Arts journalist

Arts journalists come from all sorts of backgrounds. Some are career journalists who just end up specialising in the arts by chance, whereas others are passionate about the arts first and are journalists second.

Journalists work for local, regional and national newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations and for websites. Some are called freelance journalists and work for themselves, making a living by ringing up or emailing editors with ideas for stories, features and reviews. The majority of freelances already have years of experience behind them.

Arts journalists interview artists and go to see productions and then write them up. They will be invited to press nights of many shows and will spend a lot of evenings working. Their work is very pressured and deadline driven.

Most journalists have a journalism qualification.