1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Eliminating "freelance" from my title...

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by NickMordo, Mar 10, 2011.

  1. NickMordo

    NickMordo Active Member

    ...should I do it? I'm technically a contractor for my newspaper, although I consider the amount of work I do more than just freelance. I work four of five weekdays in most cases (and some weekends), cover multiple events a week and work in the office as well. I'm asking simply because "freelance sports reporter" kind of irks me, and I think it does the same to potential employers. I do my fair share of work for the publication -- I just don't get the title or same consistent pay rates as the other people there.

    I don't want to lie to any potential employers, but I also don't want to dumb down my contributions and experience in the business. It's been bugging me so I had to ask. TIA
     
  2. rmanfredi

    rmanfredi Active Member

    I'd talk to the editors at the paper you work for and see if there's a middle ground there. Maybe you can use a title like "Contributing Writer" that sounds a little more permanent and reflective of the work you do. But don't add any title to what you do without getting the sign-off of the paper. Otherwise, that's just fabricating your background.
     
  3. JimmyHoward33

    JimmyHoward33 Well-Known Member

    What's your byline? If its staff writer, you're on staff, but it sounds like you're not. Correspondent sounds better than "freelance writer" and most papers use some form of that or "for the Podunk Press."

    In my mind, there's no difference between "freelance" or "contributor" or "correspondent" that could get you in hot water on a resume. Its semantics...if you think one looks better to an employer, go with it.
     
  4. Terror82

    Terror82 Member

    I prefer the term, "Media Mercenary." I'll write for the highest bidder...
     
  5. NickMordo

    NickMordo Active Member

    It usually just says, "Special to the..." so the "special part kind of gives it away. It says "Freelance Sports Reporter" on my resume, although "Correspondent" works well, too. I only do sports stuff, so that was my reasoning for having "sports reporter."
     
  6. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    If you don't work for the paper, then you don't have a title and you can call yourself whatever you want -- short of staff writer.

    So on your resume, you could go with professional writer or sports reporter or sports writer and list what you have covered and for whom.
     
  7. Johnny Chase

    Johnny Chase Member

    I'm basically in the same situation you are. What I do is just go into great detail about what kind of work I do. Mention how many stories you write per week.
     
  8. reformedhack

    reformedhack Well-Known Member

    Being a freelancer is not a detriment in the eyes of most people who'd be doing the hiring. If you're sending your resume to a newspaper, magazine or website, hiring editors know the score. If you're sending your resume to another industry, don't sweat it ... this is increasingly becoming a freelance-based economy.

    Freelancing doesn't mean you're not good enough to get a job somewhere. It means you're doing it on your own, on your own terms, and you're running your own company -- NickMordo Inc.

    I understand and appreciate your desire to have a title that reflects your belonging to an organization, but that isn't as important as it used to be. And, as the other posters have said, don't fudge your resume -- that would be a detriment.
     
  9. NickMordo

    NickMordo Active Member

     
  10. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    You could list it as Part-Time Sports Writer, Podunk Press, 2008-present: Then go into your duties.
     
  11. Mystery Meat II

    Mystery Meat II Well-Known Member

    I think you gotta mention that you're a freelancer/contributor/stringer/whatever somewhere on the resume, though. Without that, anyone who reads that resume would assume he was a staffer. That said, you go into detail about what you do -- big difference between someone who averages five bylines a week or routinely covers college/pro sports than a once-every-so-often writer or something who does community sports.

    Especially in this post-apocalyptic newspaper world, being a freelancer doesn't carry the same not-good-enough-to-be-full-time-at-the-Plain-Dealer stigma it used to. There's plenty of highly talented writers who, for one reason or another, are freelance-only.
     
  12. dirtybird

    dirtybird Well-Known Member

    Since you work office shifts it sounds like you are more of a part-timer than a freelancer. If you get any sort of hourly money (which I imagine you'd have to working in the office) it seems like you work part time. If that sounds better to you it probably works.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page