The following is an analysis of The American Society of Journalists and Authors website. (http://asja.org/)
Founded in 1948, the American Society of Journalists and Authors is a professional organization of independent nonfiction writers. ASJA consists of over 1,400 freelance writers. They sponsor a Writers Emergency Assistance Fund for struggling authors. ASJA is a leadership organization supporting writers in their professional and ethical standards.
The ASJA homepage shows a list of events and news articles relevant to freelance writers. There are a few seminars and fundraisers available for the month of February. There are also select articles featured from ASJA Monthly. While most of the articles are interesting, few would help a journalist in their pursuit of writing. Most articles have a cost attached.
The website features a section for editors seeking writers. There are links to the writers’ personal websites featuring their best work. The site has a tab featuring story leads for editors to find a writer with an expertise. For the writers, there are many articles presenting tips and information about salary and demographics. ASJA also makes position papers explaining industry issues faced by most freelance writers.
A journalist could use this site to find experts on specific subjects they are working. Freelance journalists could use the site to showcase their work and use it as a platform for hire. There is research available on the site. However, the site can only be used as a starting point. It can point a writer towards other sources, such as books or articles that are available for purchase.
ASJA.org includes some short articles about journalism innovation. For example, there are pieces that question the future of travel writing, writing online, how Google affects the writer and more. However, most of the information on the site is not free. A reader can see a paragraph of an article and is then given a link to buy from a collection of an ASJA writer.
The American Society of Journalists and Authors creates a good support system. The group has a mentoring program for authors and encourages writers to continue their craft. However, most of the information provided for authors is ineffective. I would have rather seen a guide on how to succeed in the business, rather than the craft. The information I was most interested in was only suggested for purchase, and not available on the site. Overall, I would give the site a 3 out of 5.
I completely agree with your rating of 3 for the Web site. The impressive part to me is the fund they have for stuggling writers. The part I dislike, which is unfortunately becoming more common with newspaper sites, is the read part of the article now and pay for the rest of it. As a freelance writer, I'm not sure if I would pay for an article that, as you say, doesn't really help me become a better or more marketable writer. I also would have liked to see a picture of the writers in their personal Web sites, as well as on the home page.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that this website would be more beneficial for a magazine type reporter or a person doing lengthy in-depth work. For average broadcast or news reporter, it might be a bit too much of a process for simple information, and the cost doesn't help. Thinking about the cost through, this represents a fundamental question with newspapers now, do we charge for content online and, if so, how?
ReplyDeleteThe American Society of Journalists and Authors seemingly does create a good support system, however I agree with the 3 rating you gave the Web site. I had similar feelings about the cost because the stories that I wanted to read were only available to view if I had purchased a membership. Like Annelise mentioned above, the issue regarding where online content is going in terms of paying for material has still yet to be resolved.
ReplyDeleteThe American Society of Journalists and Authors sounds like it is most effective for professionals in writing fields to find each other; particularly for an editor to find a freelance writer. Paying for information is something that is never popular in our society nor is it an easy sale. For people to pay to read these articles there must be some vested interest in the article or author writing it. For a working journalist, what real motivation is there to come here for information?
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