Journalism

Some major life changes

Hey all,

so if you haven’t seen it on my social yet, I lost my job as Capitol Hill Seattle Blog’s reporter. This means I’m out on money around the holidays while paying Seattle rent. It’s also a testament to the state of community journalism.

I severely need your support to keep doing what I love. Anything at all helps. I’ve created a Patreon account to support my work as I go back to freelancing. (Every Seattle publication pays under $100 per article if you’re unfamiliar. It’s like working 40 hours a week but only getting paid about $275 for it.)

Please, if what I do means anything to you, become a monthly contributor. It’s like paying for an NYT subscription except you know I’m the only reporter you’re supporting, and you don’t have to debate if you want to continue based on problems stemming from other people’s work in a newsroom. It’s just me and my content! If there’s a problem, you know who to go to, and you know who will respond — and that you’ll actually get a response.

I’ll likely keep updating this website because 1) it’s my portfolio but also 2) I believe in access and I understand if you simply can’t afford to pay. We’re all in this together.

Every journalist should read this

We hosted an immigration panel on last week featuring professionals working to protect the rights of (un)documented immigrants. Together, we broke down what journalists can improve on when it comes to marginalized voices.

…

[The Northwest Immigrants Rights Project has a hotline specifically for potential sightings of ICE. This group then sends people to check it out, and has a team dedicated to this task; relieving other organizations from the stress of doing more than they were intended to do. Call 844-RAID-REP if you think you’re seeing ICE do something.]

via Recap: Immigration Panel — SPJ UW

Recap of Q&A with Derek Wing

In a changing media landscape, Derek Wing showed us that newsroom representation and diversity is more important than ever, especially in broadcast. Wing shared experiences from his time as a young journalist reporting in Baghdad, to hosting his own show, and making the transition into Public Relations when he decided to start a family. He made […]

Event moderated by Kelsey Hamlin, via SPJ UW

Recap of Q&A with Kate Schimel — SPJ UW student chapter

Kate Schimel is 26 years old, which came as a surprise to many people. It’s not often that college students hear from fellow 20-somethings about how to handle their career prospects, so this Q&A was a pleasant change of pace. High Country News, as Kate explained and as one could gather by reading their content, […]

Event moderated by Kelsey Hamlin, via Recap of Q&A with Kate Schimel — SPJ UW

I’m realizing there’s going to be moments in my life where I’m so shocked and baffled that something so horrid can be done to humans, by humans, that I feel frozen in time. And my brain feels waterlogged. So heavy. And this is a result of being a journalist because half the time, we seek out the wrong, rotten aspects of the world in which we live. The grotesque, the horrid, the hidden, the unimaginable.

But the other half of the time, we seek out the creative, profound aspects of that same world. The courage and resilience in the face of threat and fear. The inspiring, the brave, the bold, the jaw-dropping.

I guess I just have to not let the horrid stories win. And, sometimes, the very act of reporting on them is defeating them.

I must remember that.