Workshop: Getting Started as a Freelance Journalist

Becoming a freelance journalist can be an exciting decision but it can also be overwhelming. Getting to grips with being self-employed alongside trying to pitch for work can be a tough balance. However, if you make the right preparations, it can make the transition and subsequent work all the more easier to manage.

This workshop will help you get started as a freelance journalist. Whether you have just left university and are new to the industry or have been a staff journalist and are looking for a different option, this session is for you.

It will guide participants through the legal and financial issues as well as teaching you how to make sure you’re getting the right rate for the right job.

Schedule:

10.00-11.15 Setting yourself up and finding work
11.15-11.30 Break
11.30-12.25 Doing the deal
12.25-1.00 Copyright
1.00-2.00 Break
2.00-2.25 Syndication and re-use of material
2.15-3.30 Finances and Tax
3.30-3.45 Break
3.45-4.00 Addressing problems such as non-payment
4.00-5.00 Q&A – ask anything and share advice and expertise.

Run by long standing freelance journalists Humphrey Evans and Phil Sutcliffe. They have both run freelance training sessions for the NUJ since they started delivering them in the late 1980’s.

Phil has been freelance for more than 30 years as a music journalist and has interviewed a wealth of big name artists that include Eric Clapton, Elton John, Thom Yorke and Stevie Wonder.

Humphrey has been a NUJ trainer negotiator for many years, helping people to pitch themselves right. He is the author of a number of journalism e-books such as Edit: 23 Guidances Guidance for Editors, Subeditors, Copyeditors.

Image Credit: Ali Wade / Flickr

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