Globalised Freelancing during Covid- Tom Bradshaw

Media Week went digital this year and although this wasn’t a surprise to any of us, staring at a screen wasn’t what I pictured when attending Media Week. However, with COVID-19 on the prowl I highly doubted anything different would be put in place. Media Week consisted of glitching PowerPoints and one out of 20 people having their camera switched on, but other than those minor setbacks Media Week was ran surprisingly normal.

A highlight of the week was listening to sports journalist, Tom Bradshaw and his talk about Globalised Freelancing. I thought this was incredibly relevant especially with the pandemic stunting how journalists can do their job globally due to travel bans and lack of content with people.

A recent survey conducted by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and the University of Toronto in June 2020 showed that Journalists suffered a great deal of anxiety and troubles when it has come to the Pandemic. Tom acknowledged that the pandemic made his job harder but also constantly spoke about how his freelance mentality is carrying him through tough times such as COVID-19.

Tom spoke frequently about this freelance mentality and urged us all to keep pushing our social media presence to keep outside companies invested. He further explained that the ‘internet made the world a smaller place’ and maintaining a successful social media presence was incredibly important. I thought this point was incredibly relevant as Journalism has been presented more and more online, it’s important to keep your online presence tidy and professional.

Tom also talked about how social media played an important role when it came to a pervious trip to Japan for a sporting event. By posting on his social media about his upcoming trip it ensured that outside companies who wanted to cover the event could hire him to write articles. For this event he wrote articles for The Guardian, The Organizer and The Independent showing how his social media really helped with his work as a freelance journalist. Tom promoted himself whilst also in Japan which created a lot of connections he can fall back on when he visits in the future.

Tom spoke very highly about connections and spoke about an experience where his connections landed him a story. He told us when he was trying to make a name for himself and wanted to be recognised overseas, he interviewed a player for a bath football team who previously played for a South African team. By doing this Tom managed to get a story which not only was relevant to Bath but was also relevant in South Africa. Tom Bradshaw gave my media week an amazing spin and gifted me with tips I will use in the future.