io9
At last, we're ready to bring in some new writers at io9. We're looking for people to fill two roles: entertainment writer and science writer. For the entertainment writer, we want somebody who can cover the entertainment side of science fiction, who has contacts in the scifi film, TV, and/or game industries, and can break news for us. The ideal candidate is a reporter, pounding the pavement and digging up stuff nobody else has — somebody who will go on sets, go to parties and junkets and screenings. We prefer someone who lives in the Los Angeles or New York areas. Must eat, breathe, and live science fiction, and a background in real science would be a bonus. Read on for more details.
For the science writer, we're looking for a reporter who will find the latest cool stories about technologies and scientific experiments that will change the future. Ideally, this person will have a strong science background and some experience reporting as well. Must be able to explain science to a lay audience, but must also be comfortable speculating about where today's research will lead tomorrow.
Here's what you need to be an io9-er:
- At least two years of relevant experience with entertainment blogging or journalism.
- Ability to write 8-10 items per day, ranging from short one-offs to features and photo galleries.
- Experience with video editing, blogging software, RSS readers and graphics software is a big plus.
- Salary is competitive with online and print reporting jobs.
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and links to three recent writing samples.
For the entertainment job, mail to entertainmentjob@io9.com. For the science job, mail to sciencejob@io9.com. Send ASAP!
Comments
Damn. Does posting comments count?
I think I could do the Science guy job. I rights guds and clere for an injinear...
@ManchuCandidate: If you've got other writing samples, it sure wouldn't hurt that you've been posting a lot of comments!
Sadly I'm a scientist, but not that much of a writer.
science fiction blogs are never interested in employing economists...
I qualify! Excvept I have opinions instead of talent! And no connection to entertainment or science.
But yeah, opinions!
::sigh:: Yet again I question my love of science versus my love of writing. I wish I actually had more real-world experience so I could apply for the science position.
@tetracycloide: Or lawyers.
I'm totally qualified...except insofar as I'm totally not qualified at all.
does the science writer position have to be based anywhere in particular?
@92BuickLeSabre: being a lawyer, you could argue that because you're not qualified, you are so qualified that there's no way you can't get the job. wait, i might be mixing up lawyers and jedis.
@92BuickLeSabre:
I took English 101 and 120! Does that count? And I haven't written anything longer then a memo in four years?
just an aside, semi-related at best: please, please, PLEASE don't make this blog publish as many articles as (say) Kotaku and Gizmodo. I know you want to push clicks and page impressions, but the onslaught of content is killing those sites. it's impossible to keep up, even via an RSS reader.
I'm currently loving the news and original content available here, just like I enjoyed the content at other gawker blogs before they mostly turned into "link to press release" sites.
@geekgrrl: No. That is exactly the argument that both your average Lawyer and your average Jedi would make.
The only difference is how many people end up believing it.
I do submit tips all the time.
That never get printed...
@zerofritz:
Seconded.
Awww. I eat and breathe sci-fi, but my life is firmly grounded in regular, boring science. That, and moving to New York or L.A. would require I lobotomize myself, which might affect my writing.
Hope you pick a winner.
@Seth L: If your blog post is longer than a memo, you're doing something wrong.
@Seth L: Aren't those two observations contradictory?
I'm disqualified by the fact that I get all my facts correct and am right in all opinions.
Plus, I have a job that only allows me to comment endlessly, not write full articles.
But this makes me wonder about the originally hiring process for this part of the Gawker empire...
;)
(glares at his mistakes in above post. Pounds head on desk.)
I'm waiting for an opening that doesn't require any actual original reporting, just finding crap online that you guys don't already have... like I do now, except I'd get paid for it. Plus write snarky copy and post images. That I can do quite well.
And I don't wanna move to L.A. or back to NYC; just want to stay in my secure, undisclosed location.
Lemme know, Annalee. I'll send you links and clips any time you want. I'm here for ya. (Charlie, too. Right Charlie?)
@zerofritz: Actually, I can admit that my love for kataku has waned significantly since the posts become so numerous I couldn't comfortable watch the front page.
It's bad enough that I live and breath sf to the extent that I come here and blather on...ah, like I'm doing now. After I get published (one day...), I'll see if I can do some science writing for y'all. I'm real big into the science of unintelligent design.
@zerofritz: I 3rd (or is it 4th now?) that sentiment. Even with an RSS reader (or maybe because of it?) I'm drowning in io9 posts. I'd rather get a dozen highly relevant posts a day rather than a deluge of posts about semi-relevant topics.
io9: More is not better! Please put the brakes on postflooding.
@Prest0: i have to agree. 8-10 posts a day is a lot, no matter how short they are.
