Author Topic: Selling Editorial direct to newspapers and TV stations (Read 7190 times)

dnavarrojr · « **on:** July 13, 2010, 23:19 »

Does anyone sell directly to newspapers or TV stations? If so, what is the rate which you sell your photos and/or video?

Over the past few months I've been able to get some really good photos and footage of local events where the event was over by the time the local media outlets arrived. I've sold photos to the local paper for $10 to $40 each and footage for $100 to $300 per event. And I'm wondering if I'm selling low.

I always insist on their non-exclusive contract so that I can sell to other media outlets or as stock. Although, I've made comparatively little money off editorial so I'm wondering if I should sell exclusive for a few extra bucks (typically 30% to 50% more).

AP and UPI don't buy from independents. So I'm wondering if there is other established editorial media distribution besides microstock.

sharpshot · « **Reply #1 on:** July 14, 2010, 02:21 »

The only time I sold to a paper, I asked what their standard rate was. Luckily for me, they offered £300 for 2 photos but that was a national paper a few years ago.

The national union of journalists has a bit about what to charge, have a look at "Freelance photographers guide to digital costs" here. Its all in pounds but it might help a bit.

http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=157

Oldhand · « **Reply #2 on:** July 14, 2010, 04:33 »

Quote from: dnavarrojr on July 13, 2010, 23:19

Does anyone sell directly to newspapers or TV stations? If so, what is the rate which you sell your photos and/or video?

Hi there

It's my main job selling editorial to national newspapers, so maybe I can help a bit...

I only deal with photo's and this is split into editorial stock and news. Local news in normally just that - local. Provincial papers only pay a small amount, and in all honesty your lucky to get any money of the them in the UK.

If it is a news story with wider interest you could send it in on spec to all the national's as well. They all have email adresses for news stories, gather a list and send them in ASAP. If they get used in the next days papers then you can ring up the picture desk to arrange a fee. They'll probably give you their standard space rate unless it's a big event or something exclusive (which is a different ball game altogether).

I make money from supplying stock to nationals. It's an area in decline, and the fee's paid are the newspapers own space rates. For a headshot, 2"sq color, it would range from £30 to $70 depending on which paper it is in the UK.

The NUJ are professional rates and have mileage, half day rates etc, etc. Normally you need a commission from a newspaper to charge these. To my mind you would be sending pics in on spec and would only get the space rate. There would be no exclusive tie in or contract, so you can do what you want with the picture afterwards.

Footage I can't help with, but any more questions fire away.

Rgds

Oldhand

dnavarrojr · « **Reply #3 on:** July 16, 2010, 16:34 »

Thank you very much, I'll visit some national news sites and see what they have for submissions.

I'm noticing that not much in the way of editorial seems to sell on the Microstock sites. They don't seem to be the "go to" place for editorial images. I was hoping there was such a place.

My local paper rarely buys anything, they usually just offer an attribution. However, if they think they can sell an image to other papers, they'll buy and pay what I would personally consider a half-way decent fee for non-exclusive resale rights (they can sell to other agencies, and I still own the copyright and the right to continue selling it myself).

I would consider myself an intermediate photographer. I have only had a DSLR for a few months. But out of a hundred shots, I'll get lucky with a really good one. I have had numerous pictures published in the local paper with attribution (they didn't pay me anything) and from that I've managed to get a few photography gigs. So as a local form of advertisement, it's been worthwhile.

Since I am out almost every day during the summer shooting stills and video, I want to capitalize on any events I run across beyond Microstock if that's possible.

cascoly · « **Reply #4 on:** July 18, 2010, 13:52 »

Quote from: dnavarrojr on July 16, 2010, 16:34

I'm noticing that not much in the way of editorial seems to sell on the Microstock sites. They don't seem to be the "go to" place for editorial images. I was hoping there was such a place.

if editorial = "newsworth, current topics", you may be right, but the longer lived form of editorial - street scenes and other non-released people pix have done well on the MS sites for me - at any site that takes editorial, i get a higher % sales of my editorial port than of my RF one.

in addition, some editorial scenes can be cropped to make them RF by an alert designer - while that cropped image would probably get rejected by the MS as 'ocer-cropped'

s

FD · « **Reply #5 on:** July 18, 2010, 14:26 »

Quote from: dnavarrojr on July 13, 2010, 23:19

Does anyone sell directly to newspapers or TV stations? If so, what is the rate which you sell your photos and/or video?

Belgium's second largest media group has a flat rate of 7 euro per photo for local events. The market is largely taken by a network of local snapshooters that can upload the shots within the hour. For more general (online) articles, they buy "archive" images on stock.

dnavarrojr · « **Reply #6 on:** July 19, 2010, 18:59 »

I am also discovering that it has a lot to do with the shot itself... I accidentally (long story) attended a local ceremony for welcoming home some troops over the weekend and got a shot that no one else did. Not including MS sales (which were all subs), I've made a little over $400 from this image in just direct sales to papers and TV stations:

Albert Martin · « **Reply #7 on:** July 20, 2010, 02:42 »

Quote from: dnavarrojr on July 19, 2010, 18:59

I am also discovering that it has a lot to do with the shot itself... I accidentally (long story) attended a local ceremony for welcoming home some troops over the weekend and got a shot that no one else did. Not including MS sales (which were all subs), I've made a little over $400 from this image in just direct sales to papers and TV stations:

Great photo!