The lowdown on our work experience scheme

And final Twitter verification success

Feb 09, 2022

We launched our Journalism Work Experience Initiative in the pandemic when everything shut down and there was no way for anyone to gain any real-life industry insight.

It proved so popular we’re about to launch our fourth round but recently we’ve had a few queries about how it all works so we thought we’d give you the lowdown plus a view from two people who have taken part.

You sign up to the initiative by buying a ticket to a webinar - which is a key part of it, because here we explain exactly how it works, how to get the most out of it and you get a chance to ask questions before we give you access to a database of 50 freelance journalists, and more recently some news organisations, willing to offer remote work experience opportunities.

There is a really broad mix of journalists and organisations involved with a wide variety of interests spanning print, online and broadcast and a host of different specialisms from lifestyle to finance to sport and everything in between.

The scheme provides you with access to this database for a year and you can choose to do as many placements as you like. How the remote placements work, what you will be doing, and for how long, is to be negotiated between those wanting to gain experience and those offering their time. Some of these opportunities are paid and some are for overseas journalists/organisations.

At FFJ we have also taken on several of those wanting to gain experience at various times. And this is not just for students - we have had interest from those doing journalism degrees but also people just starting out in freelance life or perhaps wanting to gain experience before embarking on more training. Others have had a gap in their careers and want to get back into journalism or writing.

The webinar tickets cost £10 and that covers our administrative costs of running the initiative. But there are also bursary places available if needed (get in touch with us directly if you have more questions about that) and some universities have bought places for their students. If you can’t make the live webinar, we will send you a recording.

So that’s the practical side of it, what you really want to know is how it works in reality, what do those who have taken part get out of it? Read on to hear from one of our experienced freelance journalists who has been offering opportunities for work experience through the scheme since the start. We also spoke to one of her placement participants.

Miranda Levy is a freelance journalist, editor, author and columnist

“Miranda Slade did remote work experience for me at the end of 2020 and into 2021. I asked her to help me out with finding case-s

tudies on short deadlines for the Telegraph newspaper and magazine - her triumphs included tracking down volunteers on the AstraZeneca vaccine trial programme, and also people to interview for a sensitive feature about the parents of trans teens.

Miranda was smart, fast and resourceful. After a few months, I felt she had earned a researcher's fee. I also recommended her to relaunch social media for the Guild of Health Writers, where I am on the committee which was also a paid opportunity. Miranda and I only parted company because she landed a job on the Express lifestyle pages. She was brilliant.”

Find out more at https://mirandalevy.co.uk

Miranda Slade is online lifestyle reporter at the Daily Express

“The advice given to trainee journalists or journalism students often boils down to two things: experience and contacts. For those of us training during the pandemic, in-person internships and networking opportunities were non-existent, which is why the Journalism Work Experience Initiative by Freelancing for Journalists was so helpful.

“I connected with Miranda Levy (firstly by bonding over our shared name!) who was so generous in sharing insights from her career as a journalist, editor and author. I was able to get valuable experience helping her with research and learning from her way of working. Miranda gave me time and encouragement, allowing me to ask her questions about how to pitch, interview skills and the journalism industry. My mentoring experience with Miranda hugely built my confidence and prepared me for entering the industry.”

You can find Miranda’s work here

If you want to sign up to the scheme click the button below. If you’re a freelance journalist who wants to be added to our database or if you want to find out more about the bursary places, please email freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com

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What’s new

FFJ co-founder Emma Wilkinson, whose constant rejections for Twitter verification, led to our campaign for more transparency for freelance journalists, woke up this morning to find she had been granted a blue tick. The odd thing was this time she had not applied. Had Twitter finally got fed up of being contacted by journalists about the campaign? Did the Press Gazette article tip them over the edge? Who knows. There are still many freelance journalists out there scratching their heads about how these decisions are made. Our advice - sign up to our Google doc of those who have been having problems - and keep trying! Under current rules you can apply once every 30 days.

We recently launched our FFJ 1-2-1 Bespoke Sessions on anything related to freelance journalism that you would like tailored support with.

So whether it’s help polishing up your pitching, or getting your website/portfolio up and running, maybe learning new ways to find work opportunities or even advice on how to start working for yourself in the first place, we can offer 30 min or 1 hour Zoom sessions to get you on the right track. To find our more or book a slot simply email us. All the information you need is on the poster below.