The Rodney Dangerfield of journalism – the freelance writer – is moving up in the world.
When I freelanced for the first time, in 1989, most of my professional colleagues were employed in traditional, full-time jobs, working for magazines or newspapers. They thought I was crazy to go it alone. Back then, I still used the MS-DOS-based word processing program, Xywrite, and was experimenting with MCI Mail and Compuserve as ways to electronically transmit my stories to editors.
Today, more than half of my colleagues are full-time freelancers. They and the editors for whom they work consider freelancing a respectable, even desirable, career choice. In fact, many of these editors and their full-time staffs live in fear of losing their jobs. They sometimes turn to their freelance contacts either for information on who may be hiring or advice on how to prepare for the layoff they know is just around the corner.
One sign that freelancing is gaining in professional status came last year, when the National Press Club launched a freelance committee. I’ve been a Press Club member for 10 years but wasn’t very active until the freelance committee came along. The club seemed focused on traditional old-school journalism. It wasn’t making effective use of the Internet and online tools itself, much less offering any professional training on technology for its members. I saw few benefits for freelancers, except for the type of cocktail-hour networking opportunities that scare me. (See my previous post on “Anti-Social Networking.”)
But as the Washington Post has staged buyout after buyout and major national publications, networks and newspaper chains shutter their Washington bureaus, many longtime Press Club members find themselves considering freelancing for the first time. The freelance committee, under the great leadership of Jamila Bey and Peggy Simpson, has hosted panels and meetings on topics ranging from the basics of freelancing to learning new-media skills like podcasting that are vital to freelance success in the future. The events have been well attended both by newbies and long-time freelancers. Meanwhile, the club is starting to embrace the technology of the 21st Century. It hired a dynamic librarian in Beth Shankle, who regularly offers low-cost classes on the latest technologies and tools, including blogging and social networking. (For more information see the club’s Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library at http://npc.press.org/library/index.cfm.)
It all reflects a growing awareness, by the club and by the publishing industry, that freelance journalists are important. In fact, as old media companies gasp their last breaths (see Paul Gillin’s Newspaper Death Watch at http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/about), experienced freelancers may be in the best position to adapt to and profit from the new media.