Freelancing for Journalists

In today's episode we speak to double award winner Nicola Kelly who scooped up two prizes at the 2024 Freelance Journalism Awards. Nicola won the best news story and best feature categories for her work on Turkish border forces, and Deliveroo drivers. We found out how her previous career as a diplomat set her on the path to freelance journalism.

Guest

Nicola Kelly https://x.com/NicolaKelly

https://www.nicolakelly.com/

Resources

Turkish border force story https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jun/07/uk-provided-3m-to-turkish-border-forces-to-stop-migrants-foi-reveals

Deliveroo feature https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/sep/14/dodging-death-and-immigration-officers-12-hours-as-a-london-fast-food-rider-and-all-for-40

The best news story category was sponsored by Birmingham City University media and journalism department https://www.bcu.ac.uk/about-us/schools-and-colleges/subject-specific/media-and-journalism

The best feature category was sponsored by the National Union of Journalists Freelance Branch https://www.londonfreelance.org/lfb/index.html

This week we sit down and chat to Liz Perkins, winner of the best campaigning journalist category at the 2024 Freelance Journalism Awards. Liz led the End This Injustice campaign which called for an overhaul of the family court system. She talks about working on the campaign and the challenges of changing the law.

Guest

Liz Perkins https://x.com/lizperkinsmedia

LinkedIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-perkins-7b667b75/?trk=public_profile_browsemap&originalSubdomain=uk

Resources

End This Injustice Campaign https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1819475/jade-ward-law-russell-marsh-parent-rights

This award was sponsored by global journalism network Paydesk https://paydesk.co/

In this week's episode we speak to the winner of the Best Investigation category at the 2024 Freelance Journalism Awards. Sahar Zand won the award for her investigation into interpol's misuse of power which was released as a podcast series for Sky News. She discusses fleeing Iran as a child and her drive to uncover abuses of power, often in hostile environments.

Guest

Sahar Zand https://x.com/SaharZand

Resources

Dirty Work podcast https://www.saharzand.com/podcast/skynews/dirtywork

Sahar's TED Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/sahar_zand_why_iranians_are_cutting_their_hair_for_women_life_freedom?subtitle=en

Talking Travel Writing newsletter https://travelwriting.substack.com/

This award was sponsored by market research company Savanta https://savanta.com/

In the latest series of the podcast we speak to the winners of the 2024 Freelance Journalist Awards. We start with Hatty Willmoth who won the Best Early Career Journalist category. She wrote a stunning observational feature for The Independent about why some Gen-Z Christians are making the decision to give up all their money and possessions to join a radical group.

Guest

Hatty Willmoth https://x.com/hattywillmoth

Resources

Hatty's award-winning article https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/gen-z-commune-bruderhof-darvell-sussex-celibacy-b2518811.html

The award was sponsored by journalism training provider News Associates https://newsassociates.co.uk/

Freelancing for Journalists full resource list https://www.freelancingforjournalists.com/

In the final episode of this series we speak to two freelance journalists who have carved out a side income as public speakers. Award-winning podcaster Hannah Ajala and BBC freelancer Dhruti Shah discuss how they find work as inspirational speakers and take us behind the scenes of the planning process.

The guests

Hannah Ajala thisishannahajala.com

Twitter hannah_ajala

Dhruti Shah www.dhrutishah.com/

Newsletter: https://haveyouthoughtabout.substack.com/

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/have-you-thought-about/id1678099334

Resources

Druhti's book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bear-Markets-Beyond-bestiary-business/dp/1911622463

Hannah's Tedx talk https://www.ted.com/talks/hannah_ajala_how_to_be_positively_delusional

Hannah's award-winning podcast Love Janessa podcast https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xtvq7

https://creativeaccess.org.uk/

We Are Black Journos https://twitter.com/weblackjournos

Recommendations

Revolutionary Acts by Jason Okundaye https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571372218-revolutionary-acts/

The F-Rated Podcast https://f-rated.org/f-rated-podcast/

In this week's episode we chat to two freelance journalists / authors who also make a living via self-publishing on Substack and Patreon. Adharanand Finn, award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans, and former Telegraph Women editor Claire Cohen, author of BFF: The Truth About Female Friendship, discuss the appeal of writing direct to an audience and why they decided to set up their own newsletters.

