The IIJ 2026 Freelance Journalism Conference
Solo Together
A conference for independent journalists and creators to find community and build thriving businesses
March 5 - March 6, 2026
12 live sessions, plus bonus Q&A videos and editor panels, delivering over 20 hours of learning, for just $49 as early bird registration!
This event was created for freelancers of all backgrounds!
The IIJ’s mission is the emotional and financial sustainability of freelancers of color.
DO YOU WANT TO
Hear what top editors want in pitches?
Learn insider secrets to landing fellowships, diversifying revenue, and creating a portfolio of meaningful work?
Connect with a community of creators who make a good living while telling stories that have an impact?
Register for the Institute for Independent Journalists 2026 Freelance Conference, hosted on SoundPath!
12 live sessions, plus bonus Q&A videos and editor panels, delivering over 20 hours of learning, for just $49 as early bird registration!
Our conference package includes:
Our incredible bonus bundle, which includes IIJ-created pitch guides with rates and contacts for outlets featured in our previous webinars and podcast episodes, including the New York Times, National Geographic, Bloomberg, USA Today, Runner’s World, Slate, Bon Appétit, Undark, High Country News, Sojourners, the Sick Times, Next Avenue, and PCMag. In addition, get guides on funding your reporting through grants and fellowships, model contracts and budgets, and much more!
Featuring 45+ diverse writers and editors from:
Schedule
Thursday, March 5 (10 am - 7 pm ET)
10:00 am - 11:15 am ET
Session 1: Revenue Secrets of Creator Journalists
There are more platforms than ever where journalists can build a paying audience, and success stories of solid income models. Whether it’s podcasts, TikTok, YouTube channels, or newsletters, these creators have spun sustainable businesses on their own terms by cultivating a mix of revenue streams. Learn how to carve out your own unique niche as an independent creator with guidance from experienced pros.
11:30 am - 12:45 pm ET
Keynote Conversation: TBD
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm ET
Session 3: Pitch Fest: Live Feedback from Editors
A first for the IIJ: We’re taking the pitching live! Submit your pitches in the run-up to the 2026 IIJ Freelance Conference, and we’ll select a handful of lucky winners who will have the chance to pitch their story on camera to a panel of editors. The audience will learn by example what works to pique the interest of editors – and sell your next story.
2:15 pm - 2:45 pm ET
Lunch / yoga / stretch break
2:45 pm - 4:00 pm ET
Session 4: Maximize Your Money
Making freelancing sustainable often depends on accessing additional funds to supplement an outlet’s standard pay rate – especially for long-form and investigative stories. This group of journalism fellowship and grant directors will outline how to write a winning proposal for major projects on health, mental health and contemporary American society – and how these opportunities can transform your freelance career.
4:15 pm - 5:30 pm ET
Session 5: Optioned: Bringing Your Journalism Skills to Fiction
If you’ve ever wondered how nonfiction writers succeed in taking their stories to Hollywood, this group of storytellers will share their secrets. Learn how magazine or newspaper stories catch the eye of agents, showrunners, and producers, whether for TV, streaming services, or the big screen, and how to navigate the world of options, producer credits, and intellectual property rights.
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm ET
Session 6: Find Your Community (Not Recorded)
After a full day of learning, join your freelance colleagues for an interactive networking session. Connect with IIJ leaders and other independent journalists in the main room and breakout groups organized by subject area and topics you‘d like to explore. This popular IIJ session has led to accountability buddies and writing groups, and we guarantee camaraderie!
Facilitators: TBD
Friday, March 6 (10 am - 7 pm ET)
10:00 am - 11:15 am ET
Session 7: AI Tools to Level Up As a Freelancer
Learn how to enhance your reporting and streamline your freelance business through the use of AI. This panel will include expert insights into the most cost-effective AI tools for freelancers, from data scrapers to chatbots and more. Panelists will share tools to improve your entrepreneurial systems and manage time more efficiently. This discussion will also contend with the ethical responsibilities of independent journalists who choose to deploy AI in their reporting and practices.
Speakers:
Frank Bi, Director of Tools & Technology, The Minnesota Star Tribune
11:30 am - 12:45 pm ET
Session 8: The Scoop on Sustainable Lifestyle Freelancing
Yes, it is still possible to make a living as a freelance lifestyle journalist in 2026! Unlock the puzzle in this panel of writers and editors focused on food, wellness, style, culture, and travel. You’ll hear tips on how to structure your personal beat and how to snag lifestyle anchor clients. Editors will share successful topics, time pegs, and some favorite collaborations with freelancers.
Speakers:
Taylor Crumpton, TIME Columnist and The Barbed Wire Contributor
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm ET
Session 9: Pitching Stories That Make an Impact
Mission driven, nonprofit newsrooms are increasingly filling information gaps. In some regions, they are helping to mitigate news deserts. Others are focusing their coverage deeply on one beat – like gun violence, or reproductive rights – and many of them look to freelancers for coverage. Join this group of nonprofit newsroom editors to learn about their audiences, how to craft a pitch that gets accepted, and how your reporting could change minds, policies – and lives.
Speakers:
Nirvi Shah, Executive Editor, Hechinger Report
2:15 pm – 2:45 pm ET
Lunch / yoga / stretch break
2:45 pm - 4:00 pm ET
Session 10: Reporting With Care
Journalists bear a unique responsibility to their sources, especially when reporting on sensitive topics. These days, that’s almost every journalist. This panel of editors and freelancers will discuss how to practice journalism that looks honestly at injustice and abuses of power, while taking care to mitigate harm to sources and to themselves.
Speakers:
Michelle Cyca, Bureau Chief of Conservation and Fellowships, The Narwhal
4:15 pm - 5:30 pm ET
Session 11: Consulting, Communications, and Other Anchor Clients
Grow your business beyond journalism. Learn how to launch a side hustle as a consultant, or use your writing chops to turn out white papers and ghostwriting projects. This session focuses on practical advice for winning new clients in journalism or related fields, as well as guidance on building new skillsets and positioning yourself for journalism-adjacent projects. Panelists will address how to maintain integrity and high ethical standards in your work.
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm ET
Session 12: Networking and Takeaways (Not Recorded)
Keep the energy of the conference going in a networking session with IIJ leaders, speakers and other independent journalists. Share your favorite learnings, ask a follow-up question or maybe meet an accountability buddy to help you with conference-inspired freelance goals.
Facilitators: TBD
Thank You to Our Supporters!
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including advancing global climate solutions, decreasing nuclear risk, promoting local justice reform in the U.S., and reducing corruption in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program and the global 100&Change competition, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsive democracy as well as the vitality of our headquarters city, Chicago.
Democracy Fund is a foundation working to build an inclusive, multiracial democracy that is open, just, resilient, and trustworthy. Created by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar, Democracy Fund and its partner organization Democracy Fund Voice have together committed over $500 million in grants since 2014 to support those working to strengthen our democracy.
The IIJ Foundation is a fiscally sponsored project of Players Philanthropy Fund, providing free education, training and community to support freelancers of color.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports democracy by promoting informed and engaged communities, including projects in the arts and journalism that lead to transformational, sustainable change.
The Association of Independents in Radio is a growing talent network of audio industry professionals integral to public media, journalism, podcasting and narrative storytelling.
SoundPath is a digital training platform for peer-inspired learning, brought to you by the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR).