You can still view all the advice on reporting long-form stories, building editor relationships, sustaining yourself when covering challenging subjects, supporting yourself with fellowships and book projects, and more. So whether you’ve been in the long-form business for years or are curious about whether it could be right for you, this replay is full of insightful ideas and affirming conversation. Come and be seen!

Click here to watch the whole replay!

Speakers included: Cerise Castle, independent journalist; Fernanda Santos, editor in digital and audio; and Sarah Carr, independent journalist. Jaeah Jonae Lee, independent journalist, moderated the conversation.

We'd like to thank the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism for sponsoring this webinar. If you'd like to support future IIJ programming and connect with a robust community of independent journalists of color, please contact [email protected]

Since 2013, the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism has supported nine-month reporting projects proposed by 40 journalists based in the U.S. Reporters selected for this Milwaukee-based fellowship at Marquette University get: a $75,000 stipend, student interns as reporting partners, and funds for reporting travel and research. In service of the Fellowship’s mission to identify problems and potential solutions, O’Brien projects have tackled issues around environmental and racial justice, inequities in education and health care, criminal justice and more.

Worried About Layoffs?Read This Op-Ed

I urge all journalists—or even those interested in writing professionally—to read Katherine Reynold Lewis’ latest op-ed for NiemanReports, “Hey Journalists, Nobody is Coming to Save Us.” In it, she brilliantly explains the importance of taking your journalism career into your own hands amid mass layoffs and buyouts. She also gives tips on how to build professional networks, pay attention to business and media news, and invest in education.

This op-ed struck a particular chord with me, as I’ve only been a professional journalist for a little over a year and have experienced a layoff, pay cuts, budget cuts, and just survived a round of layoffs at my current job. And when I was a full-time freelancer, fresh out of school, I was let go from several anchor clients amid newsroom closings, buyouts and layoffs. Of course all this instability has made my passion for journalism ebb and flow—I often feel hopeless about the state of the industry (and my job security), but Katherine’s op-ed reminded me that there is no funder or technological development that will fix things for me. Rather, we journalists will have to save ourselves.

Katherine touches on the ways that instead of being reactive, we can be proactive by actively managing our careers by checking in with ourselves about our continuous goals and wants. She also urges journalists to rely on each other—we are a small, but mighty community and when bosses, newsrooms, and funders fail us, we have each other’s backs and can share our experiences, goals, and needs.

—Aarohi Sheth, IIJ newsletter writer

Pitch Callouts, Fellowships, and Other Opportunities

Insider Call for Holiday Pitches

If you’re already thinking up Thanksgiving, Christmas, and holiday-related stories, consider pitching them to Conz at Insider.

Rates: $200-$300, depending on the story

Send story ideas to [email protected]

Gfinity and StealthOptional Call for Pitches

If you’re passionate about video games and esports, consider pitching original features, interviews, op-eds, and retrospectives to Gfinity and StealthOptional.

Rates: up to $300

Send story ideas to [email protected] 

Chicago Sun-Times Needs Freelance Copy Editors

If you’re looking for a freelance copy editing gig, consider applying to the Chicago Sun-Times. Editors will also produce roundups from wire services, write headlines, decks, and captions.

Rate: $200/8-hour day

For more information or to apply, visit the job listing here.

Feet in 2 Worlds Call for Pitches

If you’re interested in narrative audio stories and the climate crisis, consider pitching to Feet in 2 Worlds, as they’re accepting audio story ideas that show how immigrants are navigating the climate crisis.

They’re especially looking for stories that touch on climate refuge cities, resiliency, personal beliefs, work/labor/business, and asylum.

Rate: $250-$1000, depending on the story

For more information or to apply, visit their site.

The deadline to apply is Nov. 1 11:59 p.m. ET

Study Hall Needs a Criminal Justice Script Writer

If you’re interested in storytelling about crime, justice, and reform, consider applying to Study Hall. The freelance writer will be responsible for researching and writing scripts on pre-selected criminal justice topics, working closely with other team members and subject-matter experts to develop comprehensive and consistent scripts.

Rate: $850/1800-2000 word script

For more information or to apply, visit the job listing here.

The application deadline is Nov. 12.

Free Journalism One-on-One Consultation

If you’re a non-white/straight/cis/abled person looking to break into journalism, Eric Farwell, a journalist and humor writer is offering free consultations. He is also willing to run a de-colonized humor writing seminar if there's interest in that. You can find his words in NYT, The New Yorker, Vulture, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, LARB, GQ, Vanity Fair, Slate, Oxford American, Esquire, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, The Poetry Foundation, Gulf Coast, 34th Parallel, Mangoprism, Inside Higher-Ed, The Atlantic, Points In Case, Little Old Lady, Slackjaw, and The Onion.

If you're interested, please fill out this form to get in touch. 

https:/for-women-journalist

Interesting Reads

• Read Al Tompkins’ “Local TV stations provide vital news during Maine mass shooting” for Poynter. In it, he recounts the 565th mass shooting in the US this year and how local television stations in Portland, Maine became a “vital source of information” during the search for the suspected shooter.

• Read Chanel Cathey’s “How Black women are transforming the entrepreneurial ecosystem” for Fast Company. In it, she explains how there’s power in community and working together.

• Please take a minute to look over The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association’s Media Resource Guide for Palestine-Israel. Whether you’re reporting on the events or not, it’s important to stay informed, understand the historical context with nuance, and know the importance of accurate language.

• We're always eager to connect with freelance journalists of color who'd like to be involved in the work of the IIJ or contribute to future programs. Email [email protected] to volunteer—or if you have an idea for a partner, funder or topic we should explore.

Calendar

We love growing the IIJ family and connecting with fellow freelance journalists, so please come to one of our events! Here are the upcoming IIJ events and presentations by IIJ leaders:

• Nov. 16 AIR webinar on the business of freelancing. For more information, click here.

• Nov. 17 business and personal finance editors panel. RSVP here to attend.

• Dec. 8 travel and lifestyle freelancing webinar. RSVP here to attend.

• Jan. 19 insurance for freelancers webinar. RSVP here to attend.

• Feb. 9 sports and fitness journalism webinar. RSVP here to attend.

• April 12-April 14 presentation at the 2024 Women in Journalism workshop at the Reynolds Journalism Institute. For more information, click here.