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Hey! Liked your piece! Could you re-do it for us?! Can't pay you, by the way!

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Norrin Radd, Mar 5, 2013.

  1. Norrin Radd

    Norrin Radd New Member

    Wow.

    http://natethayer.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-freelance-journalist-2013/

    The main takeaway is that The Atlantic should pay its freelancers more, when it does pay them.
     
  2. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Good job by Nate in that exchange.
     
  3. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    It probably isn't the case, but ...

    Would love to know if the Atlantic global editor solicits stories for repurposing and gets writers to give them away for free -- and cries "no freelance money!" but gets a fat bonus if one of those free solicited stories actually comes the Atlantic's way.
     
  4. That's interesting. For a "prestige" magazine, the Atlantic has been surprisingly aggressive in Huffington-Post style contributions and aggregation. And that's not to say it's all drek. There are some interesting pieces. But it's definitely a long ways from the days when contributors to "prestige magazines" were paid handsomely to now, when writers are given a small stipend and told to be thrilled they're getting paid anything at all.
     
  5. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    The part that struck me is they would approach 52-year-old, well-respected Nate Thayer for this kind of thing. It makes me think the editor didn't know whom she was dealing with. Many 20-somethings who stumbled into a story in their world travels on daddy's plastic would have jumped at the chance to write for The Atlantic.
     
  6. trifectarich

    trifectarich Well-Known Member

    "I'm out of freelance money right now."

    I think my response to that would have been, "Get back in touch when your budget is back in working order."
     
  7. SixToe

    SixToe Well-Known Member

    And do it for free, which is the problem. Don't give away your work, talent and experience.
     
  8. ringer

    ringer Active Member

    Coming from the Atlantic, that is both stunning and obnoxious.

    In this age of social media, it's baffling that anyone would offer "exposure" as an incentive instead of a paycheck.

    I loved his argument that he was offered $125K by the same magazine for six stories at one point.

    I'm really glad he posted that exchange. And thanks for posting the link here.
     
  9. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    I think in many cases for younger writers, exposure can be worth the story. Getting something into The New York Times Magazine, for instance, makes a writer much more employable. Of course, getting something into the Times Magazine also means you get paid. Once a place develops a reputation for not paying, its credibility in establishing young writers slips, too.
     
  10. Norrin Radd

    Norrin Radd New Member

    20-somethings don't have all three of those.
     
  11. SixToe

    SixToe Well-Known Member

    So they should just give away their work and hope, one day, the standards they're helping to lower will be raised when someone has money to pay them?

    Don't give away your work. Doesn't matter if you're 23 or 53. Plumbers don't do it. Auto mechanics don't do it. Civil engineers don't do it. WTF should writers and photographers do it? They shouldn't.
     
  12. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Too bad Nate's story didn't get on the radar before the wad of freelance bucks disappeared. He could have earned $100 for his 1,200 words.
     
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