Spot.UsFor Reporters

How and why to use it.

A Freelancers Marketplace

•Pitch the public to support your work.

•Pitch multiple editors at a time.

•Build your online presence to garner more work in the future.

AND

Journalism that counts

•Report stories you are passionate about.

•Build a new connection with readership.

•Help create and support a community.

A Freelancers MarketplaceJournalism that matters

What Pitches Work best?•Stories that invoke a sense of civic good.

Public service journalism returns!!!

FOIA the local university for fun ;)

Be an honest reflection...

•Relates to or has potential to build a community of support.

•Giving a community news/information that would otherwise remain hidden.

On Creating a Pitch

Never hesitate to contact info[at]spot[dot]us

Show your passion and expertise. They are funding you as well as the story.

•Create a YouTube video (example).•Give us the nut graph. Why should we care?

Click “start a story” (it’s that easy to start)

•Story telling is your greatest asset.

On Creating a Pitch

•Include any pre-reporting.

It’s the details that’ll make you shine

•A compelling Spot.Us profile.

•Link to a personal website/blog in the pitch. We want to know who you are!

•Show examples of your reporting.

Pitch News Orgs too!•Send pitch to traditional editors or publishers

We will let them publish it first!

Spot.us can work with news publishers

You get a great byline

•If they fund just 50% of your pitch....

Especially if you already have a relationship

With a shrinking freelance budget - this will make your pitch more enticing.

How to be Successful!!

•Identify target audience

The “community” in community funded reporting

Personal emails and phone calls are the best way to reach out.

civic organizations, bloggers, nonprofits, news organizations.

•Partner with

•Get socialFacebook, Twitter, list-serves and other usual suspects. Start within your own networks and move out.

Be creative and have fun with this part. You are working for the public and they love you for it.

Good Stuff Potential

•If a news organization ever refunds original donors - the community will love you and probably fund your NEXT pitch too!

•Content could be published in multiple places - giving you a connection to more editors and more work.

Did you know that...•You can browse community

tips for story ideas?

•You can apply to be a fact-checker, entitled up to 10% of what a pitch raises.

Never hesitate to contact info[at]spot[dot]us

ONWARD!!!!!!!

Never give up, never surrender