How to Spot Bad Gigs

So, you've seen these full-time freelance gigs floating around. As freelancers, we must be skeptical of media companies looking to use us for low-cost labor. From what I've seen in the industry, here are the tell-tale signs of a sketchy gig. 

Opportunities

• Pacific Standard is hiring a staff writer in D.C. or Santa Barbara. Diverse journalists are encouraged to apply. 
• The Washington Post is hiring an economics reporter. 
• TalkPoverty is accepting pitches. Here are the submission guidelines. 
• Hyphen magazine is seeking pitches from journalists covering Asian American / Pacific Islander issues. Email franny.choi@hyphenmagazine.com
• The Associated Press is hiring a two-year news associate in Atlanta. 
• The Temper is seeking pitches, especially from Alaska-based writers. Email submissions@thetemper.com
• GQ's new culture editor is accepting pitches. Get in touch with Mari Uyehara. 
• Catapult is seeking pitches. Get in touch with Lauren O'Neal.
• Narratively is seeking pitches of gripping narrative tales, both memoir and reported nonfiction. Pay rate is between $300 to $400. Email nzeveloff@gmail.com.

The Round-Up

• This could ruin us’: A class-action suit imperils California freelancers (Columbia Journalism Review)
• The City Magazine, Reimagined (Medium) 
• Job Candidates Aren’t Free Labor (Slate)
• The Intercept, a billionaire-funded public charity, cuts back (Columbia Journalism Review)
• How to Identify and Report an Illegal Job Posting (Lifehacker)
• For the record: 18 journalists on how—or whether—they use tape recorders (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Fighting the Scourge of the ‘30 Under 30’ List (Vulture)
• After the death of alt-weeklies, alt-alt-weeklies (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Another Month, Another Neighborhood (The New York Times)