How to submit to Thoughts on Journalism
You want to write for us? Here’s what we’re looking for.
You are considering submitting a piece to Thoughts on Journalism? That’s great! To give you an idea of what we are looking for and how the process works, we have created this guide for you.
What we are looking for. The media landscape is changing faster and more drastically than ever before. In Thoughts on Journalism, we want to trace these developments, analyse and explain them. And: We want to be a place for you to present your ideas to a larger audience. We currently have more than 18,000 followers and have grown by over 4,000 followers in the last 1,5 months alone. You will find a more comprehensive list of topics at the bottom.
Please submit only finished pieces. We see ourselves as curators rather than editors. There is currently only one person managing Thoughts on Journalism — and that person is doing it part-time. That means your article has to be pretty much ready for publication by the time you submit. It is probably a good idea to get a friend (or several) to edit your work and check for spelling mistakes. It would be a shame to have to reject a good article, simply because it needed that extra bit of work.
Submit in draft mode — or after publishing. Ideally, we would like you to submit your piece in “draft mode” to us (this guide explains how to do that). This makes it easier for us to plan the publication of your piece, since Medium only allows for scheduling of previously unpublished articles. This way, we can schedule your piece to go online at a time when it will receive the most attention. However, since we do not offer remuneration, we understand that you may want to publish at a time that suits you best or want to republish a piece you have written before. If you have an idea for a piece and would like to discuss it with us beforehand, get in touch @tojournalism or email thoughtsonjournalism@gmail.com.
Think long-term. Once you have submitted your article, please have some patience. We will attempt to get back to you within a week, but sometimes it may take longer. If you haven’t heard from us after a week, feel free to get in touch and ask about your article. This also means that we are unlikely to publish pieces that deal with (or are pegged on) a developing news situation. As interesting as an article analysing the reactions to Trump’s latest tweet may be, it will probably be out-dated before we can publish it.
Be prepared for us to make (some) changes. For the reasons outlined above, we will not change the body of your work. However, we may check for remaining spelling mistakes and delete repetitions. In some rare cases, we may want to change the headline in order to make it more accessible or more attractive to a wider audience. But don’t worry — in these cases, we will contact you beforehand.
We attempt to not make any changes that change the message of what you are saying — but obviously, we’re only human. So if you think that we have made a mistake, misunderstood or misrepresented you, please get in touch and we’ll try to sort it out.
What we’re looking for in 2017:
Business Models: You think you know how journalists can keep making money in the digital age? We want to hear it. Side note: We will not publish anything that could be regarded as advertisement for a specific company, start-up or not.
Media criticism: You think too many media outlets are missing the point of a certain story? You take issue with the ways certain groups of people are represented? Tell us about it. We want to know how things can be improved.
Tools & advice: You found the best app for notetaking? You know how to recognise fake news? You are using a new platform that barely anyone knows but everybody should know?
Technology: You know a new technology that is going to revolutionise reporting? You want to share your experiences experimenting with it? Write for us — but remember that you audience may be less tech-savvy than you are and may not understand all the terminology. Try to keep it simple.
Ethics & press freedom: You think native advertisement is a really bad idea? You’re concerned about being a journalist in Trump’s America? You think government surveillance makes the work of an investigative journalist impossible? Tell us why.
We didn’t answer all your questions? Please tweet us @tojournalism or email thoughtsonjournalism@gmail.com.
