The most valuable action you can take as a journalist is being professionally persistent.
This is a phrase a co-worker at Framingham State’s Chris Walsh Center suggested to me last semester when I was wondering if messaging a journalist on Twitter for an informational interview was too much.
Her advice was to be “professional persistent” and that’s how you can make things happen.
I had emailed someone from The Woonsocket Call, a northern Rhode Island newspaper, about doing an informational interview with him. I heard no response.
But I had decided to follow him on Twitter because he seemed pretty active. Much to my surprise - he followed me back.
For a while I was wondering if messaging him would be too annoying or if he would think I was weird, but I took her advice and persisted in getting a meeting with him.
On May 26, I sent him a message.
He got back to me and said he would be happy to help.
Due to COVID-19, we planned to meet over Zoom. I was at my grandparent’s house where many others were living at the time.
I was then worried about how I was supposed to speak with him in quiet and still look professional.
On June 1, we met and I had situated myself in my temporary room - the old computer room. I balanced my laptop on my cat's litter box cover while sitting on my bed.
On screen he could most likely see me hunched over, marker coloring all over the back wall from my cousins, and me trying to push my nosy cat out of the frame.
Despite the circumstances, the meeting was going great - then it got even better.
Toward the end of the meeting he said if I was ever interested in writing something for The Call to let him know.
At first I just nodded giving a nervous smile, but then my co-worker’s words rang in my head once more - “professional persistent.”
I quickly followed up my awkwardness with something along the lines of, “Actually, I would love to write anything I can.”
On June 2, I was sending some writing samples to the Executive Editor of The Call as well as The Pawtucket Times.
After a bit I didn’t hear from the editor, but as a journalist I knew he was most likely busy and sent him a message - professionally persistent.
On June 16 at midnight, I was sent my first assignments - both preview stories - one for a music festival held at a historic inn in Burrillville and another for a Fourth of July parade in Cumberland.
By 11:30 a.m. I had my first interview as a freelancer - quickly followed by the second.
By the afternoon, I had sent in my first ever article.
On June 21, there was my by-line, "Leighah Beausoleil, Special to The Call." My article was published in Woonsocket’s daily paper - on the front page.
I continued on freelancing throughout the summer and a bit over this semester, publishing 19 articles in total with one on the way - 18 of which have made it to the front page of either or both of The Call and The Times.
I have learned a lot during my time as a freelancer despite a lot of it being remote work, but the most important thing I learned was the value in being professionally persistent - no matter how awkward or embarrassing it is.
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