How to Become a Gossip Columnist
The best gossip columnists have two traits in common: They write with so much zing that you're chomping at the bit just to read them and they're so well-connected that juicy gossip flows from their pen like an underground spring. Simply being a good writer or a social butterfly won't cut it. New gossip columnists also face an economic reality -- many publications have ended or have cut down their gossip columns, due to economic woes. Prospective columnists should expect to work on a freelance basis, and possibly prove themselves by maintaining their own gossip site for free as an example of their work.
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Instructions
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Create a wish list of your ideal gossip column material. It might be focused on celebrities, politicians, a specific business field, society gossip or another area. Write another list of the areas in which you have the most insider-knowledge contacts. Examine the lists to see where your interests and inside buzz overlap.
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Research and write several gossip items in your chosen field. Draw on your connections to get insider information and double check your facts. Act ethically and do not fabricate or exaggerate, but practice writing with flair to make what you write must-read articles. Write a variety of items, including one blind item, which provides juicy tidbits, but doesn't name the person described.
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Research the publications in your chosen field. For politics, for example, consider the major daily newspapers in Washington, D.C. Get to know people in the D.C. area who are connected to Washington insiders. For celebrity gossip, focus on New York City, Los Angeles and Hollywood. Include traditional publications, such as general interest newspapers and magazines, and trade publications.
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Find out if the publications already have a gossip column. For those that do, focus on joining the staff. For those that don't, focus on convincing the editors to institute a column.
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Order business cards that identify you as a freelance gossip columnist. Hiring editors are likely to take you more seriously, and it keeps your contact information and specialty areas in one place for them to reference.
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Pitch your column to the publications' editors or publishers. Begin with a phone call or email that pitches your idea. Include your characteristics and professional experience that make you an ideal gossip columnist, and offer to send them clips of your work. Specify whether you're looking to join an existing column's staff or to start your own column.
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Follow up with the editor or publisher if you don't hear back within a week. Remind them of your idea, and ask for an informational meeting to discuss your column.
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Expand your search if you do not get any interest from the initial publications. Look for online and print publications, as well as blogs in your chosen gossip field. Pitch the editors of the publications and blogs in the same manner, highlighting your unique qualifications and offering to share your clips.
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Tips & Warnings
Attend industry events to access the influential people who will be subjects of your gossip column. Introduce yourself and hand out business cards.
Keep the name and contact information of every person you encounter in your field. Contact them periodically to dish about what is happening. These informal calls can lead to scoops and juicy items, and will set you apart from others.
Not every gossip column needs to include salacious details. Business-oriented gossip, for example, usually has a restrained tone, but is widely read by professionals for news they cannot get elsewhere.
A journalism, English or communications degree can be helpful, but it is not absolutely necessary in landing a gossip column position. It's more important that your samples prove your top-notch writing skills, rather than prove you have a degree in writing.
Never accept money or gifts as part of your work or reveal sources to anyone but your editor, if required. Doing otherwise can ruin your reputation and brand you as untrustworthy, and your sources may not want to work with you.
References
- Inside Jobs: Gossip Columnist
- Extraordinary Jobs in Media: Alecia T. Devantier and Carol Turkington
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
