Learn from experienced newspaper reportersHere are 11 tips that can help freelancers strengthen their writing and research skills
Published:
April 7, 2010 It’s a tough time to be a newspaper reporter. Since 2008, many
thousands of them have lost their jobs. As newsrooms thin, though, many
reporters are going freelance. These savvy veterans of daily work,
skilled at easily cranking out stories within hours, even sometimes
minutes, know how the game is played.
We know what it’s like to
be handed an assignment about a topic or person we know nothing about
and have to produce a lucid, lively piece within hours. And many of us
started our careers long before Google made research quick and easy.
Working
on staff for a daily newspaper offers many lessons that can benefit
freelancers, from how to research efficiently and write quickly, to
the challenges of dealing with a variety of sources, ranging from a
prickly political press aide and protective corporate public relations
officer to a shy teen or new immigrant.
I’ve worked for three
large dailies as a reporter and a feature writer, and each one taught
me new skills. I started at the Toronto Globe and Mail, Canada’s oldest and most respected national daily, moved on to the Montreal Gazette, and most recently worked for the New York Daily News, the sixth-largest daily in the U.S. I also freelance for The Toronto Star and The New York Times, for whom I’ve written more than 100 articles for 10 different editors.
Here are some of the best tips I’ve compiled from other newspaper veterans and my own experiences: |
To gain complete access to our Web site and the many available writing resources,
subscribe today.
|
|
Subscribe today and get 12 issues of The Writer magazine PLUS these great
online benefits:
- Research more than 3,000 markets for your work
- Read timeless articles on writing from 120+ years of The Writer
- Access links to hundreds of top-rated literary publications
- Read exclusive online-only articles on craft and freelancing
- Post your work for critique by other Writer subscribers in our forums
- Make friends and discuss writing issues in the Writer community
- Receive our informative biweekly e-mail newsletters
- Manage your account
|
|