Jobs and Ops at Insider, ITV, Iliffe Media, Channel 4, and Many, Many More.

Everything you should apply for this week!

Sometimes when I’m writing an introduction to this newsletter, it comes easily. It could be something that’s been niggling in my head all week, that I’ve mentally worked out in my head as I’ve gone for a swim or taken a walk around the block. Other times, inspiration strikes instantly, as I’m confronted with a train journey sans plug sockets. Yes, it’s been a week. I’m still bitter about it. Sometimes, like today, I feel like there’s nothing in the tank.

Usually, this would be the point where I’d shout across the desk and ask my partner what’s been happening in my life that’s worth writing about. Sadly, they’re in an actual central London office today and my only company is Swirls, our rescue cat, who’s maintaining absolute silence every time I try to ask for his advice. Such is my desperation, I’ve even tried putting a trail of Dreamies across my desk in the hope he might mash the keyboard into something useful. Spoiler: he took the goods and ran.

Some pictures of my partner in crime from the last week.

Being a journalist without ideas can feel hard. When we put together our last edition of the Journo Resources Magazine I did a deep-dive into the most asked-for skills within the job advert. Unsurprisingly, ideas and creativity were some of the top requests. Similarly, as a freelancer, ideas are like currency. If I don’t have any, I have nothing to pitch and no way to get paid. But, the fact is, it’s hard to always be on.

It will come as a shock to absolutely no one that I’m at my least creative when I feel stressed. Even looking at my to-do list right now is giving me a sense of dread. It’s not really a surprise I’ve got nothing to talk about. Whether you’re staff or freelance, we’ve all been faced with completely unrealistic expectations about what we can do in a day and the conditions we need to thrive. It’s hard — both mentally and within the confines of the system — to take a step back. But things are always better if we can. Remember not to beat yourself up too much. I’m going out for dinner.

[NOW] How To Write Authentic Reviews (And Get Paid)

We’re just about to kick off our session on how to write authentic reviews, with the incredible Katie Goh. We’ll be talking about everything from how to structure an engaging review to how to build relationships with both PRs and editors. It’s starting live now, but if you fail to snag a ticket just let us know and you can purchase the watch-back link instead.

[AD] Financial Assistance Available For Journalists In Need

For many journalists right now, times are tough. Whether it’s the cost-of-living crisis, redundancy, or freelance bills not being paid, there is help available. This is where The Journalists’ Charity is here to help. Get in touch to speak with one of their friendly advisors either via phone, email, or on social media, or fill out their simple form to request financial assistance.

• 🕑 This is a nice gig with Zitamar News. They’re in need of a producer editor intern, who will work with them part-time for three months looking after online and social content. It pays £10.50ph.

• The next round of the Channel 4 Production Training Scheme is open, with vacancies across a range of genres including sport, factual programming, and factual entertainment. This cohort is exclusively for disabled candidates and pays £22–24,000pa depending on where you’ll be based.

• The Marketing Academy Foundation has an apprentice copywriter role, where you’ll join the in-house creative team at Amazon. It pays London Living Wage and you’ll work on emails, social posts, radio, TV and more.

• The Smarlist has an ad up for a community news reporter in Northumberland, working with The Northumberland Gazette. You’ll be on an initial 18-month contract and it pays £21,255pa.

• There’s also a role with YachtBuyer, where you get to write all about yachts! They’re paying £21–25,000pa for a junior editorial assistant role.

• This broadcast media internship at the Relations Group is back again (it’s a regular one on the cycle). They’re paying £20–23,000pa and you’ll be researching news stories, liaising with the media, and tracking coverage.

• 🚨 Last chance for this role at Iliffe News. They are still looking for a multimedia journalist in Bury St Edmunds to tell stories about communities and people. It pays £19,600–26,000pa.

• 🚨 Also closing this week is this reporter role from Alliance News. You’ll be covering business news across the globe and it’s a great place to hone a specialism to start your career. It pays £26,000pa.

• Found via the wonderful people at MediaBeans, Ipswich Town is hiring a junior media and content exec to create content all about what I hear is called ‘the beautiful game’. Can you tell I don’t do sport? It pays £20–22,000pa.

• More from Iliffe Media! They need a multimedia journalist in Newmarket to cover stories about the community, people, and news. This role pays £22–28,000pa.

• They also have a vacancy through the BBC Local Democracy Reporter scheme. It’s a great chance to get under the skin of local politics and find original stories. Again, the role pays £22–28,000pa.

• 🏡 Last one — Insider is looking for their next news fellow, who’ll work on breaking news, with a focus on the US. Pays £24,000pa and lasts six months.

• 🚨 Tomorrow is the closing date for the editor role at The Waltham Forest Echo. It’s a really great opportunity to step up at an independent publisher that really cares about local communities, so do apply! It pays £26,500pa.

• The Bristol Cable is looking for a community and events organiser who will deepen their relationships with their members. It pays £27,314pa.

• BBC Radio Leeds is looking for a social media journalist on a six-month contract, mainly looking after their social media accounts and tweaking content from their radio output for online audiences. It’s Band C so pays from £25,670pa.

