Pitching myself to small local newspapers.

Kixx

I will be moving shortly, and plan on contacting some of the smaller, local newspapers about taking/submitting photographs for them. I am wondering what the best way to do this would be.

1. Should I simply 'show up' and have a portfolio of 8x10s to show? If so, how many? What variety?

2. Should I call first, try to set up an appointment with the photography person/editor of the paper?

3. Should I email the photography person/editor and give them my website link? (After I clean the website up.)


I am also wondering if anyone is familiar with smaller papers and if their 'freelance' photographers are 'on file' as 'working media'. I would be interested in getting media credentials for certain events (aren't we all?!) that I may not be able to obtain as somebody with no working 'media' relationship.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

PhotoLasVegas

1st I hope you aren't going to try to make a living, or really ANY money on doing this... but that NOMB

I'd say give a local editor from a city far away (that way if you peeve them off or sound uninformed, you won't be ruining your chances locally) a call and ask them what their preference is. Once you've called a few and feel comfortable doing it locally, then that's also a good way to get yourself noticed instead of simply mailing them something. I'm not in that part of the business, and I'm sure there's a 'standard' but not everyone (especially small local papers) follows standards...

Kixx

PhotoLasVegas wrote:

1st I hope you aren't going to try to make a living, or really ANY money on doing this... but that NOMB

Not counting on a penny.


I should have added this to my OP;


I will not be counting on, or needing this as a source of income.

PhotoLasVegas wrote:

I'd say give a local editor from a city far away (that way if you peeve them off or sound uninformed, you won't be ruining your chances locally) a call and ask them what their preference is. Once you've called a few and feel comfortable doing it locally, then that's also a good way to get yourself noticed instead of simply mailing them something. I'm not in that part of the business, and I'm sure there's a 'standard' but not everyone (especially small local papers) follows standards...

I like this, thanks!

Biffbradford

Kixx wrote:

Not counting on a penny.


I should have added this to my OP;


I will not be counting on, or needing this as a source of income.




I like this, thanks!

I shoot cycling. Local traditional news has very little interest in that sport and seeing a need for coverage, I started my OWN web 'newspaper'! I'm only 5 weeks into the venture so word is just getting out and the view count is steadily climbing. Once the season kicks into full swing, I'll have plenty of viewership of whatever photos I choose from the big events I'll be covering. Gives me, as a photographer, exposure. My photo sales site exposure (from watermarking), and *hopefully* ad sales.

kd2

I shot for a small local newspaper--it was a community paper published once a month. I simply e-mailed the editor and asked if by chance they needed a photographer. Turns out they did and I was "hired." (Never had to meet with the editor, nor show proof of my work.) There was no pay, but in exchange they gave me advertising space and the ability to hand out my business cards whenever I was out. It got me out in the community, made me visible and was a lot of fun. I also took pics for some of the advertisers for the paper and they often asked me to leave my cards in their place of business.

I only worked for about six months until the newspaper ceased publication, but it was fun while it lasted.

mercphoto

kd2 wrote: »

I shot for a small local newspaper--it was a community paper published once a month. I simply e-mailed the editor and asked if by chance they needed a photographer. Turns out they did and I was "hired." (Never had to meet with the editor, nor show proof of my work.) There was no pay, but in exchange they gave me advertising space and the ability to hand out my business cards whenever I was out. It got me out in the community, made me visible and was a lot of fun. I also took pics for some of the advertisers for the paper and they often asked me to leave my cards in their place of business.

I only worked for about six months until the newspaper ceased publication, but it was fun while it lasted.

A newspaper hires a photographer without having to show proof of quality of work, knowledge of photographic or journalistic ethics, or even having an interview? And the industry wonders why it is in decline....

orljustin

Kixx wrote: »

Not counting on a penny.

I should have added this to my OP;

I will not be counting on, or needing this as a source of income.

I like this, thanks!

I'm sure the people that do will be loving you.

Kixx

orljustin wrote: »

I'm sure the people that do will be loving you.

...and the people who made horse carriages probably stopped working and living when the car came along.

Kixx

orljustin wrote: »

I'm sure the people that do will be loving you.

I'd also appreciate an accurate quote of what I said next time.


Thanks.

mercphoto

Kixx wrote: »

...and the people who made horse carriages probably stopped working and living when the car came along.

Poor analogy.

orljustin

Kixx wrote: »

I'd also appreciate an accurate quote of what I said next time.


Thanks.

That's as accurate as you're going to get. I just used the "reply" button which dumps your whole response in there.

Tell me what part wasn't "accurate".

orljustin

Kixx wrote: »

...and the people who made horse carriages probably stopped working and living when the car came along.

As mentioned, that is a poor (although easy enough to throw out there) analogy, and the emoticon doesn't help.

A better analogy would be one where someone had a job that someone else decided to come and do for free because they didn't rely on the money. Can you find one like that? People don't go and pour asphalt for free because it's fun. People don't go dig graves for no money for the thrill of it. See what you can come up with.

Kixx

orljustin wrote: »

As mentioned, that is a poor (although easy enough to throw out there) analogy, and the emoticon doesn't help.

A better analogy would be one where someone had a job that someone else decided to come and do for free because they didn't rely on the money. Can you find one like that? People don't go and pour asphalt for free because it's fun. People don't go dig graves for no money for the thrill of it. See what you can come up with.

Talk about poor analogies... show me where I said I'd do it for free.

Feel free to quote where I said, "I will not be counting on, or needing this as a source of income", cuz that surely doesn't equate to 'free'.


(Talking generally here, not specifically me) - So, if someone comes along that can produce a product at lower rates than existing producers, the existing producers should develop and harbor an attitude instead of possibly adapting their work to better suit potential clients?

Sorry you dislike emoticons, I likem. Besides, if nobody used them, they would just disappear... And that wouldn't be good!!!

mercphoto

Kixx wrote: »

Talk about poor analogies... show me where I said I'd do it for free.

You didn't. But in all fairness you did say you weren't counting on a penny. Is it really a stretch to think you would do this for free as a result of what you said?

I'm sorry I'm venting at you. I shouldn't be. But I have big problems with the current state of our news industry.

mercphoto

To answer your question many years ago, probably 2005, I simply sent the editor a link to a gallery of shots of mine and offered my services. They needed a high school sports photographer and the rate was $50 per image published. This was a small town publication, circulation probably about 20,000 issues twice a week. In hind sight I'm a bit amazed at how easy (read: scary) it was to become a photojournalist.

Kixx

mercphoto wrote: »

You didn't. But in all fairness you did say you weren't counting on a penny. Is it really a stretch to think you would do this for free as a result of what you said?

I'm sorry I'm venting at you. I shouldn't be. But I have big problems with the current state of our news industry.

No worries on the venting, pm sent!

chrisjohnson

The way it works around here is that the newspapers use photo agencies for the day to day work.

Any event is scheduled in advance and the photographers spend as short a time as possible actually at the event before driving to the next. And I mean short - 30 minutes is a long time. It looks more like hard work than it looks like fun.

There are also strict codes of conduct regarding use of press cards. It is definitely not a free entry to any local event of your choice.

I would give the papers you are interested in a call and see what their approach is. The ones here are open to consider freelance work and they will tell you where to post your image and, increasingly, give you an on-screen box to tick as a form of contract. If they choose to print it they will pay you a standard rate (not much) and take the syndication rights. When they have done enough of this - and you'll know likely because the agency lets them down and they call you because they have a problem - you can start thinking about some kind of personal contract, maybe. Most valuable is insight into what their next few issues are intended to cover.