Rare Obesity News Columnist

Role Description

Bionews, a digital news company dedicated to creating communities for patients with rare and chronic diseases and their caregivers, is looking for members of the Bardet-Biedel syndrome or acquired hypothalamic obesity community to join our freelance staff of patient and caregiver columnists on Rare Obesity News, launching in May.

A Bionews columnist is a patient or caregiver who shares about life with a rare or chronic disease. They write personal essays in a column format to inform, inspire, empathize, and advise. Their audience includes patients, caregivers, medical teams, and researchers. Columnists also write to a general audience interested in learning how to improve society's understanding and treatment of disease/disability communities.

All columns are reviewed with a critical eye by professional editors who will work with columnists to smooth rough spots and help the columnist grow as a writer. This is a contract position.

Please note you MUST be a member of the Bardet-Biedel syndrome or acquired hypothalamic obesity community in order to apply for this position.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Fulfill 1x weekly deadlines as agreed upon on hire.
• Communicate efficiently with your managers and editors.
• Submit 400-800 word drafts that adhere to Bionews policies and procedures.
• Aside from exceptions, drafts should not take more than 45 minutes to edit.
• Fulfill revisions as requested by editors in a timely manner.
• Complete training assigned by Bionews HR.

Qualifications

• Prior experience with writing for an audience.
• At least three months’ direct experience with having or caring for someone with Bardet-Biedel syndrome or acquired hypothalamic obesity.
• Caregivers must be direct relatives, guardians, or spouses.

Requirements

• Experience in being professionally edited for publication.
• Experienced in generating a blog or column.
• Participation in support groups, internet forums, or community groups relevant to Bardet-Biedel syndrome or acquired hypothalamic obesity.

Knowledge Required

• Fundamentals of how Bardet-Biedel syndrome or acquired hypothalamic obesity works.

Knowledge Preferred

• The content needs or wants of the Bardet-Biedel syndrome or acquired hypothalamic obesity community.

Skills Required

• A swift and independent learner of Internet technology.
• A creative mind capable of regularly generating unique content that appeals to target audiences.
• Time management.
• Advanced creative writing.

Skills Preferred

• Experience in using WordPress for content creation.
• Experience with the Slack communication app.

Abilities Required

• Internet access and use.
• Native or fluent English writing and reading abilities.