Writing and Selling News Items.
Writing and Selling News Items By David Geer
I've found a way in to consumer and trade publications where no
opening was apparent before.
How did I attain clips in Art&Antiques, IEEE's Computer magazine
and McGraw-Hill's Engineering News-Record? By writing for their
news sections! In some cases, this calls for writing shorter
pieces, but in two of these three examples the pay was high and
in one the word count was also extensive.
While I was pitching feature ideas to Art&Antiques magazine,
some were passed to the associate editor, who was in charge of
news items. One of my feature ideas was assigned as a news item
and published June 2003 as "Docu-drama". From there, I just
started pitching news to the associate editor.
In the case of IEEE's Computer magazine, I found their
guidelines online and realized they hire freelancers for the
news sections. I contacted the news editor and let him know of
my availability. I had written about technology and was given a
news assignment; Federated Approach Expands Database-Access
Technology, which published in May 2003.
In the case of McGraw-Hill's Engineering News-Record, I received
an article of theirs quite randomly. I thought this publication
was a good fit, so I contacted them and found that they needed a
writer in Ohio to report appropriate news stories (generally
brief in nature). My first article for them was published the
week of May 5th, titled Producer Protests Pentagon Sealant
Specs, Investigates Performance Claims.
After landing these assignments, I began putting together ways
to locate and identify magazines that have news departments (or
otherwise pay freelancers for news items or articles). One way
is to visit local magazine racks and check a publication's table
of contents for the word "News", denoting a news section. Then,
check the masthead for the news editor and contact them, asking
if they "hire" freelancers for news assignments. They may have
existing assignments or they may require proposals/queries. And,
you may have to present your credentials as I did.
If nothing shows up in the table of contents, read the
publication for news writing and reporting. If you see news
stories or items, or articles written in AP style, you may have
a winner. In addition to magazine racks, check all the markets
you already know, especially the ones where you have previously
but unsuccessfully pitched feature articles. And, of course,
offer to write news items for editors with whom you already have
an existing relationship.
You will probably find the competition is not as stiff writing
news items, especially for magazines where news is not their
primary focus. That doesn't necessarily mean that the pay will
be low. In one case I made a dollar a word.
You can also check online guidelines and editorial calendars
using the method described in my article How To Locate More
Markets, also written for WritersWeekly.com. Just look for News
guidelines, "news items", departments or sections listed among
them. In any case, the news editor will often be specifically
identified in the masthead information. If a news editor is not
in the masthead, but they do publish news, ask the managing
editor for guidance on where to send your proposal. Make sure to
ask editors about payment if that information hasn't become
apparent. You don't want to waste time on non-paying markets.
Be prepared to send clips written in AP Style or which provide
news on the topics they cover. If you don't have any, write a
few items for your local newspaper - that should suffice along
with other clips that show your magazine writing accomplishments.
When it comes to news assignments, ask if they assign them or if
they need ideas from you. If they want your ideas, you may find
that the best stories are ones that not only excite and interest
you but also happen near you, making you the best one to cover
them. Also, choose stories that have not yet had a lot of
national exposure over ones that have.
Below are a few markets that pay for news articles or items. We
found these market by searching google.com for: "writers
guidelines" "news items" $
The dollar sign may help to filter out those insulting,
non-paying pubs. If no payment amount is listed on a
publication's writer's guidelines, don't waste your time. And,
some publications don't pay for news items.
QSR, The magazine of Quick Service Restaurant Success
http://www.qsrmagazine.com/contact/guidelines.phtml
Digital Journal
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/?articleID=1792
New England Entertainment Digest
http://www.jacneed.com/writers.html
The Washington Monthly
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/inside/writersguidelines.html
Canadian Gardening
http://www.canadiangardening.com/guidelines.shtml
Governing Magazine http://governing.com/wrguide.htm