People before protons: How to pitch a science story
by Monte Stewart
Yasmin Tayag, Tim Lougheed, Leah Geller and Mark Lowey
Tim Lougheed has been guarding his secret for years.
If he has his way, editors will never pry it out of him.
“To other people, I will call myself a science writer,” he said. “If I’m selling a story, I will never use that term.”
And Lougheed is adamant that he will not disclose his preferred subject area, either.
“The way to sell a science story is to never – ever, ever – use the word science,” said Lougheed, who is based in the Kingston, Ont., area. “I always lead [the pitch] with the story first.”
“I think: This is just a story. When you’re doing the pitch and you’re coming up with that lede, you put [the idea] together as if it would fit into any category whatsoever and say: This is a really cool story about why this angle does that.”
Such moves have paid off. Lougheed has been freelancing full-time about animal research, microscopes, isotopes, phosphorous, fuels and several other science-related matters for about three decades.
“I started with science, and it’s been very good to me – let’s put it that way,” said Lougheed, who was a staff writer with the Windsor Star, Sault Star and Queen’s University communications department before becoming self-employed in 1991.
New COVID-related freelancing opportunities
WEBINAR: Making the Most of Your Interviews (on any media platform)
For Paul McLaughlin, calling an interview a success comes down to just one thing.
“It’s very simple. It’s if I’ve accomplished my goals,” he says.
McLaughlin, one of Canada’s most experienced interviewing trainers and author of the book, Asking Questions: The Art of the Media Interview, says knowing what you need is one of the keys to scoring a good interview.
“For example, with a feature article, it’s because I’ve gone after what I call a ‘DnA.’ That’s a mnemonic I’ve made up for ‘details and anecdotes,'” he says.
“So have I got material that’s good? Do I have something that’s golden? I’m always trying to find some gold in the interview. You’re likely going to be surprised and there are things that you can’t anticipate but if you have a goal, you have a better chance of accomplishing it.”
McLaughlin is the former interviewing trainer for CBC Radio and TV and has taught interviewing at the Ryerson School of Journalism and in York University’s Professional Writing program. He’ll share some of the lessons he’s learned conducting thousands of interviews for both broadcast and print in an upcoming Canadian Freelance Guild webinar called “Making the Most of Your Interviews (on any media platform).”
It will cover interviewing for both print and broadcast, advanced preparation techniques, and establishing trust and rapport with an interviewee.
Read the rest of this post »
Rory Peck Awards open for submissions
Freelance video journalists living anywhere in the world can now submit their work for the 2020 Rory Peck Awards.
The awards come with a cash prize and focus on international news and current affairs, with one category dedicated specifically to local journalists and field producers. Work submitted must have been broadcast in the past year.
The awards have been celebrating the work of freelance journalists working in news and current affairs worldwide for 25 years.
The deadline for entries is Monday, August 10. For more information or to submit your work for an award, see the Rory Peck Trust website.
WEBINAR: Pitching for Success – Sell That Story!
You have the story. You know you can write it and deliver it. But how to get the editor’s attention—and a green light to proceed?
CFG Founding Member Sandra Phinney will take you on a journey down the freelance “pitching for success” path in Pitching for Success – Sell That Story. This workshop will cover:
- today’s most common complaints from editors (and how to capitalize on that knowledge);
- how to analyze magazines, newspapers and websites before creating a pitch;
- tips to make your query jump off the page;
- sample pitches/queries will be included, along with a real-life email trail with an editor, from pitch to filing story, including negotiating the best rate.
Sandra’s been a journalist and author for the past 20 years. Markets come and go but she continues to be a prolific writer and pulls off some interesting assignments. She’s penned four books, contributed to several travel guides and her articles have appeared in over 70 publications. She’s also won several writing/photography awards that have kept her humble.
This one-hour webinar happens on Tuesday, July 7th from 12 pm to 1 pm Eastern Time. It will be conducted using the Zoom platform. It is free for Canadian Freelance Guild members and costs just $25 for non-members.
Your link to the Zoom-platform session will be sent to you shortly before the start time. Please be on time.
You can find more information about the cost and benefits of membership in the CFG right here.
To register for Pitching Success click here.
The Born Freelancer on Going from 9-to-5 to Freelance During a Crisis
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Extreme conditions bring about extreme changes.
In many cases, it is the only way to survive.
Today I’d like to talk about how the current crisis may be a good time in which to reconsider your career options going forward.
Going freelance
So perhaps you find yourself out of work from your 9 to 5 routine due to the pandemic.
Or perhaps you are in limbo on CERB while you wait to see if your old 9 to 5 job will still exist.
Maybe you are working from home and you are thinking that you kind of like it.
Or maybe you are still working in your 9 to 5 but hating it more and more and wondering why you stick with it.
Have you considered going freelance?
Read the rest of this post »
WEBINAR: Getting the Shot – Tips to Taking Winning Photos!
Antarctica
It’s all in the eyes! Portraits, head shots, promo photos, editorial news and travel imagery is all about making that visual connection with the subject, to help convey emotion and tell the story.
In the Canadian Freelance Guild’s next webinar, Getting the Shot, learn the composition, lighting and exposure techniques to bring the viewer into the scene, and sell the shot!
Your Instructor: CFG member Frederic Hore is a freelance photojournalist, writer and travelholic with a passion for news, science, culture, the arts and the great outdoors. He started as a photographer-reporter for the weekly Powell River News, then worked for 8 years as a freelancer for the Montreal Gazette and Postmedia Inc.
