Are you trying to break into journalism, or already navigating your first steps in the industry?
Join our upcoming panel exploring how emerging journalists build sustainable careers, navigate freelancing, and access opportunities particularly outside traditional pathways.
Led by Cultural Journalist and Community Organiser, Sheryl Njini, this session will explore the realities of entering the journalism industry, from pitching and securing paid work to building a career without traditional connections or routes into media.
We’ll hear from journalists and media professionals working across Wales who will be sharing their experiences of breaking into the industry, the challenges they’ve faced, and the practical steps they’ve taken to build sustainable careers. The panel will also explore different pathways into journalism, including freelance work, independent media, and community-led platforms.
Whether you’re a student, early-career writer, or exploring journalism from a non-traditional background, this session is designed to offer honest insight, practical advice, and encouragement.
It’s also a chance to ask questions, share ideas, and connect with others navigating similar journeys in the industry.
About our special guests
Donna Ali is the Founder and Director of BE.Xcellence CIC, a community organisation dedicated to increasing the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities across Wales. Her work focuses on creating more inclusive and representative systems across business, media and education, with a strong emphasis on amplifying underrepresented voices. Donna is also the creator of BOMB (Black Owned Minority Business), a multi-platform initiative including a business directory, radio show and podcast that challenges mainstream narratives and centres authentic community stories. Through her work in media and storytelling, she supports aspiring journalists and creatives to build alternative pathways into the industry and showcase their work. You can find her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Robert Oros is a Cardiff-based writer, artist and cultural producer whose work explores identity, human behaviour and the social systems that shape collective experience. Working across performance, video and writing, his practice engages with themes including power, surveillance and socio-political change — often through collaborative and participatory approaches. Alongside his creative work, Robert has contributed to editorial and cultural projects, including a magazine developed in collaboration with Wales Millennium Centre. He has also worked with organisations such as Amgueddfa Cymru, Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel, g39 and Chapter Arts Centre. He is currently developing a feature-length screenplay following training with the National Film and Television School. You can find him on Instagram or his website.
Sofia Ellen Lewis is a journalist at ITV Wales, working across both its broadcast and digital output from the Cardiff newsroom. Day-to-day, she works on everything from breaking news coverage to politics to investigations, as well as field-producing special programmes – including the RTS-award-winning programme on the day the Port Talbot steelworks closure was announced. Prior to working at ITV Wales, she was a freelance journalist with bylines in The Independent, Vice and Cosmopolitan, as well as an Italian and Spanish translator. Originally from Port Talbot, Sofia is passionate about increasing access to the media industry and ensuring it is representative of the audiences it serves. She has also worked on the launch of ‘A Writing Chance’, a programme co-founded by actor Michael Sheen to break down barriers for new and aspiring writers from working-class backgrounds. You can find her on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Free sign up
Free sign up
Join us online 6.00pm – 7.00pm on Wednesday 29th April. The event will take place on Zoom and you can register here. Everyone is welcome to attend, and the event is free and open to non-members, even if you’re not in or from Wales.
Live real-time captioning will be available.
Do email us at silvia@inclusivejournalism.cymru if you have any accessibility needs we can help with.