To celebrate our fifth birthday, we announce a new initiative aimed at ensuring stories that are important to Kiwi women remain covered, discussed and shared!
Look, you guys know how much we love a yarn that speaks directly to Kiwi wāhine – the trials, the tribulations, the successes and the wildly weird, funny stuff too. But as the local media industry continues to struggle, we’re in danger of losing the stories that really matter to New Zealand gals.
On our watch? Hell no.
To celebrate our fifth birthday today, Capsule is thrilled to be announcing a new initiative aimed at further improving and enhancing their ability to tell a wide range of diverse stories that matter to New Zealand women. Today marks the launch of the new CAPSULE COLLECTIVE – a fund dedicated to supporting Kiwi freelance writers and providing a platform for the issues and stories that need to be told.
With a dedicated fund available, writers can pitch their stories, series or projects, enabling more diverse, creative and interesting viewpoints to be seen, heard and told.
Says our co-founder and Head of Content Alice Hampson, “I’ve watched this industry shrink for the entire 23 years I’ve been in it. Kelly and I both know how devastating and demoralising it is to lose your job, or to have to rally yourself for yet another restructure when your nerves have only just got over the last one. As a result, we’re continuing to lose so many talented and wonderful writers from this industry. Kelly and I are passionate about telling women’s stories and having trusted, credible journalists working alongside us. We’re hoping our fund will be a lifeline to those who are now embarking on freelance careers, or can help talented writers keep a foot in this industry. We’d love to hear your pitches.”
Capsule itself will be making an initial $10,000 into the Collective’s fund, and we are now seeking commercial sponsorship to grow this amount further to support the local media industry.
Says our co-founder and Head of Commercial Kelly Meharg, “We refuse to accept any diminishing of the female voice in Aotearoa. While we ourselves have contributed to this fund, we are also looking for brands who are equally invested in the local media industry to come on board to help us tell these stories. At Capsule, we are firm believers in the beauty of collaboration, as well as the idea that a high tide rises all boats – and we’re up for doing things a little bit differently to ensure we’re at the forefront of positive change within the industry. If you are interested in being part of this journey, please do get in touch – our contact details are below!”
So, if you’re a writer or journalist interested in using this fund, follow this link to make your submission! (And if you’re a reader and you think we need to be covering a specific issue or topic – serious or irreverent – you can always email us at hello@capsulenz.com).
If you’re keen to support us on our birthday (hip hip horray!) please consider signing up to our weekly newsletter on our Substack in a free or paid capacity. Your support means the world to us!
