Freelance Journalist's blog

What journalists must consider before jumping into ghostwriting
22/3/21
There is a growing demand for wordsmiths who can create sharp biographies and op-eds for high-profile clients. The pay can be good, but are you happy for other people to pass off your work as their own?

10 Reasons To Hire People Who Run
2/3/21
When you compare CVs, what stands out? Similar qualifications and experience. They’re all team players, they’re all enterprise-focused, results-driven professionals with excellent communication skills.

But do they run?

Boeing Explosion: Tech Hubris Strikes Again
22/2/21
When United Airlines flight 328 bound for Honolulu on 20 February shook violently, shed parts of its engine, lost altitude and began plummeting towards the Denver suburbs, the 231 people on board understandably feared for their lives. Nothing could have prepared them for this near-death encounter.

Or could it?

Think Like a Lockdown Athlete
16/2/21
The longer lockdown goes on, the more strategies we need to cope with it.

Here are 6 top tips from my book Think Like an Athlete (available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3pn5btG).

Enemies in Winter, Allies in Spring: Dinesh Dhamija and Anthony Goodwin Debate Post-Brexit Enterprise
1/2/21
Two entrepreneurs, both based in London, built global businesses during the 1990s and 2000s, yet came to opposite conclusions on Brexit. Dinesh Dhamija spotted that, by serving 500-plus million consumers in Europe, his online travel agency ebookers would be an attractive target for US competitors. Anthony Goodwin at Antal International, by contrast, chafed under what he judged the excessive bureaucracy of Brussels, hampering innovation and enterprise.

In January 2021, with British companies bemoaning additional red tape and the government boasting of its COVID vaccine agility, how do these former opponents view the future?

Censorship Of 'Exodus' Raises Fears of Proxy Media War
7/1/15
Hard on the heels of North Korea’s outraged response to ‘The Interview’, authorities in Morocco, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have banned ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’, Ridley Scott’s latest biblical epic depicting the life of Moses.

Citing historical inaccuracies, all three countries take exception to the movie’s contention that the Jews built the pyramids and that an earthquake caused the Red Sea to part, allowing Moses to lead his people to safety.

Inside Tesla: A Rare Glimpse Of Electric Carmaker’s Culture
9/11/14
Zero advertising, zero discounts, zero patent protection (if used in good faith) and sparse press notices. Tesla’s marketing and business model is certainly novel.
So how does the electric carmaker – whose boss Elon Musk popped up at number 52 in the latest Forbes list of the world’s most powerful – plan to make money?

Berlin Voted World’s ‘Most Fun’ City
7/11/14
As it celebrates the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany’s capital has won ‘most fun’ status in a new survey.

The Land That Time Remembered: 'Investable' Albania Heads For EU Accession
3/11/2014
Three years ago, 27-year-old Egla Lila was working as a waitress in Tirana, capital of the tiny South-east European state of Albania.

Xenophobia Is Bad Economics: 5 Reasons Why Britain Should Welcome Immigration
20/10/2014
Like the United States, the British nation was built on successive waves of immigration. It’s our strength and our distinction.

What Kind Of Quiz Are You? 5 Ways That PlayBuzz Out-Muscled BuzzFeed In The Social Content Sensation Of The Year
14/10/2014
You’ve probably had a PlayBuzz experience already, without realising.

Apple's iBook Prepares To Overtake Kindle In War Of The Mobile Readers
7/10/2014
Amazon’s Kindle book-reading technology has enjoyed some years of pre-eminence. But a study released today (Tuesday 7 October) shows Apple AAPL +1.39%’s rival iBook platform gaining ground.

More British Women Play Video Games Than Men
29/9/2014
We’ve reached a tipping point: more British women now play video games than men.

How To Invest In The Booming UK Real Estate Market For Under $100
15/9/2014
Urbanisation, scarcity of land, rising populations and a growing international appetite for real estate mean that it’s ever harder to buy or invest in British property. Average London house prices are now 18 times average UK incomes at £499,000 ($800,000) and £27,000 ($43,200) respectively.

Scotland Independence Referendum - 5 Things Everyone's Thinking But Nobody's Saying
8/9/2014
Now that Scotland’s independence referendum has sent shudders through global markets – Sterling down to a 10-month low against the dollar, major banks’ share prices leaking – it’s time for some uncomfortable truths.

English Premier League Transfers Smash Through Billion Dollar Barrier
2/9/2014
In a frantic last day of trading, English Premier League soccer clubs set a new record of £835 million ($1.4 billion) for their summer signings.

Russian Billionaires Face Mounting Sanctions
31/7/2014
Having lost more than $14 billion already this year, Russia’s 19 billionaires face an increasingly uncertain future, as Western sanctions begin to bite.

Muslims And Showgirls Suffer Banking Rebuff
31/7/2014
One group campaigns for Islamic values of modesty and sobriety. Another has bikini-wearing showgirls dancing on stilts.

