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Interview with
Lori Widmer and Margaret Davidson Lori Widmer is the Senior Editor of Risk & Insurance, a national trade publication. She spent twelve years freelancing, ten of them for local newspapers as a stringer. Margaret Davidson is the chair of the journalism department at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, a magazine writer specializing in economic, ethical and legislative issues of health care, a former stringer for The Milwaukee Journal, and a former state editor of the Niagara Gazette daily newspaper in Niagara Falls, N.Y., where she supervised and held workshops for stringers. They had the following views to share on stringing.... How would you advise a person starting out in this field to approach newspapers? Call up the editor, send a query letter, or arrange an interview? What is the best approach? Lori : For me, it was a visit to the newspaper responding to their request for a stringer. After I'd spent a few years in that job, and after opportunities there dried up, I moved on to the next one, which I approached directly. I went in with samples, a resume (not necessary, really), and asked for stringer work. Got it on the spot. My advice would be to consider yourself able to handle the job. When approaching the editor for the first time, don't do it in a way that has you practically apologizing for breathing. Feel confident. The work isn't tough and if you can conjugate a verb, you can succeed, especially if you are open to learning on the fly. Margaret : I'd advise those who would like to work as stringers to call up the appropriate editor and offer their services. Before calling, check with the newspaper to see who the appropriate editor is and find out when their deadline times are so you can avoid calling them during those busy periods. When you reach them, offer to send them a list of story ideas for the geographic area you are interested in covering. What do editors look for in stringers? What are they most impressed by, what’s likely to get their attention? Lori : Reliability and someone who can form a coherent story. I'd say organization of the story and the assignments and reliability are the most important things editors look for. What got my editors' attention was doing the job well. I was prompt and never missed the deadline. That's absolutely the key as they work on a very short time schedule and they have to fill the space. They're relying on you to come through. In first starting with them, they're going to be impressed by a strong lead to a story, followed by a story that flows, not just a jumble of facts. Margaret : Editors would like to find individuals who know the community they are covering, can write well even on deadline, have the ability to research stories thoroughly and fairly, are well-informed and curious about the world around them, and have a news sense that helps them sniff out the most significant and interesting stories. They are likely to ask to see samples of published work. If you don't have any, you might offer to cover a story for them as a way of proving what you can do. What kind of assignments do you get? Are you assigned pieces or do you have to generate new ideas? What is the arrangement? Does the editor call you when they need an article on something? Lori : I received every assignment from covering the municipal meetings to writing features on local businesses and alternative sports in the area. I also wrote features like the bridal guide section, the hottest Christmas toys, etc. For the one newspaper, I was assigned all my ideas. I was allowed to come up with story ideas, but they didn't pay if they didn't use it. My editor called with ideas monthly (the first newspaper, the daily). She was editing a newspaper insert called Valley Magazine and it was my job to handle two stories in there a month. Margaret : Generally, stringers have to generate most of their own story ideas, though sometimes they may get assignments from the editor. Editors have to be careful to maintain their stringers' freelance status if they are not legally to be considered a regular staff employee. That status is basically determined by the extent of control the newspaper has over the individual. A number of factors are examined in determining that status including to what extent they generate their own story ideas and whether they are free to write for other publications. What are the benefits as you see it of stringing? Seeing your name in print? Do you have chances for getting a staff position? Lori : Stringing got me the job I have today. It gave me the clips, the experience, and the ability to overcome my nervousness about not being a "real" writer. Once your phone starts ringing with locals wanting you to either cover their event or explain your last article (you also learn very quickly how much of an impact your words have on the community) or to argue their side, you accept yourself as a real writer. Stringing taught me discipline. It can be incredibly boring sitting in a council meeting listening to discussion over sewer lines and animal leash laws, but my job is to make it sound interesting and convey the news in an unbiased way. Schlepping through the boring stuff made me a better writer. I learned to identify what makes a good story, what's printable, what's not. Margaret : One of the greatest satisfactions of stringing is the ability to make a difference in your community. You are in a position to help set the agenda regarding what are important issues for that community. You have a chance to herald the positive contributions of local citizens and serve as a watchdog against inappropriate behavior. It's fun to see your name in print and to be in the middle of the action. It's a terrific learning experience because you have an opportunity to cover so many different types of topics, unlike many full-time newspaper journalists who often are limited to a particular beat. And your work samples as well as your contact with editors can help you land a future full-time newspaper position. If you do have to come up with ideas for local community news, what do you do? Where do you go? How do you go about it? Lori : The best place to start is with your local government. Go to the meetings. There's where you'll learn about events in the making. Also, the local library is a wealth of information on upcoming events, as are schools and civic organizations. All of them want to have the press. Not all can, but you learn quickly how to determine what's a story and what's just an advertisement. After a while, people will call you. Every phone call is a potential story. I had a man call arguing about my article on a school board member who was glaringly absent from every meeting. He argued this man was an asset. From that conversation, I was able to write a story about the school board members and what they do for their communities. I also managed to write a piece on the opposing viewpoint. Margaret : To come up with good ideas for stories, you need to know where to fish. Municipal and school board meetings are often a good starting point. Information from police and courts may be among the most frequent source of stories. Introduce yourself to good potential sources, pass out your business card and encourage them to call you if they have an idea for coverage. What is the payment like? Lori : Well, as you know, I was a stringer for a number of years (ten, to be exact). I worked for two different newspapers. The first was a daily paper, large distribution. The work was spotty until I connected with a features editor. She kept me working on two or more articles a month. The going rate for freelancers was $30 an article, but she paid me $35 when she realized I was reliable. I wrote about business, alternative sports, some community news, and many features (such as the bridal features, etc.) When the magazine insert I wrote for disappeared, I moved on to a weekly newspaper. The pay was worse-- $15 per article, and though I was more free to write and submit what I could find, I couldn't get a raise to save my soul! For the most part, newspaper stringing pays abysmally. There are no perks, no hopes for any raise, but there's always the chance you'll be hired. The pluses were freedom to write when I wanted, sometimes even what I wanted, and I was free of the heavy pressure situation that news rooms generate. It gave me clips, it gave me recognition in the community so that others would come to me first with story ideas (which I could then sell to the newspaper), and it gave experience. Margaret : A number of years ago I wrote an article on stringing for Presstime magazine and found that methods and range of compensation varied tremendously. But usually the pay is so low that it's just probably going to give you a little extra spending money rather than be a significant livelihood. © 2001 S.Lakshmi |
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