JR Pitch Club: How To Become A Freelance Entertainment Writer With Jess Bacon

Have you always wanted to waggle a microphone at celebs on the red carpet? Dreamed of sitting down with the superstars? Do you desperately want to figure out the differences between all four Hollywood Chrises?

Jess Bacon is an author, journalist, and critic covering all things culture, film, TV and feminism. Her work has appeared in the likes of Stylist, Elle, British GQ, Rolling Stone, Dazed, Cosmopolitan, Radio Times and The Guardian. She is also the author of I'm Just a Girl, a non-fiction book about reclaiming girlhood. She’s worked more red carpets than you’ve had hot dinners and knows the entertainment industry like the back of her hand — and now she's here to share the knowledge with you.

In the session, Jess will cover:

• How to find your feet in freelancing;

• Finding opportunities in the entertainment space;

• How to pitch to editors and get commissioned;

• Building successful relationships with publicists to secure access to talent/junkets;

• How to use social media to your advantage;

• How to adapt to the current social-first and creator-led landscape of entertainment journalism.

As an added bonus for JR Members, Jess will also be hosting an exclusive ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on our Discord server. If you’ve got burning questions about the entertainment industry or just want to know what Benedict Cumberbatch smells like, she’ll be spending 45 minutes answering your weird and wonderful queries on November 28.

As with all our events, there will also be the chance to ask your own questions both live and in advance. But wait – there's more!

Want to see this and every other event we run for just £8.99 a month? Become a Journo Resources member here and help us in our mission to build a better journalism industry.

** PLEASE ADD TICKETTAILOR TO YOUR SAFE LIST — OTHERWISE, YOUR LINK TO JOIN AND WATCH BACK LINK MIGHT GO INTO YOUR SPAM FOLDER OR NOT BE DELIVERED**

SPONSORED/FREE PLACES: As ever, we reserve free spaces for people for whom cost is a barrier. No questions asked. Please message hello@journoresources.org.uk as soon as possible if this applies to you and you would like to attend this event.

Meet the speaker

Jess Bacon is a freelance journalist and critic, a published author, and social media pro. She has written for Stylist, Elle, British GQ, Rolling Stone, Dazed, Cosmopolitan, Radio Times and The Guardian, and regularly walks the red carpet, microphone in hand, pitting her insightful questions to Hollywood stars. She also regularly attends press junkets for films and TV shows, sharing clips to her 200,000+ followers on Instagram. Jess has also written the non-fiction book I'm Just a Girl.

Types of ticket

Live Ticket: Select a live ticket if you'd like to watch the session live. You'll receive a Zoom link to join when you order. Don't worry if your plans change though – we will also send you a copy of the recording and session notes via email. This is normally 24-48 hours after the session to allow time for us to edit the recording.

Watch Back / Recorded: If you just want to watch back, please select a recorded ticket. This allows us to keep a handle on numbers and make sure we have enough seats around our virtual table. Again, no worries if you change your mind, you will still be sent the Zoom link, so no need to let us know if your plans change. You will typically be sent the recording 24-48 hours after the live session, to give our team time to edit.