How to Become a Tabloid Reporter

Several respected journalists started out writing for tabloids, which can be an exciting career in itself.

Instructions

Step 1: Get a college degree Get a college degree in journalism or a related field, such as English or communications. Tabloid journalism requires strong reporting and writing skills; many mainstream media stories originate in the tabloids.
Step 2: Study the tabloids Study several different tabloids to get a feel for the types of stories they publish and for their writing style.
TIP: Celebrity-filled Los Angeles is a good place to live to become a tabloid reporter, as are New York and London.
Step 3: Generate leads Generate eye-catching lead stories, or "leads." Most tabloids want fresh celebrity stories, high-profile scandals, or the bizarre. This requires digging deep for a story angle and may also call for a bit of creative embellishment.
TIP: Learn tabloid jargon. Stories are written using simple language and often incorporate key catch phrases.
Step 4: Be competitive Be competitive to stay in the tabloid game. Tabloids hire mainly freelancers, many who have no formal contract, so consistently generating publishable stories is vital.
Step 5: Build contacts Build contacts to ensure you’ll always have a story. Contacts and sources are crucial to the tabloid industry; a reporter who doesn’t build a roster of them won’t be successful.
Step 6: Develop a unique style Develop your own unique style. Tabloid writers distinguish themselves by what they routinely cover and their use of humor, wryness, or other signature hooks.
FACT: The word tabloid was coined in the 1880s by a London pharmaceutical company that marketed compressed tablets as 'tabloid' pills.