Читать книгу Confessions of a Showbiz Reporter - Holly Forrest - Страница 14

I worked for the magazine that first hired me for three years before I decided to spread my wings and go freelance. Since that day, I’ve worked for anyone who wants me. When my friends joke about me being ‘a media tart’ it’s only really their cheeky choice of words that I can argue with. As a freelance showbiz journalist you’ll do pretty much whatever is asked of you, as long as you’re going to get paid for it. We dream of the easy, one-off, big money job – like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman getting paid by Richard Gere to swan around Beverly Hills – but, ultimately, we’re more streetwalker than high-class escort.

Okay, I think I’ll stop the hooker analogy there.

I chose this life so I can’t complain. After a few years as ‘a staffer’ I’d met enough people in the industry to realise that I could make things more interesting by being my own boss. With the amount of time we spend talking to other journalists while we’re waiting around for stars to turn up at various events, it’s easy to keep up to speed on what’s happening employment-wise. I knew there was work out there, and my editor at the mag had promised to keep me on as a contributor. Plus, I’d already been offered work at another gossip mag. Working for two rival publications, however, isn’t exactly encouraged, so I created some pseudonyms which I’d use to cover my back (no, I can’t tell you what they are!) as so many freelancers do. Overall I couldn’t wait to go solo.

A typical day? It’s a lot less settled than it was when I was a staff writer. After getting up and scouring my favourite news sites – TMZ, MailOnline, Digital Spy – I’ll either get dressed and head out for an interview or meeting, or I’ll stay in my PJs and get writing. Resisting the charms of daytime TV is the real challenge. That said, on days when there’s not so much going on, though, it’s important to have a rest and spend time with family and friends. After all, you can’t rely on weekends to be free. Recently I’ve being doing some shifts at an agency that requires me to work through the night – it’s seriously tough. But knowing it’s only temporary makes it all a lot more bearable.

News agencies are a hugely important part of journalism, yet most people don’t even realise they exist. The fact is, so many things are happening in the world at any one time, no broadcaster or publication could possibly have enough reporters to cover them all. Instead, they subscribe to an agency service and use their material to fill in the gaps, material created by freelance journalists, like me. If an editor or producer has a space to fill in their newspaper or a 30-second hole in their radio news bulletin, a quick look at what the news agencies have sent over and their problems are often solved.

So it was that I came to have some of my interviews with celebrities used on TV, albeit with all signs of me totally erased. That’s the thing with working for an agency. You’re totally anonymous – a journalist with a one-size-fits-all style designed to appeal to any outlet that might want to use it. I actually liked the invisibility of, though. By the time I went freelance, my feelings about not wanting fame were solidified; I’d spent enough time around those who had it, to understand the restrictions it imposed on their lives. By now the last thing I wanted was to be one of those famous showbiz writers who splash pictures of themselves with celebrity ‘friends’ all over their articles. Working in the shadows, as I’d become accustomed to doing, you find that you still have a fair amount of influence, but none of the hassle. Sometimes becoming well known can be a career ruiner for a reporter. As soon as fame happens, interviewees become wary and put on more of a performance. Things get clouded.

Working as an anonymous writer for an agency also gives you a surprising amount of freedom. Now, at an interview, I can ask one type of question for one outlet and another type for a different outlet, knowing that I’ll get paid for each one. These days I may find myself at a lot of the same events that I attended as a ‘staffer’, but I now have multiple remits and several bosses to please – a great way to keep me on my toes and help me avoid getting complacent. When I was a staff member at the mag, I have to admit, I tended to sleepwalk through some of the stories. I knew I’d be coming back to work the next day, so where was the challenge? As a freelancer, though, you’re only ever as good as your latest story. Without contracts or written agreements, you can be unemployed in the blink of an eye. Intimidating it may be, but it also makes me try harder.

For a bit of extra pocket money, I also supply nuggets of gossip and information to showbiz sites. You might be surprised by how many reporters who are fully employed at magazines and TV stations also do this on the quiet. I’d illicitly done it myself a couple of times during my early career, but as someone always afraid of small print in contracts, I’d been wary of going overboard and ending up in trouble with my boss. Now I’m a freelancer, however, I can supply titbits to whomever I want. All journalists have their sources but many are also sources themselves. Knowing that a bit of information can put food on your table certainly keeps your senses keen.

The last few years haven’t been easy, though. As the financial world continues to hover on the edge of a meltdown that I really don’t understand, some work has dried up simply because companies can’t afford to pay any more; getting a staff member who is already on a fixed salary to do some extra work costs nothing. Paying me, on the other hand, is a luxury that some outlets feel they can do without.

Despite the dangers involved with being self-employed, I love it. It only makes the buzz of getting a story even more exciting, more of a challenge. My accountant may wish that I’d never strayed away from the organised world of a staff job and a salary, especially when he looks at the state of my book-keeping, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.