I was recently interviewed by Journalism.co.uk for an article for which I can’t remember the topic. The reporter, Sarah Marshall, and I fell into a conversation about the new realities of reporting abroad. We talked about the decline of foreign bureaus, the increasing-scarcity of writers contracts, and the severe financial hardships —not to mention the emotional toll— now so-often a part of working as an independent journalist abroad.

Sarah subsequently decided that somewhere in the transcript of our conversation, there existed the bare bones of a standalone feature.

The section of that piece pertaining to me appears below. To read the complete article, see “How to: become a roaming reporter“, at Journalism.co.uk.

Travis Lupick, Canadian freelance journalist, currently living in Malawi

Travis Lupick, 26, is a print journalist and after a period spent in Nepal and Bhutan like McKee Lupick is also currently living in Africa, but he has taken a different path.

In Bhutan he started writing for a local magazine and then caught the attention of an international magazine based out of Nepal.

“I can admit that I visited Bhutan for a girl,” he said, explaining he was on a two-week guest visa.

“I quickly fell in with a group of journalists, cosied up to the right publisher in a bar and found myself on a five-month work permit. Once in the country I approached every publication I could. There was a lot of rejection but I was eventually turned on to an international magazine based out of Nepal called Himal as well as Bhutan-based Drukpa and the Journalist.”

In Malawi, where he spoke to Journalism.co.uk from, he started in a daily local newspaper and then caught the attention of News Africa, a regional publication, and The Africa Report, an international magazine, which then helped him connect with Al Jazeera English, “so it was sort of local to regional to international”.*

“Now with Al Jazeera’s name behind me the American and Canadian outlets are paying more attention. But they wouldn’t until I got here.

“Just like I used the magazine’s office in Bhutan I’ve been working out of the offices of the Malawi daily newspaper, the Daily Times, to base myself out of and try and sell myself to the international outlets”.

This is one model he thinks could work for freelance roaming reporters.

“I think you could make the economics work, working for free in a developing country.”

The newspaper provides the base between stories, the contacts to provide context and ideas for other articles which can be pitched afterwards.

One of the more major news events Lupick covered was was when 19 people were killed in riots. “It sounds terrible to say, but it worked in my favour,” he said.

Not only did he cover the story but was able to pitch and sell follow up articles for the Star and Al Jazeera, and as there was suddenly increased [interest] in Malawi, he was able to report on mining practices in the country.

Lupick’s advice for aspiring foreign correspondents

Asked what advice he would give aspiring foreign correspondents he quipped: “It’s to turn around and not do it”, explaining how tough it is to try and and get by on sporadic freelance work.

“With fewer and fewer media outlets willing to pay for foreign bureaus or even for correspondents’ long-term placements in specific locations, reporting abroad is, increasingly, a very unstable and quite lonely occupation.”

How much can online and print journalists earn?

Asked how you start pitching and discussing money, he said: “You start off willing to take what you can get and work up from there.

“Major international online publications usually start in between $300 and $350 for maybe a 1,000 word article, but give you negotiating room as your relationship continues and you can work up. Then there are separate arrangements for photographs and for photo essays and that sort of thing.

“This year I’ve sort of taken everything that has been offered the first time around and then once my foot is in the door and I know the editor’s name, come back with a negotiating position.”

Like McKee he also explained the toll it can take on your personal life. “It’s backpack journalism, you’re working on your own and I think you have to have a fairly unattached, uncomfortable lifestyle. I don’t think it works for the man or woman with the husband or wife and kids back home any more.”

*The demarcated paragraph has been slightly-reworked to correct a minor inacuracy present in the original version of the article.

This post includes an excerpt from an article first published at Journalism.co.uk.