All you have to do as a professional freelancer, or a citizen journalist who shoots and livestreams, is download the Sappest App to your phone and complete the short registration form.
You will be prompted to choose a password to enter the app, and then you can fill in the different sections of your profile which are relevant to you, to give newsrooms worldwide as much information about you, your skills and your equipment (if a broadcaster) as possible, and encourage them to hire you.
You can choose how you wish to be seen on the map - either as a 'live' marker which you can move as you change locations (this app deliberately does not track you), or as a fixed marker at your home or office, or another location of your choice. From that moment on, you will be visible to newsrooms worldwide on the Sappest interactive map.
When a news editor or producer is looking for a freelancer in the area you are in, as shown by your position on the Sappest interactive map, they will be able to access your entire profile with one click, and send you a direct message in the app, or call or email you with the contact details you provide.
If you are live-streaming breaking news, your livestreams will be placed directly into the personal app of the news editors, for them to watch in the app and contact you to ask if they can broadcast it.
It is free for freelancers to register for the Sappest App right now. The founders of Sappest wish to show freelancers how hugely beneficial this ground-breaking media tool can be to their careers, as they invite thousands of newsrooms and tens of thousands of freelancers into the Sappest exclusive media club.
However, at some point in the future the app will need to earn its living. Media organisations will NEVER be required to pay to use the app, because we do not want budgets to be a bar to a swift and effective way to find freelancers in a time of breaking news - or even to book freelancers for future diary events.
Advertising by companies interested in targeting the freelance community is one potential revenue stream, or alternatively we will launch a subscription service for freelancers, following a free trial, where each freelancer will be required to pay one low sum of 9.99 USD per month to be present on the Sappest map, and have their details in the database.
It is very important to the founders of Sappest that the subscription sum chosen is low enough to not inconvenience anyone operating in lower income countries, while bringing them the huge advantages of being visible to the major global broadcasters and print and online outlets around the world. Given it is the freelancers who will benefit financially from Sappest, it only seems right that if any subscription is required, it is the freelancers who make the contribution. Given that 9.99USD is a fraction of a day rate for any media freelancer, as long as Sappest does its job in generating freelance bookings worldwide, the subscription fee will be negligible, and represent a significant saving on the time and effort it would require to contact all these newsrooms individually.
No. There are thousands of other freelancers on the Sappest interactive map, but we have to protect your privacy by not allowing the other freelancers to see your personal details, and vice versa. By broadcasting your location, or the location of your home or office, to other freelancers, we could put you in a vulnerable position. Therefore your location, contact details and all your personal skills and capabilities are a closely guarded secret, available only to bona fide media organisations, which have been thoroughly vetted in advance by the Sappest editorial team.
All the major, vetted, news media organisations around the world, government-owned and commercially-funded, have access to the Sappest App.
Global media organisations in the US, UK, across Europe and the Middle East, and in Australia have followed the development of this brand new ground-breaking app closely, because the founders of Sappest are the contemporaries of the heads of news and newspaper editors in these countries. They all started together as cub reporters many decades ago.
However, the Sappest App is also constantly promoted to every bona fide media organisation worldwide, so the number of newsrooms using it is growing exponentially each week. Thousands of newsrooms are able to see the location of tens of thousands of urgently-needed freelancers and book them directly when news breaks.
Ensuring the privacy and safety of media freelancers is one of the most important aspects of the Sappest App.
We are aware that journalists and media technicians are vulnerable, especially at the present time, and charting their position on an interactive map could cause problems if the app was to fall into the wrong hands. That is why Sappest is an exclusive club for bonafide media organisations and media professionals only.
Our vetting procedures are particularly stringent in the Middle East, Russia, Asia and South America. In those traditionally more dangerous areas, access to the Sappest App is only given to mainstream, high profile, media organisations, which can prove a genuine media output, and even then, only to the Heads of News and News Editors. We make it clear to them this is a personal facility just for them, and they are NOT to share it with their staff.
As explained above, other Sappest Pro freelancers are not able to see the profiles or location of their contemporaries. They will only see their own marker when the Sappest Map is open.
Media organisations can access your details in the Sappest App in two ways.
Firstly, they can search the interactive map to see who is where, when news breaks. Whether you are using a 'live' location, which you have entered as your phone has moved, or a fixed location, perhaps at your home or office, they will see your microphone marker, which will be the colour of the skillset you have indicated. When they touch your marker, your full profile will be visible to them, including the contact details you have provided.
If you are working for another employer on a given day, you can mark yourself as temporarily unavailable to work on the Sappest interactive map, and your microphone marker will be greyed out. However newsrooms will still be able to consult your profile. If you wish to remove your marker from the map completely for a while, your profile and therefore your contact details will not be visible.
Alternatively, news editors can choose to do a search of the Sappest database to find any freelancer within a certain specified radius of their chosen location, and that will also allow them to view your completed profile, which you can update at any moment. If you have marked yourself as unavailable to work that day, that will be indicated in the profile accessed by a database search. If you have chosen to hide your profile for a while on the Sappest map you will not show up in a database search. Your details will still be in the database, but not visible. You can reestablish your presence on the map when you are ready.
