Jobs and Opps at the BBC, The Week, News UK, Guitar World, The Donkey Sanctuary, and Many, Many More 🫏

Dozens of opportunities to add to your list for this week.

Good evening — Hannah here. How are we all? January is a weird one, isn’t it? I can’t decide if it went really quickly or if it dragged. Perhaps when it feels like January’s escaped us, it’s because we’re thinking about everything we haven’t done or achieved yet. Or, if I were to approach it optimistically, it would be because ‘time flies when you’re having fun’. I’ve certainly had some fun moments — visiting Kew Gardens for the first time with my best friends, and I had the best hummus of my life last week. Can’t forget that. But generally, January hasn’t gone to plan.

I had, quite possibly, the worst exam of my life at the beginning of the month. There are still a few weeks until I get the results, but I’ve already mentally prepared to retake it. Then, I got a nasty infection in my one singular wisdom tooth that has never bothered me until now.  While I felt raring and ready to go at the beginning of January, it quickly became a surviving, not thriving, situation. So, in an extension of last week’s newsletter, I wanted to reassure anyone else who feels like their January has been a bit of a flop.   

So, although 2024 hasn’t yet brought me any particularly tangible achievements, I’ve instead been enjoying the little things. I’ve read some good books (Ben Aitken’s Marmalade Diaries and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Maybe In Another Life), run some nice runs, watched some great TV (The Traitors, anyone?) and spent time with friends and family. And, if nothing else, I’ve finally settled into a better routine with running.

For so long, I’d set out on runs way too quickly and give up after about ten minutes due to sheer exhaustion. Then, I’d be put off and not try again for ages. But, I’ve learnt, it takes a good 10–15 minutes of discomfort to settle into a run — so it’s often wise to start much slower than you think. That’s what January is like; it’s the time it takes you to settle into that run. So, to all my pals just plodding along, you’ve got this.

PS. If you’re looking for a bit of oomph to keep going, here’s my January running playlist if you’d like it to take into February with you. It even brought me a parkrun PB!

[EVENTS] Publishing A Book & Investigative Journalism

It’s your last chance to grab tickets to our book workshop with Florianne Humphrey tomorrow. We’ll talk through the process of getting a book published, from the initial idea to holding it in your hands, as well as how you can juggle writing with a reporting career — and how journalism can boost your career as an author.

It’s also the deadline to grab tickets for the next instalment of Rosa Furneaux’s sell-out workshop on investigative journalism, happening on Thursday. Join us to find out how to make hard-to-reach sources, nail your Freedom of Information requests, and find the best investigative angles. We’ll also look at how to snag a job in the field.

• Setmixer is looking for a social media intern who loves grassroots music to join the team, telling the story of artists and the music community. It pays the London Living Wage.

• The Donkey Sanctuary looks after donkeys! And it’s also hiring a digital marketing assistant to join them in beautiful Devon. You’ll be paid £21,397pa and work across social media, content, and fundraising. About donkeys!

• DatacenterDynamics has a vacancy for a junior reporter — they say it’s a great role for someone just starting out. You’ll get on-the-job training to write daily news stories and features, plus appear on podcasts. It pays £22–26,000pa.

• Splendid Communications is offering a six-month PR and social media internship, with two slots available. Both pay the London Living Wage and offer a structured and supported learning process.

• The Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, MailOnline, and Mail+ are open to applications for the next cohort of their editorial training scheme. There’s a track for both reporters and sub-editors and you’ll be paid in excess of £20,000pa while training.

• 🚨 It’s your last chance to apply for the business news reporter role with Alliance News. You’ll cover companies, economics, and markets globally and it offers a starting salary of £26,000pa.

• 🚨🏡 Also closing this week is the staff writer gig at DEVELOP3D, where you’ll be covering product design and technology for their website and magazine. It looks like a really fascinating beat and you’ll be paid up to £23,000pa.

• Literary Review is hiring an editorial assistant and the advert says it’s the perfect entry-level role for someone who’s interested in books and magazine publishing. It pays London Living Wage and you’ll work on fact-checking, social media, newsletter management, and more.

• 🏡 🌎The Centre for Climate Reporting is hiring a junior investigations reporter to work on ambitious global investigations — jobs like this come up very rarely. It pays £26–30,000pa and you can be based anywhere.

