Pitching an article to Amplify Stroud

We are committed to supporting writers get their first ‘byline’ (published piece) as well as working with and learning from experienced journalists. We want to platform diverse voices no matter your age, background, or level of formal education.

If you aren't in a position to commit to writing an article, yet you feel you have something that you think we should cover, please feel free to share it with us too.

What to include in your pitch email

1. A suggested title for your piece
2. A brief outline of the content

In a few short sentences tell us the main issue you would like to tackle in your article, what news stories you’re reacting to (you can include links!), and what your argument is if you have one.

Keep it punchy and to the point. What is ‘new and now’ about your story? Why is it important? What’s the background, and what are you trying to say about it?

What overall ‘strand’ does it fall under on our website?

If you were to tag your article with a keyword what would it be? eg. Community, Environment, Local Politics

You can find the full list of strands here

Will you be focusing on local politics or community news, spotlighting an international issue you’d like more people to know about, or sharing an experience that you think is important?

Is it an opinion piece?
We expect these to be thoughtful, respectful, and based on research as well as your own views and experiences. Check out this piece on gentrification as a great example.

Contentious, legally questionable or accusatory / defamatory content is unlikely to meet the standards we set here for Amplify Stroud.

What are your sources for this piece?

Please provide supporting evidence to back up the article.

Will you be interviewing anyone for this piece?

Will you be using case studies of people sharing their personal experiences, and if so do you have the explicit permission of any person who has already agreed to take part? If not, how will you find a case study?

Will you be contacting any official organisations, like local charities, councils, campaigns?

Are you using any data or research to back up your story? Is it relatively recent data from a reliable source?

Including references, callouts or bookmark links within your article helps to establish its credibility

What will your article look like?

Roughly how long will the piece take to write and when do you think you can hand in a first draft to us?

Once an article has been approved and scheduled, we work to a tight deadline. Only commit to something that you know you can comfortably deliver.

— If you are unsure about your writing skill, reach out to us. We are happy to work with you and help you to develop.

Roughly how long will your article be? We can be flexible on length and prefer long-read pieces, most articles tend to be between 600 and 1,500 words.

Can you provide any photography, video links or illustrations to supplement your writing?

This is not a requirement but supporting images, videos and photographs are always welcome and will help bring the article to publication

Photographs including children or young people require explicit permission to be granted by a responsible adult.

Important: By providing us with images, video and photographs, you grant consent for any media that you supply to be used on this website (https://amplifystroud.com) and on social media to promote your article.

All images supplied must have permissions granted for Amplify Stroud to use them. Please do not provide us with copyrighted images taken from the internet, without ensuring the appropriate permissions, photographer credits and usage licenses are in place.

We will occasionally purchase stock images to accompany an article where we cannot source a suitable original image.

How long should the pitch be?

Pitches do not have to be lengthy - no more that 150 – 200 words and can be sent via email to [email protected]

• Include ‘Pitch’ and your suggested article title in the subject line
• Include your full name and contact details in the email
• You are welcome to write in bullet points

• Why you?

In a sentence or two, tell us a little bit about yourself. Why are you interested in writing about this topic, and why are you well placed to write this piece?

Are you an expert or involved in this particular field? Are you interested in the topic and want the opportunity to research it more? Have you had a personal experience that’s relevant to this topic? Do you feel strongly about this issue and why?

• Why Amplify?

Why do you want to write for Amplify and is your proposed article idea consistent with our values and previous output?

Have a read through our website – have we published anything previously on this issue? If so, will you be providing a new angle or updated information?

If we haven’t published anything on this topic previously, that’s okay too! Tell us why this issue matters to readers in Stroud and why it’s relevant to Amplify’s values centering local voices and drawing attention to social and environmental justice.

• We published slow news, meaning articles that explore ongoing issues, topics and developments.
• We don’t cover quick reactive news, like who won the football on Saturday or what’s on at the theatre this evening.
• We seek to inform the debate and to provide useful context and understanding of sometimes very complex issues
• We challenge the reader and we hold true to community values and inclusion
• Our stories are broadly evergreen, meaning readers can come back to them in weeks’ or months’ time and they’d still be relevant.

Basically, if your article idea would be totally out of date in a few weeks time, it’s probably not right for us — unless it is covering a specific event, for example a cultural event (eg. Stroud Film Festival, Neo Ancients), a rally (eg Stroud Stands Defiant) or a political event (eg a General Election) where documenting and bearing witness to what has happened is just as important as being involved in it.

• We are a small, independent community outlet and have very little funding and legal backing. We’re happy to work on ambitious pieces but we don't have the framework in place to publish big glossy exposes and whistleblower testimony.
• If you’re unsure if your story idea fits Amplify, we can still work with you to help you get it to print - we are committed to supporting home-grown journalism.

• We are against discrimination and social/environmental violence in all forms. We are not interested in culture-war clickbait.
• We are happy to platform a diverse range of views and experiences provided they don’t contravene these core principles. 

We reserve the right to turn down pitches.

Keep up to date with Amplify Stroud by becoming a Subscriber. Become a paying Supporter to boost our work, helping us provide quality alternative local journalism and nurture new writing talent. Any questions drop us an email to [email protected]