because advertisers pulled their ads, and revenue plummeted.Ā
so now, all of these news outlets are so helpfully publishingĀ āpitch guidesā for all of these new freelancers who are still trying to do journalism, because itās their calling or whatever, but no longer have a staff job.Ā
And Iām just bitter about it, okay.
Theyāre publishing these pitch guides because these news outlets still need content. So theyāre like,Ā āHere, we are ~generously~ offering you this guide so you can more easily work for us without the promise of stability or benefits.ā
And hereās how it works, right?Ā
Freelancers email (overworked, overwhelmed) news editors with an idea for a story. Usually in like 200-300 words, already did some research and talked to some experts. So work has already been done. The editor says either: Nothing,Ā āNo thanksā, āYes, this sounds like a good story and we want you to write it,ā orĀ āThis sounds like a good start, but... (asks questions that require more work.)ā
So eventually, the pitch might reach a point where the editor saysĀ āSure, you can write it.ā
And then they say: āWeāll offer you $0.25-$0.50 per word for a 800-1200 word story and we want you to talk to 2 to 3 experts.ā (Rarely, some outlets pay $1/word)
And the contract says:Ā āThe <news outlet> owns this story forever and ever and if a movie company wants to pay Big Bucks for the story, you donāt get any of it.āĀ
And the writer might be able to negotiate the contract, but maybe not, and so they write the story. They submit their story to the editor. The editor sends it back with comments. The writer fixes the story. The editor takes a week to post the story online.
The writer sends an invoice for the $400 or whatever.
And the outlet has 30 days to pay it. And they often pay late (which is illegal but it happens anyway because this industry sucks.) So from pitch to payment can take like 2-3 months, all for $400.Ā
Anyway, publications posting pitch guidelines is not actually more helpful for the publication (which is getting cheap labor more efficiently) than it is for the writers (who are providing cheap labor.)Ā
