Today, Medianet is excited to feature Lauren Rouse, an overseas-based Australian freelance journalist. After a successful tenure at Pedestrian Group, Lauren has decided to pivot to freelance journalism to grow her career and pursue her passion for writing. Despite the challenges of transitioning to freelancing in a competitive industry, Lauren’s rich background in writing for both Australian and international publications brings a unique perspective on content creation and media production.
Hi Lauren! Can you share why you're pivoting to become a Freelance Journalist? And since you mentioned that you’ll be based overseas, will you still be writing about Australian life and media?
My pivot to freelancing is mainly in an effort to continue to grow my career and focus on the topics I’m truly passionate about. I’ve loved my time at Pedestrian Group but in order to further my career and fulfil my dream of moving overseas, I knew that would no longer be possible in my position there.
While overseas I’m eager to immerse myself in the news cycle and culture of the places I’ll be living in, but I also don’t want to lose my connection to the Australian media landscape or the relationships I’ve built there, so I hope to continue to pitch and write Australian-focused stories while abroad.
Have you worked as a Freelance writer before? What do you anticipate will be the biggest challenges as you transition into this role?
I think that the media industry is undergoing a difficult shift at the moment as a lot of companies make cuts to their workforces, meaning there are less full time positions to go around and lower freelance budgets. I certainly expect it to be competitive in the freelance world and perhaps one of the few downsides of moving to a new country will be having to start from the ground up in a foreign media landscape.
That being said, I think an ability to be proactive and a willingness to adapt to the types of content that outlets are seeking are key assets of being a freelance journalist. And that’s the mindset I’m taking into this new challenge.
As someone who has written for multiple publications, what are the biggest differences in content planning and production you've observed? How does your current media cycle as a writer for Lifehacker and The Direct compare?
I’ve been lucky to write for both Australian and international publications, which has given me a great insight into how media works in different countries. In my experience, I’ve found that outlets with corporate backing are more willing to take risks on the types of content they produce and are open to new coverage areas, whereas independent outlets are more careful with the pieces they commission and often stick to the topics they know will be a return on investment.
I think one thing that impacts all outlets, regardless of location or size, is a Google algorithm change, so I’ve found it’s important to be flexible with the types of content you’re willing to create.
In terms of the day to day, Lifehacker was a full time writing role with regular hours every week and it meant I was much more involved in the pitching, planning and execution of content every day. The Direct, on the other hand, works on an assignment-based system so this means the ideation for stories is completed by the editors and then allocated to the writing team. My role there is in a freelance capacity and it’s allowed me to pick up articles around my regular working hours at Lifehacker.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions about your line of work? And as a tech and lifestyle writer, what do you wish PR professionals understood better about your role?
I think it’s easy to fall into the trap that just because something worked once it means it will work every time. That is not the case in digital media. While we’re often trying to replicate success in our areas of authority, we’re also often forced to change direction on a whim due to a popular trend or an algorithm change. And that in turn also impacts the kinds of pitches we respond to.
Tech and lifestyle are also such large interest areas and I think some PR often think that means any generic tech or lifestyle pitch is right for an outlet that covers those topics. In actual fact, it’s important to look at the specific ways that outlet covers those things before sending a pitch. For example, Lifehacker was a lifestyle outlet, but because it was part of a youth publisher, we avoided stories about parenting or children.
You write extensively about television shows and movies—how much time do you spend consuming and researching media? And how does writing about the entertainment industry differ from your tech reviews and lifestyle articles?
Entertainment is a passion of mine so while there is often a lot more work involved, it’s my favourite kind of work to do!
But it is true that preparing for an interview or a review of a movie or TV show takes more time than the average news article (and it often takes place outside of regular work hours). You have to consider the time it takes to view the movie or series, prepare questions for the interview, check in for your interview slot (often at extremely odd hours), complete your interview, transcribe your answers and then actually write your article. It all adds up.
I’ve found taking on a review of a tech or lifestyle product has a similar commitment, as you have to allow time and space to put the product through testing of all its features, taking appealing photos and then packaging it all together in an often lengthy article.
In comparison, a lifestyle hack or quick news article can be done in a quarter of the time. But writing those longer, more involved features is more rewarding to me, so I think it’s important to have a balance of both!
Looking ahead, what stories and perspectives are you most excited to explore in your writing? Is there a specific direction you want your career to take after your time at Lifehacker?
When I started at Pedestrian Group I was lucky to have the freedom to explore a variety of topics across tech and lifestyle at Lifehacker, Gizmodo and Kotaku. It was an excellent training ground!
But I soon found my true passion lay in entertainment. Moving forward, I’m hoping to specialise further in pop culture content and continue to conduct interviews, write reviews and produce news and features in that space.
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