Out soon: The New Journalist’s Guide to Freelancing

It’s almost here! My first book, The New Journalist’s Guide to Freelancing, is out Oct. 25th via Broadview Press.

Freelancers make up one of the fastest-growing groups of workers in North America. But, in today’s fractured and quick-paced media industry, where do you start? This book is a guide for journalism students, recent graduates, and early-career journalists looking to better understand both the creative and business sides of freelance work in Canada and the US. Learn how to develop your personal brand, how to pitch to different types of publications and media outlets, and how to plan for your financial future as a freelancer (yes, it’s possible!).

Practical and easy to read, The New Journalist’s Guide combines more than a decade of the author’s personal experience as a freelance journalist with the perspectives of freelancers and experts across Canada and the US in a range of fields.

COMMENTS

“Meg Wilcox has managed to take the complexity out of a career path that intimidates so many journalists. Packed with sharp advice on everything from pitching stories to protecting your rights, The New Journalist’s Guide to Freelancing should be on every freelancer’s shelf, right next to the thesaurus and stylebook. I wish I could go back in time and give it to my younger self to save me from lost time, money, and embarrassing mistakes.” — Omar Mouallem, multimedia journalist and bestselling author of Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas

“Finally, a guide for freelancers that not only illuminates professional practices that can seem opaque yet also shines a light on issues of labour, power, and equity. Along with trade tips and engaging profiles, freelancers will gain the vital insight that, in today’s tumultuous journalism industry, you don’t have to go it alone.” — Nicole Cohen, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, author of Writers’ Rights: Freelance Journalism in a Digital Age

Click here for the publisher’s information on the book and to order.

Click here to pre-order on Barnes & Noble.

40 under 40

Thrilled to share that I’m part of Avenue Magazine’s 40 under 40 class of 2020! It feels very good to be considered among such talented people, and I’m thankful for my colleagues, friends and family that helped make this happen. You can find the full profile here, and in Avenue Calgary magazines across the city throughout November.

Mount Royal University also did a write up on the 40 under 40 list, where I discuss my podcasting work (and the upcoming Community Podcast Initiative!). You can find the full article here.

Dr. Brad Clark and I also put together a piece for J-Source that explains the Community Podcast Initiative and our hopes for the hub once it’s completed. You can read that article here.

This month on EdTech Examined…

It was such a pleasure to be the guest on this month’s episode of the EdTech Examined podcast with Erik Christiansen and Kris Hans — click below to hear us talk about podcasting trends, how I use podcasts in the classroom, and muse on what boy band is truly the best.

Exciting grant news!

I can finally share some exciting news — we’re building a podcasting hub at MRU, thanks to a national grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund! It will be the first of its kind in Canada, and I can’t wait to see how we can connect with communities to tell stories in new and compelling ways.

Special thanks to my co-investigator Dr. Brad Clark, collaborators Dr. Cherie Woolmer and Dr. Ada Jaarsma, and to my colleagues in Journalism and Broadcast Media Studies and the Research and Development Office who helped shepherd my first grant application though.

You can read the official press release here: https://www.innovation.ca/about/press-release/canadas-top-researchers-have-tools-they-need-stay-ahead

New podcast programming at the Calgary Public Library

After some successful podcasting workshops at the CPL Central Library in September 2019 , I rejoined with the library to offer a special summer PodChats program online — think like a book club, but instead about podcasts!

Through May and June, we piloted the concept with a group of 20 podcast keeners, and had some great conversations and guest speakers. In fact, it worked so well, we’re bringing it back!

PodChats starts back up August 13th. I’ll be running the first session, and then bringing in different guest curators each month for a mix of voices and conversation. It’s FREE to register for CPL members, and you can find all of the information on the program here.

ATB launches The Future Of

Thrilled to share a project that I’ve had the pleasure of working on: ATB has launched a brand new podcast called The Future Of. It’s a deep dive into what things might look like in the future of business and finance, hosted by ATB Chief Economist Todd Hirsch.

New topics and episodes will be released monthly, and the first series takes a look into the future of women in business, with some great conversations with women in different fields and at different points in their career. Click here to learn more about The Future Of.

Joining the CKUA summer schedule

As CKUA shifts its schedule for summer, I’m so happy to be joining the roster on Saturday nights for a brand new show called Magnetic North. It starts on July 4th.

“Magnetic North is your Saturday night compass, orienting you to the best new and well-loved Canadian music. Like the show’s namesake, the mix can and does shift – attracting other rock, pop, and contemporary artists from around the globe. As you navigate your night, host Meg Wilcox maps a playlist that always points you home.”

You can hear Magnetic North Saturday nights from 9-11pm MT, and rebroadcast throughout the week — find more information on the show and CKUA here.

Teaching Strides is back!

A new podcasting project to kick off the school year — I’m pleased to share that I’m hosting season four of MRU’s Teaching Strides podcast! Every month, I sit down with one of the university’s talented educators and talk with them about the many ways they innovate in their classrooms.

We kicked off the new season this week with Patti Derbyshire and Spirit River Striped Wolf, co-founders of Otahpiaaki Fashion Week in Calgary, to talk about how this classroom project has become an annual event that fuels year-round research into Indigenous fashion, reconciliation, and entrepreneurship. You can subscribe wherever you podcast, or listen here:

The series is produced by Hadeel Abdel-Nabi, a senior student with our journalism program, in conjunction with the Academic Development Centre at MRU. We’re looking forward to a great season of interesting stories and new views on teaching from the talented ranks of educators working across the university.

Joining the B.C. Heritage Fairs Society

Great news to share — I’m joining the B.C. Heritage Fairs Society‘s Board of Directors for the upcoming year!

If you aren’t familiar with the Heritage Fairs — think of a Science Fair, but where the students do projects on Canadian history — it could be about a big national event, like the construction of the railway, or it could be about a student’s family history. It’s a great program that lets students explore their own curiosities in Canadian history (and yes, I say that as a proud alumna of the Fairs and as a past summer intern with the program!)

I’ll be running communications for the Society this year, and am looking forward to contributing to the organization and its fantastic programming.

New podcasting workshops with Calgary Public Library!

So happy to share that, this September, I’m working with the Calgary Public Library to deliver three podcasting workshops! The original title was Podcasting for Fun (but probably not for profit)… you can find them by searching Podcasting for Fun at the CPL Registration page.

Week one is podcast planning, week two is interview skills, and week three is introduction to audio documentary. All of the workshops are run separately, so you can take one, or a couple, or all three!

I’m particularly excited about the third workshop — if you run an interview-based podcast and are looking to take it to the next level with other story formats, this is a chance to see what other options are out there and how you can get started.

Feel free to share with the friends, lovers and podcasters in your life… hopefully we can make some audio magic!