In the world of journalism, there are industry giants that dominate – and smaller publications with amazing content that often gets overlooked. Today we want to change this with a roundup of PressPad’s favourite smaller publications.
The Unwritten
The Unwritten is a space for disabled writers solely. A much-needed space in the industry no doubt. As someone who is disabled, I find their content to be refreshing as it refrains from labelling disabled people as ‘inspirations (a huge pet peeve of mine)!
The publication was founded by disabled freelance journalist Rachel Carton-Dailey who said to PressPad: “I love the variety of articles we get to publish, seeing something amazing and knowing that nowhere else is publishing that. As disabled people have such limited voices in the media, I feel like we’re giving them a space that’s totally unheard of, a place to be themselves that’s unfiltered.”
The Unwritten pays its writers for their content. Rachel said that this could also pose some difficult decisions. “‘I’d love to publish every single pitch that we get but we just don’t have the money. At the minute we’re really limited to how many we’re publishing because of how little money we have left. But hopefully, that will change soon, fingers crossed.”
Read articles here and support by clicking here.
Aurelia Magazine
Another one of my favourite smaller publications is Aurelia. Aurelia is a safe space for marginalised genders to write their stories and encourages those who write for them to feel their feelings.
Founder of Aurelia, Kya Buller, told PressPad about the things she most enjoyed about running the publication: “Connecting with writers and helping them tell their story in a way that honours them and uplifts them – I’m proud of us not ‘over-editing’, the writers voice is always the most important part of a story, but we offer editorial advice that helps the piece and turns it into something they’re really proud of.”
Kya added that she self-taught herself the role. “It’s been trial and error but now I’d say I’m on great footing – I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have a (voluntary) team of people I can depend on that I also love.”
Kya started Aurelia she felt personal writing wasn’t getting the time, care or attention it deserved in the mainstream. She especially wanted to carve a space for underrepresented people to write about things other than hardships or traumas.
Read articles here and support them by clicking here.
The Indiependent
The Indiependent is our Social Media Editor, Ayo Adekaiyero’s favourite smaller publication. It prides itself on being a publication for aspiring journalists and is full of fantastic content. Ayo told PressPad why he loves it: “It’s very inclusive as a start for young journalists; they have clear guides for everything – from style to how to pitch.”
Read articles here.
Routed Magazine
Camille Dupont, PressPad’s Head of Programmes and Content, said Routed Magazine was one of her favourites because it’s multilingual! Pretty cool, right? Routed aim at bridging the divide between specialist academic literature on human mobility and popular portrayals of migration in the media.
Read articles here and follow them on Twitter here.
Oh Comely
Oh Comely is a refreshing publication. It brands itself as a mindfulness magazine with a fresh perspective. It has content ranging from book recommendations to playlist suggestions or slow living
Read articles here and support them by clicking here.
The Happy Newspaper
The Happy Newspaper is very wholesome! The publication aims to bring a refreshing twist on what we typically know as ‘news’, reporting on positive changes and truly inspiring people. Their bold colours and stand-out logo truly set them apart in what can be the sometimes gloomy industry that is journalism.
Follow them on Instagram here and support them by clicking here.
Empoword Journalism
Empoword Journalism is one of my personal faves too! It unites and empowers young self-identifying women journalists across the country by connecting and sharing our experiences creatively. They’ve also been hosting some brilliant events with high-profile guests (the next one is with Emily Maitlis!)
Read articles and follow then on Twitter by clicking here.
Credit: Canva Pro image collage by PressPad
