Council Post: Five Ways Freelance Journalists Are Changing The Media Landscape

By Nikki Carlson, co-founder/co-president of ChicExecs Retail and Strategy Firm. She has over 21 years’ experience in PR/marketing.

Once upon a time, the media industry had newsrooms packed with journalists. But today, much of the news cycle is happening remotely, and with freelance journalists instead of employees.

It’s no surprise that there’s been a 26% decrease in newsroom jobs since 2008. And, although digital media employment is up, there are fewer journalists today than ever before. For brands, this means there are fewer people available to tell your stories—which translates into tighter deadlines and more work for journalists, too.

To reduce costs without compromising on the amount of content they produce, most media outlets hire freelance journalists to fill in the gaps. In fact, many journalists are leaving the media room altogether for careers as freelance journalists.

This shift to freelance journalism changes the way that brands should approach media relationships and pitching. Keep your eye on these five major changes to the media landscape.

1. Greater Diversity Of Perspectives

By hiring freelancers, outlets are able to share stories from a greater variety of people. While most media outlets definitely put their spin on stories, this is still a great way to showcase more diverse stories that the media would normally overlook. If outlets have looked over your brand story in the past, try reaching out to freelancers! They might be able to convince the outlet to give you a shot.

2. 24/7 News Coverage

Journalists are only human. Although the news cycle is 24/7, media room journalists aren’t able to work around the clock. Fortunately, freelance journalists make it possible to share the burden.

Freelancers fill in the gaps so media outlets always have a stream of new content for readers. Since this takes up fewer internal resources, it’s a win for overworked in-house journalists, too.

For brands, the 24/7 news cycle is good news! It means outlets are always looking for good stories to share with their readers. Although there are fewer journalists, outlets are always in the market for fresh content.

3. Broader Skills

Freelance journalism is pretty competitive. Today, freelancers have to be more than talented writers, they need to have full media production capabilities to hang with the major media outlets. This means that today’s freelance journalists are more well-rounded, with skills that were once considered nice-to-haves, such as:

• Voiceovers

• Graphics

• Filming

• On-air talent

• Video editing

Skilled freelancers mean media outlets can get the multimedia content that readers expect, for a lower cost and on tighter timelines than they could produce in-house.

4. Different Pitching Contacts

Although there are fewer journalists today, there are more PR professionals pitching to journalists. In-house journalists are getting bombarded with requests, so outlets will pull in freelancers to lighten the workload. This does have a big effect on how you pitch your brand to journalists, though:

• Editors Instead Of Journalists: Previously, you could pitch to a journalist assigned to a specific beat. But if an outlet is primarily using freelancers, there’s a revolving door of writers for that beat. Freelancers don’t always have control over their assignments, so in this situation, you’re better off pitching to the in-house editor or department head.

• Slower Response Times: With a lower headcount in the newsroom, journalists are struggling to keep up with their inboxes. It isn’t unusual to wait one to two weeks before you get a response (if any) on your pitch.

• Freelancer Relationships: Although freelancers don’t have as much control as in-house journalists, it’s still a good idea for brands to forge relationships with them. Many freelancers have a large network of publications that they work with, so if the freelancer ever needs a source for another client, they might come knocking on your door! Freelancers can also put you in touch with relevant folks at media outlets, saving you a ton of time.

5. Decentralization

While it’s still a good idea to pitch to media outlets, the switch to freelance journalism has decentralized the entire industry. This means that freelancers themselves are becoming outlets. Freelance journalists have their own reputation and brand to manage, just like Good Morning America or ABC News.

If you manage to get covered by a prestigious journalist—regardless of the outlet they’re writing for—you can still have a great outcome for your brand. In this case, you should pitch for both high-profile outlets and big-name journalists to get more coverage.

The Bottom Line

Journalists are a critical part of the media landscape that we often take for granted. They’re storytellers, detectives and writers all in one. With more media outlets available online and a 24/7 news cycle, freelance journalists are filling in the gaps for the media industry.

It’s important for brands to plan for these five changes to the media landscape, courtesy of freelance workers. Freelance journalists aren’t a bad thing, but it’s important to know how the industry is evolving so you can position your brand in the best light possible.