working life Getting ahead


Be open to taking on other types of work Freelance journalist Emma Wilkinson supplements her income by lecturing at Sheffield Hallam and Derby universities. She believes


it is important, especially as a freelance, not to let imposter syndrome stand in the way. “My motto is to say ‘yes’ then figure out how to do it later,” she says.


Adapt to influential media platforms Sheffield Star reporter Lucy Ashton says journalists need to adapt to using podcasts, videos, Facebook Live and social media. “Facebook and Google are so influential that you have to play their game and it’s time


consuming. For a traditional print journalist like me, it can be counterintuitive to write SEO headlines but this is a price to pay for internet news.”


Look beyond the city limits Sam Walby, editor in chief of Now Then, says journalists


thinking of moving to Sheffield may have to look outside the city for paid work. “Sheffield is a lovely place to live – so much green space, amazing art and independent spirit – and, if commuting isn’t such an issue any more, maybe it can work for more journalists.”


you barely finish one meeting before the next starts and, on top of that, we have off-diary stories, readers contacting us, FOIs etc.”


Alongside more established titles, there are online


newspapers Yorkshire Times and the recently launched Sheffield Tribune, which aim to do ‘a different kind of local journalism’. Stories have included a piece on Afghan refugees in Sheffield and the inside story of the battle to build the Crucible Theatre. There’s also free paper Look Local, delivered to 27,000 homes in north Sheffield.


RMC Media publish a range of local glossy lifestyle


magazines and business publications. There’s also the entertainment and listings guide Exposed and Now Then magazine, covering arts, culture and politics in the city. Like many publications, Now Then was hit severely by the pandemic and went from attracting £10,000 of advertising income per month (and nine print editions per year) to almost zero. The magazine was one of the first 20 beneficiaries chosen to receive £3,000 from the Covid Emergency Fund from the Public Interest News Foundation which helped it survive and fast-track the launch of its website. Sam Walby, editor in chief, says the print edition is on hold


while they work out a new funding model and the focus now is on the digital edition. According to Walby, opportunities for paid work in


journalism in the city are limited and most of the independents are run on a shoestring. On the plus side, the cost of living makes it easier for start-ups. “Because both residential and commercial rents are


comparatively cheap, you can live on quite a small amount and still do what you love. I don’t think Now Then could have come about without that low cost of living,” he says.


“It’s a city with an


enormous amount of character and history, with the Peak District right on its doorstep. It’s a really busy, interesting and varied news patch too.” Ben Bason, ITV


“There’s so much green space – that’s what I missed in London.” Emma Wilkinson


“Sheffield is great for getting your head down and working on something you’re passionate about.” Sam Walby, Now Then


“The music scene, the nightlife and the vibrancy all pull you in.” Michelle Rawlins, journalist and author


“The flipside is that often your achievements seem to go unnoticed e.g. by peers in other cities, particularly in the south. Maybe some of that is a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it’s easy to feel out on a limb living and working in the north, like you’re on the edge of the party, trying to get noticed by the other partygoers.” One initiative that has made an impact further afield is Freelancing for Journalists (freelancingforjournalists.com), which offers training, webinars, podcasts, a book and a growing Facebook community of around 5,000 members. It was set up by journalists Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson, who met as students in Sheffield and realised after branching out into teaching just how little their students knew about freelancing. Wilkinson specialises in health, medicine and biosciences and moved back to Sheffield in 2007. “I remember the looks on people’s faces when I left London,


I was working for BBC News online at the time and I think they thought I was completely mad,” she says. For Wilkinson, leaving London has not been a disadvantage


at all. A train to London takes just over two hours and Leeds and Manchester are both within commuting distance. “From where I live, it takes me 20 minutes or half an hour


to walk into town and, 20-30 minutes in the other direction, I’m on the edge of the Peak District,” she says. “I absolutely love it. I don’t think I’d live anywhere else.” Although the full effect of the pandemic has still to be seen, ITV journalist Bason believes the future is bright for journalists in Sheffield. “There’s already a great industry in the city and, with major broadcasters like Channel 4 and the BBC wanting to relocate more and more staff up north to better represent the UK, there are bound to be even more opportunities in years to come,” he says.


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