56. Making money from journalism. Finding news stories you can sell.

In this and over the next few posts we will be going into detail about selling news stories.

Any idiot can give away content for free (and if you are struggling to do even that than perhaps you should reconsider your career options).

But why should you be doing it? The immediate answer is obvious: The cash.

That, however, isn't the only or most important reason (it is highly unlikely you will be paying off your university fees - more likely a couple of takeaways).

Getting into the habit of selling stories concentrates the mind more than any classroom exercise. You will be on the look out for news stories in your day to day life.

You will start to see what makes a story and what doesn't. You will be competing against journalists in the real world... and have to deal with the public in the real world.

And after that you'll have to put up with seeing your byline robbed and a 50/50 chance you won't get the money... or at least have to spend an age chasing it up.

So a few generalisations:

1. Local newspapers and websites rarely pay for stories - even front page ones.

2. Tabloids pay better than broadsheets.

3. Sundays usually pay more than dailies.

4. Human interest sells better than hard news - celebrity exclusives pay best of all.

5. Bad news tends to sell better than good news.

6. Stories about middle-class young people do better than stories about working-class old people.

7. Good new photographs will help sell a story.

8. Exclusives can pay more than selling all around - but you will only get paid on publication.

9. Prepare to be ripped off time and again (and not just by the nasty papers - who are actually more likely to pay).

10. Being first helps but until you gain trust it might not always be enough.

And remember above all else - the most important byline is the one on the top of the cheque, as the (old) adage goes.

First off if you intend to sell a story to a national or a magazine or an agency do not merely pass yourself off as a student journalist. While strictly speaking it may be true it's also dishonest.

People may be more inclined to help a student rather than a professional reporter - and, understandably, they may get mightily pissed off if they discover you've been flogging off their story and soon as you've left them.

It's a greyer area if you run it in your student publication and then sell it on because than it is in the public domain.

Secondly don't go around telling people you work for the publication you WANT to sell it to. News editors take a very dim view of this -  not least because it will be they who will be dealing with any mess you leave.

And anyway these days they have enough problems dealing with complaints (mostly imagined or exaggerated) about their own reporters without having to deal with wannabes claiming to be on their staff.

(Oh yes, that too is dishonest.)

When in doubt try: Freelance reporter, which more or less covers everything.

Now stories come from anywhere - and there are no hard and fast rules. Previous posts in this blog have given you pointers on where to find general news.

But essentially what makes a story can be anything. Your college is a good place to start (ie a college netball team playing in a foreign town hit by a hurricane would probably make a story that people would pay for - especially with photos).

If you are a journalism student and assigned a patch listen out for the unusual - a celeb moving into the local area (be careful about this as estate agents have been known to conjure up these stories at times when an expensive property in their area isn't selling).

Journalism Tips 52. Lessons from the movies: Shorthand.

How invaluable shorthand is cannot be underestimated. Sure you can do the job without it - and many do but if you want the best quotes than Teeline or Pitmans is the answer.

It is particularly valuable in court, even when barristers speak at a deliberate 70wpm to eek out their fees  - or choose a steady pace in order to carefully pick their words carefully.

And for those still doubting think of Glenn Hoddle who was quite prepared to sue The Times for printing his comments that disabled people had been bad in a previous life.

Fortunately reporter Matt Dickinson was able to produce his perfect shorthand notes and the threat of legal action faded away.

Of course having said that shorthand in the warmth of the office is nothing like that out in the street on a cold November day when you've been waiting in a freezing car (if you're lucky) for someone to leave their home.

Nor is it like the scramble down the street as the interviewee decides they want to walk and talk.

And as for the complete sentence... Alas no, people do not finish tend to complete their...

Or they veer off the point or don't appear to be saying anything of interest until, with a degree of verbal dexterity you could never have imagine, they make a brilliant, original and controversial point which becomes your instant top line half way through a sentence.

So do not think you don't need shorthand. But keep a digital recorder packed at all times.

One last thing. No one speaks at precisely 100wpm. As demonstrated in the clip above from Norman Wisdom's Press For Time (1966).

For me the beauty of this scene is not Stanley Unwin's brilliant town clerk gobbledygook routine but Tom Selby's County Chronicle reporter Harry Marshall. His studied boredom of the proceedings is priceless.