A note about privilege in journalism —

I've been thinking and talking about this for a while, but when Kaitlyn McNab brought it up independently in a career chat, I knew I wanted to write about it.

The majority of my journalistic career has been freelance. I published my first ever byline at 18, after which the (nationally reputed) publication asked me to keep writing reviews for them. I did so for about a year and a half, during which they paid me absolutely nothing.

I then did an editorial fellowship at the now-defunct The Tempest alongside a team of some incredible women. None of them were paid.

My first celebrity interview was for a small Rotten Tomatoes-approved publication called Cultured Vultures. They were the first publication that paid me for my work, but they weren't a huge establishment, so I got ￡2 per piece plus a minimal views-based commission. That was where I knew I wanted to tell stories for as long as I could.

When I moved to the UK for a full-time MA in Digital Journalism, I kept writing for various publications — although few and far between. The majority paid between ￡150-300 per piece, and the most I made from one article was around ￡400 when I wrote for Teen Vogue.

The bulk of my invoices took at least 30-45 days to reflect in my account, and a lot of them required several follow-ups.

Alongside my full-time degree and writing for various places, I also tutored kids from middle to low-income families in my spare time. It paid around ￡80-120 per week.

More than half of my tuition fee was paid for by various people I am incredibly grateful to. I paid for all my other expenses, but my parents very kindly paid my rent, which I could definitely not afford on a freelancer's budget in London. I lived (and continue to live) a very modest life — to the absolute fullest.

All this transparency to say:

There is absolutely no way that I would have had the freedom to be picky with the topics I wrote about or people I chose to interview; no chance of even thinking of spending that many hours on pursuing my passion; no possibility of padding my portfolio with that many bylines if I HAD NOT HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

Because of these mitigating factors, I did not face the pressure of having to support myself on my own in one of the world's most expensive cities, which is the only reason I was free to pursue my passion and bylines that paid so little when many of my peers had to pursue more stable sources of income which were not necessarily in a field they were passionate about.

This is not a brag post. It's not like I did anything on my own to earn the privileged circumstances that helped me. It's also not like I'm very privileged in other areas — I have lost countless jobs and opportunities because of my visa status or the colour of my skin.

All I can do is acknowledge the privilege I do have and use it to help other people however possible.

I am putting this out here because:

a) It breaks my heart to think of all the people with stories to tell and things to say who cannot because they can’t afford to spend time on a pursuit they cannot support themselves with.

b) Like Kaitlyn McNab said, I want to break down the romanticized idea people might have about my career — it’s so incredibly fun to interview people and get invited to exciting events, but free concerts don’t pay the bills, and a large part of why I get to do that is through the grace of God and the kindness of wonderful people.?

c) As layoffs continue to affect the industry, publications MUST up their game with freelancers! I saw someone offer $50 for a 2000-word piece the other day — that is NOT the vibe, I fear. Pay your freelancers more, and pay them on time. They are incredibly talented and you know their work is worth more than that, you know it.

d) I want this to be a reminder to myself that if I get to positions of influence in the industry, I must actively take chances on people from underprivileged backgrounds and do my best to compensate them in a way that they don't have to choose between their passion and basic survival.

Could you relate to any of this at all?