"Getting your stories published is a matter of trying hard and not giving up"

Fillion is an award-winning French-Canadian reporter based in New York City. She specializes in foreign affairs at the United Nations. She is a reporter that covers the U.N. for Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper. Additionally, she is a regular contributor for Radio-Canada, Forbes, and PassBlue. She also has bylines in The Independent, Foreign Policy, La Stampa, Vice, and others. She graduated from McGill University in Montreal and Columbia Journalism School in New York City. She is the recipient of the 2015 European Union Delegation in Canada Young Journalist Award, and of the San Paolo fellowship at La Stampa. 

Stephanie Fillion

Stéphanie Fillion sat down with me in AFC-USA’s virtual studio on Wednesday to discuss her career covering the United Nations (U.N.). Here are five key takeaways from AFC’s one-on-one with Fillion.

Her Original Interest was in Human Rights Reporting

“Human rights is such an important part of international politics,” Fillion explained in the interview.  She continued, “It really goes back to what we’re doing as journalists. We have to give a voice to the voiceless.” 

She focused her education at Columbia University primarily on journalism. She also diversified her academics with courses on international affairs, law, and politics in order to specialize in human rights in her journalism career. Though Columbia University has a good relationship with the U.N., she did not consider the possibility of reporting there until after college. 

“It only happened a few years after [college graduation] when I saw an ad by specialized media called PassBlue that they were looking for reporters,” she stated. “I saw this ad, and thought ‘Oh, that’s something I would love to do.’” 

PassBlue Helped Fillion Discover Her Passion for Covering the U.N.

PassBlue is a women-run journalism website that focuses coverage of the relationship between the U.S. and the U.N., human rights issues, women’s rights and other issues around the world. Fillion started covering the U.N. for PassBlue, and she explained how intricately tied human rights are with our day-to-day lives. “When we think about human rights, we often think about conflict zones, but there are human rights violations in Canada. And people in power need to be checked no matter where we are,” Fillion explained. 

The Ins and Outs of the U.N.’s Political Scene Can be Daunting 

“I would say that people are often very critical of the U.N., and it is challenging to cover the U.N.,” Fillion stated. But for her, the U.N. is a place of opportunity. The vastness of the organization creates a unique opportunity for journalists to cover multiple angles of the organization. 

“There are a lot of reporters there, but there aren’t that many of them if you look at the size of the organization. And a lot of the reporters there don’t exclusively cover the U.N.,” she explained. Because of this, she explained that a lot of coverage of the U.N. only scratches the surface.  “There is just so much happening in a single day at the U.N.,” she expressed.  Fillion has used her work with PassBlue to really dig into news from the U.N. beyond just initial, breaking news coverage. Though the opportunity doesn’t come without its own set of challenges. 

Fillion explained interest is a big obstacle in her coverage. “I feel like as soon as [editors] see the name ‘United Nations’ they lose interest,” Fillion explained. 

Additionally, another struggle comes with audience understanding of how exactly the U.N. operates. “It’s very complicated how the U.N. works, and it takes a while to understand it and its dynamics,” Fillion explained. 

COVID-19 has Made an Impact on How Journalists Everywhere Operate

COVID-19 has shifted communication to almost totally virtual. Because of this, many journalists had to adjust their way of communicating with sources. 

Fillion explained the bright side to a mostly digital world of communication. “[Digital communication] can help people in this line of work,” Fillion explained. “Now, you can say ‘I want to interview this politician in Sweden’ or someone else around the world, and it’s easier to do that without the travel.” 

Though, she noted she was excited for the days that in-person meetings could resume. “Nothing compares to that one-on-one feeling,” she added. 

Freelancing — And Reporting in General — Requires Perseverance

Fillion has bylines in numerous widely known websites, newspapers, and publications around the world. Her focus on the U.N. provides her with a unique skill set that she uses to pitch and write freelance stories for various media outlets. 

“There is no secret to getting your stories published except trying very hard and not giving up,” Fillion explained. She continued, “I think the number one rule as a freelancer is that a lot of your emails are going to get ignored, and you’re going to be ghosted by many editors.” 

She expressed the importance of research when it comes to pitching stories. “Whenever you pitch to an outlet, or more specifically, to an editor, you need to know who you’re writing to,” she stated. 

Finally, Fillion explained it’s the most important thing to find your voice as a writer. “It’s one thing to want to write about something, but to tell an editor, ‘here’s why I’m the one that should be writing about this,’ and give examples,” she said.