Freelancer of the Fortnight: Guy Hedgecoe

Click here to view Guy Hedgecoe's full freelance profile on Journalism.co.uk.

Why did you choose to become a freelancer?
I had been working in a newspaper in Madrid, mainly editing, for several years and I had had enough of the routine. I wanted to get out and report more, especially as there seemed to be so many interesting issues going on in Spain.

If you trained, where? If not, how did you become a freelancer?
I have never had any formal training. My most formative experience were the five years I spent in Ecuador, working for a news agency and then freelancing. There were coups, debt defaults, indigenous uprisings – plenty of news to cover each and every day.

Do you specialise in any particular field and what areas do you write about?
I am based in Madrid, so I specialise in Spain: political and economic news, but also general news and sport. Having said that, I will cover any subject if it looks interesting.

Which publications have you been published in?
Recently I have been producing radio reports for Deutsche Welle's English-language service. I write for Global Post and I recently did an analytical piece for Foreign Policy. I also occasionally do live TV work, mainly for Al Jazeera, when there is breaking news.

Which articles, in which publication, are you the most proud of?
I edit and write for a website called Iberosphere.com, which offers analysis and commentary on Spain and Portugal. I particularly enjoy doing that, because I set it up with a colleague and it's an opportunity to give a very personal, in-depth take on issues.

What are the best and worst aspects of freelancing?
The best part of it is that nobody is telling you what to do (unless you work with a difficult editor!) and that the content of your day is entirely is up to you – you're not being dictated to as you are in other jobs. I really enjoy thinking of story ideas and then proposing them to editors. The worst side of freelancing is having to remind people to pay you; and knowing that if you don't get out of bed, you won't get any work.

Do you have any interesting anecdotes in relation to your experience as a freelancer?
I have met a lot of fascinating people since I started freelancing. One of the most extraordinary has to be Waldo Diaz-Balart, whose sister was once married to Fidel Castro. He's an abstract artist and I interviewed him in his old studio in Madrid. We spent the afternoon drinking whisky and discussing everything from Andy Warhol to the Cuban Revolution.

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