Deciding on freelancing? Here’s what you need to consider as a freelance reporter in Europe

“The future is freelance!”, the German freelance journalists union Freischreiber wrote in 2017. At the time, 122,500 people reportedly worked as freelancers in Germany. The Covid-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty have made the market more open to accepting freelancers. Fiverr, a freelance service provider, has stated that 78% of businesses are going to rely on freelancers rather than hiring full-time. Already in Sweden, 20-25% of permanent newsroom jobs have vanished in the last decade.

Apart from the market factor, journalists too are choosing to freelance over traditional employment. Maria Norbäck, director of the Work and Employment Research Centre at the University of Gothenburg, states that “some chose to freelance because they wanted the flexibility and freedom to choose the topics they want to cover.”

Across Europe, long-term employment in journalism is increasingly getting replaced by short-term contracts. In the UK, a 67% increase was seen in the number of freelance journalists between 2000 and 2015. The Office of National Statistics reported the number rising from 18,000 in 2015 to 34,000 in 2016. In the Netherlands, “freelancers are more and more the norm.”

Norbäck also states that “many were also forced [to freelance] due to being laid off from open-ended employment in newsrooms, or as a way to survive between constant temporary jobs for different media outlets.” In March, Euronews announced the layoff of 200 journalists. A few months later in June, Germany’s Bild announced it was cutting 6 out of their 18 regional editions, resulting in a 20% job loss. 

As media organisations downsize their workforce to save on cost, more work has been outsourced to individuals for whom they don’t need to bear additional responsibilities. 

No matter what reason forces you to take up freelancing, here are some topics that you need to know before choosing the freelance path. The first step is to obtain credentials that will officially recognize you as a journalist.

Germany, for instance, has no entry barrier to being a journalist and any citizen can call themself a journalist. However, in other countries, a freelancer will need a press card to unlock access to conferences and gain the confidence of the sources. The EU remarkably fails when it comes to providing a unified press pass. 

Different countries have different requirements and issuing authorities for press passes. For instance, Austria, Belgium, Croatia and Italy give press cards only to full-time journalists. Many other countries like Denmark and Ireland require proof of financial activity related to journalism to get a press card. 

Many journalistic trade unions issue press passes only to their members like Netherlands’ Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten and Estonia’s Eesti Ajakirjanike Liit. Many other unions also need the journalist to pay a subscription fee to enjoy the benefits of their press card. 

Freelancers often find it difficult to get press cards due to the nature of sporadic work. They need to complete paperwork that proves their finances are derived from journalistic work. Yet there are certain alternatives where freelancers can get press passes and even a press passport without going through the bureaucratic hassle.  

Freelancers can get an International passport of the press with the GNS Press Association. This helps them efficiently travel abroad for their assignments. They can also get a press card by the European Press Federation and the International Federation of Journalists.

A 2018 study conducted in the Netherlands found that 60% of Dutch freelance journalists are earning less than the minimum wage with almost half of them relying on their partner’s income. Norbäck also found multiple studies pointing out that freelancers tend to make less money than their counterparts with traditional jobs. Freelancers often put in more work than they receive financial rewards. 

Financial uncertainty pushes freelance journalists to take up other roles. Norbäck’s research found that editing is another field that journalists take up alongside journalism. However, some take up writing jobs that are related to public relations. Getting paid for PR is often at odds with the journalistic value of ‘independence’. This action taints the journalist’s credibility. 

Many freelancers struggle to find a steady stream of work. Norbäck describes this as “feast or famine workloads.” This creates problems in getting regular income and also disturbs work/life balance. Freelancers are also known to undergo high-stress levels because of precarious working conditions. 

Generally, freelancers don’t get access to the social benefits that come with traditional employment. “Depending on the country, social security systems may apply to freelancers. In Sweden for example, much of the social security concerning parental leave, sick leave etc apply also for freelancers as this system is based on taxable income, regardless of employment mode,” Norbäck says.

Another problem described by Freischreiber is dealing with clients. “Their fees have to be negotiated with clients. It is therefore often a balancing act to set the price for your own work and to enforce it against the publishers.” This is where the need for collective organisation is needed.

Norbäck says that “freelancers are considered entrepreneurs or self-employed, very little of the traditional labour laws apply for freelancers (as the labour laws often only apply to regular employees only).”

A collective organising power helps freelancers gain bargaining power, help set standardised freelancing rates and help establish a safety net. Norbäck says, “Some argue that laws setting minimum wage for contract workers would be useful. I don’t know how plausible that is from a political perspective to implement and enforce. However, I think that the most promising way to go is to unionise and organise.”

“If clients treat them badly, freelance journalists are usually on their own”, Bodenmüller and Klostermeier say. 

“An organisation like Freischreiber can mediate between the parties involved – editorial offices and freelancers – and, if nothing else works, exert pressure. The motto is: be stronger together. We also empower freelancers through information and networking, such as member emails and newsletters,” they note. 

Freelancing comes with many precarious working conditions but many still consider it worthwhile if it helps them see their work as “meaningful”. As Freischreiber notes, “freelance journalism is always a vocation.” 

Source of the cover photo: https://pxhere.com/