Do you want to make a positive difference for the planet and your community using your natural writing talent? Do you also love taking photos? Become a local Happyzine reporter!

The lowdown

We need writers who love taking photos, or photographers who love writing, to send in mini stories (100 words) with strong images, from their neighbourhoods, about inspiring green or social change.

We want you to harvest local stories that have a national appeal to share with the Happyzine community, preferably on a weekly basis.  And we want to pay you $50 per 100 word story (including an image or two).

There’s just one little thing … we want you to source your stories and images in a climate friendly way … for example you might get there by foot, or bike, or carpool, or you might call in the story on the phone and online.  One week you might discover your story in the local paper, summarise it into 100 words, and source images.  Another week you might meet people face to face, interview them and take photos.

Also, with our help, we need you to source local business sponsorship, to support your writing habit and our obsession with inspiring news.

About Happyzine

Happyzine is a positive, solutions focused, environmentally supportive New Zealand based online news site in relaunch mode and we need regular mini-articles and images from Kiwi communities to keep our readers up to date with today’s inspiring news.

Required skill base and qualities –

Excellent communication skills

Optimistic and outgoing by nature

Proven ability to identify smart angles for articles

Comfortable providing short, succinct, 100 word articles

Ability to shoot an ordinary photo, in an extraordinary way

Lover of all people

Conscious of today’s environmental issues

Comfortable interviewing and reaching out to people for information

Has beginner’s mind – happy to listen, take on feedback and grow as a writer and news photographer

Willing to front up to businesses to request sponsorship for ongoing column (Happyzine will provide a sponsorship kit)

Happy to work with a sub-editor

Willing to keep an eye on media to source stories

Delighted to source stories in a climate friendly way

How to apply:

Send in your CV, a cover letter, a sample 100 word article, plus three images that would fit in with Happyzine’s positive, green, community minded, solutions focused ethos to: [email protected]

If my application is accepted, then what?

We will work with you to find sponsorship, providing you with relevant information and support.  Once you have sourced sponsorship we will set you up in Happyzine’s online systems and we’ll begin your regular column.