Driverless Vehicles: The Next Generation
31/7/2014
Driverless cars, already an established technology in the US, Sweden and Japan, are to debut on British roads in January 2015.

USA World Cup Run Sparks Property Investment Alert
30/6/2014
Breaking all records for televised soccer matches in the US, the Brazil World Cup has redefined the sport for American audiences.

USA World Cup Run Sparks Property Investment Alert
30/6/2014
Breaking all records for televised soccer matches in the US, the Brazil World Cup has redefined the sport for American audiences.

When Does A Facebook Post Get Most Traction? Sunday!
17/6/2014
The incessant chatter of Facebook posts means it’s tough to get heard. Upwards of 15 million brands and companies push out messages on Mark Zuckerberg’s social network, vying for the attention of its 1.28 billion users, including 71% of the adult US population.

3D Printing - Approaching Critical Mass In An $8 Billion Industry
30/5/14
For more than 20 years, US-based Trent Capital Management has invested its clients’ money in smart technology companies. Mainly in mobile phone companies.

Get Paid Quicker: Use Smart Tech And Shame The Delayers
30/5/14
It’s the curse of small businesses. Late payments account for thousands of company failures every year.

Scottish Independence Referendum: 5 Economic Reasons To Vote 'No'
29/5/2014
In a recent visit to the Scottish capital Edinburgh, I was asked why people should vote ‘No’ in the Independence referendum on 18 September this year.

Virtual Wallet Wars - The View from Europe
29/5/2014
As online payments and mobile technology continue to converge, a fierce battle between virtual wallet providers to convert a critical mass of consumers is underway.

Willis Insurance Predicts Energy Cyber-Attack 'Catastrophe' Ahead
8/4/14
We are on the verge of a catastrophe, according to US-owned global insurer Willis.

Freelancer.com's Matt Barrie On How To Monetise 5 Billion People
2/4/14
Almost two-thirds of the global population – five billion people – have yet to access the internet. They live on $10 a day. They want to earn $10 an hour.

5 Reasons Why Scottish Independence Would Be An Economic Disaster
5/3/14
Speaking as a Scot who lives in England, I have divided loyalties in this debate.
But speaking as an economic commentator, I am amazed at the naivety and short sightedness of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Here’s 5 reasons why.

Leading by bad example: What Peaches Geldof’s tweets teach us about breaking the law online
3/12/13
Surely 140 characters seems harmless enough and yet the things that people say on Twitter still seem to be leading the likes of Peaches Geldof astray. She named two mothers that allegedly allowed their babies to be raped by Ian Watkins, the Lostprophets singer who admitted to child sex offences, and now police are considering prosecuting her.

Evolution of the freelancer - keeping up with the digital age
8/11/13
The rise of technology and the speed with which we must all keep up is constantly shaping the evolution of the freelancer with social media and fan-dangled job sites pedalling freelance work, there’s no shortage of platforms for professional freelancers...

Is press regulation imminent as politicians reject media's charter?
8/10/13
Reportedly senior politicians in a subcommittee of the Privy Council (which advises the Queen) deemed the media’s version for the press regulator by royal charter as ‘flawed’...

Naked theft or good publicity – the online content debate rages
18/9/13
The internet has created a great unknown when it comes to what constitutes copyright and whether people are infringing it. In an age where people download music for free, stream movies and TV shows, re-tweet links to articles or share photographs, the copyright line between what is right and wrong has been blurred...

VIDEO: How freelancejournalist.co.uk got its wings
13/8/13
Freelancejournalist.co.uk founder David Nicholson on how he set up his freelance business and what this pool of experienced journalists is capable of with a surprise guest flying in at the end!

How to be a freelance journalist: Q&A with self-employed writer David Nicholson
6/6/13
A successful freelance journalist for more than 25 years, David Nicholson gives the nitty gritty on being a self-employed writer and how to make the dream a reality...

The career of the future? Number of self-employed journalists rise
30/5/13
A rise in the number journalists turning to self-employment is setting a new trend. Self-employed workers rose 367,000 from 3.83 million between 2008 (the start of the economic downturn) to 4.2 million last year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics...

Propaganda throughout history - the good, the bad and the ugly
Review of British Library exhibition Propaganda: Power and Persuasion, open 17 May - 17 September, 2013
17/5/13
When Coalition commanders gave playing cards to the troops fighting to invade Iraq, it wasn't just to keep soldiers occupied while the battlefront was quiet.
On each card, the notorious faces of Saddam Hussein’s regime smiled back, their mug shots subliminally permeating the troops’ memory – the targets they must identify and take down writes Alex Ward...

As Google evolves, so must webmasters - Earning your search ranking
3/5/13
More than ever before, well written content is becoming a webmaster’s bread and butter to find the way to the top of Google’s search rankings. Alex Ward investigates...