PressPad’s Ayomikun Adekaiyero welcomed freelance journalist and gal-dem politics editor Moya Lothian-McLean on our third #OffTheRecord Instagram live on December 2nd. We’ve compiled an exclusive round-up of their chat, including Moya’s top tips!
Here’s an exclusive summary of their conversation:
Journalism is something Moya fell into. She has always enjoyed writing and ran a music blog back in 2014. This led to her writing for Vice UK after they were impressed by what they saw on her blog.
Platforms like Vice are a good way for young people to get a recognised byline and have their start in the industry. Beyond bylines, “having confidence in yourself is a key thing as a writer, having confidence in your own tone of voice.”
Politics has always been close to Moya’s heart. “I want people to realise that just by living every day they’re engaged in politics.” Politics are intertwined with everything, even fashion, and that makes for the most exciting pieces. Despite its omnipresence in our life in society, Moya thinks “the way we frame politics is so alienating to a lot of communities.”
Moya told the audience about her favourite interviews she’s conducted over the years. While her 8-minute interview with Kim Kardashian was a highlight (“that woman is pro-fes-sio-nal!”), she most enjoyed talking to the band Muna. They bonded over their common love for Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast, talked about queerness and gender identity. “They made me starstruck.”
“When you meet people who are just starting out, they’ve got a lot more to give and they’re still a bit new to the trade. That’s when you have the best conversations” Moya said. Interviews with big celebrities who are used to talking to journalists can feel more transactional.
In terms of her favourite topics to write about, Moya pointed out that they all intersect. She over-wrote about relationships: “I analysed them to death and sometimes you need to just leave something alone in order to enjoy it”. Now, digital culture is her beat. The audience praised her recent article about Pretty Little Thing’s social media campaign.
Moya is fascinated by the way young people communicate digitally. “We speak in a whole new lexicon. And if you’re not online you don’t understand.” By unpicking digital culture, she’s “been able to articulate and explain some things around in a way that makes other people go ‘yeah, that’s what I’ve been trying to say!’. That’s the best feeling of all because you know you’ve nailed it.”
The best advice Moya was given was to stop looking at other people and journalists. “It’s never going to work out for you because you will always be chasing someone else’s journey,” she said, “Jealousy is going to ruin your journalism career”.
She enthusiastically recommended focusing on your own journey and yourself, which will result in your work being more authentic by bringing meaning to it. “You’re trying to build longevity, you’re trying to build a foundation”.
On what she wishes she had known, Moya said: “that you will get demoralised, question yourself and your talent.” In those cases, she told us that speaking to other journalists helps. Many are willing to hear you out and push you forward.
As far as CV tips go, she recommended copying someone else’s that is really good, exporting it in PDF and including links to your content. If you don’t have bylines yet, write on Medium or free sites to put your good work out there. “If the major doors aren’t opening, open them yourself”.
About writing, Moya advises to put some time aside every few weeks and write short and sharp pieces to show what you can do and build your confidence. “You don’t need to do everything, you can just focus on doing something really well,” she said, “sometimes practising is learning to be concise.”
But finding exactly what you want to write is trickier. Social media makes this even more challenging because an idea can turn into a tweet or post rather than a story. “Rather than knowing what I’d like to write about, is knowing how to write about what you don’t want to write about. This is a real skill and learning that will help you decide, you know, recognize when you are fired up and you really do want to do something.”
To pitch to gal-dem, Moya encouraged listeners to email her (moya@gal-dem.com) and read her guide. Beyond pitching, she’s keen for young writers to get in touch and have a conversation to get to know the person beyond the writer. You can follow her on Twitter too.
Moya pointed out her recent interview for the She’s Creative podcast. You can give the episode a listen for more bits of advice.
Credit: Canva Pro image collage by PressPad
