How to Become an International Correspondent -- Without Leaving Home!

For many years, it was virtually impossible to become an international correspondent unless you were a world traveler. Now, mostly because of the Internet, you can become an international media correspondent without ever leaving your home office, much less boarding a plane to France or Spain. In fact, the majority of freelance international correspondents don't ever leave their home country for work.

The most important characteristic of an international correspondent is the ability to read, write and understand more than one language. It would be very difficult for you to work as an international correspondent for France if you've never learned how to speak French, and therefore can't read or understand any of the media published in that country. Obviously, you could become an international correspondent for another English-speaking country, but those are not in as high of a demand.

The main job of an international correspondent is to pick up stories from another country and expand on those stories for the reading pleasure of the public. Most of these professionals write stories for their own countries based on foreign affairs, but you can also write for international publications if you are good at what you do and are conversationally fluent in the language.

In order to become an international correspondent, you must be prepared to do countless hours of research before being able to write a word. Most news stories of this caliber are written "on spec" for local newspapers and magazines, which means that you will be going out on a limb -- your story might never be published anywhere. However, if you can build a reputation as someone who is always accurate, you may find that you have more than enough work to keep you busy for the next fifty years.

First, let your local newspaper know that you are interested in writing as an international correspondent. They might give you a few jobs for writing on the Internet, but you'll have to prove yourself worthy if you ever want a byline in the print version of the paper. You might also want to provide a few clips of work you have done in the past, particularly those that relate to foreign affairs in the country that you want to cover.

Next, you will need to hone your research skills. The hallmark of a good international correspondent is the ability to take facts from several different news sources and combine to make one unique, interesting article. This means using all available avenues for research, including both print and televised media. You'll need a high-speed Internet connection as well as a telephone.

One of the best resources for an international correspondent is local television websites in the country you are covering. Bookmark those websites and visit them daily, looking for new tidbits of information to pick up. You'll often find streaming video clips of news shows that have aired in the last twenty-four hours as well as up-to-date articles written by local journalists.

For photos, you'll be surprised at the helpfulness of both free stock photography sites and local news outlets. If you ask for permission to use a photo and give the photographer credit in your story, you should be able to submit new stories along with relevant photos. International correspondents must be able to write quickly and with little direction from the publication, so you will be relied upon to produce interesting stories with equally riveting photographs.