About WGP
Writers Getting Paid is a site all about the tips, tricks, secrets, and strengths of writers who've figured out how to make a living doing what they love. I interview my friends and colleagues who get paid to write; and I share all of their insights here with you. [More...]
Get interviews and insights in your inbox:
Sign up for the WGP email newsletter and be the first to know whenever there's a delicious new post!About the author
I'm a writer and photographer based in San Francisco. Check out my work at MattBaume.com.
Journalism Archive
-
Reporters Borrowing from Themselves
Posted on September 12, 2010 | View CommentsHere’s a great example of how journalism isn’t necessarily all about going out and getting a fresh story — sometimes, it’s just re-writing what’s already been reported. I was researching watersheds a few months ago and I came across a story about San Francisco’s creeks... -
Welcome to What May or May not be the Future of Journalism
Posted on September 1, 2010 | View CommentsI would like to make a few points, and to do so in a somewhat rambling fashion. Tomorrow, I am speaking on a panel at the annual meeting of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. The topic is one of my favorite subjects: THE... -
Twenty Years Ago, Grindr Would Have Been a Section in a Newspaper
Posted on July 13, 2010 | View CommentsI just wanted to take quick note of a survey (conducted by a company that stands to benefit, so take with a grain of salt) that indicates the LGBTs are particularly likely to use blogs and social networking for news. Well yes, obviously, we are... -
Newstilt’s Fascinating Branding Advice
Posted on June 29, 2010 | View CommentsWell, bon voyage, Newstilt. The venture that I featured here on the site a few months ago (and tried using on three different occasions) has officially bitten the dust after not much time at all. Well. Now that Newstilt’s fading away, I thought it might... -
Who Will Save the Gay Press? Nerds.
Posted on June 24, 2010 | View CommentsGosh there is just so much to say about Michael Lavers’ piece in the Village Voice about the decline facing the gay press. There’s been an immediate response — and I think Matt Comers’ reaction might actually be even better than Lavers’ original piece —... -
Video: Where Your News Comes From
Posted on May 19, 2010 | View CommentsHere’s a video that I made today of my process for sifting RSS feeds to find news stories. This is about 20 minutes of work, time-lapsed down to 1 minute. I start the day with a few thousand items to read, and I very quickly... -
Fourteen Things Bloggers and Broadcasters Have to Learn from Each Other
Posted on May 2, 2010 | View CommentsThis is a presentation I’m giving May 2 at the RemakeCamp Unconference at the University of San Francisco. I’m posting it here so it’s available online — but sadly this version doesn’t include any of the glorious Keynote animation or the melodious sound of my... -
Why CBS5′s Brittney Gilbert Loves the Newsroom
Posted on April 29, 2010 | View Comments“It has a lot of energy,” said CBS5′s Brittney Gilbert of the TV station’s newsroom as we sat down to lunch at Sai’s Vietnamese Restaurant, just down the street from the office. She added, “but it’s also really loud in there.” Brittney’s one of those... -
When should writers take their words offline?
Posted on April 12, 2010 | View CommentsA startling success story: CaliforniaWatch attracted readers to their exposé on seismically unsound UC Berkeley buildings by distributing fliers. On paper. To humans. In meatspace! It’s a strategy so obvious (to anyone who lived pre-Internet) I’m surprised we don’t see it more often. Yes, of... -
NewsTilt: A Brand New Market for Journalism
Posted on April 7, 2010 | View CommentsTHE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM!!! Reporters will work for themselves! In a crowded market, niche-journalists will thrive! Publications will get out of the content-generation game, and will instead bid on each story in a sort of daily news-auction! Is NewsTilt on to something? Maybe. Who knows?...