What it's Like Working as a Freelance Entertainment Journalist - and Diving into Substack - in 2024

Jim Halterman and I have a conversation about our experiences going from full time jobs to joining the freelance side in an ever-evolving internet landscape.

I have a bit of a special type of post today, both because it’s a video and because it’s a collab.

My friend Jim Halterman recently reached out to me and suggested we jump on Zoom and have a chat about what life is like for us both working as freelance entertainment journalists these days. Jim and I have very similar situations where we had long-term full time jobs — him with TV Guide Magazine, me with Fandom — end rather abruptly via the ol’ company layoffs in the past several months.

You’ll find our conversation below, which Jim is posting as today as well. We discuss the current landscape of entertainment journalism, why it can be especially tricky finding freelance gigs right now, and what it’s like also exploring different avenues these days, including YouTube and, yes, Substack. Hey, that’s where we are right now!

Big thanks to Jim for organizing this and make sure you follow him at his Substack (plus anything else he mentions in the video!), Coffee, TV & Me.