FREELANCE JOURNALISM

FREELANCE JOURNALISM-

A freelancer or  freelance journalist is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular newspaper for  long term. Payment for freelance work also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by a per word publish, per article or on a per-project basis.

Freelancers generally enjoy a greater variety of assignments than in regular employment, and—subject to the need to earn a regular income—usually have more freedom to choose their work schedule. The experience can also lead to a broad portfolio of work and the establishment of a network of clients.

The major drawback is the uncertainty of work and thus income, and in lack of company benefits such as a pension, health insurance , paid holidays and bonuses.  But Many freelancers  in journalism, regard themselves as having greater income security through the diversity of outlets—the loss of any one of which leads to the loss of only a portion of income, rather than its totality as with salaried employees.

Freelance journalism is one of the more hectic forms of freelance writing. A freelancer needs to be comfortable with spending much time hunting down stories, traveling from place to place, and writing under short deadlines. Freelance journalist has  opportunities for personal creativity.

When we talk about freelance journalism, we need to distinguish between two types: newspaper journalism and magazine journalism. As a rule, newspaper journalism involves a much narrower range of subject matter than magazine journalism, significantly shorter articles, and a greater focus on form. Typical newspaper articles follow a hierarchical format: the most pertinent information first, the least pertinent last.