A packed crowd of AAJA-LA and L.A. Press Club members came together on Thursday, Aug. 6, at the L.A. Press Club to learn and talk about the Business of Freelancing.
The event, co-sponsored by AAJA-LA and the L.A. Press Club, featured two renowned independent journalists who shared their experiences and knowledge in the freelancing journalism business. UC Irvine professor and Institute of Independent Journalists leader Erika Hayasaki presented tips and strategies from the IIJ’s Business of Freelancing course. Investigative journalist and McGraw Center for Business Journalism fellow Robert J. Lopez took attendees through a case study of his previous grant applications and shared how to fund impactful independent journalism.
“I appreciated that both speakers covered different aspects of their entry into freelancing. Both had compelling stories to share and acknowledged the challenges of their transitions without it being discouraging,” said attendee Mack Baysinger, 2026 AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering fellow working with the Environment, Health and Science team at the Los Angeles Times.
Baysinger especially appreciated Lopez’s excerpts from his successful grant application, which “demystified the process significantly for me,” and Hayaskai’s metaphor of filling “career buckets.” “[That] was something I had felt myself doing already a bit in my own career, but never had heard it described like that, and it felt very fitting,” Baysinger said.
Attendee Alex Dobuzinskis, legal and entertainment strategist for NewsroomPR, appreciated the invaluable resources Hayasaki and Lopez shared during their presentations. “I’m still digesting all of it and going through my notes,” Dobuzinskis said.
Dobuzinskis also enjoyed the networking after the presentations. Pizza and boba were served as attendees met each other and chatted more with Hayasaki and Lopez about their freelance journeys. “The magic of networking where we could meet people and hear about their career arcs … it’s neat,” Dobuzinskis said. “There was a guy who had been a music producer who transitioned to news photography. For a future session, let’s have more on how freelancers can succeed.”
The event was made possible through the hard work of AAJA-LA board members Mallory Carra, Benjamin Pu, Anh Do and Teresa Watanabe, as well as L.A. Press Club Executive Director Diana Ljungaeus, staff member Richard Martinez and board member Sandro Moretti.
A video of the event is available on the L.A. Press Club’s Vimeo page.
— Mallory Carra, AAJA-LA general board member
