What will a staff writer do?

You will:

• Contribute an article every 2 weeks (You’ll be paid per article rather than a salary)
• Attend fortnightly online meetings

Please only apply if you can commit to this.

Who are you looking for?

We’re unabashedly elitist. The media scene in East Asia is a field of gnats, and most journalists here are hopeless at anything beyond the most basic reporting. We’re looking for the 1% who aren’t.

A strong candidate will be:

• A great writer – Your words dance, your sentences sing, your writing is fresh, eloquent, and endlessly entertaining. Rabbit Hole treats writing as an art form, and we need writers who aspire to no less.
• A thinker – Rabbit Hole is an intellectual brothel, and each staff writer is a thinker and a star in his or her own right. You’ll be smart enough to grasp complicated issues and explain them simply enough for any reasonably intelligent person to understand. You’ll make people think. Your articles will add value to the conversation, and will still be worth reading months, or even years, later.
• A self-starter – Since our staff writers are based in different countries around the world, each must be able to work with minimal supervision. Our editors will guide you, and will sometimes assign you stories, but for the most part you’ll take the initiative to come up with and pursue unique story ideas yourself.
• A hard worker – Rabbit Hole is a news startup and we have a lot to prove. We can’t afford to take it easy.
• Independent – Good journalists operate without fear or favor. You’ll be ok with offending people on either side of the political spectrum in the service of the truth, and with being part of an outfit that does.
• Versatile – There’s nothing more boring than a journalist who writes about the same thing all the time. At Rabbit Hole we don’t believe in beats or focuses or any of those other things that straightjacket journalists. Indeed, we push our writers to get out of their comfort zone and learn new things. If you need to become knowledgeable on something you know nothing about within a week, you’ll relish the challenge.

Why might I be interested?

• Flexible work arrangement – Work whenever and wherever you like.
• No office politics – Comes of not having a physical office.

• Minimal professional opportunity cost – Since you’re required only to contribute an article every two weeks, you’ll be able to be a staff writer whilst holding a part-time or full-time job elsewhere.

• Fair remuneration – You’ll be paid $300 for each article (sometimes more in special circumstances), a figure matching market rate at other high quality publications.
• Creative freedom – You’ll have plenty of freedom to write on whatever interests you.
• We’re a meritocracy – At Rabbit Hole your ability to deliver great articles is what matters most. Nothing else, not your background, not your experience, not your position, counts for near as much.
• Grow as a writer – A magazine is only as good as its writers, and we’ll invest in you. We’ll push you to become a better writer, and then we’ll push you some more.
• Join an A-team – By becoming a staff writer at Rabbit Hole you become part of a team of elite writers from all over the world who share ideas and help each other grow.
• Shape journalism in East Asia – Rabbit Hole is an organization like no other. It’ll establish a new tradition in journalism in this part of the world. Help us leave a mark. We can’t say it’ll be easy, but it will be interesting.

How do I apply?

If this sounds like something you’d like to be part of, please send us:

• Your CV;
• A cover letter explaining why you’re interested in this position and why you’d be a great candidate, and;
• Three writing samples (if you don’t have any, we can arrange for you to make some).

Email them in to:

shaun.tan@rabbitholemag.com

If you have any questions related to this position, or if you can think of any other way you could be of service to us, don’t hesitate to get in touch either.