Opportunities 09/01/2022

Narratively, Majuscule, Verywell, and more.

The Study Hall Opportunities newsletter is a weekly compilation of pitch calls; freelance, part-time, and temporary gigs; events; fellowships, scholarships, awards, and grants; internships; and full-time jobs. It’s written by Chris Erik Thomas, who is working on Opps from the US for the next month. The newsletter is (usually) released on Wednesdays. Once in a while, we take a day off for mental health breaks and holidays. 

►Have a job posting, gig, or fellowship you want to be included in the next Opps newsletter? Send them to [email protected] for approval with “Opportunity:” in the subject line. 

►Editors, submit your time-sensitive or evergreen pitch calls to our webform.

►Let us know if you got a job or landed a pitch through the Opps newsletter! Send them to [email protected] with “Opps Success Story:” in the subject line.

►Tell us what resources have helped you in your freelancing so we can share with other Study Hall members. Send them to [email protected] with “Resource:” in the subject line.

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***THE MEDIA CLASSIFIED ADS***

>> The Classified Ads are back and better than ever. We’ve expanded our Ad model to include placement in ALL of our weekly newsletters, including Monday’s Digest and Wednesday’s Opportunities newsletters. Want to promote your job opening / pitch call / new project / ecommerce brand? Click through for rates, testimonials, and to get in touch. <<

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STUDY HALL EVENT PROGRAMMING

►SUMMER READING WITH STUDY HALL CREATIVE 

There’s just over a week of summer reading with Study Hall Creative left — August 31st is the last day of the program (but you have until September 30th to claim your prizes). This week’s new prize comes from Hannah Kirshner, author of “Water, Wood, and Wild Things.” The story is “an immersive journey through the culture and cuisine of one Japanese town,” that’s “an ode to a place and its people, as well as a profound examination of what it means to sustain traditions and find purpose in cultivation and craft.” Hannah is giving away three copies of her book.

►NEWSLETTER ADVICE THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE

Study Hall is excited to announce Newsletter Advice That Could Save Your Life, a conversation with newsletter veterans Alex Hazlett and Dan Oshinsky on September 14, 2022 at 3pm EST. Alex and Dan have led newsletter strategy and execution at media outlets including The New Yorker, BuzzFeed, and Mashable. In this conversation, they will help freelancers attempt to answer the most important question that arises when starting a newsletter project: Will my newsletter ever become profitable? Tickets are free for Study Hall Network subscribers (promo codes will be posted to Slack) and $5 for everyone else. You can register here.

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OPPS SUCCESS STORIES

Did you turn a pitch call into paid work or land a job, fellowship, internship, or some other gig you found in the Study Hall Opps newsletter? Let us know and we’ll give you a shoutout. Send the details to [email protected] with “Opps Success Story” in the subject line.

–Cam Smith was paid $200 to write a personal essay titled “When The South Drove Me Away, Kacey Musgraves’ Music Offered Me a Home” for Catapult. They report that the editors “were great to work with.” 

–Helena Gabrielle Ong was paid $860 to write about the Bessie Carmichael School/Filipino Educational Center in San Francisco for Prism Reports. As a Chinese American raised by Chinese Filipinos, it was a topic close to her heart and she was “so glad to work with the features editor, Michi Trota, also a Filipina.”

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RESOURCES

Mastering the art of freelancing requires more than just perusing the Study Hall Opps newsletter every week. To help you get the most bang for your buck, we keep track of the many, many resources designed to help media workers. Have a resource you’d like to see included? Send it to [email protected] with “Resource:” in the subject line. 

NEW: -The new study, “Fatigue, Traditionalism, and Engagement: Gen Z and Millennials’ Complex Relationship with News,” by the American Press Institute details how news organizations can better serve younger audiences. 

-The Resources For Journalists Seeking Therapy guide from the Dart Center’s Journalist Trauma Support Network offers a number of resources, including a directory of therapists specifically trained to work with journalists; funding for mental health services; and self-help webinars, apps, and websites. 

–Accessible Social is a free resource hub that helps make your social media content more accessible to people with temporary or permanent disabilities, including vision and hearing impairments. 

Want more resources? Check out the Trans Journalists Association’s Style Guide; NBCC Book Coverage Publication List; Who’s Behind This Website Checklist; SpotlightDC Investigative Journalism Fund; United States Journalism Emergency Fund; Transcription Tool Safety Guide; Labor Action Tracker; Rate Sharing Database; NPR Diverse Sources Database; Online Violence Response Hub; Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Journalists Therapy Relief Fund; Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund; Developing An Investigative Pitch Guide; Britany Robinson’s Big List of Writing Deadlines; Study Hall Transcriber Database; Study Hall Fact Checkers Database; Freelancing Guide/Editorial Contacts spreadsheet; #FreelancerPayGap spreadsheet; Pitch Guide Database; Chelsea’s Guide to Freelancing doc; PACER; Priya Krishna’s resources for food writing; Election SOS Report; and the Extremism Coverage Prep Guide.

