As we do every month, in February we will pay two contributors for news stories to be published in The Dominion. We prioritize solutions-oriented news pieces with a Canadian angle, including photo essays and video pitches.
Pitches are welcome from anyone; priority for payment goes to those who have previously contributed. (To pitch an investigative feature, go here)
Deadline for pitches: Wednesday, Feb. 1 at midnight
Response to pitches by: Friday, Feb. 3
First drafts due: Feb. 15
Final copy due: Feb. 28
1. Set up a Media Co-op account (if you don’t already have one): http://mediacoop.ca/user
2. Check out our writer’s guide for hot topics and details about writing for The Dominion: http://dominionpaper.ca/write
3. Peruse the Media Co-op discussion page for story ideas:
http://www.mediacoop.ca/group/1496/discuss/9440
4. Pitch!: http://mediacoop.ca/pitch
5. Info about making a video pitch: http://dominionpaper.ca/video/create. To pitch a video news clip, contact us: http://dominionpaper.ca/contact.
The deal:
Pitches should be less than 200 words and include your planned sources and research. An entire story submitted as a pitch will not be considered for payment. The Media Co-op currently pays a flat rate of $100 for accepted stories. Articles are either 800 or 1600 words. See the video guidelines for length of videos.
Editors reserve the right to suggest changes and edit stories (with your participation, of course!). Pitches should capture the content, tone and style of the story you plan to submit; if the content submitted differs significantly from the pitch, editors reserve the right to withhold payment. We accept pitches at any time.
Here are a couple tips before you pitch:
1. The Dominion has a special budget – sponsored by Koumbit, a non-profit web development, website creation, graphic design and IT training organization – to pay for one article per month about technology and society (in particular, we’re interested in coverage of copyright, privacy, free software, and net neutrality). These articles are 5-800 words, payment is a flat $50, and they follow the same pitch process outlined below.
2. As a member-run organization, Media Co-op has a vested interest in publishing stories our readers want to read. Our readers have been posting ideas for stories about co-operatives that should be told, and we want those stories! Consider pitching a story you see here, or pitch us your own news story about an innovative co-op or the co-operative movement. If we like your pitch, we’ll pay you $100 to write the story!