You decide how you would like to be contacted by media organisations. You can include your email, mobile and/or landline telephone number in your contact details, and indicate if you use your mobile number for WhatsApp calls. Media organisations can then make direct contact with you using one of those mediums.
However Sappest also has an in-app messaging system, which allows media organisations to contact you directly from a 'message' button at the top of your profile, or include you in a group message if you are within a specified radius of a breaking news event.
If a media organisation contacts you this way, you will receive an SMS and/or an email stating that you have a message pending in your Sappest App message centre. You can then reply to the media organisation directly from that message. They will also receive a notification of a message pending from you when you reply.
The Sappest App internal messaging stream works like any other you would see in Messenger or WhatsApp.
Sappest does not get involved in any payments between the media organisations and the freelance operators.
Sappest does not charge any commission on freelance work to either the media organisations or the freelancers, or recommend any set rates for services.
Sappest is simply a portal, bringing together media organisations and freelancers to meet their mutual needs. Any booking, contracting or payment as a result of communications facilitated by Sappest are a private matter between the media organisation and the freelancer.
That said, if a media organisation is discovered to be booking freelancers through Sappest but then not paying them, or exhibiting a poor payment record, the founders of Sappest would remove their access to the app.
The media organisations see the information you include in your profile, which you can update at any time. When you download and enter the app you will see the options menu which will give you the opportunity to enter your contact details, your skills, your languages, your equipment, your website address, URLs for your work samples, and any professional social media sites you would like them to see. You can also list your future availability.
You will also decide how you wish to be found on the Sappest interactive map - either by using your phone to mark your location throughout the day, or by setting a fixed marker.
We are fully compliant with The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which become effective on May 25, 2018. Some of the key privacy and data protection requirements of the GDPR include:
- Requiring the consent of subjects for data processing
- Anonymizing collected data to protect privacy
- Providing data breach notifications
- Safely handling the transfer of data across borders
Full details of how we comply are listed on our Privacy Policy Page
If you no longer have any use for the Sappest App, and you wish to remove your details, you can use the delete button in the app menu to remove all your data and deregister from the app.
If you delete the app before doing this, just reinstall the app, sign in with your existing login and follow the de-registering process.
No. The app needs IOS 13 or later - primarily becuase of the enhanced security it offers.
IOS 13 is not compatable with the older Apple devices listed here:
- iPhone 5S (and older)
- iPhone 6/6 Plus
- iPad Mini 2
- iPad Mini 3
- iPad Air (2013)
FAQs for Newsdesk
In times of breaking news, Sappest knows all newsrooms need to find professional freelancers, on the spot, right away, to gather initial pictures and information, and provide broadcasters with lives, phonos and vox pops, at least until staffers can get there.
Sappest also knows newsrooms need fixers and translators to help their in-house crews cover a story.
Sappest knows the biggest challenge for any newsroom is to find available freelancers fast, especially if the breaking news is in an area the newsroom has never operated in before.
Sappest has thousands of print and broadcast freelancers, plus citizen journalist live-streamers, plotted on its geo-locator live interactive map, and listed in its searchable database. These freelancers are available to cover breaking news events worldwide. News editors can know instantly exactly where each freelancer is, and whether they are available to hire.
The profiles of each Sappest freelancer, showcasing their skills, equipment, languages and contact details, are easily searchable and visible on the interactive map, as well as in the searchable Sappest database. News desks can message each freelancer directly in the Sappest App, or email or call them using the information provided by each operator.
Newsrooms can also see whether any livestreams are being broadcast from the breaking news site and can watch those livestreams in the app, and also contact the user generator directly.
Finding a media freelancer using the Sappest App is as easy as opening it up.
News editors can either select a Sappest news hotspot, which are kept up to date 24/7 by the Sappest editorial team, to take them directly to the location of a breaking news event, or enter a bespoke destination into the Sappest interactive map.
News editors can instantly see which freelancers are in the vicinity of an incident, within a 1000 km radius. The exact distance, from 0 - 1000 km, can be set by the app user.
News editors can select broadcast, print or multi-skilled freelancers to be featured on the map in the app, and can message all at once, or send a personal note to a specific operator.
The Sappest App allows news editors to manage multiple message streams with freelancers to find their perfect fit and get the news covered.
News editors can also search the Sappest database to find the right freelancer in the right location.
Sappest has thousands of freelancers registered on its geo-locator interactive live media app.
Sappest freelancers cover all genres of journalists and technicians for broadcast and print media outlets, as well as citizen journalists able to offer crucial livestream facilities of breaking news.
Some freelancers are specialists, such as radio and television reporters, camera and sound operators and print writers and photographers. Others are multi-skilled, with extensive print AND broadcast experience, and able to report and shoot stories for all genre of media organisations.
The freelancers’ skills are clearly indicated in their Sappest App profiles accessible on the Sappest interactive map, or through a search of the Sappest database.
Sappest freelancers, and potential livestreamers, are based worldwide and their location is mapped in real time on the Sappest live interactive map.
Some areas of the world have a higher density of freelancers than others, with a huge choice of operators in all capital and major cities. But whatever the breaking news event, Sappest will have a freelancer close by, to gather the pictures and information you need for your bulletins and outlets.