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CALLS FOR PITCHES 

Please note that we are not endorsing every publication or company that is listed here. The decision of whether to engage with a publication or company is entirely up to the reader. In regards to pitch calls, we try to only share opportunities that have fair rates based on publicly available information. While we currently define “fair rates” as being above $100 USD for around 700-800 words and above $0.10 per word for longer pieces, we cannot guarantee that every publication pays this rate. If you have more information on a rate or exploitative business practices from a publication posted, email [email protected].***

TIME-SENSITIVE PITCH CALLS, SORTED BY HIGHEST TO LOWEST RATES 

–Narratively is looking for pitches of longform deep-dives or in-depth stories on “times when failure in one area turned out to be positive in another, or when failure taught you an important lesson that helped shape you” for their new series, Turning Failure on its Head. The rates start at $1,000 for 3,000-6,000 words and they also “develop TV, film, and podcast projects inspired by the stories that run on [their] site.” Send pitches to [email protected] by September 15. 

–Majuscule is looking for pitches of nonfiction essays on literature, pop culture, sociology, education, film, music, and politics for their upcoming print issue. They are specifically not looking for reviews of specific books, films, or other content, and are “very interested in BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ writers, as well as writers from outside of NYC.” The rate is $750 for 3,000 words. See their pitch guide for more info and send pitches to [email protected] by September 23. 

–Verywell is commissioning BIPOC and trans or nonbinary writers to report on health and parenting. The rates start at $250 per piece. Send inquiries, including clips and an intro, to [email protected]. 

–Earth Island Journal is looking for pitches of reported stories on environmental and other intersectional issues. The rate is $0.25 per word. Send pitches to [email protected]. 

–gal-dem is commissioning freelance editors to work on brand partnership projects. The rates start at £200 ($231 USD) per article. Send inquiries — including relevant clips and a paragraph summarizing your experience — to [email protected]. 

–Time Out London is looking for pitches of reported features on events happening outside of the capital. The rates range from £200-£300 ($231-$347 USD) for up to 1,200 words. Send pitches to [email protected]. 

–Insider is looking for pitches of travel features from freelancers based in Mexico, including “Cancún, Cabo, Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, and beyond.” The rates start at $225 per piece. Send pitches to @crwillen. 

–Ars Technica is looking for pitches of stories on video games that “would be a good fit for [their] heavily tech-literate audience.” They are especially interested in takes or trend pieces on the industry and culture, as well as stories on gaming tech and development, unseen gaming history, interesting groups of players, and more. The rates range from $200-$300 per piece. Send pitches to [email protected] with “Freelance Pitch” in the subject line. 

–Vulture is looking for pitches of TV recaps for the following shows (with series start dates in parentheses): “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” and “Ramy” S3 (9/30). The rates range from $150-$250 per episode recap. Send pitches — including “why you think the series would make for a good recap, why you’re the right person to recap it, and if given the assignment, how would you approach recapping the series” — to [email protected]. 

NEW EVERGREEN PITCH CALLS, SORTED BY HIGHEST TO LOWEST RATES

–Youth Today is always looking for pitches of reported stories on climate change, child welfare, juvenile justice, disability justice, education, social work, and other topics. They are also assigning pieces to freelance writers. The rate is $500 for “less densely reported assignments,” $800 for 800- to 1,200-word densely reported articles, and goes up to $1 per word for other stories. See their pitch guide for more info. Send pitches and inquiries to [email protected]. 

-Drizly is always looking for pitches of “entertaining, educational, and all-around fascinating stories” on “the big, beautiful world of booze” for their new editorial site. They are particularly interested in “stories about drinking culture with a behind-the-bottle lens” in the realm of “PunchDrink x Food & Wine + VinePair.” The rates range from $1-$1.50 per word. Send pitches to [email protected].

–Outrider Foundation is always looking for pitches of investigative articles, expert analyses, interviews, and book excerpts on climate change and nuclear issues. The rates start at $1,000 for 1,000- to 1,200-word stories. See their pitch guide for more info and send pitches to [email protected]. 

–The Food Section is always looking for pitches of reported stories on anything related to food that takes place in the American South. The rate is $1,000 for a story of 1,200 words. See their pitch guide for more info. 

–Current is always looking for pitches of reported features, opinion pieces, service journalism, and other formats on public media, including trends in radio, TV, and digital publishing. The rates are generally $0.75 per word, but “may vary for Q&As and other specific formats.” See their pitch guide for more info. 

–Ambrook Research is always looking for pitches of data-driven stories on any modern agriculture-related topic. The rates start at $0.50 per word, commensurate with experience and difficulty of the piece. Send pitches to [email protected]. 

-Asana is always looking for pitches of trend stories, scientific studies, wellness pieces, narrative features, interviews and profiles, and essays on the evolution of work — including how to make work better for everyone — for their new editorial platform. The rates range from $0.40-$0.75 per word. See their pitch guide for more info. 