• A reminder that the Bloomberg apprenticeship in media production is still open. It pays well above the apprenticeship wage and you’ll work on their broadcast news teams, co-ordinating worldwide coverage.

• 🚨🏡 It’s your last chance to apply for these gigs with Hyphen. It’s a new publication telling stories for Muslim communities in the UK and Europe — and they publish some really ace stuff. They’re hiring multimedia producers, assistant editors, and reporters. All the roles pay £30–40,000pa.

• Finextra is hiring a fintech reporter to pitch and write features and news ideas, with some scope to work on longreads. It pays £25–30,000pa and you only need two years of experience to apply.

• Bodyshop Magazine, which is about repairing cars damaged in collisions (not lotions from the high-street retailer), is hiring a deputy editor. It pays £30–33,000pa and they say it could be a good first step into editing.

• Guitar World is on the lookout for a staff writer with a love of the musical instrument. It pays up to £28,000pa and there’s also unlimited holiday.

• The Week is hiring a features writer to work on the digital edition. As well as writing culture and lifestyle pieces you’ll also commission and edit the work of freelancers. It pays £26–30,000pa.

• This is a proofreader job, where you’ll be working on a variety of projects. It pays £28–30,000pa and you’ll spend your days spotting mistakes and giving feedback.

• Transferwise, which makes sending money across the globe easier, is looking for an SEO content specialist to focus on writing for UK audiences. You’ll work on their blog, where you’ll write, edit, and update pieces. It pays £25–30,000pa.

• The British Museum has an advert up for a website content editor, who’ll look after the exhibitions and events section of its website. It pays £33,368pa.

• National Club Golfer is hiring an assistant equipment editor to take the lead in managing written review content. It looks like you’ll get to do a lot of the reviews yourself and you’ll be paid up to £30,000pa.

• Kent Fire and Rescue is looking for a senior engagement officer to write emotive case studies, run innovative campaigns, and educate the public. You’ll be paid £35–39,508pa, plus an additional on-call payment of £3,684.95pa.

• Kitchens, Bedrooms, and Bathrooms Magazine is searching for both a features editor and a features writer to join the team. Both of the roles will involve writing a range of content about interiors and pay up to £28,000pa.

• And, finally, the BBC is looking for three senior journalists to focus on local investigations. It’s a Band D job, which means it pays £37,845–59,050pa.

• The Labour Party is hiring a digital content producer to work on a fixed-term contract until the next General Election, whenever that may be. It pays £44,624.13pa — they’re nothing if not specific on the salary.

• The B1M publishes video content about construction and needs a head of content to lead the team and champion their creative and editorial director. It pays a pretty snazzy £70,000pa.

• The 10 Group is looking for a video editor to craft content for a variety of digital platforms, with a focus on social. It pays up to £45,000pa DOE.

• Ashden has an advert up for a film and photography producer. You’ll work to boost climate action both in the UK and across the globe and it pays £53,022pa.

• The Week has an opening for a deputy editor to lead its digital team. You’ll help pick the most important journalism highlights around the globe for its readers and share them in a bite-sized way. It pays up to £48,000pa.

• 🏡 Brendan Miller is looking for journalists interested in video for some remote, project-based work to research and help write politics and explainer scripts. It pays £170 a day and some training is provided.

• A couple of freelance copywriter gigs on the list this week: this one for an international organisation supporting educational opportunities pays £15.40ph, this is a Manchester-based content editor role at £150–170 a day, and this one is a copywriter and editor for up to £150 a day — but it closes today.

• News UK is looking for a freelancer to work on video shoots and edit the results into multimedia content. Check out the full job listing this way.

• AIM Group is hiring a couple of freelance journalists, both at £20–50ph. They need someone with experience in the automotive segment and someone who understands the recruitment agency.

• 🏡 By Gamers For Gamers is looking for an AI trends writer to create content around the likes of ChatGPT and Midjourney for PCGuide.com. It’s a low-paid gig at £80–90 per day, so best for those still studying or just starting out.

• Cardiff Life Magazine is seeking a freelance journalist who has a keen interest in Cardiff's local affairs, culture, and community. It’s a regular gig, but they’ll pay you per article.

• The FT Weekend Magazine’s commissioning editor Griselda Murray Brown has outlined the sort of stuff she’s looking for here.

• Isabelle Fraser is now The Telegraph’s money features editor and is keen to hear freelance pitches on anything to do with money.

