Many of our best stories have come from amazing freelancers who got in touch with their ideas. We are very much looking to commission stories from talented writers and reporters in Sheffield and across the North. Please read this guide before getting in touch — the contact details are at the bottom.
What makes a good Tribune story?
Like any news organisation we are interested in great news scoops, so please do bring us those. But unlike many local newspapers these days, we also really care about good writing. Every week we try to publish pieces that are beautifully crafted and that really speak to readers through the power of their prose.
Tribune stories are supposed to help readers understand their world better, which means doing good old-fashioned journalism by speaking to people and doing proper research and then explaining the context of what you are reporting. How has this policy you are writing about changed? What is driving the uptick in the type of crime you are covering? Gathering really high-quality evidence — from academic papers or by speaking to university researchers or authors of well-researched books about the topic — is important for this.
We also want really interesting human stories at the heart of a lot of our journalism. A lot of stories these days — particularly quick-hit journalism online — lack human depth. Stories are most interesting when they have people at the centre of them. That doesn’t mean you can’t zoom out and explain the trend behind the story or the forces shaping this trend in society — you should. But it means putting people and their experiences at the heart of what we write.
We’re open to any topic, as long as it has a strong link to Sheffield or the surrounding area, and will be interesting and informative to our audience. Our readers are doctors, teachers, lawyers, carers, site managers, publishers, counsellors, university professors and entrepreneurs. They care about culture, crime, history, housing, politics, business, education, the environment, health, inequality and all the things you might read about in The Times or The Guardian or The Economist.
Our rates are modest at this stage in our young life because we are a tiny startup. We will agree a fee with you when we commission a story, and there’s lots of variation depending on what the piece involves. As our subscriber base grows we will build up our war chest for investigative work that costs more.
Tribune stories so far
- A feature on Park Hill flats speaking to someone who has lived there almost her entire life and an expert in the history of social housing.
- A data story and analysis piece about the Sheffield local elections and its implications for politics in the city.
- A long-read about a Sheffield community which has developed a walking trail between a series of community gardens set up and tended by residents.
- A news feature about the 40 year backstory to the Sheffield Green Party’s rise to power.
- A look back at a Victorian STI clinic which served the people of Sheffield for over 50 years.
- A history piece about Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s visit to Manor Lodge in Sheffield in the days before he died.
How to pitch
Email your ideas to editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk, and please allow a week or two for us to get back to you because we consider most of our pitches in batches. In your, email please include:
- what the idea is and how you would do it.
- why it’s interesting to readers now.
- a few links to stories or blogs showing how you write.
Don’t feel the need to write a long email — a good pitch can be five or six sentences. Thanks for thinking of pitching The Tribune!