Stringer (journalism)
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As freelancers, stringers do not receive a regular salary and the amount and type of work is typically at their discretion. However, stringers often have an ongoing relationship with one or more news organizations, to which they provide content on particular topics or locations when the opportunities arise.[4]
Etymology and use
In a journalistic context, the etymology of the word is uncertain. It is said that newspapers once paid such freelancer journalists per inch of printed text they generated, and that they used string to measure and bill their work. The theory given in the Oxford English Dictionary is that a stringer is a person who strings words together.[5]
The term is typically confined to news industry jargon. In print or in broadcast terms, stringers are sometimes referred to as correspondents or contributors. At other times, they may not receive any public recognition for the work they have contributed.
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Portrayal in popular media
- Peter Parker (Spider-Man) is depicted in comics, movies, and various other media as a stringer who captures and sells the pictures to local news, most notably the Daily Bugle.
- Joe Pesci plays Leon Bernstein, a stringer for tabloids in New York, in the 1992 film The Public Eye.[6]
- Conner Foster plays Eric Hayes, a stringer who discovers gruesome atrocities, in the 2003 film The Ghouls.[6]
- Lou Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal in the 2014 film Nightcrawler, is a stringer.[6]
- The 2017 Netflix series, Shot in the Dark, follows a group of stringers in Los Angeles, California.[6]
- The 2021 YouTube documentary, Code Two Zero, follows stringers in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
- The 2021 BBC documentary Whirlybird: Live Above LA.[7]
- Clark Kent (Superman) at the end of Man of Steel (2013). Clark (Henry Cavill) is introduced to the staff of the Daily Planet by editor Perry White, "This is Clark Kent, our new stringer, show him the ropes."
See also
References
- ^ "Portrait Of American Bank Robbers And Lovers Clyde Barrow… News Photo | Getty Images | 3248806". Getty Images. 1933-01-01. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- ^ a b "Handbook of Journalism: Dealing with stringers". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
- ISBN 978-0-87338-091-1.
- ^ Bank, David; Peter Leyden (October 1991). "Be A Stringer See The World". American Journalism Review. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
- ISBN 978-0-7619-2957-4.
- ^ a b c d Lindahl, Chris (August 20, 2019). "'Nightcrawler' Lawsuit: Judge Says There's Too Many Stringer Films For Copyright Claim".
- ^ "Whirlybird: Live Above LA". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-05-02.