OUR STORY
We’re committed to our mission and have pursued it through highs and lows, thick and thin: from prizes and non-stop PR to surviving pandemics and a cost of living crisis.
We know that, just like with the individuals we help, it is those struggles and challenges that work to refine and strengthen what we do. We hope you’ll take the time to find out a bit more about the story behind PressPad and are excited to play a role in writing its future.
Our origin story
In 2018, Olivia was a journalist at the BBC reporting on the maelstrom of Brexit and Trump news.
She was thrilled to have finally ‘cracked’ the industry she had spent many years, and crossed many continents, to conquer.
But there was a creeping sense of dissatisfaction that the news she was helping to produce wasn’t best serving audiences, democracy and the most vulnerable in society.
Something felt ‘off’.
Rewind a couple of years, Olivia was growing up in the Midlands, knew few journalists, and was unsure how to secure work experience. She was afraid that, even if she did get a foot in the door, she had nowhere to stay in London while doing it.
Long story short, she calculated that a one-way ticket to South America would be a more cost-effective option to kick start a media career. A string of adventures, bylines, a funded Masters in the US and a couple of languages under her belt later, she did secure an all-prestigious journalism job but it got her thinking…
If breaking into the media was hard for someone from a privileged background – but without access to the media industry – how difficult must it be for those the media really needed to add to its ranks?
She knew many others were silently wrestling with her original conundrum (unpaid work and nowhere to stay) and that established journalists wanted to help but didn’t always know where to start.
She posted a request on Facebook, and a handful of friends in the industry volunteered for her crazy scheme: PressPad was born.
Through the power of people and technology, PressPad makes connections and levels the playing field by building a bridge between those who need help and those who can help.
Launching The PressPad Charitable Foundation (2021)
In February 2021, while still in the grip of the pandemic, PressPad registered its sister charity, The PressPad Charitable Foundation.
The foundation exists to provide bursaries, grants, training and support to improve representation in the media, as well as working to complement and support the effective delivery of our host-mentoring scheme.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their Archewell Foundation, along with The Daily Mail Group, were among the first donors to make a small contribution to the charity. We like to think that bringing two organisations, that usually are clashing in the courts or on the tabloid pages, is a sign that everyone agrees something needs to change.
Our plans for the future
At PressPad, we have big plans. These include bringing our innovative approach to other ‘elite’ professions that need greater social and regional diversity. If you can help make these plans a reality, contact us:
