He reckons guts, contacts and hard work can pay off big time. And to prove it, he's flogged top tales to just about every paper going and trounced the likes of Oprah and David Letterman into the bargain.
Who do you sell your stories to?
I focus on showbiz, music, TV and general news. I sell to the biggest national newspapers and magazines in Britain, as well as regional publications in Northern Ireland.
How easy is it to get into showbiz freelancing?
The world is celebrity mad and they dominate the press, TV, radio and internet every single day. It’s a big market and always changing. Everyone is interested in hearing about showbiz gossip and Britain has the biggest and best newspapers and magazines to deliver it, so it’s always worth a shot to get mixed up in it all.
How did you get to where you are today?
When I was 15, I did some work experience in my local newspaper; the Impartial Reporter. I was fascinated by the bustling news office and the speedy journalists tapping away at their computers and scribbling down notes.
I didn’t do amazingly well in my GCSEs or want to go to university but I wanted to be a part of that exciting environment, and wasn’t going to let a piece of paper stop me working for another kind of paper. So, I started writing freelance stories for the Impartial.
I interviewed a blind DJ, a mad professor and victims of one of the province’s most tragic atrocities; the Enniskillen bomb in 1987. Then I got my own column and tackled various issues such as suicide, self-harm, bullying and sectarianism before moving my attention to the entertainment side of things. In the summer of 2005 I won a competition in association with the Mirror and became Young Journalist of the Year.
I got to attend all of the summer festivals, including B Live, Live 8, V Festival and Reading. Mingling with the likes of Madonna, Charlotte Church and Bob Geldof gave me a taste of showbiz and music journalism. I joined Brat Magazine in 2005 and focused on music and showbiz. I would sneak into the VIP areas of events, only to get thrown out shortly after. I’d get in ‘Dennis Pennis’ mode when interviewing celebs and go to virtually every shin-ding on. I’d probably have even turned up to the opening of an envelope, had someone famous turned up to do the honours, as I needed a story to stop the editor having a nervous breakdown.
"World exclusive"
I also bagged a world exclusive interview with Farris Hassan, the American boy who ran away to Iraq sparking a worldwide manhunt. The scoop beat Oprah, David Letterman and Jay Leno and made its own headlines on local and national TV and newspapers. Brat Magazine doesn’t exist anymore sadly, but I still use most of these various tactful methods to get stories for other tough editors.
Then I started selling big interviews to the likes of the Sun, Mirror, Daily Star, News of the World, Heat magazine and More Magazine and still do. I also do shift work for the nationals and cover various music and showbiz events.
Do you balance showbiz stuff with other stuff?
I enjoy writing about the lives of the rich and famous. It’s amusing and fascinating.
But if I ever feel demoralised by it, which doesn’t happen that often, I simply go off and write about something that’s more likely to earn me a MBE one day. But seriously, I’m always looking for that story, no matter how trivial and it’s important to be able to adapt to delivering that story to the readers in the context it requires. Working on various topics and subjects helps me do this, but for the moment, my main interest is bagging exclusive scoops on celebrities.
How much can you sell a top showbiz news story for?
It really depends if the story is exclusive and a proper top tale.If you’re lucky, you could get hundreds. Sometimes, just building up a rapport with an editor is more important that money. So how do you get your stories?
I search high and low for stories through the old fashioned method of keeping my ear to the ground.
I also have a lot of contacts that keep me informed of things, and have a section on my website specifically for readers to get in touch and submit their story.
"Most celebrities despise the media"
Do you also do features? If so, where can you place celeb interviews and how much do they pay?
I have recently been working on weekly celeb features for the Impartial Reporter. Interviewing the likes of the Stereophonics' Kelly Jones, Radio 1’s Chris Moyles and megastar Will Smith. What’s important is that I have somewhere to place stories regularly.
How do the celebs and their agents or PR people view you?
I’m fortunate enough to know some very good and helpful PR people and agents. I’m not saying they are all cooperative, some are as accommodating as a psychotic hit man but it’s important to know who does what and convince them to lend you a hand. You need them more than they need you.
It’s common knowledge that most celebrities despise the media, which is something I’ve always found highly hypocritical giving the fact that without it, their fame and fortune would indefinitely come crumbling down. Most of the famous people I’ve interviewed or have met have been genuinely gracious, keen and obliging. However, there are some who haven’t.
What are the highs and lows of your job?
The adrenalin of breaking news, running with that big interview and seeing something that you might have been working on for weeks finally in print, is one of the most satisfying, blood-pumping feelings around. And depending on the content of your story, you may even have helped to make a difference somehow. Meeting your heroes is also good, both in the showbiz and publishing world.
Hopeless PR people irritate me all the time; especially when they fail to return e-mails or phone calls or when they make promises that they don’t keep and end up jeopardising deadlines. This act of mindless unprofessionalism is not only highly frustrating for me, but for commissioning editors too – and it’s not a good idea to disappoint the boss because of one or two NME-loving hipsters that take themselves far too seriously. Another problem which drives me crazy is the irregular payment patterns. It affects many freelancers and is easily the worst part of freelance journalism. To paraphrase that musical bore Jack Johnson; it’s the sitting, waiting, and indeed wishing that makes it terribly easy to lose enthusiasm, but you must never lose that faith or you’ll get nowhere.
What are the attributes of a successful freelancer in this field?
You need to have a good nose for a good story, be quick off the mark and have a brimming contacts book to help you out in times of need. You should always accept criticism and advice from the people who knows who know best, you can never learn or know too much. Always remain humble and focused on the bigger picture. I’m learning more and more everyday about the industry thanks to the brilliant editors and journalists I deal with. People like Gordon Smart of the Sun, Big Issue and ex NME’s Paul McNamee and the Impartial’s Denzil McDaniel. I’ll always be in debt to their wisdom.
What’s your top tip for anyone considering pursuing a career in freelance showbiz journalism?
You need to be prepared to work hard, you need to know the latest goings on in your chosen field at all times and you need to constantly make new contacts. You must never be put off by rejection, awful days or encounters with bad mannered media people or celebs.
Read Rodney's blog here.
That sounds like a fun way to make a living. our 'celeb' encounters are nowhere near as exciting of course. Except if you count him off Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. I'll never forget the time he 'hit Dudley' with his little dog. That's Dudley the town, noy a bloke called Dudley, of course.
Posted by: Katie | November 07, 2007 at 10:24 AM