Work with us: Let’s roll.

Tell us what you’re working on. We reply within two business days.

Every project starts with a first call. You get a fixed quote in writing before any work begins.

Original projects

For producers, platforms, and funders

Looking for a story to adapt, or reporting to fund?

Finished, award-winning stories, built to move into another format.

  • Cover art for Reputation: the word “Reputation” in white across an orange oval mirror that casts a long shadow, on a red background

    Reputation

    A nine-episode podcast on homelessness in L.A., from Ethan’s own time living in his car to older adults, young people leaving foster care, and shelters that fail trans people.

    • 2023 Housing Narrative Award, Best Podcast Episode
    • Second place, Best Limited Series, 2024 LA Press Club Awards
  • Cover art for The Thread: an illustration of a woman on a dark blue background, with the newsletter’s name and a yellow thread

    The Thread

    Over a year and 39 issues, it used AI to find patterns across obituaries of ordinary people and turned them into a digital museum. On average, 54% of subscribers opened each issue.

    • 2026 Online Journalism Award, Excellence in AI Innovation
    • 2026 Communicator Award of Distinction
  • STANDBY

    ID

    In development

    Picture books and a wordless animated series about a being that has never seen itself. Created by Ethan Ward, in development at HEATDRAWN Media.

  • New reporting

    For funders: reported projects with a plan for who they reach and how.

    Our 2026 investigation with AfroLA is funded by the Omidyar Network Tech Journalism Fund.

How it starts: tell us which project and what you have in mind, whether that’s adapting, licensing, co-producing, or funding. We’ll send what’s available and what it would take.

Ask about a project

Books

For agents and editors

Looking for a picture book series with a plan for the screen, or a YA novel that’s been through a developmental edit?

  • STANDBY

    The ID picture books

    In development

    For ages 4 to 8. ID is also in development as a wordless animated series.

  • STANDBY

    The Pendant’s Secret

    In revision

    A YA novel about a boy who inherits his grandmother’s pendant and her history. It has had a developmental edit.

How it starts: ask for the manuscript or the series plan.

Ask about a book

Made for you

For brands, CSR teams, nonprofits, and international organizations

Need your audience to trust what you tell them, including how you use AI?

We make work your audience sees itself in, and it sounds like you. Everything is researched and fact-checked, so it holds up.

  • Podcasts, series, documentaries, and newsletters

    Want something your audience finishes and comes back to?

    We research, write, and produce them.

    We made Reputation and The Thread, and both won awards.

    “Ethan rebuilt our flagship newsletter so any trained staffer can put out an issue in about half a day. The reworked format was thoughtfully designed and starts with what our readers actually need.”

    Dana Amihere, founder and executive director, AfroLA

  • Social impact stories

    Need people to believe what you say about your community work?

    Reported stories with the evidence behind every claim, ready for the questions press and skeptics will ask.

    Our work has won LA Press Club awards, and our standards are public.

  • AI-use policies, disclosure, and staff training

    Using AI and need to say how, without losing your audience’s trust?

    Written policies, disclosure language, and staff training. The EU AI Act has required AI literacy for staff since Feb. 2, 2025, and its rules for disclosing AI-generated content took effect Aug. 2, 2026. In NTEN’s September 2026 survey of 917 nonprofit staff, about three in four used AI at least weekly. Only 39% had written guidance, and 22% had training.

    The Thread’s use of AI won a 2026 Online Journalism Award, and Ethan holds an AI Policy Certificate from the Center for AI and Digital Policy.

  • User research for media and technology products

    Building something and not sure people will use it?

    Interviews, usability testing, and a clear list of what to change.

    Ethan’s user research audit of AfroLA’s website produced a report on how readers use it and a list of changes, the first of which are live. He holds an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction.

  • Campaigns for audiences in other countries

    Need your message to land with people who don’t share your context?

    Stories and messages shaped with people from the places you’re trying to reach.

    For the Black Policy Institute, Ethan organized a free public webinar with four experts from Kenya and Nigeria, then built a white paper on their insights, Countering Misinformation in Africa: Local Approaches to AI-Powered Challenges (May 2025). He holds a Master of Public Diplomacy.

How it starts: tell us what you need and by when. After a first call, you get a fixed quote.

Start a project

How it works

  1. 01

    First call

    Thirty minutes on what you need, who it’s for, and by when.

  2. 02

    Fixed quote

    Scope, timeline, and price in writing. No work starts until you agree.

  3. 03

    We make it

    You see drafts at set points, so you can change direction early.

  4. 04

    We deliver

    The finished work, with the files and notes your team needs to use it.

Tell us about it

A few lines is enough: who it’s for and your timing.

Looking to hire Ethan for a role, advisory work, or a talk? Go to iamethanward.com

Press? Go to the Newsroom

Here for the magazines? Join the launch list

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