Journalism in the 21st Century

It always amuses me that freelancers are usually the last to be paid. After all, we buy our own (very expensive) health insurance policies, manage our own books, fix our own computers and forego vacations. Also, many of us have been forced into freelancing due to the economy. Some of us have applied for several hundred journalism jobs, only to find said jobs are now non-existant. We are then "happy" to sell an article here and there. Why then do editors and publishers so often pay us late or play games with our payments? I am not sure why, say, a carpenter is paid one half upfront for his fine woodworking but a freelance journalist must wait up to eight weeks for a payment. I once asked for a deposit upfront, and the prospective client acted like I'd swallowed marbles and was asking him to fish them out. I therefore appeal to all publishers and editors to pay us quickly. That means under 30 days, which is often too long for hungry writers to wait. Don't assume we'...

I read this week that the New York Times could possibly trim up to 100 staffers if employees don't take enough buy-outs. I am hardly angry at the Times' management. They are doing what they have to do, and from what I've read, none of the executives there want to resort to layoffs. Why not charge readers for the online edition? Yes, I would hate it - but not as much as I'd hate losing the quality of reporting I get from the Times. We are living in a frighteningly ignorant society, one in which the blog-du-jour (this one included!) is being gobbled up in the name of "news." Young people today are in danger of confusing the difference between a Pulitzer Prize-level type report such as is currently running by David Rohde in the Times (detailing his account being held by the Taliban) and the run-of-the-mill posting on Huffington. Now, I have nothing against the Huffington Report - it's valuable. And many of the writers who post there are fine scribes. Yet comp...

My advice: ** Business degree is ok, but if one decides to be some other kind of journalist, it won't necessarily help ** Best is a journalism degree from a prestigious school (NYU, Columbia, if that's possible) ** Get clips asap - even for free at the beginning, in areas that one wants to write on; try NOT to write for free, but a couple clips are ok ** Get an internship under one's belt right away ** Don't step on anyone's toes; burn any bridges - ever. This is a business full of huge egos. Make sure you're prepared to kiss a lot of behinds! ** Have a financial cushion; a second trick if you will (sales, financial analyst, etc.) to help you through the down times ** Learn a second language. At a recent networking event in Manhattan, one recruiter from a top wire service was desperate for someone who spoke Russian! ** Network but don't be a fool; it's important to help others but not at the expense of your own livelihood. Others may disagree, b...