Rise of the sid F
Freelances are taking on more non-journalism work. Laura Cooke reports
our years ago, I jumped ship from local newspapers to freelance journalism, and it was a career move I have never once regretted. I love the freedom, the variety and having a sense of pride in my work again, which had
been slowly worn away by JPI Media’s obsessive quest for clicks. What I am less keen on is the financial instability. When I started freelancing, I had several ongoing social media and content writing jobs to ensure I had a steady income while finding my feet. In December 2024, the last one of these finally fell by the wayside. The next few months were spent in a state of increasing desperation, trying to plug the gap in my earnings during a particularly barren patch. Eventually, I reached the point where I needed to do something, anything, to boost my bank account. That’s how I ended up spending the summer cleaning caravans at local holiday parks. It was never the direction I thought my journalism career would take after 23 years but, because of the dire state of my finances, I had little alternative. At first, I felt an acute sense of failure, as if I just wasn’t as cut
out for freelancing as I had previously thought. Could I even still call myself a journalist while emptying bins and scrubbing toilets on the minimum wage? But when I finally opened up about my employment status to other freelancers, it quickly became obvious that I was not alone. A second job or side hustle is increasingly important. According to a survey from the Freelancing for Journalists online community, more than half of the freelancers – 53 per cent – have a second income stream other than journalism. Its inaugural State of Freelance Journalism Survey reports that 19 per cent of respondents could not find enough work in journalism so had another income source. Nearly one-third (29 per cent) said the majority of their freelance income came from non-journalism work. The full findings are due shortly. The survey sample size is relatively small, with just over 400 respondents compared to the NUJ’s 23,000 members, of whom 46 per cent are freelances. However, the NUJ does not have any data on how many freelances have second jobs. The reason, according to London freelance chair Pennie
Quinton, is that journalists are simply unwilling to talk about it. “I think people are often embarrassed about it so they don’t
want to talk about it. They don’t want to seem like they’re not really journalists,” she says. “People are quite guarded.”
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As Quinton points out, taking on work as a cleaner, courier or retail assistant to keep the wolf from the door reflects how few options there are for freelances who have hit a rough patch. She said that while sometimes in journalism, you would take
work that you wouldn’t necessarily really want to do, the emergencies where you have just got to do anything also reflects what’s happened to the safety net She said: “In the past, during downtimes as a journalist, you may have worked on your long-term projects and signed on for a bit. That option is not there. Universal credit is so draconian you can’t tide yourself over with any kind of state benefits until work comes back, which is forcing many people out of their area of expertise.” Of course, a second job is not always a little
secret. Some journalists have chosen their side hustles, have made them a success and are rightly proud of their achievements. However, fewer than one in 10 (8 per cent) respondents to the State of Freelance Journalism Survey had another income source because they liked the variety. “Personally, I love all of my side hustles and do them out of choice rather than necessity,” says Lily Canter, co-director of Freelancing for Journalists, who knows a thing or two about side hustles. As well as being a freelance journalist, specialising in running and fitness, she is a UK Athletics running coach, edits the Running Matters newsletter and is a senior lecturer in BA Sports Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University. Although the survey offers an interesting snapshot, it does not paint the full picture. “This is the first time we have run the survey so we can’t
compare it to previous years,” says Canter. “It is therefore difficult to say whether the number of freelance journalists juggling side hustles is increasing or, indeed, why freelancers may have multiple income streams.” For me, the reason for taking on a second job was purely
financial. I found it incredibly stressful to receive text messages from my bank telling me I did not have enough money to cover an £18 direct debit while knowing I had £1,000 of unpaid invoices, £800 of which was overdue. Late payers, stagnant rates and the insidious policy of
payment on publication, which can leave journalists waiting months or even years for payment, feed into financial instability. But Canter points out that 73 per cent of those who responded to the survey were happy with their earnings, with 72 per cent wanting to continue working as a freelance journalist.
53%
More than half of freelances have a second income stream other than journalism
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