Freelance journalism

[danaeris]

OK. I'm underemployed, lets face it. And sitting on my ass the other 7 hours of the business day that I'm not job searching is not a useful coping mechanism.

So I've decided to start tackling the freelance journalism thing, but I'm not sure where to start.
I'm sending out feelers for sample articles on that column idea I had, but that will take time to assemble. In the meantime, I need story ideas, and I need to figure out where to get them from.

The first thing that occurred to me is to watch carefully what events are occurring at the Moscone Center. The next two big events are a meeting of the Society of Cell Biology (and bio ain't my kink, but I could try...), and Macworld.

Well, I'm not sure how to go about getting a press pass to these things. But even if I did have a press pass, I'm not sure how useful it would be. What kind of stuff goes on at Macworld, and how likely is any of it to be stuff that magazines would be interested in? I'm skeptical. Meanwhile, I'm sure there will be stuff worth covering at the cell biology conference, but I'm not sure that I am the one to cover it given my lack of bio background.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get story ideas?

Comments

[bluedaisy.livejournal.com]

Since "MacWorld" is sponsored by "Macworld" magazine, you might see if they are looking for extra writers.
There are a lot of people who write about Macworld conferences, but if you think you can get an angle that not everyone has, that might be useful.
Things that happen at a MacWorld:
"User" and "Pro" sessions (conference)
The Expo (big show floor, lots to see, but mostly companies pushing products)
The Keynote (A big speech, usually given by Steve Jobs, lots of hype, and usually some product announcements)
Other speeches by partners of Apple, important Mac people, etc.
(Some of these are really cool--last year's NY one was David Pogue, who is very funny, and a good techwriter.)