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We’re sharing a highlight from the 2026 IIJ Freelance Conference: Kavitha Cardoza’s keynote conversation with Katherine Reynolds Lewis! Kavitha received the 2026 American Mosaic Prize, for her independent coverage of children, education, health and poverty. She has reported for the Hechinger Report and NPR, and she’s an assistant professor for journalism at the University of Richmond.
You don’t want to miss this deep dive into Kavitha’s career journey, how she avoids extractive reporting, dealing with rejection, her freelance pitching process, and her insights for journalists who want to make the jump into academia.
Katherine Reynolds Lewis is the founder of the Institute for Independent Journalists and special projects editor for the Greater Good Science Center. A science journalist and author who writes about relationships, equity, mental health, parenting, journalism, entrepreneurship, and social justice, she previously worked as a national correspondent for Newhouse News Service and Bloomberg News.
The Freelance Journalism Podcast is a production of the Institute for Independent Journalists, whose mission is the financial and emotional sustainability of freelancers of color. Learn more about our work at theiij.com
Episode Links
A superintendent made big gains with English learners. His success may have been his downfall by Kavitha Cardoza in the Hechinger Report
In Puerto Rico, Trump’s campaign to dismantle the Department of Education has a particular bite by Kavitha Cardoza in the Hechinger Report
Solidarity in Journalism, by Anita Varma
Supporting pregnant and parenting teens, post-Roe, by Kavitha Cardoza in the Hechinger Report
What If Everything You Knew About Disciplining Kids Was Wrong? By Katherine Reynolds Lewis in Mother Jones