NUJ freelancing courses in February

I will be running three freelancing courses for the National Union of Journalists in February, all of them online.

First steps in freelancing, which covers what you need to know to get started as a freelance journalist, will run on Friday 12 February. The cost for NUJ members is £40, student members £30 and non-members £110. You can find out more and book here.

Winning and negotiating freelance work, which goes deeper into these areas with more role-playing exercises, next takes place on Friday 26 February. It costs £50 for NUJ members, £40 for student members and £130 for non-members, with further information and booking here. Continue reading “NUJ freelancing courses in February”

Au revoir, Ojeu

In a few hours’ time, those of us who watch UK public sector will say au revoir to one of our most generous providers of stories. From 1 January 2021, UK public sector procurement notices – announcements that an organisation is thinking about or offering to buy something, has bought it or has cancelled its plans – will no longer appear on Tenders Electronic Daily, aka TED, aka the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union, aka Ojeu. Continue reading “Au revoir, Ojeu”

If you’re a journalist going freelance, First steps in freelancing is for you

Coronavirus is hitting journalism hard, with hundreds of staff jobs going or gone according to the Press Gazette. Freelancing could be the answer for some, either while looking for another job or permanently. For many freelance journalists, choosing your own hours and working from home is business as usual. But it is a tough thing to start doing, particularly in hard economic times.

My one-day course First steps in freelancing is designed to pass on the things a freelancer needs to know to get started: how to get work, agree a price and get paid; the options in terms of an office and technology; the first things to do about tax, pensions and marketing; and the opportunities for freelancers beyond selling individual pieces of work.

The course next runs on Friday 16 October from 10.30am to 4.30pm online. Given the economic situation the NUJ is charging standard members a bargain price of £40 and student members £30. You can book here.

Continue reading “If you’re a journalist going freelance, First steps in freelancing is for you”

In Our View Daily: covering an online conference, fast

Socitm’s annual President’s Conference usually takes place over two days somewhere in Britain. This year, the renamed President’s Week took place over five half-days somewhere on Webex. That longer duration provided the chance to try something new in covering the event.

On each of the five days I wrote and edited a four-page PDF newsletter, In Our View Daily, published at the end of the afternoon. This required significant preparation in advance, followed by intensive work every day by Socitm’s staff and myself. Continue reading “In Our View Daily: covering an online conference, fast”