SPJ’s members are the lifeblood of our organization, and it has been painful to watch as many of our friends, perhaps you, have recently lost their jobs.To those affected by layoffs and buyouts: SPJ supports you and wants to help.
If you are a current SPJ member who has recently been laid off from your full-time job and are unable to renew your SPJ membership due to financial hardship, you may be eligible to have your membership fees waived for six months. Get all the details and apply right here.
SPJ's member benefits center offers discounts on numerous essentials, including health, auto and liability insurance.
In light of the latest round of layoffs, please take this as a reminder to back up your work. SPJ has partnered with Authory for 30% off the monthly and yearly plans. Authory is a service that compiles all your articles in a single place. For those unable to commit to an Authory subscription, you can sign up for a free trial with no strings attached. You can sign up, back up your content and download it to your computer. That's an automated backup of all your work, for free.
Subtext has a new initiative to support journalists who have been impacted by layoffs. The initiative will grant journalists who have suffered a layoff in the last six months free access to the Subtext platform. For the next year, any qualifying journalist will receive 100% of the revenue they generate from their loyal readers/subscribers on the platform.
The SPJ Career Center and Job Bank offer a wealth of full-time and freelance opportunities.
This LinkedIn group, sponsored by SPJ, provides support and resources for journalists who have been laid off, are looking for work, or are just trying to figure out what's next in a challenging media environment. If you're on LinkedIn, join us today.
“It’s a knee-jerk reaction after being laid off to blame yourself and throw yourself into the process of finding your next gig. I’d recommend doing neither. Start coming to terms with the fact that your layoff has nothing to do with your personal worth or work ethic. Remind yourself that there is nothing shameful about a company choosing to cut your job. Then give yourself time to grieve. Start the job hunt when you’re ready, not because you don’t know what else to do.”
— Kati Kokal, education reporter and founder of the Journalism Community Aid Network
Looking after yourself and your mental health is just as critical as figuring out your next steps after being laid off. Below is a list of resources and guides to help you take care of yourself.
– Journalism Community Aid Network
– Resources for Journalists Seeking Therapy [Journalist Trauma Support Network]
– Mental Health and Journalism Toolkit [International Center for Journalists]
– Resources for Journalists [Save Journalism]
– Layoffs: How to Prioritize Your Mental Health After Losing Your Job, From Telling Family to Self-Care [KQED]
– Coping with the Emotional Impact of a Layoff [Standford University]
– Unemployed? Count These Blessings [DC Jobs]
– List of physical and emotional reactions to layoffs [PDF] [Leslie Rangel]
– Resources and Steps to Take When Facing a Layoff [PDF] [Patricia Whitehouse]
– Telling Family and Friends That You Have Been Laid Off [PDF] [TELUS Health]
Layoffs and buyouts affect us all — whether we're working journalists or members of the public. Journalists give a voice to the voiceless, act as watchdogs of powerful entities and maintain a balanced democracy. Journalism needs your support more than ever.
If you have not been affected by the recent layoffs, your generous support will allow us to protect journalism and journalists in many ways. Whatever your passion, SPJ has a cause to match. Your donation helps preserve journalists’ rights to cover government meetings; to help them pay legal fees when they are being sued to give their anonymous sources’ names; to help educate the next generation of journalists — and so much more.
Become a professional, student, post-graduate or retired SPJ member for pennies a day, or join SPJ as an associate member for only $21 a year simply to show your support for journalists and freedom of the press. The larger our ranks, the more we can do to keep the profession alive and healthy.
– Emergency Grants for Journalists, compiled by Adam Rose
– LA Journalists’ Mutual Aid Network by Emily Elena Dugdale
– SPJ Toolbox: Miscellaneous Job Sites
– SPJ Freelance Community Facebook Group
– SPJ Job Bank Learning Center
– SPJ Freelancer Directory
– What's Your Plan B? Facebook Group
– #CallingAllJournalists Job Board compiled by Rebecca Aguilar
– The Cohort: So you got laid off. Now what? [poynter.org]
– Laid Off? 10 Tips For Suddenly Unemployed Journalists [Recovering Journalist]
– What to do if you’re concerned you might be laid off — or if you lost your job [Associated Press]
– More than 20 resources for navigating change in your media career [poynter.org]
– Career Questions, compiled by SPJ’s Membership Committee
The resources on the page are compiled by the SPJ Mental Health Task Force, SPJ Board of Directors and SPJ Headquarters Staff.
