Working outside your country of origin as a freelance journalist holds out the tantalising promise of excitement and independence. But there's a lot you need to know before you even consider the move – whether you want to work as a freelance correspondent, based abroad, or as a roving freelance operating from your home country.
Guardian Southern Europe editor John Hooper – a correspondent with more than 20 years experience of working independently abroad – offers a practical guide to the rewards and pitfalls for both written and broadcast journalists. The course covers the essential elements to ensure the success and financial viability of your overseas career. You'll learn how to establish a profitable niche in your chosen market, how to pitch articles to home and overseas-based media outlets, and what commissions to avoid. You'll also receive an overview of the realities of international freelancing.
This course is for you if...
- You're a journalist interested in the possibilities of freelancing outside your country of origin
- You're a journalism student seeking to broaden your knowledge of the profession and opportunities within it
- You work in a field such as public relations, or at an NGO, where it is important to understand how international freelance journalists operate
Course description
This large-scale seminar offers a pragmatic overview of the realities, advantages and pitfalls of working abroad as a freelance journalist, illustrated with entertaining examples from the career of Guardian Southern Europe editor John Hooper. Topics covered on the evening include:
- Defining terms and aims: why do you want to freelance abroad? And how? Do you have to be based overseas or could you work from your home country?
- Preparing the ground: establishing a viable patch and making a successful pitch. The importance of studying the market, and how to go about it.
- Operating as an international freelance: training, insurance and equipment; how to broaden your customer base; what kinds of commission to avoid, and how to spot those opportunities of a lifetime.
Tutor profile
John Hooper is the Southern Europe editor of the Guardian and Observer, and a prize-winning journalist and author. He has worked for more than thirty years as a foreign correspondent, and reported from over fifty countries, often as a non-staff journalist. Stories he has covered have included Spain's transition to democracy in the 1970s; the rise of Islamist militancy in the North Africa of the 1980s; migrant smuggling in the Mediterranean; the war in Kosovo; the background to the hatching in Hamburg of the 9/11 plot, and the Silvio Berlusconi sex scandals.
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Details
Date: Tuesday 30 September 2014
Times: 6.30pm–9.30pm. Check-in begins 30 minutes before the start time.
Location: The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU
Price: £39 (includes VAT, booking fee and refreshments)
Event capacity: 100
Dress code: There is no dress code for Masterclasses. Please dress however you feel comfortable.
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Returns policy
Tickets may be refunded if you contact us at least 7 days before the course start date. Please see our terms and conditions for more information on our refund policy.
