How to make money as a freelance journalist (freelancer). Average salary abroad


Journalism is considered one of the most relevant professions, both in Russia and in Europe. There is an opinion that all workers in this area earn a lot of money, but is this true, and if so, what difficulties does a journalist face in his work?

At the expense of journalists, society can learn about the main events that have taken place not only in the country, but throughout the world. The material presented is usually interpreted for the listener, deeply analyzed and accompanied by expert comments. Without this profession, there would be a lack of information in society.

This is a rather difficult profession, as it involves stressful situations and potential danger, so the question arises of how much journalists earn. Due to the fact that the media have a considerable influence on opinion in society, there are many attempts to bribe for their own benefit. However, this does not apply to neutral and entertaining themes.

To master the profession requires the ability to speak correctly, collect and analyze material, as well as navigate in new unfamiliar situations. This activity is suitable for active and creative people who are ready to learn and develop. Graduation from a higher educational institution in this direction will be a significant factor in successful employment.

Without education, it is difficult to be competitive and apply for a high salary, as the employer will need to spend more time on training.

With journalism, many opportunities open up in terms of a place of work. A journalist can work in:

  1. Federal Mass Media.
  2. Regional media.
  3. Print edition.
  4. Internet news service.
  5. Creation and implementation of television programs.
  6. Organization of video reports.
  7. Writing text news.

This provides a good starting point for those who want to become a media personality.

How does the application of the profession affect the level of wages

Many people think that working in large information companies can count on higher wages. This is not entirely true, since companies often hire correspondents from the provinces in order to systematize news and send ready-made events to editorial offices located in large cities. In this case, the salary of a journalist will be much less than that of people who type text at a convenient workplace according to the data sent to them.

Those who design text materials have the lowest income when compared with other types of activities. As exceptions, there will be only materials on voluminous analytical articles that are prepared by highly qualified experts. However, in this case, the specialist must have a specialized education and the ability to interpret highly specialized inferences that are suitable not only for trained readers, but also for ordinary readers.

Dependence of the salary on the type of activity

The salary of an ordinary reporter in the Russian Federation, on average, is 35,000 rubles. Smaller regional media can pay even less. Sports commentators in Moscow receive a relatively high salary, which depends on their level and starts at 20,000 rubles. for the match. Radio presenters can receive from 20,000 rubles. and higher. If this is a special correspondent who participates in direct broadcasts, then he can receive 60,000 - 300,000 rubles. It depends on the information presented, taking into account all the risk that is associated with the exposure of the film crew to danger. The lowest fee will be for the editor of the news feed on the Internet, they receive 25,000 - 30,000 rubles.

The salaries of TV presenters on central TV channels in Moscow deserve special attention. Often in the Russian Federation they can exceed the mark of 300,000 rubles, but they are not disclosed so that they do not affect the reputation of the channel or program.

Dependence of the average salary of a journalist on the region of the Russian Federation

It is known that wages differ from the population of the city. In large metropolitan areas, wages are always valued higher than in small towns. Below is the average salary in each region of the Russian Federation:

  • Moscow region - 37,000 rubles.
  • Yaroslavl region - 34,000 rubles.
  • Voronezh region - 33,000 rubles.
  • Chelyabinsk region - 32,000 rubles.
  • Kaluga region - 31,250 rubles.
  • Novosibirsk region - 30,000 rubles.
  • Leningrad region - 30,000 rubles.
  • Primorsky Territory - 27,000 rubles.
  • Krasnoyarsk Territory - 26,000 rubles.
  • Bryansk region - 25,000 rubles.

The average salary in Russia is 30,000 rubles, which makes journalism a fairly promising occupation in which you can make your career. If we consider the salary in Moscow, then this is the most profitable city for working as a journalist.


The level of the average salary in the industry Journalism

Average salary abroad

If we take the average salary in the EU countries, then the following picture will come out:

  • Journalists of the 1st class who have work experience up to a year - $ 2,500.
  • Journalists of the 2nd class - $2,800.
  • Journalists of the 3rd class - $3,700.

As it becomes clear, wages abroad will be higher than in Russia. However, for employment in another country, you will need good command of the language and experience in the field of journalism.

