On Money for Independent Journalists, and Journalists In General

One thing that repels journalists from becoming independent is that it doesn't guarantee a life of luxury. If someone works independently, they don't do it for the money, they do it for the passion they have for that particular interest. Journalism does not pay well anyway, at least in the beginning stages of the career.  As a person that's learning about the world of journalism at Ithaca College, one of the first things that becomes clear is that I am not studying journalism to make money. It sounds crazy though, my family spends $50,000 a year for me to go to Ithaca College to learn from the some of the best people, from the journalism field, in the country. This includes students and professors, I truly meet fantastic people here that have, without a doubt, helped me develop into the person I knew I could be. But the biggest obstacle is the money.

According to CNN Money, journalists, on average, earned $32,000 after graduating college in 2012, which is $1,000 more than the previous year so at least there is an incline. However, the average salary out of all college graduates was $42,666 in 2012 so it is a below-average paying job.

The benefit I see from this is that journalists get to work with people that share a similar passion, at least in the early stages of the career. I interned at the Troy Record, my hometown newspaper, which is located in Troy, NY, 5 minutes up the Northway from Albany. Besides witnessing the dangers the print industry is going through, the people there were amazing. I looked forward to going there every time and everyone I met really cared about what they were doing and it was truly inspiring. I was interning with the sports department, so they were the people I became the closest with. It makes sense really, no one does sports journalism unless they LOVE sports. It is so easy to find a common interest, let alone the fact they all like writing. Besides, it's not about being rich but it's about being wealthy, and the journalism experience with newspaper was certainly rewarding.

There is a different world of journalism that journalists can choose to live on instead. That is to go independent. The typical model of career progression for journalists is to start small and to work their way up through bigger markets, eventually reaching the New York Times' and the Chicago Tribunes' of the journalism industry. That's just the print industry's example but it works the same way in television news. But there's the option of going independent, which some deem the contrary of professional. It's like anything else though, you get what you put into it. It can be a hobby, it can be a career. However, no one pays you for the work.

I read an article on how one can not only make money, but can make much more than $32,000 a year by being independent. It's gist is that you only 1,000 "True Fans" to earn money in the independent media industry. "A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living," said the Technium, defining a True Fan as "someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce." True fans don't grow on trees, but 1,000 isn't that high of a number.

Say those fans donate a mere $100 dollars per year. Multiply that times 1,000, and you are earning $100,000 a year. That brings the question how to get true fans. Well for one, if you receive one fan every day, it will take only 3 years to reach 1,000. Being 25 and earning $100,000 a year? Where do I sign up?

The hardest part is starting, but it's the same for every independent journalist. Your mom will comment on it, then share it. Eventually, the spark starts the fire. All that's left is you needing something to write about.

Maybe it's not as easy as 1, 2, 3, but the numbers don't lie. If you were once afraid to enter the journalism career because you feared you could not support you and your family, fear no more! There is so much opportunity when it comes to the independent media field. Just write what you want, and stay close and true to your fans and they’ll return the favor. The article makes another good point by saying it is very rewarding to interact with fans that truly appreciate your work.

In summary, write about whatever you please, receive love, give love back, next thing you know you are getting paid for being awesome. It’s the perfect crime!