Once a month we will be hosting a Guest Voices slot in the newsletter. We’re on the look out for diverse and different takes, advice, tips and projects. We’ve already had quite a few submissions so please don’t think we’re ignoring you if you have sent an idea - we will be in touch. If you would like to put your name forward, there is a Google form at the end of the newsletter.
This month’s contribution is from Andrew Mambondiyani, a freelance journalist based in Mutare, Zimbabwe, covering climate change and human rights among other issues. An MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow, Andrew has been working as a journalist for a decade and you can find him on Twitter as @mambondiyani.
Why more publications should pay freelancers up front
When the editor of Write Brain Studios – an upcoming US based publication – commissioned me to do a story for his new project, he insisted on paying me the full amount upfront.
“Don't start working on the story until you have received your payment,” Write Brain Studios editor, Kevin Ronca insisted during our Zoom chat.
And he added with a chuckle: “I think you're already saying ‘this guy is crazy’”.
Of course Ronca appeared crazy to me; for starters, his publication was still to hit the market. At the same time, he did not have the slightest idea of who I was. Nonetheless, he had trust in me and paid the full amount in advance.
I have been a freelance journalist for more than a decade and I have bylines in some of the biggest and prestigious local, regional and international media organisations. But it’s atypical to be paid in advance – either part payment or in full – for my freelance work. And in some cases it’s even difficult to be paid on time for the published work.
Like many freelance journalists, every month I struggle with the nightmare of chasing overdue invoices. A publication which pays upfront for freelance work is every journalist's dream.
When I asked Ronca, what was motivating him to pay freelance journalists upfront, he said: “For me, you give as much as you get. When it comes to artists coming together, it’s about trust. Could you have burnt me? Sure. But we looked each other in the eye and connected on a human level and I move on instinct, not on paranoia.”
Ronca added that he valued those that he worked with and they then valued him.
“There’s no reason in my mind that journalists aren’t paid up front. Having come from the filmmaking world, my mentality moving into publishing was to talk to journalists, not publishing houses, learn to understand their languages, wants, and needs,” he said.
Ronca said with journalism in the terrible state it was now, with corporations running it, he knew that journalists probably felt as enslaved as filmmakers do to Hollywood.
“So understanding their [journalists] needs and addressing them removed that prisoner’s dilemma of who can you trust. By valuing the human being, they have no reason to run. And you hope, they come back and you build a relationship based on trust, not fear. There were journalists I interviewed that I didn’t move forward with, because I didn’t see the passion in their eyes,” he said.
Other freelance journalists I have talked to agree with Ronca’s business model and exhorted major publications and editors to follow suit.
“I think it's prudent that a journalist when he pitches a story and it’s approved by an editor, he must get upfront at least half of the total amount he needs for the whole story," said Martin Mleya, a Zimbabwe based freelance journalist.
Mleya said paying a freelance journalist upfront would motivate him or her to put the best effort in making sure a story was well researched, accurate and balanced.
On the flipside, a freelance journalist can disappear with the advance payment without meeting his or her obligation.
“Although it will be a big risk paying upfront particularly for foreign publications, the advance payment goes a long way in motivating and giving hope to most freelance journalists who are struggling every day to make ends meet,” Mleya said.
However, the only currency which defines a journalist is his or her credibility; that credibility is priceless, as such, every freelance journalist must not run away with advance payment.
And as Ronca said, the relationship between a freelance journalist and an editor should be built on trust, not fear.
Let us know what you think? Have you ever been paid in advance and what benefits would that bring if you were? Come and share your thoughts in our Facebook Community.
If you would like to pitch to our Guest Voices slot in the newsletter, the form is here.
Our friends over at the European Journalism Centre are launching a data bootcamp for freelancers. During an interactive 20-hour, two-week virtual bootcamp you will learn how to get, clean and analyse data and to create data-driven storytelling formats. And you get a certificate and swag after graduation. Apply now to get one of the 25 scholarships available. Deadline for applications is the 10 September.
What’s coming up
Series 6 of the podcast is coming in the autumn so watch this space. In the meantime, grab your place for our next lunchtime webinar on Wednesday 8th September on Developing ideas and pitching. You can grab your ticket or find our more information by clicking on the link below.
Triumph of the week
Successful negotiations happening left, right and centre over at FFJ HQ. Putting what we preach into practice and it has definitely been paying off.
That feeling when…
You’ve had a lovely nice time off over summer but September’s diary is suddenly looking scarily full…
Do keep sending in your Listener Dilemmas for us to answer in series 6 of the podcast which we are starting to record very soon.
Either post a message in our Facebook Community or contact us at freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com.
Bye for now!