A step in the right direction

journo tips, podcasts, supporting regional voices & local journalism

May 07, 2021

You can listen to our latest episode here:

From Katie B…

It’s been a really positive week! After spending the Bank Holiday weekend celebrating my Mam’s birthday & taking some more time off social media to adjust to my new job - I’ve felt like May is going to be a really positive month. We’ve received some great feedback over on Instagram about S3 and Katie W has created our very own Tiktok! You can follow here!

I’m absolutely loving my new job and I think spending a lot less time on social media since Christmas has really helped my mental health & has given me time to reflect on my career path. I do think everything happens for a reason. I may only be 22 but I think that if you find something that makes you happy, then do it. It might take years of hard work but run your own race, you will get there.

Try not to compare yourself to others because the only person you’re hurting is yourself. As corny as it sounds, you only live once - do what’s right for you 💫

From Katie W…

I am definitely mirroring Katie B’s energy because *deep breath* I can finally announce that I am starting a new job with Edinburgh and Glasgow Live as a Trainee Trends Writer on Monday!!! Can you believe it? I am not kidding when I say I CRIED. I tried not to freak out that I’m going to be 27 this year and up till now it looked like I was going to still be working in a quiet wee pub and my inbox was filled with rejection emails. But here we go! My brand new chapter. I cannot wait to start. It will be my first ever 9-5, desk job with a salary. It is going to be a complete change to my normal (pre-covid) 0-hour contract, 9 hours on my feet, running about restaurants work life. But my goodness, I am so ready for it!

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Student Publication Association speaker announcement

Our very own Katie W is a guest speaker at this year’s SPA National Conference! You can book your FREE ticket by clicking this link for their ‘Getting into Podcasting’ session!

Journo tip of the week

Let’s chat about how we view ourselves…

Katie B: Over on Instagram this week, I posted a Monday Motivation post about how we view others. The inspiration behind the post came from reading a chapter of the Guilty Feminist and this quote really stood out to me.

It made me think about how much pressure we put on ourselves to perform and focus on our insecurities/anxieties. As a student journalist, you hear the phrase ‘fake it till you make it’ quite a lot. It can take years to build up your portfolio and let’s be honest it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to bag a high-paid job by the time you graduate.

Building a substantial portfolio to showcase your bylines and how your writing skills are progressing is SO important when you’re applying for jobs. It shows your initiative, passion and drive to go out and find stories and spend time writing them.

Websites like Contently can be a great starting point to create an online portfolio.
You can also ask editors/journalists you’ve worked with in the past on work experience or at university to give you recommendations on Linkedin.
Twitter is really helpful at ‘professionally stalking’ other journalists and companies. You can find contact details in pinned tweets or even direct message to strike up a conversation.

The worst that can happen is someone saying no! You never know until you try. Even if you receive feedback on a piece of work, you’re still trying. You will get there, believe me. Writing and crafting work is an art in itself, never mind securing that pitch. You got this! 👏🏼

Who to follow

Brig Live and Breaking - live updates from Stirling University's award-winning student newspaper

Morgan Nicole - writer and reviews editor

Harry Williamson - reporter and journalist from Stirling

Hannah Phipps - Hannah runs Launchpad, the home of all good things in the world of new music!

NN reacts

Katie W: So apparently Priti Patel is offering fast-tracked Visas for anyone who has been awarded prestigious awards like Oscars or Nobel Prizes…. I am sorry but did anyone ask for this?? Has Meryl Streep been Whatsapping Priti asking if she can move to Fife?!?

Katie B: Love this new media scheme from Ant & Dec - yes lads!

Song of the week

Katie W:

Katie B:

Jobs and opportunities:

FREELANCE: Black British Cinema are looking for contributors. If you're passionate about cinema/TV and want to delve deeper into the (lack of) visibility of black British cinema in the mainstream then get in touch at blackbritishcinemablog@gmail.com.

FREELANCE: GalDem are looking for mental health pitches for their first person section. Think through your angle and avoid generic topics they have covered before. Only pitch via this form.

FREELANCE: The Metro are looking for powerful first person stories as part of the Immigration Nation series. Give James Besanvalle a shout.

FREELANCE: Nadine White is looking to commission more news pieces telling black stories. Send pitches to nadine.white@independent.co.uk

FREELANCE: Mark Yarm is looking for tech/culture writers for inputmag features. Email mark.yarm@inputmag.com - 50-$1/word.

FREELANCE: Eva Mackevic from Readers Digest is looking for your best timely/informative/entertaining/inspiring motoring pitches for their magazine.

DUNDEE/INVERNESS/ELGIN: DC Thomson are recruiting for local democracy reporters for the Press and Journal, Evening Express, Courier and Evening Telegraph. There is one full time role and three 0.5 FTE roles. They offer a generous package including health cash plan, excellent pension, a competitive salary and many more staff discounts and benefits. Closing date is 16th May. (Side note: Elgin is Katie W’s hometown😭)

GLASGOW: Reach PLC are hiring a local democracy content editor. Home working with some office presence between their Glasgow and Edinburgh office, depending on the candidate location. Closing date is 14th May.

EDINBURGH: Anywhere Works are hiring a content associate; reporting to their content strategist within the marketing team and will be involved in research/development and editorial. £22-25k salary, dependent on experience, freedom to work from anywhere. 12 month initial contract with potential to extend. Closing date is 17th May at 10am.

EDINBURGH: Do you want to write about the latest trending news story, pop culture, the Edinburgh food and drink scene and the heritage of Edinburgh? The Scotsman are hiring a Search and Trends Writer. Can’t see a deadline so best to get your applications in ASAP.

NEWCASTLE: BDaily are hiring a marketing executive. Full time position, £19,500 salary. Closing date has been extended to 12th May.

TEESSIDE: Reach PLC are looking for a local democracy reporter to join their team. If you are passionate about politics and the community, then this is the job for you! Closing date is 21st May.

NEWCASTLE: Reach PLC are also looking for a breaking news/TV reporter to join the Chronicle. Competitive salary & company bonus, closing date is 21st May.

NEWCASTLE: North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust are looking for a communications support officer. £21,892 to £24,157 per annum, fixed term 12-month contract, 37.5 hours per week, agile and/or home working.

GATESHEAD: Dialect Communications Ltd are looking for a customer service executive to join their team. £18k per annum, full time internship, closing date is 9th May.

DURHAM: Durham University are recruiting a library information assistant. £17,682 - £19,133 per annum, 25 hours per week, closing date is 20th May at midnight.

DURHAM: HM Land Registry have an exciting opportunity to join their Internal Communications team as an internal communications officer. Full time, permanent contract, salary is £33.2k - £36.6k per annum.

MANCHESTER: Insider Media are hiring a digital staff writer to produce creative and engaging regional email news bulletins and contribute rolling business news to the Insider Media web hub. Send your CV to laurence.kilgannon@newsco.com. Closing date is 2nd June.

NORTHUMBERLAND: Coping with Cancer North East are looking for a communications and fundraising officer. Full time permanent position, fixed salary of £25k per annum. Closing date is 16th May at 12pm.

STAFFORDSHIRE: Another one from Reach! Thanks to funding from BBC, the team can expand, so this is a really exciting time to join. They’re looking for a local democracy reporter to report on local political and health policies.

Good luck if you are applying!

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