Multiple streams of income and benefits for journalists ( 1)

Lekan Otufodunrin at a lecture

Media Career Development Diary (52)
By Lekan Otufodunrin

Multiple streams of income and benefits for journalists ( 1)

Are there multiple streams of income and benefits, not gratifications, available for journalists to argument the generally poor pay in the industry?
The answer is yes, based on my personal experience and many others I know of.
With increasing cases of non- payment of salaries by some media organisations and high rate of unemployment, journalists have to be alive to the opportunities they can exploit to earn legitimate and ethical additional income.
The opportunities are indeed available but it requires mastering your craft as a journalist, diligence, hard work, creativity and other attributes to maximize them.
You must first be a very good journalist before the profession can open other doors of income for you. The quality of your work will draw attention to your ability to do other media related work.
You also need to consciously develop and acquire the capacity to do the other tasks which you will be paid for. You must also be able to spread the word about your other abilities.
I'm not by any means a very rich journalist, but I have earned average income in my career from full time employment and other media related extra work that have come my way.
Here are few of the multiple streams of income I know of in no order of importance.

Speaking engagements
Two weeks ago, I was one of the facilitators at a training for Local Government Information Officers in Lagos. I spoke on Use of new media for Local Government information dissemination. I was invited due to my full-time work as  Online Editor at The Nation and other new media related activities.
The invitation to speak is one of the numerous paid for speaking engagements at seminars, workshops and conferences that I regularly get.
A facilitator at a training by the School of Communication, Pan Atlantic University recently asked experienced journalists to submit their application for consideration as speakers for the various short-time courses offered by the institution.
Sometimes you don't get paid for some lectures, but every speaking engagement adds to your profile and can give you the opportunity to meet others who will pay you.

Part-time teaching
Related to being facilitators at training programmes is the opportunity to be part-time lecturers in media training institutions across the country.
A senior journalist told me how he taught for ten years at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, NIJ, Lagos along with his full time job on the invitation of a former head of the institution who was on the judging panel of a media award. The journalist was the first runner up in the award.
I teach part-time at the University of Lagos and get paid for some of the courses. I know other journalists who also teach in other institutions. Sometimes, you have to ask for the opportunity to be engaged, even for free initially.

Freelance reporting

Photo of a my story in Christian Science Monitor, US

The first time I earned extra income for freelance writing was in 1999 while working at The Punch Newspaper. I wrote for a United States based online religion website and got paid generously in dollars.
I got the offer through a contact I made at an International Journalists Conference I attended in London. Before then, I had a free email-based Nigeria Online Christian News service that convinced the website editor that I was a suitable candidate as their Nigerian correspondent.
Since then, I have been a paid freelance correspondent for a number of international print and online publications and still do.
I am aware that most media houses in Nigeria don't pay for freelance work. A few do, even if it is not much.

Research
I once earned a thousand dollars for a research work I did for an organisation on the role of Churches in the campaign against the HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Because of my involvement with Journalists Against AIDS, I read a lot about the pandemic and became a 'media expert' on it. I was able to do the research work and many others that came up later.
When an American journalist wanted a research assistance for a book project on Sharia in Nigeria, I was contacted. The pay was good enough for me to resign from a defunct newspaper I was working for then, which was owing me two month's salary. I know a journalist who is also a research consultant for an international research agency. He is always asked to conduct interviews and research on issues concerning Nigeria which the agency is working on for its clients.
He was recently paid for a research he did on expectations of Nigerians from the Buhari administration. The payment made it easier for him to pay his annual  house rent.

Thanks for reading and sharing this edition with colleagues. I welcome your feedback on other multiple streams of income and and benefits for journalists I may not be aware of. Your specific experience will also be valuable to share with other readers. The second part of this piece will be published on Saturday.
If you have specific questions on media career development related issues , feel free to contact me.  Telephone: 08023000621, 08050498530: Email: info@mediacareerng.org : Twitter: @lotufodunrin: Skype: lekanskype: website : mediacareerng.org