Binh Boong Media

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


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.

(?) The word tabloid was coined in the 1880s by a London pharmaceutical company that marketed compressed tablets as “tabloid” pills.