Another side of journalism: freelancing

Many of our journalism majors land entry-level jobs at newspapers. Others are interested in longer-form journalism. Students in my Public Affairs Reporting class this week gained insights into the transition from daily journalism to magazines and books from guest speakers Andrea Vogt and Ken Olsen.

Andrea completed a political science degree from the University of Idaho; Ken studied forestry as an undergraduate here before earning a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona. Both worked for The Spokesman-Review, Andrea covering higher education on the Palouse and Ken reporting on health and environmental issues in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane.

Now, each works as a freelance writer, pitching story ideas to a variety of magazines – Ken based in Spokane, Andrea dividing her time between Pullman and Bologna, Italy.

Ken says reporters need a sense of history, a sense of skepticism and an eye for detail. He uses a piece he wrote about salmon recovery efforts for High Country News as an example of using numbers without bogging down the flow of a narrative.

Andrea described her months of interviews with the late human-rights activist Bill Wassmuth, which were incorporated into her book Common Courage, published by the University of Idaho Press in 2003. Building trust with her subject was the key to effective interviewing, she said.

Their advice to students interested in writing for magazines: study a foreign language, read fiction to learn creative writing styles, and cultivate relationships with editors.

A postscript to last week’s enrollment report: Using a different list provided by the Registrar’s Office, it looks like we have 450 JAMM majors, two more than the initial report.