4 Cruel Lessons I’m Learning As A Queer, Black Journalist

Diving deep into my love-hate relationship with the news industry

Image Painted By The Author — Alana

Do you ever wonder how people from marginalized communities get treated in their professional lives?

You learn a lot of cruel lessons along the way, and you will be upset by them because they are not fair.

I know that there are very good editors and publishers out there — I’ve worked with many of them. But the bad apples in the bunch ruin this glimmer of hope.

Here are four things I have learned from being a black and queer journalist in 2022.

Lesson 1: Some of your pitches will fall on deaf ears because you’re not ‘mainstream’ enough.

I’ve experienced a lot of this during the past 4 years I’ve been a freelance journalist, ghostwriter, and editor for news publications and magazines.

Because our views are so shaped by the people we are, I’ve had many editors and managers dismiss my opinion because how I was raised and my identity don’t align with their idea of ‘normal’.

You’ll soon learn that it’s not worth even trying to get a word in on team calls because when you do, people don’t value your opinion…