Hi y’all! I hope everyone had a restful weekend and isn’t feeling the burden of post-Labor Day work too heavily. We’re excited to announce that Lori Leibovich, editor of the New York Times Well section, will be speaking at our Sept. 29 webinar on health and science journalism. Please join us!

I encourage everyone—even those who think they have no interest in health and/or science journalism—to attend. Just three years ago, I never thought I would consider myself a health or science reporter. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself writing about the virus’ affects on all sorts of things from pleasure to the food truck industry as well as the ways it revealed racial and class inequalities. And now, though I started out in arts & culture reporting, I mainly report on climate’s intersections with justice, community, and activism—in other words, science. My point is, you never quite know what can and can’t be your beat until you try and make it personal to you and your community. So join us Friday Sept. 29 from 12-1:15 ET and see if health or science journalism can be for you.

We’ll discuss evidence-based reporting, how to pitch science and health stories, breaking down complex scientific topics to make them accessible to larger audiences, and more!

Speakers include:

Lori Leibovich is the editor of the Well section of the New York Times. A digital media veteran, she has worked at HuffPost, Time Inc., Salon, theSkimm and many other publications. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

RSVP here.

-Aarohi Sheth, IIJ newsletter writer

Pitch Callouts, Fellowships, and Other Opportunities

Tech Review

Tech Review is accepting pitches for their upcoming issue on exploration and hidden worlds.

Rates: $1-2/word. Click here for the pitch guide.

Email your pitches to [email protected] by Sept. 18.

The New York Times

NYT’s Sunday opinion section is looking for reported essays, opinion-y features, or big swing arguments with original ideas and sharp writing.

Rate: $500. Click here for the pitch guide.

The Fund for Investigative Journalism

The Fund for Investigative Journalism is accepting proposals for seed grants of $1,000 to $2,500 for early reporting and research for specific investigative projects and stories. For example, this includes open-record requests and initial reporting trips to find and interview sources.

For more information or to apply, visit their site.

The deadline is Sept. 14, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The New York Times Local Investigations Fellowship

If you’re a local beat reporter who wants to tell investigative stories in your communities, but lack resources or support to do so, consider applying to the New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship.

Fellows in this one-year-long fellowship will work on an investigative project focused on their state or region under the guidance of veteran editors.

The annual base pay range is between $79,214.76 and $82,000.

For more information or to apply, visit their site.

The deadline to apply is Oct. 1. However, urgent and/or time sensitive pitches will still be considered if submitted by Dec. 31.

The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation Health Care Journalism Grant

If you’re a freelance reporter or represent a national, local, or nonprofit media outlet/organization that educates journalists about health journalism projects, the NIHCM Health Care Journalism Grant program is accepting applications. Grants provide funding for health reporting, education for journalists, and documentary film public engagement campaigns.

For more information or to apply, visit their site.

The deadline to apply is Oct. 10, 2023 at 5 p.m. ET.

Interesting Reads

This week, we’ve been reading about reporting on tragedies and the ethics of being a journalist and playing Dungeon & Dragon players on Texas’ Death Row.

• Read one of Poynter’s lastest op-eds, “When is it appropriate for a journalist to get involved in a story?” In it, writers Ren LaForme, Angela Fu, and Annie Aguiar write about why two USA Today Network reporters covering the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia halting their reporting to try and put out the fire was the “right move.”

• Read Keri Blackinger’s “The Dungeon & Dragon Players of Death Row” for New York Magazine. In it, she writes about a group of men in Texas on Death Row connecting to each other and themselves through the fantasy game.

• 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:

• Sept. 14 on Zoom, IIJ volunteer meeting at 5 p.m. ET. Email Sa'iyda Shabazz if you'd like to attend!

• Sept. 29 health and science journalism webinar. RSVP here to attend.

• Oct. 27 long-form journalism careers webinar. RSVP here to attend.

• 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.