His images and stories have been widely published including in the New York Daily News, Huffington Post, CNN, Canadian Geographic, in newspapers across Canada plus numerous other magazines and periodicals. His motto for life is: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”
This one-hour webinar happens on Tuesday, June 16 from Noon to 1 p.m. Eastern Time. It will be conducted using the Zoom platform. Participants will also receive a detailed tips and resources sheet.
Registration is free for Canadian Freelance Guild members and costs just $25 for non-members.
Your link to the Zoom-platform session will be sent to you shortly before the start time.
You can find more information about the cost and benefits of membership in the CFG right here.
To register for the webinar Getting The Shot click here.
Dave Greber Freelance Writers Awards aim to support social justice writing in Canada
Dave Greber could talk about writing for hours on end. The Calgary-based freelancer had an unquenchable enthusiasm for storytelling.
“You could see him come alive discussing writing,” says Dave’s partner, Shirley Dunn.
Twenty years after his death, Greber’s passion lives on in the form of awards for freelancers that Dunn created in his name.
Greber spent the latter part of his career writing books and articles focused on social justice issues and teaching writing at Mount Royal College. When he died suddenly in 2000, a visit from a group of his students inspired Dunn to find a way to honour his memory.
“I knew from what he said that the time between getting a contract to publish a book and the time of publication was very dry financially,” says Dunn.
She decided to create a fund to offer cash prizes for social justice-related books and magazine articles. Writers can submit their work for the award either pre- or post-publication.
The Dave Greber Freelance Writers Awards are aimed at helping freelancers pursue social justice journalism and reach a wider audience with their work.
“The hope is that social justice journalism impacts the general public,” says Dunn. “I chose social justice because in the latter years Dave was doing a lot of social justice writing, particular around the Holocaust. He was the child of Holocaust survivors.”
Read the rest of this post »
CFG FREE Special Presentation: The Class of Covid-19
The winter session at the University of King’s College School of Journalism in Halifax started normally enough, until the biggest story of the century engulfed the world.
By Friday March 13th, all classes were cancelled, access to gear vanished, and the big end-of-semester show that usually caps the JOUR 3005 Mobile Video Journalism Class?
Would…could…should the show go on?
You know the answer to that.
Using their mobile phones, sometimes iffy Internet connections for online interviews, without tripods or microphones or proper editing facilities, they got to work – while keeping themselves safe in truly troubling times.
Join us on Sunday at 3 pm ET to share the Covid-19 news show they created, and hear from four of the students and their instructor – CFG Member Catherine Harrop – about how it all unfolded.
Who knows: You might learn some useful tricks.
You can register for this event right here. And as always, it’s free for CFG members.
Freelancers face new challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic
by Monte Stewart
This is part two in a series on the ways that Canadian freelancers are weathering COVID-19. Read part one right here.
Lesley Evans Ogden
Lesley Evans Ogden shares her home office with a pet bird.
Her feathered friend was there even before the coronavirus struck. But now the Vancouver-area freelancer, who specializes in science reporting, has to deal with her husband and two of their kids being around during working hours as well.
Evans Ogden is one of many Canadian freelancers who are adapting as they contemplate how the coronavirus will affect their livelihoods on a long-term basis.
In her case, the answer is “still emerging.”
“And, I expect it will continue to change over time,” said Evans Ogden.
Currently she has a backlog of deadlines assigned both before and after the pandemic was announced.
“All of these assignments have nothing to do with COVID-19. I’m writing those up as fast as I can because I’m anxious to contribute to COVID-19 reporting,” she said.
Anticipating that COVID-19 will be a big part of her work for the foreseeable future, Evans Ogden is preparing pitches for “solutions-based stories” in areas that interest her.
“But I’ll also make sure to mix [pitches] up with other topics I like to write about,” she said. “I know I will need to take my brain off the corona-channel some of the time for my own mental health.”
Evans Ogden advises freelancers to be flexible, “think outside the old box,” create opportunities, reject “shitty contracts” and, if necessary, seek help with contracts and other issues from the Canadian Freelance Guild.
“This is a brand new world,” she said. “We don’t have to operate in the same ways as before.”
Read the rest of this post »
Freelancers struggle to adapt to a shifting Canadian media landscape during COVID-19 pandemic
by Monte Stewart
This is part one in a series on the ways that Canadian freelancers are weathering COVID-19. Read part two right here.
Jeff Gaulin
Jeff Gaulin does not believe that the Canadian media landscape will go “back to normal” once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
The owner of the popular journalism job site says the pandemic has been “devastating” for his website and all of the journalists who rely on it.
“Freelance journalists will need to adapt more than ever before, and find out what their edge or unique selling proposition is in this increasingly volatile and competitive market,” he said.
But even though freelancers are scrambling during the pandemic, Gaulin says, there is still demand for freelance services as news outlets strive to keep their fixed costs low but still access reporters.
Overall, the number of jobs posted on Jeffgaulin.com has declined more than 90 per cent. But Gaulin says all of the jobs posted on his site in the past month were freelance-based.
“Journalism is an essential service in Canadian society, so I am glad to see there are freelance opportunities for journalists,” he said.
“On the other hand, there is more competition [among freelancers] than ever before, and the prices paid are dropping dramatically, as most media outlets are losing their primary source of revenue – advertising.”
Read the rest of this post »
