Why Journalists Are Leaving The Industry

Image by Etienne Boulanger

With living costs rising, I wanted to talk this week about journalism rates. Some people (not PRs, of course) are surprised to find out that no, we're not paid by clicks, or how well received our pieces are (we don't need more click-bait journalism, although perhaps I wouldn't be saying that if I received a pound for every view of a recent BBC article).

But while bills are increasing, there's one thing that's not going up and that's journalism rates. In fact, some freelance journalism rates are the SAME or LOWER than circa 2010. And even before. Imagine. If I think back to the freelance rates set at a trade title I first started at, the figure seems like a decent amount compared to some places now. Some more well-established tabloid journalists say that they're not even receiving half as much as they used to in the 90s. These days some online titles pay you around £90 for an article. The Guardian and BBC pay around £350 per 1000 words and £326 respectively (quite decent compared to everyone else). If you want to see how much other titles pay, you can check out this handy Freelance Fees Guide, where you can drill down into local news, magazines, books, etc.

Speak to any freelance journalist and they'll no doubt agree that it's a tough out there. Money is one of the key reasons why many journalists leave the industry, perhaps to go into roles some of you are in (PR/comms). Many like me have diversified into other areas and are juggling a few balls. If we still want to be a journalist, we simply have to. I know many who have added copywriter, celebrant, coach, and other jobs that don't begin with the letter 'c' to their bow. (Another popular choice is lecturing, as well as writing books). I actually love discovering what other career paths are out there.

As for me, I'm forever grateful that the Guardian contacted me about four years ago to run its PR masterclasses. Although journalism resolutely remains my focus, as many of you will know, that invite paved the way for me to start running my own workshops, setting up a course, creating Power Hours and a content network matching talented journalists with PRs and business owners. I also let out my home when I'm not there, which has been a lifesaver over the past five years. These other revenue streams have meant I can focus more on the kind of journalism I want to write.

I understand that publishers are having a torrid time, but these paltry rates need to stop. Stop giving overinflated pay packets and bonuses to the people at the top and start paying freelancers (and in-house journalists) a decent rate instead.

Have a great rest of the week.

Susie