• There’s also a social producer role with BBC Learning English, putting together audio, video, text, and image content to help people learn English. Again, this is Band C, so pays £25,670–50,313pa.

• Netmums is hiring a content writer/producer to come up with sharable, informative stories for an audience of parents. It pays £25–30,000pa.

• Angel Sharp Media is looking for a video producer to join their team and help put together short-form pieces. It pays £2–37,000pa.

• 🕑 OK, this one’s rouge, but kind of feels… aspirational? On The Level make floors for wet rooms and they need a part-time content creator to work across their social channels. It’s got ‘could you be the next @thep00lguy vibes’. Pays up to £27,000pa FTE.

• The Opportunity Hub UK is looking for a journalist / PR manager to write news releases on behalf of their clients. It pays £30–37,000pa.

• 🏡 And, finally, PROMiXX is looking for a head of content, community, and social, and it’s got a very wide pay range of up to £40,000pa.

• ITV is hiring for a series producer to lead a small team in the Scottish Parliament to produce their fast-turnaround programme Representing Border. It pays £50–60,000pa.

• This role doesn’t say exactly who it’s with, but they’re looking for a commissioning editor to focus on the arts, working on beautiful books. It pays £40–50,000pa.

• Alive With Ideas is on the lookout for freelance copywriters to work on some of their campaigns, covering everything from newsletters to blog posts. It pays up to £350 a day.

• Flourish Magazine is looking for a freelance sub-editor for an initial two days of work. It pays £150 a day.

• Georgia Green is on the hunt for love and relationships stories for a glossy women’s monthly. More info and how to get in touch on Twitter.

• Sports Interactive is looking for a freelance researcher to focus on women’s football. More details this way. This was found via MediaBeans so follow them!

• BBC Countryfile has opened up its talent pool for assistant producers to focus on rural affairs. Being in the talent pool means you potentially get access to short-term contracts and shifts so is well worth applying for.

• MIT Technology Review is looking for pitches by the end of the month on the theme of ‘hard problems’. They pay a very decent US$1-2 per word.

• It may be May, but we’ve just found our first Christmas call-out of the year. If you have ideas take a look at their pitch guide. They say a 1,200-word piece normally pays about £620.

• Circle Recruitment is looking for a content producer for a government client, which they say is a mix of in-office and remote work. Pays up to £300 a day.

• Openly is still looking for reporters who would like to contribute to their TikTok page. Here’s the info.

• Gay Times’ Zoya is open for pitches on queer culture, internet communities, and internet trends.

• Breakroom is looking for a freelance social media content creator. It’s a three-to-six-month contract that pays £40,000pa FTE.

• And, finally, your regular reminder that IJNet is always looking for stories about journalism. They pay US$200 per article.

• [AD] This is another reminder that The Journalists’ Charity offers support to journalists of all ages who are struggling financially. It’s a simple application process and they also have friendly advisors who are able to help.

• 🎪 Also mentioned from up top, we’re just about to kick off our session on how to write authentic and engaging reviews with Katie Goh. Get your tickets now!

• 🎪 Also coming up from us — we have a masterclass on getting the most out of your interviewees and asking the right questions and a look at how to break into adventure writing (which is looking like it might run out of live tickets).

• 👩🏽‍💻 We’ve just added a tonne of new dates to our co-working sessions! They’re just £4 if you’d like to join us, or you can come to as many as you like for free with a Journo Resources membership.

• 🚨 The Young Science Writer of the Year Award closes this week. It’s open to anyone who is 14–16 at a state school and comes with a top prize of £1,000. Pass it on to someone you know!

• 🚨 It’s also the last call for entries to the professional development grants for the environmental journalism programme. It closes on Thursday, so really I need to get my skates on to try and win a share of the €115,000 pot.

• 🚨 A Friday deadline for The Stationers' Foundation bursary programme, which offers up to £9,000 for specific MA/MSc courses. They also try to pair you with a mentor as well.

• ASPIRE is a free 12-week creative freelancer training for aspiring photographers, filmmakers, web designers, and graphics designers. Details on how to apply here.

• Tortoise Media has put together Tortoise Journalism School, which is now open to applications. It’s a week-long intensive training experience, where you’ll get the chance to pitch and write stories. No experience is needed and meals and accommodation will be provided.

• And, finally, Channel 4’s Content Creatives scheme is now open for people in West Yorkshire or Manchester who want to kickstart a creative career. It includes eight weeks of classroom learning and a 16-week paid placement.

• The first in our series of ‘A Day in the Life’ pieces from #SPANC23, Waseem Mohamed speaks to Alex Watson, Head of Comment at The Press and Journal about everything from shorthand to Louis Theroux.

• And, finally, Hannah rounds up our science journalism series with a deep dive into how to communicate science stories clearly and creatively. It’s packed with an absolute shedload of tips.

Every Month, We Need to Raise £6,000 Just To Keep Going

We’ll be honest, sometimes it feels like an endless and thankless task. While £6,000 might seem like a huge amount of money to spend, when you stretch it across our staff team of five, things quickly start to run out. At Journo Resources, we’re entirely independent — we sadly don’t know any rich people. If you can, a small donation of just £4 a month makes a huge difference to what we’re able to do — and allows us to keep creating all of our free resources.