Advantages and disadvantages of the profession

It is quite difficult to start working in this area, since the initial salary is low, and the work is quite voluminous. This is painstaking work, which consists in finding new and interesting information. Over time, you can get some success in your circle, which will start a more serious career. Among the main advantages are:

  1. Career.
  2. Increase in wages.
  3. Full or part time employment.
  4. Possibility of free work schedule.

Of the shortcomings, it should be noted:

  1. A high level of danger, since work does not always take place in a calm environment. Work can take place in hot spots, or under constant pressure from the people involved in the situation.
  2. Constant readiness, as you need to quickly respond to events that have just happened.
  3. Long-term training and practice.

All these factors make you think well whether it is worth choosing such a job for yourself and whether it is suitable for everyone.

In this area, having a disposition for this, after some time you can reach certain peaks and become a star of journalism. But keep in mind that this path will be long and not the easiest. However, how much famous representatives in this field receive, covers the difficulty in mastering.

A journalist is a representative of a profession through which society learns about the important events of the day, week or year. The presented materials, as a rule, are interpreted, accompanied by in-depth analysis and expert commentary. Without these people, society would feel information hunger. Often this work is difficult, stressful and dangerous.

The media have considerable influence on public opinion, and many seek to bribe them for their own interests (this does not apply to neutral and entertainment topics). Therefore, how much a journalist earns directly depends on the field of activity and the regions in which he has to work. The difference in numbers will be noticeable. "Average temperature in the ward" - these are the numbers that you will learn from our article.

The value of the profession for society

Without journalism it is impossible to imagine our daily life. Many people start their mornings with breakfast and watching TV or the latest newspapers. During the day, we also receive an incredible amount of news that comes directly from or advertising agencies.

The number of Internet users has already reached half the globe - 3.5 billion people. And most of them leaf through the news feed in the evenings, which cannot but affect the fact that the named profession is becoming more and more in demand. And how much a journalist earns is now of interest not only to current, but also to future specialists.

Evaluation is more difficult. It would seem that it could be easier: find out the news first, compare the facts, draw conclusions, beautifully present the material to the reader. At first glance, this process does not require much effort, and someone will even consider the representatives of this profession to be parasites. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real results of his work in terms of money depend on how the specialist positions himself.

How much do journalists earn in Russia

In Russia, a journalist is very different depending on his location and format of activity. In small regional media, the average income will be several times less than in large metropolitan newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations. Also, how much journalists earn in Moscow, for example, can significantly exceed the income of their colleagues in St. Petersburg.

The statistics of 2017 says that the minimum salary of a journalist in Russian cities is equal to the subsistence level - 8,000 rubles. The lower threshold can be easily overcome by a specialist if his material is high-quality, innovative and published frequently.

The official maximum salary of such journalists reaches 120,000 rubles. Consequently, the average income in journalism in such cities as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa, Samara, Kazan, Novgorod and others is 35,000 rubles.

Income in different branches of journalism

One of the most profitable niches in journalism is sports. Sports commentators are paid more than print reporters and analysts. The question of how much sports journalists earn is impossible to answer unambiguously.

Commenting on events in sports is even more creative work than writing articles. Each competition or match always has an unpredictable course of events and a final. The fee of a commentator on television for one event starts from 20 thousand rubles, the details depend on his level of media coverage. On the radio, the average assessment of the work of a sports journalist is 10 thousand rubles per broadcast. Unknown commentators have more modest incomes.

Also, the highest level of income was recorded among the chief editors of publications and editors of departments. The average salary for these vacancies in Moscow is 43,900 rubles. This is the top of the corporate ladder for a full-time journalist.

How much does a journalist earn in the USA

According to foreign recruiting agencies, employers in Russia are willing to pay many times more for the work of a journalist than their foreign counterparts. So, here in the highest echelons of journalism, the salary reaches 60 thousand dollars a year. In the US, the average salary of a specialist is more modest - 40 thousand dollars a year.

If novice authors receive about 1 thousand dollars a month, and in the USA this figure is twice as high, then specialists with extensive experience and a well-known name earn even 5-7 thousand dollars. And this amount is twice the income of journalists in publications with an average popularity in America.

How to get a freelance journalist job

It has become popular in Russia to make a living as a freelancer. This trend has evolved with the development of the Internet and its increasing influence on public opinion. Working as a freelance journalist can also be classified as freelancing.

