Inside the Dark World of Exploitation Markets: How Blood and Bylines Became a Deadly Fortune
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Got a strong stomach? Yawn during horror movies? Munch on pizza on the patio while the newlyweds next door go at each other’s throats? Then, exploiting the blood and guts exploitation markets might be for you. There’s money to be had!
The Markets
You’ll want to approach any medium that thrives on the real-world war stories that readers and danger-dodging wannabes desire. I killed it by querying the editors of law enforcement, security, emergency services, and firefighting publications about anything tragic.
That hustle opened another door: a ten-year freelance contributing editor position with a New York publishing company specializing in security. My beats ranged from the ridiculous (kids turning bathroom hand dryers into blow torches with hairspray), to the catastrophic and historic (delving too deep into the World Trade Center terrorist attacks).
My hometown is St. Louis, Missouri (consistently ranked number one among the nation’s most dangerous cities) and my marriage took place in Bogotá, Colombia (one of the most violent cities in the world in the mid-90s). So, if you want to break into the travel, tourism, hotel, or resort beats, these types of dangerous destinations are perfect for piquing a publisher’s point of interest.
Cashing In
My payment pinnacle—$1 per word—came when I wrote for St. Louis Magazine. Not bad for a side hustle with collateral benefits, such as swanky media soirees, looks from the well-to-do locals, and having a reverse teetotaler throw one of my article leads back in my face at a bar.
Strategy
This freewheeling freelancer would never condone evading emergency scene media perimeters, treating PR lackeys like punks, or bolting from an Army National Guardsman in search of photos of The Great Flood. The young man carrying an M16A2 like he just returned from the Gulf War hollered at me to halt as I strolled behind the lines and I simply yelled back louder, “I’m a reporter!” I then waved my press badge in the air, and kept on walking towards the action. He tailed me for about a block, and finally just stood down.
And, then there was this fun day:
Tom R. Arterburn is detained at a 2025 Oktoberfest known for knock-out gaming, drunken brawls, and bomb threats.
The worst thing that ever stemmed from this nonsense, like hopping a residential fence and trespassing to get up close and personal with a fiery locomotive engine, was stumbling into a backyard beekeeping operation but I made it through without a sting, and got my pics.
When you first start out, follow the YouTubers, live streamers and vloggers as they leave traditional journalists in the dust, slashing through crowds like sword-wielding big-story soldiers with their gimbals, selfie sticks, and GoPro-camera-mounted skateboard helmets. That’s Gen Z journalism, baby. Don’t be like my country-girl step-grandmother who kept shredding her wrinkly hands on a washboard ten years after the washing machine was launched.
Coping Mechanisms
When I returned home after covering an unsettling scene, my writing was performed in my apartment complex’s swimming pool. When the wretched rhetoric became difficult to impart, I pushed away from my handheld computer and foldable keyboard, floated on my back in the cool, chlorinated water, and cleansed my thoughts by focusing on my girlfriend, dog, favorite movie…almost any cerebral distraction would do until I recovered, and floated back to my click brick.
You might:
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Curl up in bed, wait for the thoughts to start flowing, and then roll over and frenetically freestyle into your voice recorder until you fall asleep.
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If all else fails, blast some outlaw bluegrass, and ponder writing about the common folk with AI targets on their backs. It’s downright cathartic.
Build a Support Network
My crew consists of my war-hardened/Fortune 500 Colombian wife, Adriana; my valedictorian daughter; and my academically savant 16-year-old son, who crushed it at St. Louis University Law School Camp this summer; my sister, Gladys, a publishing professional; niece Shehla, language specialist; niece Naila, graphic arts consultant; nephew Táriq, musician and audio engineer (for podcast work); and my editorial support, Corgi Margo.
You’re Never Too Old to Start Sh..
Think you’re too mature or infirm to take a ride on this rhetorical roller coaster? With 30 years of experience in the muckraking business, Margo, and I are suiting up to turn the Alton State Mental Health Center into a freedom of speech free-for-all during the last phase of its $46 million renovation. There’ll no doubt be near fist fights over Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, fence-climbing photo ops that’ll be shut down, and numerous failed interview requests to furloughed officials. But, it’ll get done.
Oh, I almost forgot the most critical inference: crashing and burning!
“Failure is success in progress.” — Albert Einstein
Caveat
If you’re pushing the boundaries of investigative journalism or advocacy to uncover critical truths—stretching legal and ethical limits to their absolute edge—have at it with my blessing and admiration. But, tread carefully. Many such tactics may be illegal or ethically contentious so prioritize discretion and accountability. If legal risks arise, consult resources like the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, VLAA, or similar organizations in your area for guidance.
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Tom’s book is scheduled for release on Christmas Day.
Tom R. Arterburn is an award-winning independent journalist whose resume reads like a penance handed down by the lead singer of Judas Priest. He’s covered the World Trade Center attacks (three times), an adolescent double suicide by revolver, head on train collision, satanic cults, grave robberies, corporate killers, recovery effort of TWA flight 800, melle in Memphis, Capitol Hill assault, the terrorism age, McVeigh execution, The Great Flood, his own beatdown at a porn star ball, sexual abuse in the military, presidential dinner disaster, Hell’s Angels infiltration, and wrote an adopt-a-pet column—the only assignment that shook him up.
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