I'm currently teaching this seminar at Mediabistro NYC. Click here to sign up.
Henry Miller and Gertrude Stein did it. David Sedaris and Adam Gopnik do it. Have you ever dreamed of living abroad as a writer? This seminar will tell you how to carve out a niche as a freelancer writer for Western media while you live or travel overseas. You'll find out how to sell writing from afar, how to budget your money to sustain the journey, and how to thrive even if you don't speak the language.
Through first-hand examples and practical advice, you'll see how to make the courageous move and how to ensure sustainability once you land. You'll leave this seminar with an honest understanding of the pros and cons of freelancing overseas.
In this seminar, you will learn:
* How newspapers and magazines obtain international news
* How to get overseas for free and get your expenses covered
* How to conceive marketable story ideas from a foreign country
* Which foreign stories sell, and which don't
* How to craft a convincing query to an American editor
* How to capitalize on continental rights
* How to find local fixers and translators (and how to hire them)
* How to write about international topics for an American audience
This workshop uses examples to introduce students or staffers to narrative journalism and the art of storytelling. Part I introduces the audience to narrative journalism, a style that uproots traditional journalism, supplementing the "who, what where, why and why" with narrative elements like character development, scene, tension, delay, consequence, and chronology over time. In Part II, the classroom transforms into a newsroom. Students are now journalists and I'm the editor. Students must pitch their story ideas to the class, a process that hones their vision to conceive plausible story ideas. Then, students report and write their stories, and file final drafts before an imposed deadline. During the reporting phase, students must check-in with me daily. Upon filing the stories, they are translated (if necessary) and I edit them over several days. Then, the group reconvenes to read and critically discuss all the stories. Students are encouraged to polish their stories and then publish them. This workshop requires the participants to have sufficient time to complete the demanding project. It also requires translation. It's a big task and should not be underestimated in its administrative burden. Passive students need not apply. When the dedication exists, the workshop is amazingly rewarding.
By using examples from developing media in Eastern Europe and Indonesia, this lecture details media literacy, skepticism and the art of analysis. This lecture defines critical thinking, emphasizes its importance, and teaches journalists how they can improve their critical thinking skills. For example, it tackles questions such as how to gauge the credibility of sources, statistics and surveys, and how easily journalists are deceived by public relations officials and other incredible but often obligatory contacts. Media literacy, which teaches consumers how to critically absorb news, as oppose to blind digestion, is also detailed.