Anyone who knows the art of language, has analytical skills, a creative outlook on things can try to get this position. For this you should:

  • determine the topic, highlight profile areas;
  • select publications that are interested in the finished material;
  • find out the contacts of the editorial office from the sites;
  • send letters with offers;
  • wait for a response and get to work.

If how much a journalist earns has a fixed framework, then freelance authors receive a salary depending on the level of publication, production, and uniqueness of the material. Journalists who are the first to be in the thick of things are also called streamers. They are not tied to one employer and sell finished material at the best price for themselves.

Whose fee is higher

Along with the profession of a journalist, PR specialists have also become in demand. For a long time, the income of an average PR person was equal to the income of a high-class journalist. Now this distance is shrinking, as the market is oversaturated with unskilled personnel. But how much a journalist earns is still less than the salary of a PR manager. Therefore, more and more reporters prefer to work in press centers instead of editorial offices.

In the age of the Internet, high information flows and speeds, the profession of a journalist is becoming more and more in demand. News is interesting to everyone and always, but hardly anyone wants to perceive it as a simple list of events.

People are waiting for news filled with contextual information. People are interested not only in facts and figures, they also need in-depth analysis and expert commentary on the events of the day or week. Journalism is an interesting but difficult and dangerous profession. It demands full dedication and responsibility from people. How much does a journalist earn with his hard work?

Professional responsibilities

The main professional duty of a journalist is the formation of public opinion. In order to do it professionally, you need to be able to:

  1. Quickly search, select, classify and rank information.
  2. Attend various political, economic, cultural and social events.
  3. Be able to interview specialists from various fields of activity.
  4. You need to quickly and interestingly write articles, press releases and reviews on a specific topic.
  5. Work with photo and video materials, draw up programs of the day, presentations of material.
  6. To carry out technical control of the quality of the image and sound.

What is the salary of a journalist

Professionals who have high creative activity, as well as physical and emotional endurance, can perform the work of a journalist with high quality, and, therefore, earn good money. In addition, the level of remuneration of press workers is influenced by the work experience and fame of the employee.

The topics of reports are important, as materials on politics and economics are paid higher than news from the field of culture and art. If a certain publication requires additional knowledge from its correspondent, for example, a foreign language, then the level of salaries rises.

Of course, work experience in this profession is also important. The more experienced the specialist, the higher his professional level and salary. The profession of a journalist is associated with frequent business trips, incl. to "hot" spots - regions where there are open clashes of the civilian population or military conflicts. Trips to such places are associated with a risk to life, and therefore wages are much higher than in peaceful territories.

The salary of television journalists is higher, since their salary depends on the number of air hours. However, the conference among TV channel workers is much higher than among journalists in the print media.

What is the salary of a journalist

Most often, a complex method is used to pay journalists, which consists of assessing the creative component and volumetric indicators of the materials presented. Thus, the salary can be divided into two parts:

  • the creative component depends on the quality of fulfillment of the goals and objectives set by the editors, and the goals and objectives are constantly changing;
  • the volume component or fee is the product of the total volume of submitted materials for the month and the cost of units of measurement (the number of printed units, lines, paragraphs, pages, etc.)

Various publications establish their own criteria for the qualitative assessment of materials. However, the main principle for assigning such criteria is the editorial policy and professional aspects and specialization of a journalist.

Additional bonuses

The working conditions of a journalist are difficult, the working day is irregular. Specialists of this profession should be ready to work anytime and anywhere, day and night, in the editorial office, at home, at an event. Therefore, editorial managers must create favorable conditions for work.

The workplace of a journalist should be equipped with everything necessary: ​​stationery, reference literature, office equipment, an extensive file cabinet, a telephone, a voice recorder, video and photography equipment.

How much does a journalist earn in Russia

Journalist per month in Russia earns from 30 to 80 thousand rubles. average salary- 45 thousand rubles. This is higher than the salary of specialists in other sectors of the economy. However, young specialists with less than 3 years of experience earn only 20-25 thousand rubles per month.

In Moscow

Media workers in Moscow earn 40,000–220,000 rubles a month, which is an average of 130,000 rubles. and significantly exceeds the average salary in Russia and in most other regions of the country.

