Saturday, May 30, 2009

If you're looking for just a journalist or just a reporter, get lost


What makes a good story? What makes an impression? What do you read that tends to stay with you? Simple. It has to be interesting. And what separates me from Clark kent, Peter Parker and every other average-Joe reporter doing their beat, doing their job, is I write about what interests me, what I'm truly passionate about. I write to inspire, to inform and sometimes because the media lacks meaning or meaningful information in a particular area. They may not be interpretting the news, they may not be on the look out for the signal between all the noise. I am. For me it's not just another meaningless message; it's not just a job.

I am employed by a media company, but I work as a freelancer. This gives me the freedom to pursue what I like and publish what I want without being constrained or biased towards one particular brand or corporate mindset. As a result I have been published in every major newspaper in South Africa, and most of the major magazines. Look out for the July 2009 edition of Men's Health for my interview (and video) with Gavin Hood.

I have a wide variety of interests, but I'm particularly interested in alternative energy and alternative energy products. Earlier this year I interviewed Gerhard Swart, who is behind the exciting Joule Electric Car development. Watch out for my article The Heart of the Joule in the upcoming edition of Biophile magazine.
I'm also interested in economics. I've written in the past for Financial Mail on Korea, a country wired for wealth.
I'm interested in sports, [ particularly cycling, swiming and triathlon] , and health and nutrition.
I believe our attitude towards swine flu is far too complacent. This view is based on the insights provided by experts I have interviewed, including Dr. John Oxford and Professor Robert Bragg.

I'm interested in nature, so if you have a getaway somewhere in the African outback you'd like to promote, I'm your man. Botswana and the Kalahari are favorite haunts for me. I am currently putting together a photographic exhibition on haunting South African landscapes.

I also enjoy international travel, and am still very keen to visit Finland, Iceland, Alaska and Mongolia. I was one of a handful of writers invited on a Press Tour to South Korea in April 2008, and this year was invited to visit Dubai.

I also interview and photograph personalities. These are people who are hard working, respectable people with stories worth telling. In some cases they may have just started on their journey, for example, the animator Dan Barker and swimmers Jean-Marie Neethling and Roxanne Meyer. Roxanne is a model I discovered while training at Virgin Active (she is the youngest ever qualifier for senior nationals, doing so at age 11). If I see potential I am happy to help leverage your exposure into the public domain. This may include shooting a portfolio of photos, setting up a Facebook profile and a blog, and setting out a whole strategy for your search for fame and fortune.

It's been said that those who advertise in Depression's survive. Those who fail to get the market's attention will disappear quickly.
Ifyou're serious about getting your story out there, and you feel you have a story worth caring about, contact me by leaving a comment, or send me an email.

Here's a sample of my work: Miles to go before we sleep [published in Sunday Times Travel

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