As editorial budgets become tighter, the number of Australian media professionals freelancing is growing. Media Gang is a media professional placement agency.

The age of change

Media gang was started by directors Fiona Lloyd and Louise Graham after Graham left her role as editorial operations manager at The Age. Graham led a team responsible for photography, photosales and syndications and library, together with administration. She also managed the operational requirements of the editorial floor. Lloyd has a background in project management and public relations.

Whilst there are many talented freelancers available, finding them isn’t particularly easy. “We both saw an opening in the market for supplying staff to media companies. We expanded on that concept, utilising the many talented staff looking for work who had been victim to cutbacks in the media industry. Journalists are versatile and can work in many different areas of the communication industry in both government and private sectors,” the directors share.

Instant news

Over the past five years the Media Gang directors have seen the way news is delivered change dramatically. “The 24 hour news offering, online magazines and social media provide instant news and the print media needs to adjust its offering to survive. Readers who buy newspapers are becoming more dissatisfied with newspapers filling the first five pages with news they have already consumed. Consumers pull their information consumption rather than the traditional push model.”

Social news

Facebook and Twitter often break the news, but aren’t as accountable as traditional news providers. “Twitter is becoming an integral arm of the media,” confirm the directors. “Announcements are made to many in seconds, alerting users to newsbreaks. Social media can also lack some accountability and create noise in the media, which increases the importance of accuracy, integrity and honesty.”

Blogs and social media – your CV

Lloyd and Graham encourage journalists on their books to blog regularly. “A journalist’s blog is like an online CV… showing many examples of their writing skills. We are always interested to find out whom the candidate may follow on Twitter. That can give us an idea of how engaged they are with instant news and how social media savvy they are.”

Journalism v Copywriting

As more and more journalists move into copywriting, and more copywriting is presented in custom published magazines, editorial-looking brand websites and social media content, it’s easy to think the line between the two can be blurred. The Media Gang directors are determined to keep the two separate. “Copywriting is written purely to deliver a message for the client to a brief. Journalism is covering events, people and issues and presenting an accurate and honest account of the topic covered.”

Quality

The Media Gang directors see an opportunity in corporate collateral as well as custom publishing and traditional journalism. “We are always disappointed when a company wants someone special to edit their annual report or their quarterly magazine to clients and they use poor quality photographs and the copy in their publication is boring and clumsy. Publishing information and publicising your organisation costs a lot of money and should employ first class media people to ensure the message is delivered effectively.”

Content is king

As the demand for quality content grows, Media Gang is well-positioned to match the right person to each project. “With the shift away from permanent employment and a desire for many media people to work freelance, we have built an excellent database of highly skilled photographers, designers, journalists and other people with particular experience in film, television, radio and print media,” the directors say.