Freelance Journalism
I want to try my hand at freelance journalism. At one point, I looked into getting a side job with a local newspaper. That endeavor never panned out, but I’m still curious if I could write for a news outlet. As a start, I figured it may be a good idea to do my own reporting here.
What appeals to me about the idea of freelance journalism is how self-contained it is. I attend an event of some sort, take pictures and observe, and then I write up a summary and description of the event. Throw in some of my own pictures, and you have a nice little overview of the event from my perspective. Concerts, festivals, any unique event could be a potential story.
Spartanburg’s Spring Fling is one street festival I’ve attended for several years, and serves as the kind of event I might cover. There are vendors and shops, but there are also individual sub-events. The bike race usually occupies the first evening, and there are several concerts and dances throughout the course of the weekend. Even if I don’t stay the entire time, I could hang around for a little while and get enough material to write an interesting piece.
Most recently, I went to the New Year’s Eve celebration in Gatlinburg, TN. It isn’t an exclusive event by any means, but it is something that not everyone attends. For those who didn’t go, I could give them a view into the event. Those who did could see how someone else experienced it. Unfortunately, I didn’t take many pictures, so that element wouldn’t be as prominent, but I could still write about my exposure to it.
Maybe I’ll try to spin a journalism piece about Spring Fling 2020, or some other festival this year. If I do have the opportunity to attend something that deserves reporting on, I’ll approach it like a journalist and try to capture the moment. In addition to writing a hopefully interesting piece, it would give me a chance to practice my photography skills, as well as begin a portfolio of more news-geared posts that I may be able to submit should I try to get a job with a news outlet again. If nothing else, it should be fun to write.
If you know of an event in the area that might be cool to report on, feel free to suggest it and I’ll try to attend. Not only do I want to write about stuff that I enjoy, but it would be satisfying to write about what my readers also attended, or wanted to.
What appeals to me about the idea of freelance journalism is how self-contained it is. I attend an event of some sort, take pictures and observe, and then I write up a summary and description of the event. Throw in some of my own pictures, and you have a nice little overview of the event from my perspective. Concerts, festivals, any unique event could be a potential story.
Spartanburg’s Spring Fling is one street festival I’ve attended for several years, and serves as the kind of event I might cover. There are vendors and shops, but there are also individual sub-events. The bike race usually occupies the first evening, and there are several concerts and dances throughout the course of the weekend. Even if I don’t stay the entire time, I could hang around for a little while and get enough material to write an interesting piece.
Most recently, I went to the New Year’s Eve celebration in Gatlinburg, TN. It isn’t an exclusive event by any means, but it is something that not everyone attends. For those who didn’t go, I could give them a view into the event. Those who did could see how someone else experienced it. Unfortunately, I didn’t take many pictures, so that element wouldn’t be as prominent, but I could still write about my exposure to it.
Maybe I’ll try to spin a journalism piece about Spring Fling 2020, or some other festival this year. If I do have the opportunity to attend something that deserves reporting on, I’ll approach it like a journalist and try to capture the moment. In addition to writing a hopefully interesting piece, it would give me a chance to practice my photography skills, as well as begin a portfolio of more news-geared posts that I may be able to submit should I try to get a job with a news outlet again. If nothing else, it should be fun to write.
If you know of an event in the area that might be cool to report on, feel free to suggest it and I’ll try to attend. Not only do I want to write about stuff that I enjoy, but it would be satisfying to write about what my readers also attended, or wanted to.
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