In this season of giving, please put the IIJ on your list! We would be so grateful for a donation to support our free programming, in any amount.

We were thrilled to have our biggest turnout ever for our travel webinar Friday! If you missed it, you can still watch our replay and learn about all things travel journalism from pitching top editors to telling stories effectively.

Speakers included: Starlight Williams, travel editor, National Geographic; Tacey Rychter, travel editor, New York Times; Amanda Finnegan, By the Way editor, Washington Post; and Katherine LaGrave, deputy editor, Afar Magazine. The panel was moderated by independent journalist Meena Thiruvengadam.

Watch the full replay here.

The IIJ Is Partnering With the Association of Independents in Radio!

We’re thrilled to announce a partnership with the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), a growing talent network of audio industry professionals integral to public media, journalism, podcasting and narrative storytelling. 

AIR is hosting our next two webinars and the 2024 conference on Soundpath, their digital training platform for peer-inspired learning. We’re excited to have this be the first of many collaborations and are so pleased we can bring together both AIR and IIJ communities.

Click here to check out the many classes and workshops for journalists, covering everything from scripting and scoring podcasts to pitching NPR’s National desk.

Register for the IIJ Conference for Just $49 Today!

We've put together a fantastic panel of speakers, including editors, reporters, and other industry professionals who can speak to the art of freelance journalism at the IIJ’s 2024 conference. Register today to get our lowest rate! 

Hear how to successfully pitch:

• Betsy Agnvall, editor at AARP, which is the U.S.'s largest circulation magazine;

• Estelle Tang, editor at The Guardian, one of the hottest online publications; 

• Angilee Shah, the CEO and editor-in-chief of Charlottesville Tomorrow, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom;

• Jenny Hollander, digital director of Marie Claire; 

• Valeria Fernández, managing editor of palabra, a multimedia platform telling stories of Latino and other under-covered communities;

• Emanuele Berry, executive editor for This American Life, the quintessential long-form podcast destination;

Don’t miss out—register here today!

You'll hear from over 50 speakers, including a dozen editors, in live interactive panels over Feb. 29 and March 1. Registration is just $49 early bird, if you sign up before Dec. 22.

And with registration comes our bonus bundle, which includes:

• Q&As with renowned editors—including Raha Naddaf, story editor, New York Tims Magazine; Mimi Wong, editor-in-chief, The Offing; and Carren Jao, senior editor, Stacker—talking about what they want in a pitch

  

• IIJ-created pitch guides with rates and contacts for outlets featured in our previous webinars, including The New York Times, Business Insider, Bloomberg Businessweek, Science Magazine and many others

• Expert guides covering a range of topics, from negotiating contract terms to tracking freelance income and applying for grants and fellowships

We hope to see you at the conference!

The IIJ Is Hiring a Panel Recap Writer!

If you’re interested in recapping our panels for freelance journalists, contact [email protected] with clips and your resume.

Rates vary from $200-$300/webinar.

Looking for a Freelance Journalism Community? Join the IIJ’s Slack!

If you want to get in touch with your other fellow freelancers and conference attendees, please join our Slack!

Freelancers introduce themselves, ask questions about all things independent journalism, celebrate career wins, and even reach out for pitching help.

Pitch Callouts, Fellowships, and Other Opportunities

Business Insider Call for Pitches

Alyshia Hull is looking for personal essay pitches from GenZ writers who bought into the hype of “how cool/expensive a city was.”

Pay: $300

Send story ideas to [email protected] 

Business Insider Call for Pitches 2

Manseen Logan is looking for GenZ writers who are worried about inheriting their parents’ debt and GenZ writers who graduated from a popular or Ivy league school and regretted it.

Pay: $300

Send story ideas to [email protected] 

O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism

Fellows spend nine months reporting stories with the power to compel change.

The deadline to apply is Jan. 19

For more information or to apply, visit the website here.

Caribbean Life Newspaper Needs Freelance Writers and Photographers

Caribbean Life newspaper is looking for freelance writers and photographers who can report on Caribbean culture and happenings in the tri-state area.

If interested, submit your resume and three samples of work to [email protected]

The deadline to apply is Dec. 30

Vox’s Future Perfect Fellowship

The Future Perfect will write about subjects like animal welfare, AI, biotechology, and global development and health. Fellows get intensive feedback from editors, have mentors, networking opportunities, and skills training sessions with journalists from Vox Media and other outlets.

Pay: $72,000/year

The deadline to apply is Dec. 29.

To apply or for more information, visit the website here.

NPR’s Reflect America Fellowship

The Reflect America fellow will join NPR’s Climate Desk and report on vulnerable communities. The fellow will build their climate reporting skills, analyze climate science, and work on investigative stories.

 Pay: $36/hr

The deadline to apply is Jan. 26 at 11:59 p.m. EST

To apply or for more information, visit the website here.

Interesting Reads

• Read Angela Fu, Ren LaFormer and Tom Jones’ “Media industry cuts top 20,000 in 2023, report finds” for Poynter. In it, they discuss how the news sector alone has lost 2,681 jobs so far in 2023—more than it did in 2022 or 2021 and the state of media.

• Read Angela Fu’s “Washington Post Journalists Go on One-Day Strike” for Poynter. In it, she writes about the union’s demands and how this is the first walkout since the 1970s.

• Read Sarah Scire’s “Most readers want publishers to label AI-generated articles—but trust outlets less when they do” for Nieman Lab. In it, she dissects this finding and discusses the intersections between AI and journalism.

• 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:

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

• Jan. 31 at 2 pm IIJ founder Katherine Reynolds Lewis speaks on an AIR panel about freelance business dilemmas.

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

• Feb. 29-March 1 IIJ freelance journalism conference. 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.