PitchFest sign ups remain open, and freelance panels to explore

About Barbara Mantel

Barbara Mantel (@BJMantel), an independent journalist, is AHCJ’s freelance community correspondent. Her work has appeared in CQ Researcher, Rural Health Quarterly, Undark, Healthline, NBCNews.com and NPR, among others. She helps members find the resources they need to succeed as freelancers and welcomes your suggestions.

Photo by Paola RodriguezJournalists share their pitches with editors during PitchFest.

Health Journalism 2023 is fast approaching. We look forward to seeing fellow freelancers at events like the in-person Lunch and Learn session and a longtime conference favorite, PitchFest. 

Many freelancers will be familiar with most of the publications represented at PitchFest, including Science, MedPage and WebMD, all three of which have 10-minute time slots available. 

We have a media outlet new to the conference this year: The Pulse, a radio program (and podcast) produced by WHYY and broadcast on more than 100 public radio stations nationwide. It focuses on science and health.

In addition to interviews by host Maiken Scott, the hour-long program runs features reported and voiced by freelance journalists. If you are new to audio, don’t shy away. Maiken, who is also the creative director, and her team will work with freelancers who want to learn the ropes.

So, if you are curious about trying your hand at audio — the needed equipment is relatively inexpensive — sign up for a time slot with Maiken. Bring your best pitch, and Maiken can tell you the themes of upcoming shows and explain what it takes to hear yourself on the radio.

Lunch and Learn on Thursday, March 9

We have organized eight Lunch and Learn sessions since their inaguration in January 2022. At each session, freelancers chat for an hour about a designated topic over Zoom every third Thursday of the month.

At the conference, we will finally hold a Lunch and Learn in person. The topic will be: How to find stories at conferences. We’ll meet at 12:30 pm at the 1894 Cafe, located on the second floor of Union Station, and be back in time for the afternoon sessions.

Freelance-specific panels on March 9

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for these panels created with freelancers in mind. Check the conference program for times and additional details:

• Long-time listener, first-time freelancer: How to land audio gigs 
• The freelancer’s survival guide: How to thrive when reporting doesn’t cover the bills
• Fight back: Freelancer protection against legal threats
• PitchFest Practice and Story Coaching
• The writer-editor relationship: Smoothing the way from pitch to publication 

See you in March! 

Barbara Mantel (@BJMantel), an independent journalist, is AHCJ’s freelance community correspondent. Her work has appeared in CQ Researcher, Rural Health Quarterly, Undark, Healthline, NBCNews.com and NPR, among others. She helps members find the resources they need to succeed as freelancers and welcomes your suggestions.