JR Pitch Club: Pitching Lab

This event is for JR Members-only, including members of the Pitch Club and Grads Club.

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Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees, especially if you're a freelance journalist. Now, we have the perfect solution to level up your pitching game with likeminded writers — and get those ideas commissioned. 

Welcome to The Pitching Lab, a virtual roundtable for writers of all niches and backgrounds to workshop their pitches together and take your ideas from your drafts to your outbox. Every two weeks, one of the JR team will lead a small group of journalists through a focussed one-hour session for writers to safely share their ideas and receive clear and kind feedback on where to make them better.

How Does The Pitching Lab Work?

The Pitching Lab is a safe place for members of the JR Pitch Club to workshop pitch ideas with the JR team and fellow Pitch Club members. It is an informal and welcoming space for members to collaborate together while feeling part of a community. We want everyone to feel at ease and excited to work together!

The session will be introduced by one of the JR team who will share the names of the writers pitching that day. Each writer has a maximum of ten minutes to share one pitch idea and receive feedback from other writers attending the workshop, including our JR experts.

To make this as efficient as possible, we recommend writing out your pitch beforehand  to approximately 150 words for you to read out on the Zoom call. Attendees can then raise their virtual hands to offer their thoughts. After ten minutes, we will move onto the next person. If there are less than five people workshopping their pitches during a session, members in attendance will have the opportunity to share a second pitch, or ask any other questions about pitching etiquette and tips. 

Each Pitching Lab offers five spaces for writers to share their pitches and are available on a first come, first serve basis. If you don't have a pitch to workshop but want to help feed back to other writers, you are welcome to attend by selecting the appropriate ticket!

We Know Sharing Ideas Is Vulnerable, And We Have Your Back

Pitching Lab sessions are not recorded. It is important to us that the Zoom session is a safe space for all to share their ideas without feeling observed. Similarly, we will not tolerate any harsh criticism, feedback, or judgement on ideas shared within the session; anyone who does not fairly abide by this will be removed and prevented from attending any future Pitching Lab sessions. 

Similarly, due to the sensitive nature of workshopping ideas, we will operate on good faith that all in attendance will respect the intellectual property of the idea as belonging to the person pitching during the session. Yes, we are journalists operating in the zeitgeist and understand that similar ideas may coexist at any given time, however, we ask you be mindful and respect the idea pitched as belonging to that writer and find a new angle for any similar ideas. 

What Are The Benefits Of The Pitching Lab?

• Community & Networking: Find your tribe and feel supported in a safe environment;
• Ideas & Creativity: Bounce ideas off other people to help boost you over roadblocks and challenges
• Focus & Productivity: Iron out those niggles in real time — and get that pitch sent pronto.