Freelance developers create projects on their own initiative, then submit a completed piece of work ready to review. A lot of journalists work this way. A lot of academics work this way, too. Students and staff in STS programmes are welcome to develop episodes for WeAreSTS in their own time and by their own design. The podcast offers a platform for project develop. We have some criteria for selection, and the episodes must suit the podcast scope and audience. If you’d like to develop in this direction, have a conversation with the producer, Professor Joe Cain.
Proposal process
For WeAreSTS, freelance work involves several main steps. STS students interested in offering freelance work should follow these steps:
- Talk through your idea with the producer.
- Submit a plan or proposal that describes what you want to deliver, what the time frame will be, and what, if anything, you think you’ll need to complete the work. In doing this, you’ll get help shaping the project, and you’ll identify technical needs required for finished products.
- You’ll be given responsibility to develop your project as an independent.
- Submitted projects are reviewed. If accepted, projects are distributed as either regular episodes or bonus episodes.
Specifications
Freelancers work to specifications, and finished projects don’t just drop from thin air. Still, freelancers have a lot of freedom to develop topics and projects in ways they think best. As a first model, follow past episodes from the WeAreSTS episode library.
Proposing coursework
Students in HPSC modules are welcome to submit coursework for inclusion as an episode in the show. Before using coursework, we need to make some additional checks. For example, any person interviewed will be asked to approve their role in the episode. This is because when they were first interviewed they might not have considered a podcast episode was likely. As a matter of ethics and courtesy, we will want to double check with them that this is OK. We also need to check everyone involved in the work receives proper credit, and that materials used are cleared for copyright purposes.