Freelance for WPLN’s newsroom
WPLN’s newsroom welcomes story pitches from freelancers and has a track record of airing creative and impactful contributed pieces. This page details what to expect when collaborating with us and includes a pitch form if you’re ready to share an idea.
What we’re looking for? WPLN is primarily seeking contributors in two lanes:
- nimble journalists who can take assignments and deliver stories within a day or two
- enterprising reporters with angles that go beyond our existing beats
We especially welcome coverage outside of Davidson County and stories told from underserved communities. We’re open to contributors with limited audio experience, and we see our contributor network as one way to train and foster local journalists.
Here’s a snapshot of recent contributions:
What to expect
Our contributor relationships work best when we set clear expectations and communicate often, like when a pitch evolves or if the reporting takes you in a surprising direction.
From the WPLN side, we’ll share guiding documents about our editorial process — like our story standards and typical story lengths, why we track the demographics of sources, and our policies on anonymous sourcing and corrections.
Pitches are usually evaluated by special projects editor Tony Gonzalez, and you can expect a clear “yes” or “no.” For accepted stories, expect to talk out your plan for sourcing, reporting and story structure, as well as deadlines and pay rate.
Pay ranges from $50 for grabbing a quick soundbite up to $605 (plus mileage reimbursement) for a sound-rich feature that you’ve mixed — these are stories that involve recording scenes in the field and interviewing several sources, and we prefer to publish a corresponding web post with an original photo. Details: Freelance rates (PDF).
Next steps
You’re welcome to pitch through the form below, or make first contact by writing to Tony — [email protected] — to share a bit about your work and interests. It can help to share a work example or resume, but this can be a very casual introduction.
As of May 2023, we’re planning to host a contributor info session to share more about our process and to build connections. More to come!
(Last updated May 5, 2023.)
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