For Reporters
Agreement to Work with voxbuffalo, WNYmedia and Pricing Guidelines.
Our friends at Spot.us have created a pricing guideline based on competitive rates for freelancers. NOW, keep in mind this is Buffalo, Not San Francisco. We would like to not only get your stories pledged on, but we would like to get them fully funded. So as we begin, let’s start small and grow to those thousand dollar projects, k? This also includes the “reporters agreement” that explains the working relationship between voxbuffalo and the reporter. Same rules apply here, as they do there…
What is a Tip?
Tips are exactly what they sound like – community tips on untold and important stories. Creating a pitch and then referencing a tip will send a note to every member of that group to let them know their story tip could become a reality in your pitch. In this sense – the community is your ally in forming pitches. Browse the tips and create pitches based on them. You can reference as many tips as are relevant to your pitch.
Advice on Creating a Pitch
Write the pitch so that anyone who reads it will want to see that story materialize. Sell your idea and your expertise on the subject. Don’t be afraid to be personal. Upload a YouTube video explaining who you are and why you’re the right person for the job. Imagine what civic leaders or organizations would want to partner with you. Remember – the public now has a freelance budget, pitch them like you would the editor of a major metropolitan newspaper.
What’s the Role of the Peer-Review Editor?
The Peer-Review editor has three main responsibilities – to ensure fair and accurate reporting, to be a second pair of eyes before a story is published and to be a sounding board as the reporter develops a story. To do the latter the Peer-Review editor should be in touch with the journalist before reporting begins and before the draft is uploaded. At any time the Peer-Review editor can report suspicious activities to voxbuffalo. Peer-Review editors are assigned by us, and the reporter can reject the first two assigned editors. The investigation will not publish without the Peer-Review editor’s approval.
What does it mean if somebody has applied to join the reporting team?
This is great! It means somebody wants to help with your reporting. Some stories can benefit by distributing the work load. If you need help researching or reporting, this is a volunteer. Contact us and we will put you in touch with the volunteer and then it is up to you if they will join your reporting team. If they do, they’ll have access to the pitch’s blog. The choice is yours, but we certainly encourages participatory journalism.
What Happens to the Finished Content?
Finished content is licensed under Creative Commons and anyone is free to republish it (with attribution to the author). We work with local news organizations to get it distributed in as many places as possible. See our growing list of registered news organizations. Our partner news organizations can also obtain first publishing rights to the content if they donate 50% or more towards a pitch. Regardless of a news organizations involvement, ALL STORIES will appear on WNYmedia publishing entities and partners.
What if my Pitch Doesn’t Reach its Goal?
You can accept to do the pitch regardless of whether or not you reach the original goal. So, if you raise 80% of the stated goal, you can still accept that money, but you must do what was outlined in the original pitch. You can also choose to cancel the pitch at any time and donations will be directed back to the original donors so they may direct it to another pitch.
Why Do we Need Shipping Address?
At some point you will be asked for your mailing address We will not share this information with anyone, it’s merely so we can send you a check for the work that you do .
What’s the Creative Commons Deal?
The end content produced by voxbuffalo will be given away for free unless a news organization has contributed either 50% or 100% of the total cost. In that situation – we will grant that news organization temporary copyright to the article. Eventually all stories are licensed under Creative Commons.