The stars of television journalism are record holders in terms of income, they receive up to 1 million rubles a month for their work.

In St. Petersburg

The monthly salary of St. Petersburg journalists is in the range of 30-100 thousand rubles. On average, they earn 65 thousand rubles a month, the maximum salary is 200 thousand rubles. Analysis of vacancies showed that most employers are willing to pay a specialist with 1-3 years of experience, 30-50 thousand rubles.

In the regional media of Russia

The level of salaries of journalists of regional media is significantly lower than in the metropolitan regions.

  • In Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Kazan, the average monthly salary is 40-45 thousand rubles;
  • in Sochi, Orenburg and Ulan-Ude - 35 thousand rubles;
  • in Yaroslavl, Krasnoyarsk, Vladimir - 30 thousand rubles;
  • in Samara and Saratov - 25 thousand rubles;

According to statistics, there is no increase in the salaries of journalists, since the salary of a journalist has never been fixed. In addition, more and more specialists work on the Internet and it is much more profitable for information companies to hire freelancers than full-time employees.

How much do foreign journalists earn

The highest income of journalists In Great Britain- 25-70 thousand pounds sterling (560 thousand rubles).

Income of the writing fraternity in the USA and Europe roughly correspond to the earnings of Russian colleagues. So journalists in the States earn 2.5 -3.7 thousand dollars a month (180 thousand rubles), and specialists in France- 3.5 thousand euros (200 thousand rubles).

Journalists of Kazakhstan on average, reporters from Belarus receive 24.5 thousand rubles, and Ukrainian colleagues - 23 thousand rubles.

Retirement

Journalists in Russia cannot count on preferential pensions and seniority pensions. The amount of the pension is determined by the length of service, the amount of wages and the amount of insurance premiums.

The Internet is an opportunity for additional earnings for journalists

The work of a journalist is generally not badly paid. But for those reporters who want to earn money, there is a good opportunity today - this is the work of creating unique content for sites on the Internet. If desired, you can get a significant monetary increase to the basic income of a specialist. For high-quality work on the Internet, a good specialist will be paid 600-900 rubles per thousand characters, and the fee for an article can reach 6 thousand rubles. The monthly salary of journalists working for electronic media reaches 90,000 rubles.

Prizes and awards

The world and Russian awards for journalists can significantly strengthen the financial situation of the workers of the pen and the camera. The world's most prestigious award in journalism and photojournalism is the Pulitzer Prize. Its size is 10 thousand dollars. The main prize of the Union of Journalists of Russia is the Golden Pen of Russia.

Real journalists consider their profession interesting and exciting, although there are also dangerous working moments. But not everyone has the opportunity to realize their potential in the editorial offices of newspapers and magazines, on television. What to do in this case? There is a way out and it is quite simple - look for a job on the Internet and start earning!

All that is required of a journalist to make money on the Internet is not to leave his favorite pastime, while the financial side of the issue will be resolved automatically. Your work in the form of articles with news, etc. a journalist can easily sell freelance or copywriting on exchanges, of which there are a lot on the Internet.

How to make money as a journalist online

On one of the text.ru article exchanges, there is a section dedicated specifically to selling current news. Anyone can try to earn money using this service. In addition, this exchange has a tool for high-quality online text verification for uniqueness. Here's the link . I recommend it to you.
Today, one of the good options for making a profit from rewriting is the sale of content on exchanges. It will not be difficult for you to find such exchanges. There are a lot of them on the Internet, and in each of them you will find a plus. One of the most popular and sought-after exchanges can be called TextSale.ru, both for customers and for rewriters, copywriters. You can judge the popularity by looking at its main indicators of quantity:

1) sold articles (there are more than 48,000 of them);
2) users (more than 37,500);
3) orders completed by TOP30 copywriters.
There are several ways to make money on this exchange. You can post both rewrites of articles and your own articles. There is also the possibility of placed orders with a specific job. For their implementation, you will immediately receive payment.

If you earn by copywriting, you can appreciate the positive side of this exchange. It consists in the fact that it is possible to make a unique article from the available material from the Internet through high-quality and deep rewriting. Thus, this new article can be sold as copywriting. With quality work, no one will suspect you of such "resourcefulness". Moreover, no one forbids the use of existing material.

