An Invisible Juggling Act: Breaking Into Journalism As A Parent

It’s Tuesday morning and I’m standing in my kitchen reading a column in my local newspaper. Next to the heading is my face. I feel a familiar sprinkle of pride and turn the page, daydreaming of future bylines in bigger publications.

Seconds into my freelancing fantasy, I am interrupted. There is a toddler tugging at my shirt. Ah yes, I have a child; two, in fact. But also copywriting clients, a mortgage, and bills. Now is not the time to pursue journalism.

Yet, if not now, when? After all, lots of journalists do have children — but typically after they’ve got into the industry. For many working parents and those from low-income houses, finding the time and money to do work experience or a qualification is simply not possible.

Parents Are An ‘Invisible Cohort’

“Trying to move into journalism can be difficult if you’re already working in another industry to pay the bills,” says Punteha van Terheyden, a British-Iranian freelance journalist who was previously an editor at Take A Break, Women’s Own, and Pick Me Up. “You need time, often savings, and the physical ability to get into London. If you add to that family obligations, your own health issues, or disability, it can be very challenging.”

For many, qualifications can be the first stumbling block. Data from the National Council for the Training of Journalists shows that almost 90 per cent of junior journalists have an undergraduate degree, with the professional increasingly being viewed as a “graduate-level occupation”.

While UCAS has only just started collecting data on student parents, previous research shows they’re an almost “invisible” cohort, with very little support or flexibility to help them succeed. How can we expect parents to feasibly undertake a degree or NCTJ course without robust and flexible support systems?

Access to work experience has also got tougher. The pandemic forced three in five employers to cancel their work experience schemes and not all of them returned.

Meanwhile, a tough economic climate has also seen thousands of journalism roles made redundant in 2023, including entry-level schemes like the Meta Community News Project.

Seek Flexible Opportunities

After leaving university without a degree to have my own daughter, years of blogging led to my newspaper column, which then opened the door to a part-time local journalism traineeship. It’s thanks to this I’m now able to apply for the part-time NCTJ diploma. But, without funding and flexible options, how can I or other parents ever hope to find a voice in journalism?

Phil Creighton is the editor of Reading Today and Wokingham Today and the father of two teenagers. He believes it’s vital that newsrooms invest in accessible opportunities: “A good newsroom creates spaces for all these voices, it’s representative of the community around it.”

“[Initiatives like Meta’s] are very hard to come by, but to help people from underprivileged backgrounds or working parents, something like that is ultimately needed. We’re investing in journalists and giving them an opportunity.”

Punteha, who has Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome [a condition that affects mobility], also feels it’s her duty to champion marginalised parents: “Is an able-bodied, fully healthy white man in his 50s going to endlessly push and advocate on issues affecting working mums in their readership? History tells us no.”

It’s why she founded the inclusive publication Lacuna Voices and wrote a series of accessible journalism handbooks, as well as writing about her experiences as a disabled working parent.

Whether you’re looking to work on staff or as a freelancer, Punteha recommends looking at shift work to give a more practical understanding of how editorial teams work. The flexible nature of these temporary roles means they’re often more accessible to parents — you get the final say on when you work.

Similarly, smaller publications can often offer more flexible internships, which can be done remotely or on a part-time basis. Indeed, my own three-month local journalism traineeship was 10 hours a week, meaning I could fit it around another job and caring responsibilities.

Remember: a small portfolio is all you need to get started — no editor will read more than a few clippings when deciding to hire you. So, even if you only secure a few days of experience, this can be enough.

Punteha also stresses the importance of self-learning around childcare responsibilities. Again, this doesn’t have to be daunting — she tells her mentees to read avidly, especially at publications they’re pitching.

If you are looking at NCTJ courses, remote and part-time options are available, as is funding, through both the Journalism Diversity Fund and the Printing Charity.

And, while the pandemic may have reduced opportunities available, it’s also left a legacy showing that remote, flexible, and part-time work is possible. “[Not offering remote options] is archaic and creates an unnecessary barrier,” says Punteha. “If you keep jobs strictly full-time and office-based, then you will not see disabled, chronically ill, or working parents in these roles. It’s exclusionary and doesn’t represent the world we live in. Representation up the entire editorial chain is vital.”

While research from Press Gazette has found that some newsrooms were keen to return to an in-office policy, most have kept some flexible elements. Similarly, the latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows that 40 per cent of adults have worked from home in the last seven days.

For Phil, the key is making sure responsibilities and expectations are clearly defined from the outset. “It’s easier to do more if someone is full-time, but with clearly defined parameters and roles, it’s incredibly straightforward to make a success out of a part-time role.”

Embrace Diversifying Your Skillset

Alternatively, freelance journalism can give parents the flexibility to fit work around family life — but it isn’t without its challenges. Thomas Hobbs is a freelance culture journalist who has written for The Guardian, BBC, and GQ. He’s also a parent to a six-month-old child.

Speaking to Journo Resources, he says: “My wife’s maternity [pay] is now down to next to nothing, so I’ve been hustling to ensure we don’t go short each month. I can’t remember the last time I treated myself to something. But then you remember you have a beautiful baby and one day you’ll get to tell them you interviewed Nas and Weyes Blood and John Carpenter and everything is okay again.”

He says that freelancing can be challenging financially, but by diversifying his income to other areas of writing, he manages. He advises against being too attached to one particular subject, saying his versatility widens his earning potential.

“I try to have a long list of publications I can work with,” he explains. “The bylines I get in consumer journalism are combined with B2B, copywriting, biography writing for labels, and lots of things that maybe aren’t seen as cool, but they pay well and teach me invaluable skills.”

Similarly, Punteha went freelance so she could manage her time the way she wanted: “I work the hours I want, driven by the deadlines I have, around my life, health, child, and the need for rest and recovery to manage my chronic illnesses.”

She tells me that unless she’s on a specific deadline, it doesn’t matter if she’s writing at 4am or at the weekend when her husband can take care of their child. “Flexibility is the key to effective juggling,” she concludes.

“Journalism is a vocation, not a nine-to-five job,” adds Phil. “It plays havoc with family routines and planning, but there are bits and pieces that happen every so often that make you think ‘wow, this is fantastic’.”

Like any career, journalism has its challenges. However, many journalists who are parents would say it’s worth it to create stories of real value. Plus, as parents shouldn’t we show our children what pursuing our dreams looks like?

Great journalists can change the world. So can great parents. It’s time the industry let us do both.