Does that including taking every article written here and posting it on SciFinds?
@Prest0: I don't think this will necessarily lead to more posts on the blog... just let us keep the quality up. It would let me do more editing and help out Annalee with admin stuff. Plus maybe we could get outside and see the sun occasionally.
@Bryan Price: Sigh. Are they still sucking up our content?
@Tim Faulkner:
No, pick and choose, I think they all hit the spam bin.
I'm still waiting for an article on Man-or-Astro Man.
I am fairly confident in my ability to take John Brownlee in a fight.
So, if you ever need someone to fight him, I'm your man.
@Annalee Newitz: i just visited their page and all it has is links to IO9. I guess its good that they point people this way but why not just take everything off their page and just have it say "VISIT IO9"?
How about a few reviews published on AICN? Other than that, I'm a bit out of luck. Need any 23 year old corporate paralegals fresh outta college? Oh well. :(
@EDread83:
well, it isn't actually taking credit. In fact, it looks like some weird combo of reddit/digg and a site aggregator--just one that only picks up io9.
@EDread83: We should ask them to stop doing that. Sounds spammish.
@Seth L: We love your tips! And we've used a couple of them.
Hm. I'm a science writer. Several years' experience. Journalist background. Love sci-fi. Right then! That resume/cover letter is in the io9 inbox!
@geekgrrl: It is a lot -- and on high news days, we need somebody who can crank out a lot of good copy.
Suggestion: Boing Boing has a suggestion box that people can send links to, which in turn the editor might find worthy of posting. This post may include the original bit someone has written to describe the post's subject. Also, you might get some people who live in places like Murder City (some people call it Detroit), where a movie like The Island had some location shots. I would have enjoyed taking a few picture and sending them to you. Or, the upcoming Penguicon 08. I think a few of us here will be going.
Oh, is that what the tips email is for? I thought it was so we could slip you guys a ducat via Paypal every now and then.
@Seth L: I've known Star Crunch from the original Man or Astroman lineup for years. I'll see what I can do.
Zeppelined, I thought it was actually for tips, you know, like donations to the site. Not that I'd mind paying to be here. I pay to use sff.net, why not here? Would I get a VIP card or a io9 T-shirt?
Is this a permanent type job? Or is it contracted work? Is there a weekly requirement in terms of hours to put in?
@mitchel_stevens: i'm not saying they are taking credit but what is the point of having a page that does nothing more but link to another page?
Stop cluttering the internet!
@Annalee Newitz:
Wuv!
Here's your girl, right here:
+ Watch video
@Dustin L.: That kid is ridiculously cute. I hope my kids develop a sci-fi love at a young age too.
@tetracycloide: Well, maybe an economist that could write coherently. :)
@EDread83:
I agree, but c'mon: digg, reddit, sphere, that yo-yo one...just seems like a regular user-generated niche thing.
although I would LOVE to know who is backing it. (and yes, too lazy to WHOIS.)
@Jeff-Minor: We have the tips@io9 email for that stuff! Please do send us pictures of Murder City - heh - and interesting stuff from Penguicon.
Obi Kenobi is Magic! VERY cute kid. I find it interesting that this kid can deal with planets blowing up! I don't think I knew what a planet was when I was her age.
Interesting stuff from Murder City! Oh Gosh, when would you like the landslide of dystopian images to begin? LOL. Let's hope Penguicon is cool. Can I get a press pass from io9 and a couple grand to throw a really nice io9 room party? Please? No, really, I'm being serious; parties are expensive!
I must be the only person who thinks this blog doesn't post enough!
30 articles a day isn't bad, but when a lot of them are things I would never read, then the blog seems rather skimpy. Kotaku is of course, the exact opposite, flooding the reader like whoa. But at least that means I'll find something that's up my alley.
I can put up with only a handful of posts appearing every day, but they need to be meaty.
@Prest0: nth-ing this idea. Too many posts means the good stuff gets lost. I like that io9 takes a few hours off. We all need to sleep (at least for now).
Don't worry -- you won't notice a giant leap in the number of posts. You'll just see a lot more meaty, well-researched stuff.
I'm excited that one of my favorite new blogs is expanding! I think the people you're looking to hire on sound like a prefect fit for you.
@mik3cap: Full-time job. There are requirements for how many posts you do, but hey if you can do 8 amazing posts in one hour, you'll only work 5 hours a week. By the way, you would be shocked how long it takes to do one post. Not to mention all the time you'll spend chatting in comments when you should be working on the next post. Erg.
@Lampbane: I agree.
Save for the last weekend at Wondercon there's really no posts over the weekend on io9. Which is unfortunate, because that's when people are home longest to read them.
@Bl