–The Daily Beast is always looking for pitches of reported stories on crime, extremism, and “other stories of some national relevance that involve wacky characters, abuses of power, and regional controversies that deserve broader attention.” The rates start at $350 for 700 words of original reporting. Send pitches to [email protected]. 

–Azure Magazine is always looking for pitches of stories on architecture, design, and urbanism. The rates range from $300-$600 per story. Send pitches to [email protected]. 

–HuffPost Personal is always looking for pitches of first-person essays by members of the Hispanic community on “everything from identity to family to sex and relationships and more.” They are also interested in pitches that have a timely hook for Hispanic Heritage Month. The rate is $125 per essay. Send pitches to [email protected]. 

***CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL LIST OF 200+ EVERGREEN PITCH CALLS, SORTED BY HIGHEST TO LOWEST RATES.***

FREELANCE, PART-TIME, AND TEMPORARY JOBS 

-Tim Herrera is hiring a journalism student to do a few hours of research work. The rate is $20 per hour for four to five hours of research. Send inquiries, including a résumé, to [email protected]. 

–The Lonely Planet is hiring freelance writers to produce guide books to Costa Rica. Candidates should either live there or have traveled the country extensively in the last 18 months. The rates start at $1,500 per guide. Send inquiries through their web form by September 12. 

EVENTS

-The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas is hosting a paid four-week Big Online Course (BOC) titled “Advanced Data Journalism — Doing More with R.” The course will teach students how to “obtain, analyze, and visualize data using the statistical programming language R.” The course fee is $95 and the program will run from next Monday, September 5 through October 2. 

GRANTS, SCHOLARSHIPS, CONTESTS, AND AWARDS

-The McGraw Center for Business Journalism is accepting applications for their paid McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism grant program. The program provides editorial support and grants of up to $15,000 for freelance or staff journalists to produce “deeply reported enterprise and investigative stories that delve into critical economic, financial, or business issues across a wide array of subjects.” “Applicants do not need to have a business journalism background specifically; many are generalists or cover beats such as health care or the environment.” The deadline to apply is September 30. 

FELLOWSHIPS AND INTERNSHIPS

–Texas Observer is accepting applications for their paid David McHam Fellowship for Investigative Reporting program in Austin, TX. The program aims to allow journalists to pursue investigative projects and enterprise stories about Texas politics, policy, and social issues. Applicants should have at least five years of reporting experience, and “experience reporting on Texas is a plus, but not required.” The fellowship pays a stipend of $60,000, and fellows are expected to work full-time for one year. Fellows “must be based in or willing to move to Texas.” The deadline to apply is September 12. 

–Vox is accepting applications for their paid Future Perfect fellowship program. The three fellows will produce content for the Future Perfect section, including receiving extensive training and mentorship. The fellowship is remote, pays $72,000, and fellows are expected to work full-time for one year. The position is union-eligible and the deadline to apply is September 16. 

–The American Prospect is accepting applications for their paid editorial internship program. The interns will “assist with research, fact-checking, social media, data entry, and library services for both the print magazine and the daily website,” as well as contributing editorially. The rate is $100 per day, and interns can work full- or part-time from September through December 2022. The fellowship can be remote or based in Washington, D.C. The deadline to apply is September 16. 

JOBS 

NEW YORK

–Interview Magazine is hiring a digital editor to write, edit, and commission stories from a network of freelance writers and contributors, as well as build an editorial calendar. Candidates should have at least three years of writing and editing experience and an “obsessive knowledge of pop culture and contemporary media.” The minimum salary is $55,000 (according to their managing editor Alexandra Weiss) and the role is a full-time salaried position with benefits. Send resume and clips to [email protected]. 

NEVADA

-The Associated Press is hiring a Las Vegas-based sports reporter to cover “professional teams in the NFL, NHL and WNBA, as well as weekly combat, auto racing, and golf events.” The beats will include the Raiders, Golden Knights and Aces. Candidates should have at least three years of journalism experience and a “proven track record of building reliable sources with players, leagues, teams, agents and officials.” The deadline to apply is September 11. 

CALIFORNIA

-The Associated Press is hiring a Los Angeles-based videojournalist to report from red carpet events, courthouses, and junkets for their entertainment news team. Candidates should have strong knowledge of entertainment beats and the ability to communicate and produce stories in both English and Spanish is strongly preferred. The deadline to apply is September 11. 

REMOTE-FRIENDLY

-Planned Parenthood is hiring a content writer to produce original content, stories, and written copy for all of their global regions, including Africa, Latin America, and the US. Candidates should have at least five years of relevant experience, including at least two years of experience in a creative or journalistic role, and some experience working in a non-profit or progressive space is preferred. The starting salary is $71,000. The position can be remote but candidates based in New York or Washington, D.C. are preferred. 

–World Politics Review is hiring a senior editor to manage and edit their daily briefings, as well as doing the final editorial pass on their daily newsletters. Candidates should have some relevant experience as an international affairs editor. The salary is $75,000. The position can be remote but candidates must be “not more than six hours behind or two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean