The Society of Professional Journalists’ new Freelance Community made its debut at the national Excellence in Journalism conference, offering educational programs, one-on-one advice sessions and networking opportunities geared to freelancers attending the EIJ 2014.
The Nashville, Tennessee, gathering Sept. 4-6 was the fourth annual joint journalism convention co-sponsored by SPJ and the Radio Television Digital News Association.
At the Freelance Community’s Sept. 6 business meeting – its first since launching on the Web last spring – attendees agreed to choose the community’s first officers in an online election in January 2015. The community was formally approved by the SPJ Board at its April 2014 meeting following several months of planning and building a website within SPJ.org to serve as its Home. The effort was spearheaded by the former Freelance Committee with much assistance and encouragement from Headquarters staff.
The SPJ Freelance Community website offers a new freelance discussion board, chat room and job lists available only to members. It also consolidates resources spread throughout other sections of the national organization’s website, including access to materials in the SPJ Reading Room and SPJ Video on Demand that are particularly relevant to freelancers as well as links to the Independent Journalist Blog and On Your Own: A Guide to Freelance Journalism.
Programs and ‘The Doctor Is In’
Of three EIJ breakout sessions aimed at freelancers, the most popular featured SPJ Region 3 Director Michael Koretzky on “10 Tips for Pissing Off a Hiring Editor (And 10 Ways to Always Get Assignments).” A veteran editor and sometimes freelancer who has worked both sides of the contract-work relationship, Koretzky drew on more than two decades of experience to offer tips for journalists looking to get more freelance assignments. Among them:
— Don’t work for free — but do work for “a little money” if you get what you need from the assignment. Freelance for the biggest publication you can find, even if they don’t pay well, because then it goes on your resume or client list.
— Don’t assume that small publications have lax standards or “dumb-ass” editors. Don’t assume that small publications aren’t as picky as big ones. Don’t condescend to the editors, and “don’t assume anything!” Do some research to find out about the publication and the editor you are pitching to.
— When looking for publications to query, don’t just read them – analyze their audiences. Think about the business reasons for the publications to exist. Read them to find out what kind of material they publish. That’s how you’ll find out what they are likely to buy from you.
— Don’t rule out freelancing for “anything but the purest of publications.” More important is to work with professional editors. Work with people who do journalism, regardless of whether they work for a “media” company. Don’t assume that if it’s not a media company, it’s not doing professional journalism.
— Don’t ignore publications with readers younger than you are. You’ll be “sending your stuff to an adult with experience” and working with a professional, not the young kids who make up the target audience.
— Don’t become known as a “serial querier” who just throws ideas around. Treat editors with respect. Send them strong queries or pitches. Remember that you work for the editor, not the publication. When that editor moves on to another job, s/he will be taking your reputation along to the new publication. That can present an opportunity — or a hazard.
In addition to a breakout session on how to get started freelancing and a panel discussion of “dream gigs,” Freelance Community leaders hosted tables at “The Doctor Is In,” a one-on-one or small-group networking format at which EIJ attendees could seek advice and information from colleagues in niche areas and specialties. Freelancers came with questions about business issues and journalism techniques, including how to find sources, how to get paid more quickly, and how to handle taxes (among many others).
Community Business
At the community’s EIJ business meeting, in addition to scheduling elections, members passed a resolution requesting that the SPJ Board ask the Bylaws Committee to consider what changes might be needed to give the new SPJ communities a voice in the organization’s governance. In discussing the motion to approve the resolution, community leaders noted that while all SPJ members now can vote in the annual election of officers, only local chapter members sent to the convention as delegates can vote on other matters that come up at the annual business meeting.
Allowing communities to have delegates at the convention would provide representation in debates and votes on important SPJ business to community members who do not belong to local chapters. Business issues that came up at EIJ14 included the first rewrite of SPJ’s Code of Ethics since 1996 and a proposal to change SPJ’s name from the Society of Professional Journalists to the Society for Professional Journalism. Although this year’s Bylaws amendment was minor, in past years major questions regarding SPJ’s governance have been decided by delegates at the convention.
While the Code of Ethics revision and proposed name change were included in the 2014 electronic ballot through which all members were able to vote for SPJ’s 2014-15 officers and directors, the online votes constituted only an advisory straw poll. The final decisions to approve the new code and not to change SPJ’s name were made by delegates representing chapters at the convention.
Currently, about 40 percent to 45 percent of national SPJ members do not belong to any local or statewide chapter. Of the society’s approximately 7,500 members, about 20 percent indicated on their membership forms that they are interested in freelancing, and more than a quarter of those members did not indicate that they associated with any particular medium.
About 65 SPJ members have joined the Freelance Community since the “soft launch” of its website in the spring. A membership drive is planned as a run-up to the January 2015 election of the community’s officers.