Aug 27, 2026
What does it take to build a career in journalism when the media landscape keeps shifting?
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with her former NYU High School Academy student Abigail Meyers, a digital and multimedia storyteller whose work spans journalism, creative services, social media, advocacy, and political communications.
Abigail shares how an early interest in storytelling grew into reporting, writing, and multimedia work, and asks Estelle for advice on navigating freelance journalism today. They discuss how to craft stronger pitches, avoid burnout, pivot from one reporting beat to another, and use your existing expertise to open doors in new areas. Estelle also shares her perspective on AI as a brainstorming and research tool, why journalists still need to verify primary sources, and why an individual writer’s voice remains so important.
In this episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFTCa-bJayU
Abigail Meyers is a digital and multimedia storyteller passionate about highlighting diverse perspectives and amplifying marginalized communities through storytelling. She graduated with high honors from Simmons University, where she studied journalism and political science. Her experience spans local community news, national policy, academic research, creative writing, social media, graphic design, and creative services. She is also a Platinum Ambassador for the Arthritis Foundation, where she uses storytelling and advocacy to help bring attention to the experiences of people living with arthritis, including young people.
Links
Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailmmedia
X: https://twitter.com/abigailmmedia
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abigailmeyers3
Get More From Estelle Erasmus
My latest Substack post is the Substack Live I did with Aliza Licht on DKNY PR GIRL, the magazine world we both knew, branding and reinvention, and her Substack serial novel Off the Record, which brings that era vividly back to life.
My next Editor-on-Call event with NYU is on Wednesday, September 16, with Electric Literature Executive Editor and Publisher Denne Michele Norris. Sign up here: https://events.nyu.edu/event/400238-light-up-your-literary-life-with-electric-literatures
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Estelle’s TEDx Talk:
How to
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Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026
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https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast
About Estelle
Estelle
Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, TEDx speaker, and author of
Writing That Gets Noticed. She is the host, founder, and
executive producer of Freelance Writing Direct, an adjunct
professor at NYU, and the former editor-in-chief of five national
magazines with a combined reach of 10 million readers.
Her work has appeared in more than 150 publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine.
Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus
TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus
Twitter/X: @EstelleSErasmus
Bluesky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social
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