Vann R. Newkirk II
Staff Writer
The Atlantic
University of North Carolina, M.S.
Morehouse College, B.S.
Vann R. Newkirk II focuses his writing on politics, race, and health policy (but also dabbles in sports and culture). His work is both provocative and innovative. Recently, while reporting on the infamous Tuskegee Study, he asked black people on Twitter to share their personal experiences with distrust in the medical system and received some insightful feedback. “I was able to blend their stories with what the data tells us about the story of black people in general,” explained Newkirk.
The Path
“I got my first break in journalism at Daily Kos. I was freelancing and working as a health policy analyst. When Shaun King left his job at Daily Kos for the New York Daily News, he asked me if I knew anyone who could go and write about social justice and criminal justice. I sent him my resume.”
Noteworthy
“I started blogging 11 years ago. I didn’t think of what I did as journalism, just complaining about stuff, or telling stories and jokes. But the more what I did built up, the more I realized that people were coming to me for what I expected journalists to do. Even then, and even when I was doing freelance stories for a few publications, I didn’t think of myself as a “writer” or “journalist;” just a guy who wrote things sometimes. It took until Ferguson. I realized there were people dying to tell their stories. I wanted to be the one to help tell them.”
Advice to writers
“I don’t usually work for free, and I don’t recommend it. My friend Josie Duffy and I founded a site called Seven Scribes that pays people to write, and we do it all based on crowdfunding and putting writers first…Generally, I find that [paying] sites are also more likely to actually guide young writers and edit them well — gotta protect that investment!
“I know “exposure” is a real thing, and I’m always down for helping a friend out if they can’t pay me, but in 2016 if you really have to write for free, there’s so many ways to self-publish and at least make your own rules. If you’re good and are good at doing the things storytellers do, you can build your own exposure.
“There will be a lot more folks doing the kinds of hard-hitting, in-depth opinion and investigative pieces that we usually associate with “prestige journalism” on their own or in smaller outfits. Social media and the internet make those kinds of stories easier and allow every part of the population to be able to tell their own stories in that manner.”
@fivefiths pinned tweet
https://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/760916768407818240
