2024-03-12 16:36:59
I have never told you the vicissitudes of being autonomous. Why be a journalist freelance It is very nice, you are free, you have no boss or schedules, and you choose the topics you want to write about or in what format to publish.
I have been practicing all my life freelance journalismexcept for a nine-month period when I was hired by a publishing house, the rest of the time I have been self-employed.
Of course, freedom and independence is the beautiful part, the one that people like when they ask you about your work, but there is a side B. But there is also another side, the unsafety.
Sometimes you feel like you are in free fall, because since you are not hired by one company but work for many, you may find yourself at the end of the month without the enough income if there have not been the necessary orders.
You are subject to the fluctuations of what they call the “labor market.” And there are many variables that you cannot control.
There is also the soledad, which not everyone handles well. There are people who don’t understand that I might like to work alone at home. They are people who value socializing with co-workers. But I do like this solitude. For socialize I have post work.
Photo de Suzy Hazelwood.
And then there is that the self-employed we can’t get sick: If you don’t work you don’t earn money… Sometimes I have thought about being part of a mutuality. These are traditionally non-profit entities that are established under the principles of solidarity and mutual support.
People, professionals especially such as engineers or those who practice as lawyers, they come together to have access to basic services. In a mutual society, the members finance the institution with a monthly fee, for example, and thanks to that money you later have services such as insurance or any benefit for a work accident.
In any case, it must be recognized that journalists generally go a bit on their own. For example, we do not usually unionize. Yes, there are media outlets with unions, but in my experience it is not common. And then come the problems.
I once worked in the mornings at a newspaper. There was no one unionized, and when the threat of layoffs It was when people became more informed and many unionized.
The journalist also saves this freelance. Generally you charge per piece, that is, you offer a topic to write about and if the editorial office on duty likes it, they buy it from you, you do it, it is published and you charge for it. There is no hiring or firing.
Problem with this? If the media disappears they leave you owing money. I count at least three newspapers that disappeared – some very well-known – and they still owe me money (impossible to recover it now).
So now you know, if you are thinking of practicing like this, like me, on your own, be very clear about the mess you are getting yourself into. I say this a lot to young people. Journalism students. I prefer to make a living this way, but there is a price to pay…
Related
#freelance #freelance #journalist #today