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Look, I didn’t want to talk about The Slap ([link removed]) .
The coverage and analysis of it has been extensive and at times ridiculous (everyone MUST have a take on everything!!! This is the nature of the internet!). But the week it happened was also the week I published my last issue, which was about the consequences of standing up for yourself. I was already thinking about the large and small ways we swallow abuse and the danger of letting yourself hit your breaking point ([link removed]) .
When I saw it, I thought about the amount of composure required to succeed for decades as a public figure, especially as a Black man ([link removed]) , and the level of frustration he must have reached in order to throw that composure out the window to stand up for himself and his family. And now, he’s facing consequences ([link removed]) .
I’m not interested in debating whether Will Smith was right or wrong to slap Chris Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, but I do see in this media frenzy a case study in what happens when people finally stand up for themselves in a public setting.
Many of you responded to my last issue directly in emails and text messages saying you tended to take a different approach to dealing with harassment and workplace microaggressions; as Frankie Huang ([link removed]) wrote, “For most of my career I’ve never had any leverage, so standing up for myself felt like invitation for abuse, since it never seems like appealing to people’s professionalism or decency would ever change their minds.”
I hate that our safety (physical and professional) depends on staying quiet and keeping our heads down. It’s something I hope to be able to combat in a small way with this newsletter, but ultimately the reality of the world we live in means we can only change so much while also trying to survive.
So, a few things that are making me hopeful:
• Condé Nast forming a companywide union ([link removed])
• Capital B ([link removed]) is alive and running!!
• Sara Yasin named managing editor at the Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
• Felicia Sonmez continuing to speak out about the harassment that journalists from marginalized groups experience throughout the industry ([link removed])

Job Seeker Spotlight
In every other newsletter issue, I’m going to be highlighting someone who is looking for a journalism job. If you’d like to submit yourself to be featured, fill out this Google Form ([link removed]) !
This month’s featured job seeker is Margot Carvallo (she/her). She’s looking for remote, open to freelance or full-time work. She’s also looking for remote work, and she speaks both English and Spanish.
[link removed] Margot Carvallo (she/her)
Here’s what she had to say:

I'm a Venezuelan journalist in Atlanta, looking to branch out into news verification and open source investigations. I have been training in OSINT techniques for a year after a persistent need to fact-check a growing amount of content found on social media and affecting people every day.

I have a decadelong experience in breaking news and live TV with CNN, Newsy, and the Neighbor Newspapers. I have produced and assisted in major breaking news events such as the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting, the nationwide high school shooting walkout protest, the #MeToo movement, Hurricane María, the protests in Venezuela, and the fire of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to name some. As a segment producer, I created pieces to inform about topics I'm passionate about: affordable housing, climate change and food insecurity. Here are a few examples: 3D printed homes ([link removed]) and Puerto Rico leads vaccination rates in the U.S. ([link removed])

I earned a master's degree in entertainment business from Full Sail University in 2009 and my journalism degree from Santa María University in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2007.

Get in touch with Margot on LinkedIn ([link removed]) or via email (mailto:[email protected]?subject=RE%3A%20Job%20seeker%20in%20The%20Cohort) !

[link removed] Alex Sujong Laughlin
Host, The Cohort
@alexlaughs ([link removed])

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