All freelancers, even when they are already booked by a news organisation, are visible on the Sappest map, so news editors can be assured of finding the operator they need to tell the story quickly and efficiently.
The Sappest App is, and always will be, free of charge to media organisations.
This app was designed for you, to meet your needs, and we do not want you to be unable to use it because of a lack of budget resources. So it is totally free of charge.
You can put Sappest in the pocket of every key employee in your newsroom from news and picture editors to line producers.
The Sappest App is available to use 24 hours a day by all registered users in your media organisation.
To protect the privacy of the freelancers mapped on the app, we will need to verify the employment status of each app user, and when that employee leaves the company, use of Sappest will be revoked.
Only verified employees of bona fide media networks will have access to this ground-breaking new media tool.
No. The Sappest App does not charge media outlets, or indeed media freelancers, any commission on bookings. The booking, contracting and paying of freelancers is between the media outlet and the freelancer only.
Sappest simply provides a geo-locator contact facility for both parties, and an in-app message service.
Each freelancer registered on the Sappest App decides what personal and professional information they wish to share with media organisations. The Sappest App allows them to enter their full contact details, their specific media skills, their equipment, their languages, URLs of previous work, and their fixed or live location.
The Sappest App also allows freelancers, and citizen journalists, to showcase any livestreams they are broadcasting of the breaking news event directly in the app.
News editors can access all the information they require on each freelancer by pushing the microphone marker which denotes their position on the Sappest interactive map. A pop-up CV will be displayed on the app screen with an instant message facility.
Each freelancer on the Sappest interactive map is denoted as available by their coloured microphone marker in their exact geographical location or fixed position; the colour relates to their specific skill set. However, if the microphone is greyed out on the interactive map it means that the freelancer is already working for another media outlet at that particular moment.
News editors can consult a freelancer’s availability in their profile to see when they might become available. Occasionally a Sappest freelancer might turn off their microphone marker for personal reasons for a short time, but every freelancer who wishes to be seen, will be plotted in real time on the Sappest interactive map.
Media organisations have a choice of ways to contact freelancers via the Sappest interactive app. News editors can use the in app messaging system to contact the freelancers directly, or use the telephone number(s) and email(s) supplied in the freelancers profiles to initiate discussion of the task required.
Of course. Sappest freelancers are making their contact details freely available to newsrooms using the Sappest App. The Sappest in app messaging system may prove more efficient to contact the freelancer in a hurry, but news editors are perfectly at liberty to use the email(s) and telephone number(s) supplied by each freelancer.
If news editors use the Sappest in app messaging system, no contact details for the news editor or producer are exchanged with the freelancer. The freelancer will reply to the news editor within the app, and all messaging can stay within the app. However, if the news editor decides to email or telephone the freelancer directly, outside of the Sappest App, the news editor’s phone number and email will obviously be disclosed.
No. Payment of freelancers is a matter for the individual media outlets and the freelancer only. Sappest does not get involved in the booking, contracting or payment of the freelancers featured on its interactive map.
The Sappest App can be used day-in day-out to locate media freelancers worldwide. By using the Sappest interactive map newsrooms can see where freelancers are at any given moment. But news editors can also use the Sappest database to locate freelancers anywhere in the world to book them for diary events at a later date. Freelancers are able to display their future availability in their app profile.
Sappest is the first interactive media app in the world to draw together all the livestreams of breaking news events from every source, be it professional freelancers or citizen journalist user generators.
During major breaking news, the Sappest news team works to bring all existing livestreams into the Sappest App, directly to the attention of news editors and producers in media organisations worldwide. Newsrooms can access those livestreams from the Sappest News Desk app menu and contact their creators directly.
Sappest has been created by veteran broadcast and print editors, journalists and technicians for media outlets worldwide.
Sappest’s founders have worked in international and national radio and television newsrooms and broadcast galleries, as well as in the field covering breaking news around the globe.
They have also written and taken pictures for international, national and regional print newspapers and magazines, as well as myriad online sites.
But even though Sappest’s veteran journalist founders know exactly what newsrooms need when stories break, they did not have the technical know-how to make this app happen.
That has been down to our app building supremos, James Buckley and Adrian Thurley, who have worked for hundreds of hours to make sure the Sappest App does what it says on the tin; harnessing the very latest technology available.
Another founder of Sappest, Jack Gilliat, is a professional international livestream director and he brings his technical knowledge to the livestream arena which we know is becoming increasingly important for media organisations worldwide.
The Associated Press coined the phrase Sappest when it was used in telexes from the field in place of ‘as soon as possible’ or the all-capitals ASAP. It was easier to type than ASAP, and when telexes were charged by the word, it was cheaper than ‘as soon as possible’. It soon became common jargon in news bureaus worldwide.
AP also used Sappest on its internal messaging wire, along with other inventive short form phrases such as ‘Onpass’ and ‘Upsend.’
The founders of Sappest, some of whom have worked for AP, or its predecessor WTN, thought it was the perfect moniker for this groundbreaking, modern, app which will help media organisations find freelancers as soon as possible, or sappest.