We publish Vocal Fridays every week, straight to your inbox.

Subscribe below to get it straight outta the frying pan!

I apologize in advance if this newsletter bums you out. We still have a month of summer left. Thinking about school means the end of the summer. Many of us don’t even GO to school anymore. But I’m asking you to humour me — we’re going to talk about the benefits of going back to school… as a teacher.

I’ll save my argument for why September is the real start of the New Year for another day, but for now, I’ll say: teaching is a GREAT job to do as a freelancer.

This is going to be my first year freelancing and not teaching, and I have to say, I miss it already. I’ve been teaching part-time on and off for seven years, and it’s always been a crucial piece of my job mosaic. It's a stable income. You know the dates you’re going to be busy. You know what you have to plan for. In some cases, even teaching part-time can get you access to a health plan.

But beyond the admin advantages, what I loved about teaching is that it allowed me to use an entirely different part of my brain. Not the news judgment part, not the story editing part, and not the fine motor skills part. It’s creative work, with complex problem solving — how do you boil down a big idea to introduce it to students who haven’t encountered it before? Or how do you take their existing knowledge to the next level? How do you make lessons fun and engaging? Since I taught children, I also had to deal with classroom management, which is a whole other challenge.

I’ve scoured the internet for as many post-secondary journalism school jobs as I could find, and let me tell you, some of those websites are not easy to navigate. University/college admins: if you’re reading this, feel free to send me job postings directly.

And if you’ve got a big dose of imposter syndrome holding you back from applying, try doing this:

Create an email folder "called nice things" where you save positive feedback, then look back at it when you're feeling like crap and need reassurance.
— Sophie Vershbow (@svershbow) August 15, 2022

SO ITS ONLY REALLY SUPPOSED TO BE CALLED A PODCAST IF IT HAS AN RSS FEED ATTACHED SO REALLY JOE ROGAN ISN’T A PODCAST AND NOR ARE THOSE THINGS ON YOUTUBE BECAUSE THEY ARENT ENCLOSURES OF A MEDIA FILE WITHIN AN RSS FEED YOU GOT TO UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY OF WHERE WE HAVE COME FRO pic.twitter.com/bwqDRc1adG
— Podnews podcasting news (@Podnews) August 18, 2022

Western University is hiring a managing editor for Western News! Apply ASAP — the position has been open since August 2.

University of King’s College in Halifax is hiring in two tenure track assistant professor positions in the journalism department: one with audio expertise (applications due September 23) and one with video expertise (applications due October 3). They’re also hiring an administrative assistant, and the application for that position is due September 9.

University of British Columbia is hiring someone for graduate student support. Apply by August 31.

Globe Content Studio, the revenue arm of the Globe and Mail, is still taking applications for the podcast producer position.

CBC Calgary is hiring a permanent, full-time video editor assigned to the supper hour and late news programming. Apply by August 23.

CBC Radio/TV is hiring a permanent, full-time producer for The National and World at Six. It’s a compressed work week, which means you only work three (very long?) days a week and get FOUR days off. I think I support this. Apply by EOD August 30.

CBC Podcasts is hiring two digital producers: one temporary, one permanent. Apply by EOD August 30.

CBC News is hiring a permanent, full-time international climate reporter. Apply by EOD August 30.

Not a podcast position, but some fun looking jobs anyway — Word on the Street is hiring one development coordinator and one digital production coordinator, and applications for both jobs are due August 22.

Here are some part-time teaching jobs you can still apply for at Toronto Metropolitan University (FKA Ryerson):

Note that JRN 204, JRN 271, and JRN 104 are all reserved for fourth-year TMU students.

Two weeks in a row of inside baseball podcasts? I’m sorry, okay! I’m sorry! This is what I’m listening to.

Do you love telling people what to do? I sure do. Even when no one asked. But guess what! Comedian Lizzy Cooperman is asking. Lizzy Cooperman’s In Your Hands is a genius concept for a show, and dare I say… might just be the future of podcasting. A paragon of the parasocial relationship.

Here’s the story: every Thursday, host Lizzy Cooperman presents her listeners with two options. She talks through those two options with experts on the topic, so that we have a more thorough understanding of what’s at stake. Then, she puts a poll on her Instagram story, and listeners get to vote on what she should do. Come Friday, she has her answer — and she has to do whatever her listeners vote for.

For example, this week’s episode asks whether Cooperman, whose birthday is today, should become a part-time vegan (after sunset only) or try to get as many freebies on her birthday as possible, and then write really nice Yelp reviews about those places. As I write this, the birthday freebie is well ahead in the polls.

Last week the question was: should Cooperman become a full-time, professional tarot card reader, or let Lauren Passell of Tink Media help her grow her podcast so that it could become Cooperman’s full-time job? And wouldn’t you know it, the podcast won.

So here we are, recommending Lizzy Cooperman’s In Your Hands, in an attempt to help her grow her listenership. There’s a lot of good chat going on — the second half of each episode features a conversation with two guests that’s at least tangentially related to the question at hand — so it makes for a good cleaning/dishes/chores podcast. It is also great for anyone who constantly feels like they’re at a crossroads in their life (no judgment, I am that person, sometimes I even invent crossroads for myself) and likes to hear other people talk out their options.

Happy birthday, Lizzy Cooperman!

The new season of Building Good is on its way — and this one’s all about breaking down barriers. How can construction become more accessible? More welcoming to everyone? Subscribe so that you get the first episode of season four fresh in your feed on August 23.

We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on August 26. Until then, here’s an update from Crumpet, the cat who belongs to producer Kattie Laur’s friend (and host of Alpaca My Bags) Erin Hynes, hanging out in a cone and catching up on The Bachelorette. Maybe she knows what “Logan has COVID” really means.

Why you should teach as a freelancer

Related Posts