Martin Voller takes issue with Newsquest’s scheme to make young journalists pay their way.
Every now and then a story catches your attention for all the wrong reasons.
Earlier this week it was reported that the Newsquest Group was asking journalism students to pay £120 for the chance to have their work published in its titles as part of a Young Reporter Scheme.
Newsquest is the UK’s third largest publisher of local and regional newspapers. Among its titles are publications local to East London such as the Wanstead & Woodford Guardian, the Waltham Forest Guardian and the Greenwich News Shopper.
The scheme is ‘open to students who are interested in looking at journalism as a career and want to build up a portfolio of their work before graduating.’
As a journalism student, the prospect of being published strikes a chord with me. But the idea of paying for it hits a raw nerve – as if writing for free isn’t enough!
Having looked more closely at the scheme, I find it’s not quite as first reported (you can’t always believe what you read in the papers!) In order to take part, universities or colleges must pay a £100 registration fee and every student is required to pay £20 for each piece to be considered.
Even if not as extreme as I first thought, it’s still bad enough, and it brings us back to the burning question for young people in my position – how do we get even a toehold in this increasingly precarious industry?
As students we are often told to get out there and write all the time.
Personally, in order to gain experience and have my work published, I have often worked for free.
Of course it would be great to be paid, but even without the money, there’s no better feeling than when you first see your name in print attached to a story you’ve written.
I remember mine. It was July 2013 when I wrote a Gaelic football match report for the Irish Post. I rushed to the newsagent on the Wednesday it was published and made sure I got a copy.
Though I remember it fondly, I have since been told by some that it is bad to work for no pay. To the contrary, receiving payment for your writing is what makes you a professional. So you can imagine my surprise when I heard students are now being charged to have their work printed.
I doubt I would feel the same sense of achievement had I paid for it, but most importantly it just seems like terrible exploitation. In addition, very few students will be able to afford it on top of rent and other costs incurred as part of student life.
All budding journalists need to build a portfolio of published work. But no matter how desperate you are, don’t do things the Newsquest way. Work hard and contact various papers and publications, and if you’re any good you’ll soon have your work published.
If you get paid for it, even better!