Q4 Media Landscape Update + Rachel DuRose Interview
Q&A with Rachel DuRose @ Vox
So much of storytelling in business journalism is thinking about “what's next,” and how what a company is doing now might impact where an industry or society will be in a year, five years, or even a decade. As AI continues to drive drastic changes in the world as we know it, media outlets are even more focused on the future – and the companies shaping it.
Despite what you might think after a quick scroll of the top headlines, that future is about much more than AI. Autonomous vehicle adoption has faced its fair share of challenges, creating skepticism, but billions of dollars continue to pour into the industry, and success remains tantalizing. Plant-based and protein-alternative goods may have plateaued, but sustainability goals continue to drive innovation. These frontier technologies will increasingly drive news coverage in 2024 and beyond, making it critical to understand their impact today.
In this installment, we spoke with Rachel DuRose, a Reporting Fellow for Vox’s Future Perfect section, where she writes longform, in-depth stories on everything from biotech to climate to space, and more. Read more on her experiences at Vox, from covering critical issues to editing a daily newsletter, as well as her tips on pitching a desk that has a hyper-specific approach to their stories.
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Five questions with… Rachel DuRose, Vox
How did you end up on the Future Perfect desk at Vox?
I knew I was ready to make a career change and I wanted my next role to challenge me. When I saw the listing for the Future Perfect fellowship on LinkedIn it stood out instantly. It is designed for new-to or early-career journalists and the mission of the desk is to write about underreported subjects. The mentorship and writing opportunities I’ve had as a Future Perfect fellow have been everything I hoped they’d be.
You cover a wide range of topics for your beat. How do you keep up to date on so many industries that are growing rapidly?
Future Perfect does cover a lot, but I think everyone on the team has their topics or industries that they are more focused on than others. For me, public health has been my main focus. The way I stay on top of the beat is through newsletters, subscriptions to embargoed research releases, and discussions with researchers at universities.
You recently ran the Vox Sentences newsletter. How has working on a newsletter changed your approach to your usual reporting?
Running Vox’s Sentences newsletter has been a great experience and has gotten me back into the groove of writing shorter, quicker pieces. Before Vox, I was writing for a publication where most stories were 600 words or less. At Vox, most of my stories are over 1,500 words.
Any advice for people applying for journalism fellowships or entering the media industry?
Especially right now, it’s a tough job market, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find reporter roles. As a formerly first-generation college student and now first-generation professional, networking has been the bane of my existence and a source of real confusion and discomfort for me. But, it’s necessary. I think anyone who wants to get into journalism should start by contacting reporters whose work and desks they admire to learn more about the space.
How can PR teams best pitch/work with you and the Future Perfect desk at Vox?
Future Perfect approaches stories with a very specific angle, and as such I think it's hard for PR to pitch concepts or full story ideas to the desk. Rather, I would suggest PR teams pitch me an individual source. Even if I’m not working on a story relevant to that person’s field at the time, I normally save those emails so that if/when I do start working on a story where the subject area overlaps, I can reach back out with the opportunity.