The RMIT Times

THE PROBLEM WITH FREELANCE

Freelancers are integral to modern day journalism. But can they be trusted? Lexie Jeuniewic reports.

More than 1500 Australian journalists consider themselves freelancers, new figures from the MEAA have revealed. Given the technological takeover of print media, it comes as no surprise journalists, too, are switching off the office desktop and cooping up in a cafe to write their stories. But does the dissolution of traditional newsrooms mean a loss of journalistic integrity?

A freelance writer for The Age recently found herself without a job after writing a falsified piece on street fashion. Only months ago, The Guardian issued an apology for publishing a series of articles by a freelance writer which turned out to be completely fictional. Worse still, two years ago a freelance writer faced US court after writing an expose for Rolling Stone magazine on a University of Virginia rape. Turns out, the piece was directly inspired by a Law & Order episode, not a real case of sexual assault.

While many freelancers writers are trustworthy, and indeed accurate journalists, the wiggle-room provided by a lack of traditional news room can exacerbate the temptation to embellish fact.

So how to we regain a positive name for freelancers? And how can we bring quality to the modern newsroom? Continued pg.3.

TRUST

TEAMWORK

QUALITY

DEFINING QUALITY

QUICK Q&A WITH STEVEN GEORGE

Steven George is an Australian script writer who dabbles in many facets of media. At the moment, he is the voice behind a weekly podcast named "The Coffee Pod" where any topic is up for discussion. He's also interested in pursuing freelance writing in the future. Given his media-centered background, I was keen to get Steven's perspective on the current format of the freelance industry, and the importance of collaboration when creating journalism.

Lexie Jeuniewic: Given you're looking into some freelance work in the future, do you think it would be beneficial to have some kind of "community" of freelancers who could fact-check and edit articles for accuracy before publication?

Steven George: A Community of freelancers would be perfect for cross checking, making sure you're on the same page with the type of journalism you and your peers are getting into.

When I'm writing a script, I'm constantly grabbing advice from peers, checking If the story works and of course punctuation. And that's before it goes to Screen Australia or studio or I pay a script doctor to run over it. It's a long process before you're 100% ready to go.

When it comes to freelance writing I think it would be great to have some sort of 'middle man', who can double-check facts and do edits. And, of course, there's the brain storming side of things.

LJ: With your work in podcasting, how important is collaborative journalism for you?

SG: Collaborative journalism in podcasting is essential. Everyone plays a separate role, and without each component the final product wouldn't be as good, I think. Even with my small podcast (The Coffee Pod), we're constantly helping each other out and putting our different strengths forward. It's also really handy to have someone to bounce ideas off and to tell you if you're thinking straight or completely off the mark.

FACE-TO-FACE WITH ELVIN HO

Elvin Ho began his unconventional career in the kitchen, working his fingers to the bone as a sous- chef for MoVida, a leading Melbourne restaurant. Despite Elvin's passion for cooking and a steadfast love for the industry, the long nights and hard working conditions became a burden after welcoming a child into the family. Earlier this year, Elvin decided to take up an internship at Broadsheet, a popular online publication which prides itself on being on the pulse of Melbourne's culinary and cultural vein. His experience in the kitchen, and natural aptitude for writing captivating and witty pieces (he's a comedian, too) caught the eye of editor Tacey Rychter, who offered him his own regular column on food writing. The first installment of Elvin's column in Broadsheet is only weeks away, so I thought it would be an ideal time to have a very unconventional chat about his future as a freelance journalist.

WANTED: FREELANCER'S FORUM

We've established freelance shouldn't be done alone. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists consists of 170 of the world's best super sleuth journos. Despite being dotted across the world, ICIJ connects their journalists collaborate using Google +, Facebook and Twitter. These connections "help promote better understanding and best practices in collaborative journalism", ICJI suggests.

Here's some ideas of how freelancers can combine forces before some tech-savvy developer creates a 'pocket newsroom'.

IDEAS FOR FREELANCE FORUM

1. Facebook

Archaic as it is, create a group and add all the fellow freelancers you know. Upload articles to the page for subbing, fact-checking and brainstorming.

2. Slack

RMIT Journalism endorsed, it's perfect for fluid brainstorming.

3. DIY Newsroom

Remember when you were a kid, and you used to play 'shop'? Same kind of concept, except you gather your journo mates for a monthly/ weekly mock news room session. Face-to-face is always best, and it's a great way to discuss ideas and give live feedback. Also, it's a good chance to see each other and catch up on life.

TO IMPROVED FREELANCE AND BEYOND

As journalism begins to rise from the ashes of print media, and gains traction as a quality digital medium, it feels appropriate freelance journalism should progress in the same direction. It is not to say, by any means, freelance is the sole contributor to modern journalism's failings. It does, however, have room for improvement. Contextualising the 2016 predictions made by the experts at Nieman Lab, it seems fair to conclude the best writing is fostered through team work; while collaboration may occur in cyber space, instead of an office space, the conversation, and the goal of better journalism, is still there. Greater connections in the 21st journalism network will allow for fewer gaping holes of inaccuracy, minimising mistakes and upholding the integrity of modern journalism.

THE RMIT TIMES

Friday, August 12, 2016

Semester 2, No. 1

s3486574

THE SECRET LIFE OF FREELANCERS

Podcaster and script writer

Qualities of the modern newsroom

Broadsheet freelancer and Melbourne comedian

"Demand change of each other and champion organizational and individual growth through transparency, collaboration, community, and connection."- Kelsey Proud, Nieman Lab

Trust is a fundamental quality of good storytelling. Without an active listener, journalism falls flat on its face. Loyal readership is fostered by transparency , Kelsey Proud (2016) argues in her article for Niemen Lab. "Demand change for each other," Proud suggests. Note the collaborative prerequisite Proud emphasises in creating trust. Freelancers at the helm of journalism's revolution must endeavour to become part of communities, and keep commentary and criticism active. Dialogue is imperative to motivation and making change, thus the need for a freelance forum becomes more urgent in the quest for improved journalism in the 21st century sphere.

"The myth of the one-man-band journalist is shown the door, and the age of the team is ushered in." - Marie Gilot, Nieman Lab

The end is nigh for the “lone journalist”, argues Marie Gilot (2016), assembling a hypothetical journalism dream-team in her article for Nieman Lab. Gilot predicts 2016 will be the year solo writers, and indeed freelancers, merge their “superpowers” to create excellent stories. Teams, Gilot highlights, allow for writers to combine talents; it’s almost impossible to go through the rigors of good journalism, which involves the sometime lengthy process source talent/fact-check/edit/sub-edit/publish, alone. Given freelancers are perhaps the loneliest and most isolated of all journos, maybe it’s time for them to combine forces. Team Freelance, anyone?

One man's trash is another man's treasure, or so the hackneyed phrase goes. What one person thinks is brilliant journalism may be viewed by another as pure drivel. So are there hard and fast rules of what quality journalism looks like? In John C. Merrill's The Elite Press. Great Newspapers of the World (1968), the author argues the qualities of world's 'best' newspapers can be distilled into finite factors. "Merrill's survey", as it became known, concluded superlative journalism had five key components.

My prediction for 2016 is that will we see the content pendulum begin to noticeably swing back from quantity to quality." - M.Scott Haven, Nieman Lab

"I expect to see an acceleration of the platforms paying top-tier content producers for their product", writes M.Scott Havens, the head of digital at Bloomberg Media. In an article for Nieman Lab, Havens (2016) predicts quality journalism will gain monetary value in 2016. And by quality, he pertains to well-written "gems", and not the "irritating noise" of click-bait centered articles and 'viral videos'. But what is quality journalism?