NEW SPORTS FREELANCER PROJECTS – UPDATE
As we reported at the end of March, TriNorth Communications, the sports media agency which produces The Blizzard, the Nightwatchman, Wisden Cricket Monthly and Gridiron magazines, has set up two digital magazines to provide cricket and football freelance writers with regular vehicles for their work.
TriNorth employees have taken pay cuts while those Blizzard writers who could afford to do so generously waived fees in order to get the two magazines off the ground. The interactive Pinch Hitter, in association with the Nightwatchman, debuted on 3 April and will appear fortnightly. You can take a look at the first issue here – http://www.thenightwatchman.net/pinch-hitter/issue-1/ and pitch ideas to Phil Walker, Jo Harman and Matt Thacker at pinchhitter@trinorth.co.uk.
You can also find out more about what kind of submissions the Pinch Hitter is looking for here – https://www.thenightwatchman.net/news/the-birth-of-the-pinch-hitter
Meanwhile, the first issue of The Squall, the unruly younger sibling to The Blizzard, will come out at the start of May. There is plenty of information about its set-up, as well as the themes of the next few issues, here https://www.theblizzard.co.uk/news/squall-update-april-10
As with the Pinch Hitter, the response from the freelance community has been overwhelming and because of this, The Squall will now appear monthly rather than the originally planned eight times a year, giving additional opportunities for freelancers. The address for pitches to Jonathan Wilson is thesquall@trinorth.co.uk.
And to give you a taster of the first issue, dedicated to right backs, have a look (and a sing-along) at this video that The Squall team have put together
It’s ridiculous, but a lot of fun.
So for freelancers, please send in your submissions, ideas and suggestions. TriNorth’s intention is to pay pretty much on submission, even if that submission is for three or four magazines down the line. This won’t always be possible but the more cash that can be generated from the general public, the quicker they can pay, the more freelancers they can use, and the better the rates they can offer.
Finally, the only way the two magazines will survive in the longer term is if people buy them, so please do promote them wherever and whenever you can. All of the blogs on the respective websites have details about how people can buy or donate.