Angling Journalism

[gilbertron]

i have to say that as a journalist, i find the standard of writing in most fishing publications pretty poor. yes its usually factually correct and informative but most things seem to be written by people who are fishermen first and journalists second, nothing wrong with that you might think, but surely theses people are supposed to be professional journalists.

i like the way andy little writes, but matt hayes should stick to doing the voice overs for video games

[Wordbender]

gilbertron:

but surely theses people are supposed to be professional journalists.

You'd be amazed at the number of 'professional journalists' who display less-than-professional standards, mate.

 

Terry

[chevin]

There is a writer who is an inspiration as far as journalistic excellence is concerned in my opinion, and that is Jerome K. Jerome. Anyone having a desire to write should read his books, "Three Men in a Boat" and "Three Men on the Bummell". They were written before WWI, but writing like that is ageless! Even those who feel that they haven't been helped by the books will certainly enjoy them.

 

Wordbender, I e-mailed you one of my accounts of Penfold yesterday. Did you receive it OK?

[Wordbender]

quote:

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Originally posted by chevin:

Wordbender, I e-mailed you one of my accounts of Penfold yesterday. Did you receive it OK? [/QB]

---

Certainly did, mate - and I'll be a'replyin' tonight if I don't go a-hanglin'.

 

All the best.

 

Terry

[gilbertron]

i agree wordbender, what i meant to say was that if you work on a motor magazine, computer magazine, or similar, you are expected to be a writer with an interest in the subject, with fishing magazines and other 'enthusiast' type publications (including the land rover magazines i buy as an example) the form seems to be that the writers are fishermen with an interest in writing. this doesnt seem to apply to some of the fly fishing magazines though, notably trout fisherman and todays fly fisherman. maybe they have bigger budgets, i dont know.

[Peter Waller]

Barnese, it worries me that you are prepared to supply copy to publications for 'free', or atleast the money side is not an issue. If you are good enough to be published then you are good enough to be paid and therefore your hobby should be a doubly worthwhile one.

 

What would you think if someone went to your boss and said that they would do your job for nothing, or atleast didn't worry how little they were paid?

 

The NUJ has an agreement, on behalf of their professional journalist members, that bona-fide publishers won't accept gratis copy or pictures, but the fact remains that many editors do accept unpaid material.

 

The above aside the advice given you is sound. In the first place submit to specialist mags rather than the biggies, it's a well proven route. To stand any chance of publication you MUST provide photographs, either on disc, black & white prints or as trannies. Most publications don't accept colour prints.

 

[ 22. July 2003, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

[Barnese]

Thanks guys keep it comin'!

I've been having a couple of ideas such as an interview with a fishery owner that im quite friendly with ( Bullock Farm Fisheries )and have also been reading a lot of old magazines (as I keep them all!). I agree with the fact that most magazines now focus on the how-to, but i figured if i start small and send copies of published work, then that might work better for the "bigger" mags. Also I am only 16...will this matter!!??

[Peter Sharpe]

Excuse me for being inquisitive gibertron, but which publication do you write for that allows such incorrect grammar and punctuation?

[gilbertron]

i dont write for any publication, thats why my punctuation is non existent! i wasnt aware of any grammatical errors, but it wouldnt surprise me if there were a few

i'm a broadcast journalist, and no i dont appear on screen but i tell the people who do what to say. and in my defense, i'm off duty here, so can be excused the errors, if i'm getting paid for it i'm a lot more thorough

[Peter Waller]

Barnese, 16 is a good age to start! 'Bout when I started but I initially vered far more to photography than to writing. It must be clear to all that my writing tends to be informal conversational in style, but I found that was what editors wanted. And if I put words to a photograph then there was a far greater chance of selling my pictures. Words need pictures, and pictures need words. It was a hard career, and it's far tougher than when I started. If you can crack it then good luck. If you have what it takes then you'll succeed, if not - - - - - !!