Another plus is that you yourself allocate both the amount of your time spent on rewriting and when you will do this work. And it is not necessary to wait until the order arrives. All you need is to determine for yourself how much time and effort you are willing to spend to make it hard for you. For example, 10 thousand characters a day is your daily norm, which will be completed in 2-3 hours. Next, on TextSale.ru, follow the link "TOP 20 categories per month". Here you can find the volumes and categories of texts that are most in demand among customers. After that, you will need to find the necessary articles on the Internet, rewrite and sell.

There are two more good exchanges Advego and. From the exchanges mentioned in the article, you can choose the one that suits you. All exchanges have a good reputation and are time-tested, but there is no consensus among copywriters which exchange is better.

Starting to work, you should tune in to the fact that not all of your articles will be bought immediately. And do not get upset, and even more so, do not quit your job if the articles do not sell. It must be realized that, in its own way, the article exchange is a demand-driven market. And if today there is no demand for your article, this does not mean that tomorrow it will not be. It may happen that today not a single article has sold, but next week everyone will buy at once. And remember that on this service you can not only post texts written by you, but also take an order to write an article.

A journalist can also make money on the ContentMonster exchange. The requirements for authors are serious, you need to pass 2 tests to be able to work. But then you can earn tens of dollars daily by writing texts to order.

How to start make money online journalism and what such earnings are - read in this article the author of the Faculty of Journalism of KSU.Website "Journalism KSU" since February 2010 conducts a survey on the topic "Do you make money with online journalism?" . The survey has not yet been completed, but, as the results showed, most of our visitors would like to try this type of income for themselves ( 112 people, 57%). In second place are skeptics who believe that journalism on the Internet cannot be earned ( 37 people, 19% ). It is especially pleasant that there are like-minded people on the site who either only this or that. earn for your life ( 18 people), or this type of income is for them side job(11 people). However, it is worth noting the sad experience 9 of our users who tried to make money on the Internet with journalism, but they did not succeed.

Today we meet the wishes of most of our visitors and tell you how a journalist or journalism student can earn income from their profession on the Internet.

The main skill of a journalist, which we, in fact, will sell, is writing texts . The modern Internet industry is developing in such a way that today not a single site, large or small, can do without articles reflecting its subject matter. And if news portals and Internet media have journalists constantly writing for them, then for small sites this luxury is unaffordable, and in most cases unnecessary. In addition, the owners of small sites (online stores, corporate sites, thematic sites) have their own special requirements for texts, namely: that articles bring visitors to their sites for certain queries in search engines. The number of such sites and Internet projects is constantly growing, which means that the demand for the texts they need is also growing. To start make money online journalism, all you need is to reach out to these customers and offer them your services as an article writer. How to do this and where are the desired customers?

Today, there are enough resources on the Internet that have become a "meeting place" for authors of articles and customers, where you can earn money. These sites are called content exchanges” (content is any content of sites, including text). Content exchanges are happy to offer anyone who wants to join the ranks of their authors (sellers). Let's make a reservation right away that it is customary to call the authors of articles on content exchanges not journalists, but copywriters. This fashionable foreign word reflects the essence of the work a little better - after all, it requires not just the creation of news or articles, but the writing of a unique text on a given topic, in which certain words and phrases would occur (the so-called "keywords"). For a good journalist, creating such a text is not a very difficult task. Therefore, the transformation from a journalist to a copywriter will be quick and painless for you. The word "uniqueness" when applied to articles on the stock exchange means that the text was completely written by you yourself, without copying a single line or phrase from someone else. Such scrupulousness of customers is explained not by love for honesty and the fight for copyright, but by necessity. The robots of the search engines Yandex, Google and others have long learned to recognize the uniqueness of the text, and on the top lines of the search they display unique pages first, and then all the rest. Therefore, exchanges introduce their own systems for checking incoming texts and reject plagiarism.

So, if you decide to make money online with journalism, you need to become a copywriter for one, or better, several content exchanges at once. How much do these exchanges pay for one article, and is there any point in spending your time on this for you personally?

