Interview with PJ Vanston
By Daniel, Entertainment and Lifestyle Editor
Journalists from the Dartford Grammar School Journalism Society interviewed PJ Vanston, a movie director, a writer for The Telegraph and is an Old Dartfordian on the 7th July.
PJ Vanston is a freelance journalist, a movie director, a children’s’ author, a digital editor and an Old Dartfordian. Some of his writing includes Rasmus and A Cat called Dog, just to name a few! Vanston is a role model to most of the journalists, as he helped us understand what it takes to become a journalist. Several interesting questions were posed to PJ, and he answered with great enthusiasm, sparing no detail, making it an enjoyable occasion. PJ Vanston explained how he made a living through journalism and shared old memories of himself, and how ridiculous the prices were for a decent story and picture.
Q: What inspired you to pursue this career?
Vanston explained how he realised, in university, that he wanted to become a journalist. He loved to travel, so the topic closest to his heart was to write travel articles that he would sell to multiple press agencies.
Back in the 90’s, before the internet become a popular method of media relay, newspapers and magazines would pay a lot of money for pictures and articles submitted by freelance journalists. It was not uncommon for an article to be sold to multiple interested news agencies for hundreds of pounds a time, providing a healthy income for Vanston, during the peak of his success.
As printed media changed to digital format, so did access to healthy incomes. Most agencies transferred online, resulting in a dramatic change of Vanston’s career.
We would all like to thank PJ Vanston for taking the time to relay his career paths. It has furthered our knowledge and ability when it comes to journalism.