2008 Woodie Awards
Freelance journalist discusses pitches, pay
Kristen Toner
Issue date: 4/24/06 Section: News
May 8, 2006
Being a freelance journalist means sometimes working for months for virtually no pay, according to investigative reporter and freelancer Loren Stein.
But she still does it because she loves being in charge of her work and what she writes, she said.
Stein spoke about pitching stories, or submitting them to newspapers and magazines, to a Special Topics in Journalism class at De Anza College on May 2.
Stein's work has appeared in major publications, including the Metro, the SF Weekly, the Christian Science Monitor, the California Lawyer, and Health magazine.
She was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by the Boston Herald in 1989 and won a first place prize for investigative reporting in large circulation weeklies for the California Newspaper Publishers Association in 2002.
Stein said she does journalism because it allows her to change the world.
After she wrote a story about potentially dangerous drugs given to pregnant women to induce labor, major networks and newspapers picked up on it and it started a national conversation, she said. Journalism also allows a person to be creative and constantly learn, she said.
Stein has held positions as a staff writer for various publications, but said she prefers the life of a freelancer. To her, freelancing means having a boss at a distance and keeping her own hours.
The downside, however, to freelancing is the lack of consistent pay, Stein said.
Freelance journalists find work by pitching their story ideas to publications, she said. During a pitch, a writer has to sell their story and themselves, said Stein.
Good pitches equal paychecks, she said.
Another key to success is working well with your editor, said Stein.
"Make your editor your colleague," said Stein. "Editors are there to catch you if you fall."
Being a freelance journalist means sometimes working for months for virtually no pay, according to investigative reporter and freelancer Loren Stein.
But she still does it because she loves being in charge of her work and what she writes, she said.
Stein spoke about pitching stories, or submitting them to newspapers and magazines, to a Special Topics in Journalism class at De Anza College on May 2.
Stein's work has appeared in major publications, including the Metro, the SF Weekly, the Christian Science Monitor, the California Lawyer, and Health magazine.
She was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by the Boston Herald in 1989 and won a first place prize for investigative reporting in large circulation weeklies for the California Newspaper Publishers Association in 2002.
Stein said she does journalism because it allows her to change the world.
After she wrote a story about potentially dangerous drugs given to pregnant women to induce labor, major networks and newspapers picked up on it and it started a national conversation, she said. Journalism also allows a person to be creative and constantly learn, she said.
Stein has held positions as a staff writer for various publications, but said she prefers the life of a freelancer. To her, freelancing means having a boss at a distance and keeping her own hours.
The downside, however, to freelancing is the lack of consistent pay, Stein said.
Freelance journalists find work by pitching their story ideas to publications, she said. During a pitch, a writer has to sell their story and themselves, said Stein.
Good pitches equal paychecks, she said.
Another key to success is working well with your editor, said Stein.
"Make your editor your colleague," said Stein. "Editors are there to catch you if you fall."
Be the first to comment on this story