Life after journalism webinar: Hear from 6 journalists who pivoted in their careers
In a time of mass layoffs and deep uncertainty, we know that many of our features journalism colleagues are struggling. Many have lost their jobs — and even if they still have journalism jobs, they may be exhausted from doing more with less.
Against this backdrop, SFJ wants to provide a space for our members to learn from each other and find support. We’ve organized an hourlong panel discussion with six longtime journalists who successfully managed to pivot in their careers and use their hard-won skills in journalism-adjacent fields.
Details:
DATE: Tuesday, March 26
TIME: 12 p.m. ET; 11 a.m. CT; 9 a.m. PT
ZOOM LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84582158858?pwd=RFFSOHUzT1ZOSjdhemtBNWx0YXByQT09
PANELISTS:
Hsiao-Ching Chou, cookbook author and Principal, UX Editorial and Events at Salesforce
Gina Cole, Corporate Communications Manager at Zillow
Allison Linn, Director of Communications, Global, AI and Innovation Storytelling for Microsoft
Margaret Myers, Managing Editor at Long Dash and former SFJ President
Susanna Ray, Features Writer on the Microsoft Stories team
Ben Riggs, writing coach and Senior Communications Specialist for Kettering Health
QUESTIONS OUR PANELISTS WILL ANSWER:
How did you get your job?
What journalism skills are transferable to other fields?
How do you market yourself for the world beyond journalism?
Please save the date, time and Zoom link and join us for this event. We hope to see you on March 26!
ABOUT OUR PANELISTS
Hsiao-Ching Chou leads editorial for Salesforce's Product UX team. She supports content strategy and marketing, and edits the blogs related to UX design that publish on The 360, Salesforce's corporate blog. In her other life, she's the author of three Chinese cookbooks and remains active in the food community. Previously, she worked as a food writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Denver Post.
Gina Cole is a corporate communications manager for Zillow Group, focusing on media relations, crisis comms, business strategy and thought leadership. Before making the jump to PR, Gina was an editor at The Seattle Times, at various points managing morning news, COVID coverage and the digital audience team.
Allison Linn is a communications director at Microsoft, responsible for overseeing journalism-style storytelling about AI, innovation and our global customers and partners, among other things. Previously, she spent more than 15 years as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal Europe, the Associated Press and the NBC News family (Today, CNBC, msnbc.com and NBCNews.com).
Margaret Myers is a Director on the editorial team at Long Dash, a creative and strategy firm that was developed at The Atlantic. Over the last eight years, Marge has advised Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofit newsrooms, and social media giants like X and Discord on how to create enduring engagement through storytelling and audience cultivation. She began her career as an editor in Guatemala City and Mexico City, and after that ran the features department at the Amarillo Globe-News, was an editor at espn.com, and led the PBS NewsHour’s online team.
Ben Riggs is a writer, editor, and writing coach with a compulsion for true storytelling. A graduate of Ohio State University, he's been working with words for nearly two decades, and has writing and editing certificates from the Poynter Institute and Standard Health. He lives in Dayton, Ohio, with his wife, Emily, their black lab (Lewie)—and they're expecting their first child, a girl, in late May.
Susanna Ray reported from multiple continents over two decades for top-tier global news organizations including Bloomberg, Dow Jones and the Associated Press. She never planned to leave journalism but took a break for health reasons and ended up being recruited by the Microsoft Stories team eight years ago in a surprisingly enjoyable twist to her career.