Study Hall Sampler

This is a once-a-week sampling of Study Hall’s collection of tools and resources for media workers.

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Opportunities:

-The Hustle's founding editor, Mark Dent, is always looking for pitches of reported features on business and the economy. “We’re also fond of compelling explainers about newsy topics in business and the economy.” The rates range from $0.80-$1 per word, and they want short features (800 to 1,000 words) and long features (1,300-2,000 words). Send pitches to [email protected]. 

-Parliament Magazine's commissioning editor, Matt Lynes, is always looking for pitches of features for upcoming editions. They also accept pitches for interviews and book reviews, per their contact page. The rates weren't given, but a former editor told SH they ranged from €0.45-€0.60 per word (so ask for that much if you pitch). Send pitches to [email protected].

-Daylight is hiring a freelance social media manager, preferably based in Chicago, to help elevate their online presence and storytelling. Candidates should have at least three years of social media management experience, particularly on Instagram and LinkedIn. The rate is $30-$50 per hour and requires working 6-10 hours weekly. Apply by October 25.

-Salon is hiring a senior staff writer based in NYC for its Culture team. In this role, you will produce insightful analysis, thought-provoking criticism, and engaging original reporting covering culture and entertainment. Candidates should have at least five years of journalism experience, “with a specialty in film.” The salary range is $70,000 - $80,000, and the position is covered by the WGA-East. 

-Slate, a new US Electric Vehicle company (not the publication), is hiring a copywriter and senior copywriter to expand campaign concepts and ideas into physical and digital channels. Candidates for both positions should have at least five years of experience in an agency or marketing environment. “A love of automotive is helpful but not necessary.” The salary ranges are $64,012.12 to $114,369.49 for the base level and $68,186.20 to $128,551.77 for the senior level. “Remote is acceptable, but we prefer NY Metro (able to commute to NYC if needed), Boston metro, or Troy, MI.” 

Court Records for the People

How independent legal journalists are democratizing access to court documents.

By Tyler McBrien

As managing editor of Lawfare, a non-profit publication focused on national security and legal analysis, I curse PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) on a daily basis. The ancient, government-run online records system for America’s 94 federal judicial districts is finicky on its best days, and has a history of crashing just when reporters need it most. 

Back in August 2022, a magistrate judge unsealed the affidavit that led to the search on Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago. After weeks, the public would finally learn why the FBI had descended on the home of the former president—or so I thought. Instead of answers, I got a 404 error message, as the system collapsed under the traffic. All that I could do was smash the refresh button, as I withstood a barrage of Slacks from my document-demanding editors. It was infuriating, but unsurprising. “The Deep State still runs on Windows 95,” national security attorney Bradley Moss wrote after the crash.

Seamus Hughes, who founded the newsletter Court Watch in 2022, shares these frustrations. He has described PACER as a “god-awful,” “byzantine,” “judicially approved scam” with an oxymoronic name, that suppresses public access with its high fees and confounding interface. Out of spite, he’s become a master of the kafkaesque database. Former Rolling Stone editor-in-chief Noah Shactman, who has collaborated with Hughes, told me that he is the “no shit, uncontested expert” when it comes to federal court filings, with an “ability to navigate this arcane system and turn it into absolute journalism gold.” By obsessively trawling PACER, Hughes was the first to uncover a sealed indictment charging Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Instead of cashing in on his skills and keeping the documents for himself, Hughes wants to democratize legal reporting through greater access to court filings. “The goal is to report on overlooked court records and give readers direct access to primary source documents,” Hughes writes on the about page of Court Watch, which has more than 8,000 subscribers.

Hughes is not alone in his crusade. Chris Geidner, who runs Law Dork, a Substack with more than 36,000 subscribers, and Meghann Cuniff, of Legal Affairs and Trials, which brags 14,000 readers, are among a new movement of independent legal journalists dedicated to getting their hands on important court records, and publishing and contextualizing them for readers. Their beats and styles vary, but all are united in their mission to bring the documents to the people.

Hughes started his career as a Congressional investigator, before pivoting to violent extremism research at the National Counterterrorism Center. He quickly found that he couldn’t rely solely on Justice Department press releases to answer his questions, which sent him into the bowels of PACER. As he searched, Hughes would come across indictments and search warrants he found interesting, if not strictly within his beat, and “tweet them out to the wind.” Before long, he was working with The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times on legal stories, but was finding more interesting court records than he or his editors knew what to do with. Two years ago, Hughes launched Court Watch as a home for these documents and stories.

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