Home Buying Institute » News » News Writing Opportunities for Journalism Students
News Writing Opportunities for Journalism Students
Welcome to the U.S. Housing News guest-author program. We offer news-writing opportunities to journalism students within the United States. You do not need any previous news credentials to write for us. All you need is a talent for research and writing.
What can I write about?
We publish news related to the housing market. Our primary audience is made up of home buyers. So when you put these two things together, you can see the scope is pretty wide. We publish information relating to mortgages, interest rates, government stimulus programs, and the home-buying process in general. If it would be of interest to first-time home buyers, then we will accept it.
You might find it helpful to read through some of our recent news stories, which you can find in the right-hand menu. This will give you a sense of what we publish, how we shape our articles, etc.
What are the benefits?
When I applied for my first writing job, years ago, I remember how desperate I was to round up writing samples. Anything was better than nothing. But for a journalism student, most writing samples come from school projects. I created this program to give students a chance to write real news, on a website that reaches thousands of readers every day. Who knows — maybe it will help you beef up your resume and land a writing job someday.
What happens to the news story I write?
We will publish all appropriate pieces right here on this website. Your name will appear in the byline, and you may also include a short author’s bio at the end of the piece, if you like. Your news story will be featured on the home page of this website, and it will also get its own unique page on the site. It will be permanently archived on the site, so you can always use it as a writing sample / journalism credential. You retain copyrights to your story. If you ever need to have it removed for any reason, just send us an email.
Is there any form of compensation?
Not in the financial sense of the word. This website is not ad-supported, so we are unable to compensate authors. But you do get the pride of writing for a respectable news outlet that reaches thousands of readers daily, as well as another journalism feather in your cap.
Great. How do I get started?
If you are a journalism student in the United States, and you have an interest in real estate, then you are already qualified. Before writing your story, please send us a query email with your chosen topic. This helps us prevent duplicate stories. Once you receive a “green light” for your article, we will send you a link to our online submission form. After your story is published, we will send you a courtesy email with a link to the article page.
Story Writing Requirements
The two most important criteria are timeliness and relevance. News stories must be relevant and useful for first-time home buyers. You can learn more about our publishing angle from this page. The length is up to you, but 500 – 700 words is a good length for web articles.
It’s also helpful if you can put the news into perspective, by telling home buyers how it might affect them. This is a hallmark of good news writing, and it’s what we strive for with the U.S. Housing News. Here’s a good example.
Aside from that, just do your best work so it reflects well upon you! If you have any questions about our writing opportunities for journalism students, feel free to send me an email. Thanks for your interest.
Contact Information:
Brandon Cornett, Publisher
editor@homebuyinginstitute.com
