Looking For Opinionated Journalists

Congrats. You are part of the reason the field of journalism is a dying breed. Check any online source, most writers have to do free writing at some point in their professional career now.

 

Says who? There are plenty of people that do podcasts, but never had a boss or employer demand that I do one. Employers want people who can write and report. Period.

One final point of advice: Don't come on this board and ask for advice, and then start demeaning professional journalists when they tell you maybe your idea isn't the best. You want someone to tell you everything you do is great? Call your family. But there has been some good advice in this thread and you don't seem to care because it doesn't back up what you want.

 

But they don't post a call for them here.

Oh, and if it's free writing, it's not a professional career.

 

Re-reading your hot takes from college is the worst.

 

I wish I had written for the local newspaper covering preps as a college-aged writer. Instead, I was like Daniel T and thought writing for free for online outlets was the way to go. I don't need to reiterate what all these posters have said already. Reporting on preps may not seem as sexy as a "hot take," but it's more respected and probably will get more views.

 

"They cover terrible high school sports teams." - Just so you know, covering sports isn't supposed to be sexy. You will cover lousy teams with horrible people in boring cities if you go down this road. That doesn't mean you write lousy, horrible and boring stories. It's your job to turn cut through that and find the stories that interest the reader.

"That's one of the biggest demand [sic] in the era of modern journalism." - Can you cite some facts to back this up? I'm curious, because I freaking hate the video and have never listened to a podcast. I know *putting it out there is all the rage* but is the audience for it in begging for more? I certainly won't sit and search for sound bites from my favorite player/team/etc. I cannot stand "reporters" opining about their pet topics and never, ever click crap like that. I'd be interested to see where the audience is demanding more, especially from unproven reporters.

 

Hate to tell you but if it ant payin it ain't likely gonna get many pro writers. The guys you mentioned Stephen a. Blowhard and such, aren't in the same boat as most of us on here.

 

"We produce content for any and every professional sport, including eSports if that interests you."

At times, I dominate home run derby on Wii sports. Does that count as eSports?

 

I'd chime in (with perhaps some actual helpful tips for Daniel's sure to fail site), but my opinion isn't free.

 

Here's my question, what are you gaining by writing for belowmendoza.Com that a site like SB Nation or Fansided would not offer? Even if they don't pay you it has some sort of brand reckoning on and credibility that would stand out more on a resume than writing some opinion pieces for some random site. If you want to go the free route, and work with out money for resume purposes, why not go to something credible?

 

Daniel: Ask yourself this question - if you are in or have recently graduated from college, how will a clip from your proposed site impress a sports editor?

It is probably more likely that a sports editor would be inclined to take a negative view if these are the only type of writing samples you submit to get a job.

You want to cover the world with your website. I think you need to focus on something specific. Like a lot of young people (myself included 30 years ago), you are thinking about me rather than we. What do you have to offer to an editor? Think about the reader who reads your article/podcast/website content more and think of your writing less.