Canvassing the Landscape

In an age of shrinking newsrooms, philanthropic support has become increasingly vital to investigative reporting - and that includes freelance reporting. Project Word, a nonprofit organization that facilitates freelance stories for media outlets, is conducting a national survey on freelance investigative reporting.
 
The survey aims to inform efforts to support freelancers. Project Word is sharing a summary of survey results with almost a dozen participating journalistic institutions, from the Fund for Investigative Journalism to the Society of Professional Journalists.
 
There are two separate on-line surveys here: one for NON-freelancers, and one for freelancers. Both versions are strictly anonymous and confidential. All data from the survey will be shared in aggregate only.

Each survey has its own link. Choose your option:
 
1) Freelancer survey (c. 15 minutes, with option for additional questions)
Freelancers: reporters, writers, broadcast producers, or photojournalists who have done freelance investigative reporting in any medium, to any degree - regardless of the extent to which their current freelance load includes investigative reporting.
 
Link to freelancer survey:
Freelancer Survey
 

2) Non-freelancer survey (c.10 minutes)
Non-freelancers: anyone who isn’t currently freelancing but engages somehow in investigative reporting in the public interest - from staff reporters and editors to funders and journalism professors.
 
Link to non-freelancer survey:
Non-Freelancer Survey

Note: To generate the strongest needs assessment, Project Word is asking folks to distribute this survey privately via any journalistic listserv or outlet - or share directly with journalism colleagues. Thanks!

Deadline is Friday, April 4. For more information, please contact me at ltownsend@projectword.org. 413-528-6592