When I started the IIJ with our amazing leadership team, our top priority was to keep programming free or affordable for freelancers of color. I know first hand how tight finances are when you’re just starting out or when you hit a rough patch. Our primary goal is to provide education and access to gatekeepers as a service to the community.

I’m so proud that in just over a year, we’ve served more than:
* 2,200 journalists with free webinars
* 300 freelancers with a low-cost two-day conference
* 30 attendees of our business of freelancing course
* 60 journalists in an all-day business of freelancing workshop.

So far, we’ve been able to string together enough resources to pay for all this, but times are tight right now. We need your help! If you’ve participated in any of our events and found them helpful, or made a useful connection, we would be so grateful for a donation.

Any amount contributes to our ability to offer more programs! It also signals to our funders that journalists value the services and programs we provide, so it helps us raise more money from philanthropists.

Thanks for considering it! (And now I’ll turn the newsletter back over to Aarohi.)

Warmly,
Katherine Reynolds Lewis 

p.s. If anyone's attending the Society of Environmental Journalists' summit in Washington D.C. on Nov. 16, please come find me! I'm excited to hear publisher and musician David Byrne speak.

Last Call for Our Business Editors Webinar!

You won’t want to miss this webinar, whether you’re already involved in business and finance journalism or hope to, one day!

So, whether you think business journalism is right for you or not, join our panel discussion Friday, Nov. 17 at 12-1:15 p.m. ET. It’s designed for freelancers hoping to learn more about pitching and covering business and personal finance stories. Hear from editors about what they want in a freelance pitch and relationship. Come if you want to improve your reporting and strategy as an independent journalist!

Speakers include:

Manseen Logan, editor of freelancers, Business Insider: Manseen Logan is an editor of freelancers at Insider focused on business stories. Before joining Insider, she was an editor at Complex Media, where she edited the Life section and created political articles for the Webby-nominated "Pull Up and Vote" campaign. Manseen received her MFA in writing from Savannah College of Art and Design. She currently resides in New Jersey, where she spends her free time managing Liberian projects and athlete profiles.

Mike Dang, personal finance editor, New York Times: Mike Dang is an editor at The New York Times on the Business desk. He was previously a senior editor at The Counter where he helped developed a podcast investigating the National School Lunch Program and was the longtime editor in chief of Longreads, which was nominated for four National Magazine Awards. In 2012, he co-founded The Billfold, a personal finance site for young people.

Reyhan Harmanci, senior editor, Bloomberg Businessweek: Reyhan Harmanci is a senior editor at Businessweek. Previously, she worked at Gimlet, as the head of Society & Culture programming; Topic magazine; Atlas Obscura; Fast Company; and BuzzFeed.

Shernay Williams, independent video journalist, moderator: Shernay uses video to cover the gig economy, entrepreneurship and business development within Black, mom, and other traditionally under-resourced communities. The Baltimore native spent more than a decade as a journalist for television, radio, and print outlets throughout the South and East Coast, covering everything from mayoral races to the heroin epidemic. As an entrepreneur, Shernay has served as a business coach, run a content firm, and in 2020, launched The Black Mompreneur which features a growing directory of 200+ Black mom-owned businesses in the U.S. In January 2023, Shernay became host and producer of a digital series for TheGrio called A Taste of Chocolate, where she visits notable Black-owned restaurants to learn the stories behind their food. In late 2023, she will premiere her independently produced video series about Black mom entrepreneurs and the news that impacts them. 

RSVP here.

Pitch Callouts, Fellowships, and Other Opportunities

Grist Fellowship Program

If you’re an early-career journalist with an interest in environmental issues, consider applying to Grist’s yearlong fellowship program. Fellows will identify and pitch story ideas, write two to three stories each week, write pieces for Grist’s newsletters, and attend meetings and fellow trainings.

Pay: $55,000/year with benefits

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

The deadline to apply is Nov. 26.

ProPublica Fellowship Program

If you’re interested in investigative reporting, consider applying to the two-year Ancil Payne Reporting Fellowship.

Pay: $75,000/year with benefits

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

The deadline to apply is Nov. 27

Latitude Media Call for Pitches

If you have stories about the new frontiers of climate technology, particularly those geared toward well-informed practitioners in the climate and tech industries.

Rate: 50-90 cents/word

Click here to view the pitch guide.

Send pitches to [email protected] 

Cosmopolitan Call for Pitches

If you have a feature story (3,000-5,000 words) idea, consider pitching it to Cosmopolitan!

Rate: $1.50-$2/word

Send pitches to [email protected] 

Atlas Obscura Call for Pitches

If you have story ideas on the holidays or anything winter-related that will surprise Atlas Obscura readers, consider pitching them.

Rate: ~50 cents/word

Click here to view the pitch guide.

Send pitches to [email protected] 

The deadline to pitch is Nov. 15.

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Interesting Reads

• Read Annie Aguiar’s piece, “At 20, Teen Vogue knows its readers contain multitudes" for Poynter. In it, she breaks down Teen Vogue’s evolution throughout the past two decades and how it’s become a magazine for everything from discussions about politics and intersectionality to celebrity trends and TikTok dupe guides.

• Read Jay Caspian Kang’s piece “Journalistic Independence Isn’t a Human-Resources Exercise” for the New Yorker. In it, he draws parallels between current events and the censorship of journalists and independent press.

• Read Gabe Bullard’s piece, “Six Months Ago NPR Left Twitter. The Effects Have Been Negligible” for Nieman Reports. In it, he analyzes NPR and other organizations’ decisions to leave Twitter and discusses whether or not it was truly worth it and impactful.

• Read Jireh Deng’s piece, “How a Chinese restaurant in Detroit taught a queer L.A. writer everything he knows” for the Los Angeles Times. In it, they tell the story of Curtis Chin—from childhood all the way to the release of his new memoir.

• 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. 16, 3-5 p.m. Freelance meetup at the Society of Environmental Journalists' summit in Washington D.C. Contact K[email protected] to connect. 

• 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.