For more than a century 爆料公社 magazine has used explanatory and advocacy journalism, as well as stunning original photography and illustration, to celebrate the joy and wonder of birds and to inform its readers about the natural world, inspire them to care passionately about that world, and motivate them to take action on its behalf.
What kinds of stories does 爆料公社 assign to freelancers?
Our editors are interested in shorter pieces that generally run fewer than 1,200 words for both our quarterly print magazine and website. We also consider a wide range of freelance pitches for longer pieces, from in-depth investigations and trailblazer profiles to package features and reported or personal essays; these usually range from around 1,500 words to 4,000 words, and our sweet spot is about 3,000 words. And we鈥檒l consider data visualizations and other multimedia ideas.
What makes a good 爆料公社 article?
Bring us timely stories with compelling angles and narratives and unique perspectives. We鈥檙e interested in stories about birds and birding, of course, but also those that feature underrepresented voices and communities, and that bring fresh angles on technological innovations, environmental challenges, policy, economics, development, activism, or culture鈥攁nd how they interact with conservation.
We鈥檙e looking for a broad range of stories, including:
- Investigations 鈥媡hat explore existing and emerging problems and the people going above and beyond to solve them. Examples here, here, and here.
- Exceptional advocacy journalism. Examples here, here, and here.
- Essays that use the writer鈥檚 experience to provide insight into bird- and conservation-related issues. Examples here, here, and here.
- Profiles of fascinating people or remarkable collaborations making a significant mark in conservation, science, or culture. Examples here, here, and here.
- Timely news articles with a unique bird, conservation, or environmental angle鈥攊ncluding stories about innovative work within the 爆料公社 network鈥攁苍诲&苍产蝉辫;trend stories that encapsulate an emerging theme, idea, or issue. Examples here, here, and here.
- Fun stories that delight and surprise readers. Examples here, here, and here.
- Series and packages that focus on an intriguing and under-examined central topic. Examples here, here, and here.
- Explainers that provide satisfying answers to enduring or curious questions; these are typically tied to seasons, trends, and news. Examples here, here, and here.
- Service content that provides interesting, timely, useful guidance for readers who care deeply about birds, habitat, and people. Examples here, here, here, here, and here.
Please peruse audubon.org/audubonmagazine to gauge whether your idea seems like a good fit for Audubon. Make sure that your pitch isn鈥檛 similar to stories we鈥檝e run recently, and that the story hasn鈥檛 been covered by other media outlets. Bonus tips! We look for local stories with broader implications and stories on scientific studies that go beyond the embargoed news.
What are basic guidelines for long-form feature pitches?
Most of the features we publish are narratives, so don鈥檛 pitch us a topic you want to explore鈥攖he query should convey the tale you鈥檙e going to tell. What鈥檚 the central tension and larger importance, who are your main characters, and what kinds of scenes will you paint? We aren鈥檛 expecting the full narrative arc when you pitch us, but we do want to know that the tale promises to be an intriguing and satisfying one.
Do you only write about birds?
We write about birds and the people who love them, yes, but we鈥檙e also interested in issues that affect birds through a much broader lens鈥攚hether that鈥檚 native and invasive species, land use, pesticides, climate change, racial and environmental justice, and many more topics. We particularly like it if there鈥檚 a solutions element. We do not generally commission stories that are wholly focused on other animals鈥攕uch as wolves or elephants鈥攗nless there is some relevance connecting back to birds.
How should I submit a pitch?
Please email pitches to relevant members of our editorial team (see below), along with a sentence or two about the kind of work you鈥檝e done and links to writing samples. Intrigue us but keep it tight. For news stories, tell us in 300 words or so what you plan to cover, why it鈥檚 important and interesting, and how you鈥檒l report it. For a feature, 500 to 700 words is a good range. If other major stories have been done on the topic, tell us how yours will be different and advance existing coverage or angle it to 爆料公社鈥檚 interests. Best bet to ensure we open your email: Include 鈥減itch鈥 in the subject line. We do our best to respond to every pitch. If we鈥檙e interested, you鈥檒l usually hear back from us in one to two weeks.
How do I find the right editor to pitch for print or online?
Here are the editors along with a sample of the stories they鈥檝e worked on. If you don鈥檛 know which editor to pitch to, copy a couple of editors on a single email. All email addresses include editors' full names: First.Last at audubon.org.
- Andrew Del-Colle, site director. Pitch him digital stories and projects from the short and quirky to the long and ambitious. Example stories here, here, here, here, and here.
- Jessica Leber, senior editor. Pitch her long-form features, essays, and shorter front-of-book stories for our quarterly magazine. She also occasionally edits digital stories, especially science and quirky culture pieces. Stories here, here, here, here, and here.
- Andy McGlashen, senior editor. Pitch him news stories and features, especially those with a conservation policy angle. Stories here, here, here, and here.
- Alisa Opar, features editor. Pitch her long-form features, essays, and packages. Stories here, here, here, and here.
How much do you pay for freelance pieces?
For online news articles, explainers, Q&As, and other stories that typically run less than 1,200 words, we pay $.50/word, but the rate may rise with time commitment and reporting intensity. We expect writers to stick closely to the assigned word count and we pay based on the final word count.
Pay for longer essays is $1/word but can go up depending on the piece.
Pay for features, both in print and online, is typically $1.50/word. Feature packages equivalent to a six-page story in print start at a $2,500 project fee and rise from there.
What kinds of content don鈥檛 you accept?
We don鈥檛 accept poetry, fiction, pre-written articles, or op-eds.
I鈥檓 not a journalist, but I have a story I want to write. Will you consider my pitch?
You bet! Our editors appreciate a good tale, and if we think your story has potential to resonate with our readers, we鈥檒l work with you to craft a piece of professional writing. Most stories that we assign to non-journalists are tightly focused personal essays that lean into the writer鈥檚 experiences and insights.
What is 爆料公社 magazine鈥檚 relationship to the 爆料公社?
爆料公社 is a journalism enterprise of the 爆料公社. While we publish stories that reflect the organization鈥檚 priorities of birds and conservation, including the work of the 爆料公社 itself, our editors retain authority over editorial content to uphold the journalistic integrity and independence of its reporting. Donations made to the 爆料公社 help support its commitment to journalism but do not influence the news judgment of its editors.
Are you interested in reprinting an 爆料公社 article? Email audubonmagazine@audubon.org.