Guests

Adharanand Finn https://twitter.com/adharanand

https://www.instagram.com/thewayoftherunner/

https://thewayoftherunner.com/

Claire Cohen https://twitter.com/clairecohen

https://www.instagram.com/clairecohen1/

Resources

BFF: The Truth About Female Friendship https://www.amazon.co.uk/BFF-truth-about-female-friendship/dp/1787635635

Adharanand Finn's books https://www.adharanandfinn.com/books

Monday Musings newsletter https://adharanand.substack.com/

Adharanand Finn Patreon https://www.patreon.com/adharanandfinn

Tell Me About It newsletter https://clairecohen.substack.com/

FFJ newsletter https://freelancingforjournalists.substack.com/

Setting up a newsletter FFJ podcast episode https://freelancing-for-journalists.captivate.fm/episode/setting-up-a-newsletter

Recommendations

Francesca Specter The Shoulds newsletter https://francescaspecter.substack.com/

Devin Kelly Children in the Garden https://longreads.com/2022/01/06/children-in-the-garden-devin-kelly/

Rosamund Dean Well Well Well newsletter https://rosamunddean.substack.com/

Midlife Mess with Annie Scott https://anniescott.substack.com/

Ever wondered what social media management actually is? On the podcast this week we talk to two freelance journalists who also work in social media marketing and SEO writing. Nicole Letts is a lifestyle journalist based in Atlanta who works with clients on Instagram and Britt Jones is a UK freelancer who provides bespoke social media services.

Guests

Nicole Letts https://www.instagram.com/nicolemelv/?hl=en

https://muckrack.com/nicole-letts

Britt Jones https://twitter.com/the_brittjones

https://linktr.ee/Thebrittjones

Resources

Social media managers https://www.loomly.com/ https://www.hootsuite.com/

Portfolio service https://linktr.ee/

Time tracker app https://toggl.com/

Recommendations

Emma Rosen The Radical Sabbatical https://www.amazon.co.uk/Radical-Sabbatical-Millennial-Handbook-Quarter/dp/191138273X

Amy Beth Wright Texas wine https://muckrack.com/amybethwright

Rebecca Deurlein Sandwich King of Chicago https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240303-a-food-network-chefs-favourite-sandwiches-in-his-hometown-of-chicago

On the podcast this week we delve into the world of report writing and translation. We speak to experienced health journalist Priya Joi who has written global reports for the World Health Organisation, United Nations and Global Vaccine Alliance, and freelance journalist Judith Zerdin who also works as a Spanish/French to English translator. We discover how to use transferable skills to get freelance work in these two fascinating fields.

Guests

Priya Joi https://www.instagram.com/priya.joi/ https://www.priyajoi.com/

The Art of Freelance newsletter https://priyajoi.substack.com/

Forthcoming book Motherland https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/291691/priya-joi

Judith Zerdin https://www.linkedin.com/in/judithzerdin

Resources

Time Management podcast https://freelancing-for-journalists.captivate.fm/episode/time-management

Institute of Translation and Interpreting https://www.iti.org.uk/membership/individual-membership-categories/associate-membership.html

Recommendations

Linda Geddes, From lab to plate https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/feb/25/from-lab-to-plate-six-course-menu-featuring-no-kill-dim-sum-steak-frites

Ariane Sherine, Why I legally changed my name five times https://arianesherine.substack.com/p/why-i-legally-changed-my-name-five

In the podcast this week we discuss the world of copywriting and how freelance journalists can find work in this field. We chat to journalists Peter Ranscombe and Ella Delancey Jones about the difference between copywriting and content writing, and how to flit between writing for the audience and writing for a client.

Guests

https://www.peter-ranscombe.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-ranscombe/

https://twitter.com/ellaluciewrites

https://linktr.ee/ellalucie

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ella-delancey-jones-a305514b/

Resources

https://www.airtasker.com/uk/

https://www.sianmeadeswilliams.com/freelance-writing-jobs

https://writeathome.beehiiv.com/

https://www.journalism.co.uk/vocational-skills-study/copywriting-a-course-for-freelance-journalists/s43/a554233/

Recommendations

https://twitter.com/marisajbate

https://daily.sevenfifty.com/the-10-best-non-alcoholic-drinks-according-to-retailers/

Welcome to series 13! This season we discuss how to diversify your income stream when working as a freelance journalist. The first episode delves into the world of lecturing and how to break into it. We share tips and experiences with entertainment journalist Jamie Body and lifestyle writer Beth Neil who both teach at a number of universities.

The guests

Jamie Body https://www.jamiebody.com/

https://twitter.com/bodyjamie

Beth Neil https://muckrack.com/beth-neil

https://twitter.com/bethneil

Resources

FFJ Video tutorial on breaking into lecturing https://payhip.com/b/7ESqC

Recommendations

Holly Geraghty: https://www.huckmag.com/article/the-gaza-breakdancing-crew-helping-children-escape-the-trauma-of-war

Eimear O'Hagan https://muckrack.com/eimear-ohagan