Journalists in Residence

Journalists in Residence Wanted This is an opportunity to report on an important, overlooked issue with real consequences. The advocacy campaign Foul Ball Safety Now (FBSN) is seeking journalism organizers to inspire investigative projects and build a national network. FBSN, led by philanthropist Jordan Skopp, is now in Year 7 of its campaign and has assembled one of the deepest archives ever compiled on a silent crisis in professional baseball that has been consistently ignored. Families have been seriously harmed by foul balls and bats while the industry has minimized risk and avoided transparency. Pieces of this story have been reported and our campaign has been featured in mainstream media. But still the full truth has never been shaped into a powerful, collective narrative. Baseball’s current state is deplorable from a moral perspective, and meaningful journalism is urgently needed. That’s where you come in. The Opportunity We are recruiting professional journalists, recent journalism graduates, and journalism students with active ties to their schools or alumni communities to serve as organizers for a new investigative project. This is a chance for journalists to report on an issue most newsrooms still overlook. This is an opportunity for writers to work independently or together to transform massive research into compelling articles, reports, and books. Organizers will activate their networks by inviting peers to participate, and help create a national and democratized exchange of free information. All organizers, whether professionals or students, are expected to have a network they can tap into to bring participants into the project. You’ll achieve hands-on experience in: ● Investigative storytelling ● Developmental editing ● Narrative structure ● Collaborative authorship ● Turning deep research into publishable work What Jordan Has Built ● Launched the campaign in 2019 and hired investigative reporter Brendan to conduct extensive research. ● Interviewed 80+ people across professions (victims, players, lawyers, doctors, insiders). ● Personally spoke with 135+ lawyers and pediatricians on the safety crisis, which led to three conferences sponsored by Jordan. ● Held 7 virtual conferences that attracted significant major media coverage, which included the LA Times, Forbes, Boston Globe, The Korea Times, The Japan Times, and were joined on all of them by the widower of Linda Goldblum, fatal victim of a foul ball. Other victims also joined. ● Rented multiple airplanes flyovers at ballparks (including the Field of Dreams) to raise public awareness, as well as a team of advocates carrying a banner and giving out information at an All Star game in Colorado. ● Hired an attorney who filed a case in a year-long advocacy effort in Peoria, Illinois. ● Took part in a Tort Law conference organized by the American Museum of Tort Law, founded by Ralph Nader. ● Produced three years of thorough netting reports and strategic research. ● Co-developed a 45-minute monologue play with a visionary NYU-adjunct playwright. ● Contacted by two attorneys regarding legal cases on behalf of victims to produce research for them. ● Currently working on developing the first book of a series that will be pulling at America’s heart strings. The first installment will be about a baby struck by a bat at an MLB game. Time is brain, as doctors say in stroke care; prompt recognition and response matter in foul ball injuries too. Unfortunately the team retreated just following the incident. Weekly Working Sessions Organizers will participate in weekly, 1-hour online sessions with founder Jordan Skopp, who will give updates on the campaign and provide guidance for the investigations. Organizers are expected to invite journalists, students, and collaborators from their networks to join these sessions. The current focus of the FBSN campaign includes the development of an “audio continuum series,” featuring 2-3 recordings per week, built around interviews with inquiring minds who want to know more about baseball safety, ethics, and accountability. This audio project will serve as a source of constant new material for journalists and students to report on. What You’ll Work With FBSN will provide: ● A comprehensive archive of interviews, evidence, media, and legal insight ● Exclusive research not yet organized into mainstream journalism ● Ongoing new material from breaking developments Your Role as Organizer You will: ● Recruit peers into the project ● Help coordinate collaborative online sessions ● Turning on others to inspire investigative articles and book projects This is designed to be creative and energizing, a chance to build community, forge professional relationships, and help pioneer a new form of accountability journalism while contributing to a good cause. What You Gain ● Paid leadership experience ● Editorial credit in published works ● Real-world collaborative journalism ● A national peer network ● Direct collaboration with the advocate driving this effort Why This Matters Baseball today continues business as usual while: ● Players know the risks ● Media avoids the truth ● Fans suffer preventable injuries ● Silence protects institutions, not people We call it The Dark Ages of Modern Baseball Safety. You will help bring that era to an end. Before contacting Jordan Skopp, please review: 1. Exhibit A: An ESPN 5-minute from 2019 segment highlighting the serious risks posed by foul balls and bats: www.foulballsafetynow.com/yourstory 2. Exhibit A-1: Assessment of Heightened Risk of Foul Ball Injuries Due to Lack of Extended Netting at Professional Ballparks and Stadiums: www.foulballsafetynow.com/exhibita1 3. Website: foulballsafetynow.com Job Type: Contract Pay: $35.00 per hour Benefits: Flexible schedule Work Location: Remote