Yael Writes

I’ve been putting pen to paper (or rather, typing on a laptop) out of coffeeshops and coworking spaces and the comfort of my own home for a total of nine years and counting, and this is the sixth year where I’ve been posting an annual write-up summing up my experiences (Here’s 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016 and 2017.) I also typically celebrate by bringing cupcakes to a coworking space, one for each year I’ve freelanced. One year we even had champagne. (Thanks, Ty!)

But this year is a little different. My freelance anniversary (freelance-versary?) coincides with the Saturday before the final day of my first semester as a grad student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. I did go to a coworking space last Tuesday to massively overhaul a final group project, which I’ll write about in a different post, but I did not bring cupcakes. I did, however, get extremely lost in a parking lot once I left. After 45 minutes of wandering, I finally got a security guard, who also got lost in the same parking garage…because the numbered parking spots did not go numerically. Eventually we did find my car, though.

The moral of this story is that I’m at a weird moment in my career where I don’t feel like I have wisdom a lot of wisdom to impart. I could tell you that I switched from Freshbooks to Wave for my invoicing software, and it’s saved me money and I like it so much better. I could reiterate some of the freelancing truths I’ve shared over the years, but many of these are summed up in a series of blog posts about the business of freelancing that I’ve been writing for the Reynolds Center (with two more to come). I could tell you that it’s a good idea to shake things up a bit, play with new mediums, and learn to use tools you may never use again. But there’s a lot of context missing in that statement, and it doesn’t apply across the board.

I’ll be wrapping up my year and linking to my top posts in about a month, and I plan to write a bit about what my first semester of grad school was like for people who are contemplating getting back in the classroom next fall. But for now, I’ll just thank you for sticking with me through the years. I never take it for granted that I even have a platform where people will read my inane ramblings words of wisdom thoughts on the state of things, and I will do my best to continue to provide any resources and information I think you will benefit from. ❤️

I missed out on Halloween this year, but I did get to go to D.C. to speak on a panel about how to get paid! See the writeup here: https://www.nasw.org/article/paythewriters-join-union-go-court-and-other-strategies-get-paid. I also wrote up nine pieces that were published last month.

Street-Level Surveillance: Iris Recognition (EFF) Learn how cops are capturing biometric data from our eyes in the iris recognition explainer, added to EFF’s Street-Level Surveillance project.

“Inspired Soles” Exhibit at Found:RE Puts Homeless Artists on Display (Phoenix New Times) Art students at homelessness organization Circle the City will be able to sell their work throughout November, which is National Homeless Awareness Month.

Governor: David Garcia Focuses on Education (Cronkite News) Gubernatorial candidate David Garcia, an educator and Army veteran, said that education is the biggest issue facing Arizona.

Civil Looks to Create Next Generation of Blockchain Tech (NBC News) Behind the sticker-covered door of a nondescript building in Brooklyn, a startup is working on what it hopes will be the future of news.

Using Twitter for Story Ideas and Leads (Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism) Twitter is a great tool for freelancers to generate ideas, begin cultivating sources and stay up-to-date on the business beat.

The 20 Best Cybersecurity Conferences in 2019 (Enterprise.nxt) Planning your travel and training budget to ensure you and your staff are up to date on IT security topics? Here are the best options and what to expect from each event.

Successful Pitching for Freelance Business Writers (Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism)
Following specific guidelines while pitching can help improve your odds in landing assignments as a freelancer

Reynolds Weekly: Monday, October 8, 2018 (Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism)
Looking for story ideas? Check out these angles you can use to localize national headlines.

Reynolds Weekly: Monday, October 22, 2018 (Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism)

Greetings from sunny Phoenix, where we’ve finally been blessed with a bout of rain which will hopefully be accompanied by an end to triple-digit temperatures. I’m almost halfway through my first semester of grad school, but I still have eight posts to share with you!

As promised last month, I’m including links to quite a few blockchain pieces, primarily for Breaker, but first there’s a piece for Museum magazine. In May, I interviewed museum professionals from Egypt, Mexico, Colombia, Serbia, and Argentina, all working hard to expand their museum’s social role by engaging underserved communities. They invite homeless people to exhibits, tackle contemporary social issues like femicide, bring traveling exhibits to people who can’t travel to the museum, work with populations with special needs, allow their neighbors to bring paintings into their own homes, and work hard to engage the local community rather than just tourists. I was impressed with everyone I spoke with. The article is paywalled, but I’ve gotten permission to add it to my portfolio. If you’re a museum professional and do not yet have a membership to the American Alliance of Museums, it might be worth considering–not least because you’ll get access to Museum magazine as part of your membership.

Finally, I added some posts I’ve been writing for the Reynold’s Center as part of my graduate assistantship, namely about prisons and election hacking. These posts are geared towards business writers or regional reporters looking for ideas, but I like to think they’re valuable for everyone else, too.

Reminder for science writers and East Coasters: I’ll also be speaking on a panel on getting paid/dealing with delinquent clients at ScienceWriters 2018 in Washington, DC on Saturday, October 13. Read more about it here: https://sciencewriters2018.org/sessions/how-get-paid-dealing-delinquent-clients.

Oh yeah, here’s the article links:

Full Engagement (Museum) Museums globally are expanding their social role—and value—by engaging underserved communities.

A Critical Look at Sovereign Identity Startups (Breaker) A new wave of startups is offering a fundamentally different approach to data collection and use.

A Bug Bounty Hunter Tells All (Breaker) Finding software vulnerabilities  for IT companies is lucrative business. This bug bounty hunter made $30,000 for identifying a single bug.

The Blockchain Big Twelve: Tech’s Top Colleges (Breaker) A survey of blockchain and cryptocurrency classes at universities around the country.

Civil Looks to Create the Next Generation of Journalism With Blockchain Tech (NBC News) Behind the sticker-covered door of a nondescript building in Brooklyn, a startup is working on what it hopes will be the future of news.

5 Prison-Related Business Story Ideas (Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism) Business-related stories involving prisons are receiving more attention. Here are a few starting points to use in your own reporting.

Covering Election Hacking on the Business Beat (Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism) Stories covering election hackings aren’t just for political reporters, but involve monetary and business angles as well.

Reynold’s Weekly: Monday, September 24 (Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism) As the trade relationship between the United States and China heats up, there are numerous business stories to localize.

 

This month’s roundup is short and sweet, but expect quite a few links to blockchain posts over the coming weeks. Reminder for science writers and East Coasters: I’ll also be speaking on a panel on getting paid/dealing with delinquent clients at ScienceWriters 2018 in Washington, DC on Saturday, October 13. Read more about it here: https://sciencewriters2018.org/sessions/how-get-paid-dealing-delinquent-clients.

British and Canadian Governments Accidentally Exposed Passwords and Security Plans to the Entire Internet (The Intercept) The governments of the United Kingdom and Canada misconfigured pages on Trello and exposed details of security plans as well as passwords for servers.

Reporter’s Briefing: Bug Bounties and Vulnerability Disclosure Programs (Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism) Many companies are crowdsourcing their security in order to fix system vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. Here’s what business journalists need to know.