Journalist & Media Fellow - Save Philly Festivals

Journalist & Media Fellow - Save Philly Festivals

Journalist & Media Fellow – Save Philly Festivals

Save Philly Festivals is an initiative of the Diaspora DNA Story Center dedicated to documenting, amplifying, and sustaining Philadelphia’s vibrant network of community festivals, block parties, and cultural celebrations. Through storytelling, oral history collection, digital archives, audience engagement, and public programming (including the Save Philly Festivals Bus Tour), the project treats festivals as vital civic and cultural infrastructure. The work centers community voices—especially those of festival producers, block captains, residents, and local artists—while building public awareness and support for these living traditions.

The Journalist & Media Fellow produces high-quality editorial and multimedia content, maintains accurate festival data, manages and grows the @Philly festivals social media presence, and helps expand overall audience reach for Save Philly Festivals. This is a hands‑on, community‑facing role that combines independent journalism, data stewardship, collaborative storytelling, social media strategy, and strategic content distribution. The Fellow exercises strong written and oral communication, agency, adaptability across Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and event environments, disciplined time and project management, and the persistence required to turn community stories into compelling public work.

The fellowship is designed as a structured professional‑development experience. Fellows receive mentorship, real deadlines, and opportunities to strengthen core competencies (including critical thinking, leadership, and multimedia skills) while contributing meaningfully to the organization’s mission.

Research, report, write, and edit articles, festival recaps, features, promotional pieces, listicles, quizzes, and lifestyle content that highlight unique community voices and the cultural significance of Philadelphia’s festivals.

Pitch original editorial features and story ideas grounded in community engagement and audience interest.

Conduct interviews and collect oral histories from festival producers, block captains, residents, attendees, vendors, and artists at targeted events, applying cultural respect, active listening, and ethical interviewing practices.

Collaborate with the Ohoro journalist and Photojournalism Advisor on shot lists, visual storytelling, and integrated written + visual packages.

Uphold journalistic standards of accuracy, fairness, fact‑checking, and attribution.

Manage and grow the @Philly festivals social media account across platforms, developing and executing a consistent content calendar that includes original posts, stories, reels, event coverage, community highlights, and engagement with followers.

Create and schedule platform‑native content (captions, visuals, short‑form video, carousels) that amplifies festival stories, drives traffic to the website, and builds an authentic community presence.

Monitor analytics, respond to comments and messages in a timely and brand‑aligned manner, and iterate strategy based on performance data to increase reach, engagement, and audience growth.

Maintain and continuously update a regional festivals database with accurate records of events, producers, locations, and related information, demonstrating attention to detail and technological literacy.

Create lead‑generation and engagement assets designed to increase site traffic, time‑on‑site, and audience retention; use basic analytics to inform iteration.

Contribute to the strategy and execution of paid campaigns (Google, Reddit, Threads, and similar platforms) aimed at raising visibility and conversion; monitor performance and recommend adjustments.

Manage personal workload, event attendance, and competing deadlines with rigorous time management and punctuality, including evenings and weekends when festivals occur.

Exercise agency by identifying process improvements, content or data gaps, and…