VIDEO

SoundPath & IIJ Presents 

The Impact of Layoffs and How to Weather Them

Hear more about the findings of IIJ’s first-ever survey of laid off journalists, and learn strategies from layoff survivors on weathering this now-common part of the industry.

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Key Takeaways

  • Learn more about what layoff disparities mean for independent journalists and the news business at large
  • Experiences and advice from layoff survivors like Janice Llamoca and Yowei Shaw, host and creator of the podcast Proxy
  • Tools and tips for landing on your feet and obtaining freelance work

About this panel

  • Friday, November 8, 2024
  • 9am PT / 12pm ET
  • Virtual
  • 60 minutes
  • Free
  • Recorded. 
For nearly two years, the Institute for Independent Journalists has been collecting data on laid off journalists in an effort to uncover patterns of race, gender, age and disability. The IIJ recently released the findings, and is hosting a conversation with layoff survivors. Freelance journalists Yowei Shaw and Janice Llamoca will share their experiences and advice for navigating an increasingly common experience among journalists.

Who is this panel for? 

Freelance journalists or former journalists who have been laid off or who have accepted a buy-out. Queer, disabled and/or BIPOC journalists.
Meet the MODERATOR

Maudlyne Ihejirika

Maudlyne Ihejirika is the Journalism & Storytelling Program Officer for the Field Foundation of Illinois and is responsible for supporting the foundation’s work in seeking to change how news production and storytelling reflect Chicago.
Maudlyne focuses on Field’s goal of creating a more equitable, connected, and inclusive local media ecosystem in which the stories of all Chicagoans are told accurately, fairly, authoritatively, and contextually.
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Meet the Panelist

Katherine Reynolds Lewis

founder of the Institute for Independent Journalists

Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning science journalist and author covering children, education, race, gender, disability, mental health, and social justice. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic, Bloomberg Businessweek, Elemental, Experience Life, Fortune, New York Times, Parade, Parents, Slate, USA Today, and Washington Post, among others. Her book on children’s behavioral and mental health, The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever – And What to Do About It, grew out of the most-read story Mother Jones has ever published. Katherine has been an adjunct journalism professor at American University and Northwestern University, and served as a guest lecturer in journalism at AU, Marquette University, Northwestern, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Southern California.
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Meet the panelist

Yowei Shaw

Yowei Shaw is an award-winning podcast host, producer, and self-proclaimed "emotional-investigative journalist." She’s the creator and host of Proxy, a podcast about niche emotional questions, answered by proxy. In her previous life, she spent many years making NPR's Invisibilia podcast, first as producer then as co-host and editorial lead. Her work has also been featured in places like This American Life and Pop Up Magazine. In her spare time, she makes fan art of her friends and dabbles in bodywork, mostly to get to say “Yowei Shpa.”
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Meet the PANELIST

Janice Llamoca

Janice Llamoca is a journalist and host of the VICE and LAist Studios podcast "Party Crews: The Untold Story," a part-memoir, part-true crime series about Latinx youth finding a safe space in the underground party scene in the 2000s. Her work has been featured in VICE, NPR, Latino USA, The New York Times, LA Weekly, Remezcla and more. Janice is a proud daughter of Peruvian immigrants of Quechua descent.
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