By
Jessica Weiss
Two
new platforms aim to connect journalists with outlets interested in publishing
their content and to make the payment process easier.
The
sites, NewsFixed and Jurnid, are working to solve common challenges freelancers
face, like finding organizations and businesses that want stories and dealing
with payments that don't come on time.
The
sites join a host
of other platforms launched in recent years in response to the growing
number of journalists working independently.
Here's
a look at these two newcomers:
NewsFixed
NewsFixed, founded by
journalist Jeremy
Walker, is a platform for professional international journalists and the
organizations seeking to publish international news.
According
to Walker, the motivation behind starting NewsFixed was simple. He believed the
system for commissioning international journalists was broken.
“I
was commissioning freelancers on a daily basis in my previous role, and it was
a nightmare,” he told IJNet. “On the other hand, I had previously been
freelance, and many of my friends were freelancing internationally, trying to
get commissioned. Yet no matter how good they were they were having a [hard]
time making it work.”
Target
audience:
Anyone can apply to join NewsFixed, but the site works hard to “maintain a
focus on recruiting for quality professionalism.” According to Walker,
NewsFixed is looking for excellence across the spectrum of international news
and factual media. “We particularly like people who have a depth of specialist
knowledge that goes beyond breaking news and can sustain an intensive
exploration of their specific subjects.
We actively seek out journalists who
are across the world of business and economics because we feel that this is
integral to delivering a holistic understanding of current affairs and a number
of our commissioning partners require that background.”
The
difference between NewsFixed and other platforms out there: NewsFixed is tightly targeted
on high-end factual media and journalism. “We're interested in international
geopolitical and business news,” Walker says. “We don't do celebrity or local
interest stories.”
The
site's progress so far:
NewsFixed has been providing material to major brands such as the BBC, Sky
News, Al Jazeera and a host of other media organizations, and has seen major
growth in commissioner activity over the last couple of months. Walker says
that commissioner recommendations surge when key international events happen –
like in Iraq, Ukraine or Nigeria – or when commissioners decide that they have
a specific need for a specialist's skills surrounding a story they are
pursuing.
The
future:
Newsfixed will remain a vetted network serving the international news and
international business worlds. "We are working with a variety of new
disruptive technologies to facilitate international payments as smoothly and
cheaply as possible."
Jurnid
Jurnid, founded by
Miami-based freelance media creative Andrew Quarrie, is seeking to connect journalists to
businesses and brands with content creation needs.
After
spending years in the media and business worlds, Quarrie noticed that freelance
journalists could be of great service to brands and businesses looking for
fresh content. So now, he’s working to help journalists find an entrepreneurial
edge and expand their clientele outside of just news.
“Increasingly,
businesses are valuing the importance of having original and fresh stories to
share with their audience,” Quarrie says. “Freelance journalists are
well-positioned to help tell better stories in a way they were trained to do.”
Target
audience:
Freelance journalists and students looking to build a viable career as
independents and entrepreneurs. The site welcomes all journalists regardless of
specialty; it's free to sign up to be a contributor. Journalists can use Jurnid
as their blogging platform or as a place to find worthwhile paying projects by
connecting with business and branded newsrooms.
Difference
between Jumid and the other platforms out there: “Jurnid is more than just
matching brands and businesses with freelance journalists in a simple
platform,” Quarrie says. Jurnid helps to empower entrepreneurial
experimentation from the educational level by establishing a network of mentors
who voluntarily provide feedback to journalism students as they publish their
portfolios on the platform.
For Quarrie, success is "providing freelance
journalists with simple tools that are useful to help them thrive as
self-managed entrepreneurs, with the understanding that there is strength in
being part of a collaborative social platform."
The
future:
Jurnid plans to serve journalists, readers and businesses wherever possible
around the globe. Currently only journalists with a United States bank account
can work as freelancers on Jurnid; this feature will open up to other countries
soon. However, journalists outside the U.S. can still sign up for free and use
Jurnid to publish work; the same goes for journalism students who want to use
the platform for their portfolios and to connect with mentors.
Jessica Weiss is a
freelance journalist based in Bogotá, Colombia.
Image
courtesy of Flickr user Rob
under a Creative Commons license.
Source:
Ijnet.org
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