WEBINAR: Friday, January 23, 2026 / 9am PT / 12pm ET
IIJ Presents
How to Pitch: High-Profile, National Media
Dream big about your next story pitch, and join us for this free webinar featuring section editors for top outlets including KFF News, Mother Jones and New York Magazine! These editors are looking for impactful stories and this is your chance to learn how to wow them.
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Key Takeaways
- Insider insights from editors at KFF Health News, New York Magazine, and Mother Jones
- Insights on rates and contract terms
- An opportunity to connect directly with editors
About this panel
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Friday, January 23, 2026
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9am PT / 12pm ET
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Virtual
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75 minutes
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Free
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Recorded
Dream big about your next story pitch, and join us for this free webinar featuring section editors for top outlets including KFF News, Mother Jones and New York Magazine! These editors are looking for impactful stories and sharp reporting from all over the country, and this is your chance to learn how to wow them. Get inside information about rates and contract terms, and make a connection.
Who is this panel for?
Freelance journalists looking to pitch stories to national outlets like New York Magazine, KFF News, and Mother Jones.
Meet the presenteR
Kytja Weir
National Editor for KFF News
Kytja Weir, national editor, leads KFF Health News’ state-based coverage. Before joining the organization in 2019, she led the state politics team at the Center for Public Integrity. She previously covered local news for the Washington Examiner, The Charlotte Observer, and The Boston Globe. Work under her leadership has won multiple honors, including from the National Press Club, the Online News Association, the Edward R. Murrow Awards, the Gerald Loeb Awards, and the Association of Health Care Journalists.
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Meet the Presenter
Julia Edelstein
editor for New York Magazine
Julia Edelstein is a features editor at New York, where she commissions and edits ambitious features, columns, and essays that focus on health and parenting, both online and in print. Before joining New York two years ago, she was the Editor in Chief of Parents, the largest parenting publication in America, overseeing the brand through the pandemic and through the publication of its final print issue. She has also held staff editing positions at Health, Real Simple, and Good Housekeeping. She began her career covering the New York City parenting scene for Time Out New York Kids. Julia resides in New York City with her husband, two sons, and their new dog, Rascal.
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Meet the panelist
Maddie Oatman
senior editor, writer for mother jones
Maddie Oatman is a senior editor and writer at Mother Jones. She edits features and manages the magazine's culture and food sections. Stories she has edited have won honors such as James Beard Awards and National Magazine Awards. Her writing has also appeared in Outside, the Rumpus, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Best American Science and Nature Writing, among others.
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Meet the MODERATOR
Jamila Bey
Independent journalist
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Meet the Moderator
Katherine Reynolds Lewis
founder of the Institute for Independent Journalists
Katherine is a science journalist and author based in the Washington, D.C. area who writes about education, equity, mental health, parenting, journalism, and social justice for publications including The Atlantic, The New York Times, Nieman Reports, Parents, and The Washington Post. Her 2018 book The Good News About Bad Behavior grew out of Mother Jones’ most-read article. A biracial woman (Asian American and White), she previously worked as a national correspondent for Newhouse News Service and Bloomberg News.
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The Institute for Independent Journalists
The Institute for Independent Journalists is an education, professional development, and mutual support organization for independent journalists, focusing on Black, Indigenous and people of color. Our mission is financial and emotional sustainability for independent journalists of color, through community learning, innovation and advocacy.
Our mission is to ensure financial and emotional sustainability for independent journalists of color, by:
Connecting freelancers for learning, collaboration and mutual support in a space that centers marginalized voices and facilitates authenticity and vulnerability.
Creating tools, services and shared wisdom for economic self-sufficiency and mental health, regardless of churn in journalism or who controls newsrooms.
Advocating for fair and equitable treatment of freelancers and best practices for ethical use of independent labor, throughout the media.
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