Payment on exchanges is made in most cases not in rubles, but in dollars. And to be even more precise, in the virtual currency WebMoney. You should not be afraid of this. Having earned money in this system, you can either use it directly on the Internet - to pay for the Internet itself, mobile phone, utility bills and much more, or cash out. Read about what this very virtual money WebMoney is on the official website of the system. For now, it is important to remember that on content exchanges, money is not denoted by a dollar sign, but by letters: 1 WMZ = 1 dollar; 1 WMR = 1 ruble.

Articles on exchanges are paid, as a rule, by characters, that is, the price is set for 1000 characters without spaces. Experienced and in-demand authors charge for work on average 4-10 WMZ for 1000 characters in the open sale and up to 30WMZ - when working on order. Newcomers, on the other hand, have to follow the path of price reduction, and take from 0.5 to 1.5 WMZ for 1000 characters. I will especially note - only at the very first stages. This almost free work will help you quickly sell the first articles and, possibly, find customers. How many articles and how much you sell is up to you. The longer you stay on the exchange and the more articles you sell during this time, the more significant your position (rating) will become, and the higher the price you can charge per thousand characters. System authors rating exists on most exchanges. It takes into account the number of articles sold, their price, as well as their quality. The quality is offered to be evaluated by buyers who can leave a positive review or a good rating. Therefore, in order to become a successful copywriter, you need to turn into some kind of seller, maintain good relations with clients and not slip "defective" goods.

Almost all content exchanges consist of two major sections − order section and article store . What are orders? The buyer writes how many articles on what topic and with what key phrases to write, sets the price. Those who want to get down to business unsubscribe, and the customer chooses the author. However, exchanges, in order not to lose their credibility, rarely allow newcomers to their order section, who can disgrace themselves and let the customer down. On many exchanges, access to the orders section is paid. Therefore, in order to simply try our hand at first and get a taste of the first money earned on the Internet, we will have to turn to the article store. Earnings using this tool are slower and less reliable than through the article ordering service. And yet, the presence in the article store gives a lot of advantages. This is the first real money, and the gradual getting used to and recognizing the customs and mores of the exchange, and a set of experience in choosing topics for articles. If you approach the matter wisely, then here you will save up money to access the order section, or even get the first regular customers.

Well, enough theory. Let's move on to practice. If you decide to try yourself as a copywriter, register on the exchange or content exchanges. For starters, I advise the exchange TextSale.ru. I advise her, because here sales are going faster than on any other exchange. This is due to the large number of users, both buyers and sellers. On the other hand, buyers of articles on TextSale.ru are, in a sense, spoiled for quality articles at low prices. Therefore, just by registering, do not be greedy, and do not charge a higher price 0.5 – 0.7WMZ/1000 digits. The interface of this exchange is simple and straightforward, although a bit eclectic. To begin with, I advise you not to rush and read the section "Site Articles". Many of these articles are written by successful and professional copywriters and provide guidance on how to choose a topic, how to write articles, where to start, and more. After a little “walking” around the section, and having enough information, start choosing the topic of your first article. To do this, refer to the link "search queries" in the menu on the left. By clicking on it, you will see what words are entered most often when searching for articles on TextSale.ru. Try to write an article on a current topic with a size of about 2000 characters. Having placed an article for sale (link on the right), do not stop there. In order for sales to go, you need to collect a "portfolio" of work.

Believe me, as soon as the first article is sold, as soon as you get your first green "plus", and the rating starts to grow, it will become difficult to stop making money on the Internet with journalism. To speed up the selling process, you can register and sell articles in parallel on other exchanges. For example, copylancer.ru. When selling the same articles on different exchanges, you need to understand that you are responsible for ensuring that one article is not sold twice. Therefore, as soon as an article is bought on one exchange, remove it from another. Otherwise, you will get into an unpleasant situation. Better yet, sell different articles on different exchanges.

I will tell you more about different copyright exchanges and about the features of working on them, as well as about successful strategies for the behavior of beginners later, if this article is of interest to visitors to the Faculty of Journalism of KSU. So feel free to leave comments and ask questions. Share here your first experience as a copywriter and, most importantly, your first experience earn money online journalism.

Article author: Olga Belyaeva
(the article is free to reprint, while the use of hyperlinks (Journalism Faculty of KSU) or http://svoya.ucoz.ru/ (Own website) is mandatory!

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