Easy tool allows journalists to display work online

Creating an online portfolio is almost a must for any journalist or j-student aspiring to land an internship or paid gig.  Gone are the days of physical portfolios — editors want to see your work, and the easiest way to share it with them is via the web. But creating an online space to display pieces of writing, links, audio or video clips can seem daunting to journalists less-versed in the web.

Cuttings.me is a free online tool that looks to simplify the process. Journalists can add a bio, relevant clippings and links to his or her social media pages to a customizable template. Nicholas Holmes, a British freelance journalist and entrepreneur says he built the site after realizing he had no easy way to showcase his work to editors.

Of course, there are other free and simple ways that your work can find an online home. Wordpress is perhaps the most popular of these, and does lend itself to be more flexible in terms of layout, even if just sticking to the free templates that Wordpress offers.

I signed up for an account and poked around on cuttings.me. It uses a straightforward form for each clipping you post that includes the hed, dek and publication title. From there you upload a thumbnail of the work and include the URL at which it can be found. It’s all very similar to how I currently use my ultra-basic Wordpress account, though it is displayed in a more uniform fashion. It will definitely be easier for those who are not experienced in navigating the back-end of a content management system.

As for examples, click on the screenshot above to take you to Holmes’ personal cuttings.me page.