• Vox’s climate editor Paige Vega is looking to assign stories on climate change that help readers better understand and navigate the world. Pays US$1+ per word.

• City A.M. Magazine is returning to print and has space to commission a few features — think unusual takes on lifestyle-y topics.

• Chris Hatler at Men’s Journal is looking for features, particularly as-told-to adventures, stories about pricey whiskey, in-depth reported health stories, or compelling narratives. A good mix.

• In the wake of the recent layoffs — solidarity to all — Variety’s features editor Sharareh Drury is always looking for freelancers to work with, particularly in the realms of films, festivals, and awards season topics.

• If you’re looking for a home for a long-form narrative feature idea, Claire Landsbaum is happy to hear from anybody who’s recently been laid off.

• Similarly, following the layoffs, Jenny G. Zhang at Slate Magazine is always open to TV and culture pitches. Do make sure you check out Slate’s pitch guide first. Rates start at US$350.

• Science Friday, which aims to make scientific information more accessible to general audiences, is looking for stories exploring science, environment, health, and tech — in both English and Spanish. Pay is US$0.50 per word

• Unbias the News is looking for pitches on migrant underemployment for an innovative, collaborative data investigation with Lighthouse Reports and other partners across Europe. It’s seeking pitches from Greece, Italy, Finland, Austria, Portugal, and Norway.

• 🚨 🎪 We mentioned before that The Guardian Foundation has opened apps for The Hugo Young Award. It’s aimed at political journalists under 25 and comes with prizes of up to £1,000. Tomorrow they’re running a free workshop on political opinion writing to make sure you put your best application forward.

• 🆓🚨🎪 [AD] This is your final reminder that City, University of London’s journalism jobs and skills event is tomorrow. Join online from 6–8pm for sessions on podcasting, getting a job, conducting advanced searches, and more. It’s entirely free and you don’t need to be a City student to join.

• 🚨 🎪 It’s your last chance to buy tickets to our event tomorrow on getting your first book published. Florianne Humphrey will walk through the process of publication, how your journalism skills can help, and juggling the two careers.

• 🚨 🎪 Also, the last reminder for the investigative journalism workshop on Thursday. this always sells out, so act fast to grab a ticket. We’ll talk about hard-to-reach sources, FOI requests, finding the right angle, and much more.

• 🎪 Other events we have coming up include writing about lived experiences without selling your soul, finding your voice in arts journalism, and nailing chats with interviewees every time.

• The deadline has been extended for The Whickers Film & TV Funding Award. You now have until February 7 to apply for a main award of £100,000, awarded to an emerging filmmaker with a pitch for a director-led documentary.

• 🚨 The end of the month (aka tomorrow) is the deadline for the Association of British Science Writers Awards. Entries are free for their members.

• 🚨 The Trace Prize for Investigative Reporting: Uncovering Commercial Bribery also closes tomorrow. Entries can be sent from all over the world and there’s a top prize of US$10,000 for the winner.

• 🚨Entries to the Livingston Awards close on February 1. It’s to reward outstanding journalists under 35 and has a prize pot of US$10,000. You need to have had your work appear in US media — but you don’t have to live there.

• 🚨 Entries to the New Media Writing Prize close at the end of the day on Friday as well. They’re looking for the best stories and writing designed to be consumed in a digital format. There are prizes of up to £1,000.

• Applications have now re-opened for the Aziz Foundation scholarships, which support British Muslims to study an MA course in journalism.

• The London Library Emerging Writers Programme is open to anyone over 16 who wants to develop their practice. You’ll get full use of the library’s resources, development masterclasses, and peer support.

• What’s better journalism inspo than a massive pile of tips from some great journalists? Our friends at News Associates have handily cornered seven speakers at their latest #JournoFest conference and collated it all here.

[AD] Study An NCTJ Diplomas Focuses On Digital & Longform Journalism

Applications are now open for the next cohort of PA Training's NCTJ Diploma, with options to study part-time or complete your fast-track journalism training in just 19 weeks. You’ll be taught by senior journalists from some of the UK’s most prestigious newsrooms, with a chance to specialise in digital and longform journalism after just six weeks. You’ll learn how to tell compelling stories across all digital platforms and how to delve into long-form reporting — and get the all-important diploma that editors and hiring managers are looking for.