WRITING GUIDELINES
The "Ontario Green News" welcomes feature articles, reviews
and is seeking reporters who are willing to work as regional stringers.
Feature Articles
Feature stories should be 1,000 to 5,000 words in length. We want
pieces that go beyond the shallow information provided by the mainstream
media and tell the whole story---context and everything. Please try
to be as objective as possible. (We don't need one-sided advocacy
by people who cannot understand why anyone would see things differently!)
If your piece describes some problem try to offer constructive criticism
instead of simply attacking current government policy. (That is, offer
a practical policy alternative that could deal with the problem in
a way that wouldn't either bankrupt the province or lead to riots
in the streets.)
I'm hoping that many of the articles in OGN will come from people
who are leaders in the "small g" green community. They have
a wealth of knowledge and experience that needs to be shared both
with other activists and the greater public in general. If you know
your stuff, but are insecure about your abilities as a writer, don't
be shy. Unlike other editors who are usually harried by deadlines
and other issues, the OGN is willing to put the time into working
with you to develop a good story.
If you think you might have a story for the OGN, send us a one or
two page query that outlines the idea and what particular experience
you bring to it.
Book, Film and Music Reviews
The OGN needs people to write regular features dealing with a variety
of issues.
The "Green Library" needs reviews of books that would educate
citizens on the issues involved in the expanding Green consciousness.
Books reviewed don't have to be newly published nor of narrowly scholarly
interest. Novels, non-fiction, religious works, etc, are all fine
as long as they help the reader see how people could live in a Green
world. As OGN develops a track record, we will be approaching publishers
for review copies of their new editions.
In addition, we can use reviews of music, videos, movies, etc. If
you would like to write a review but can't think of anything in particular,
contact the editor and he'll give you some suggestions.
Regional Stringers
The OGN needs to set up a network of local journalists who can work
as "stringers" for us. A stringer is a person who undertakes
to do investigative journalism for a newspaper that cannot afford
to hire someone to work full time for them in the area in question.
The stringer would keep their eyes open and if there is something
going on that might interest the OGN they would be able write a story
for the paper. As well, with a network of stringers on hand, the OGN
editor will have locals to contact when something comes to his attention
that is of interest. The local stringer will hopefully have the local
contacts and knowledge that will allow her to better evaluate the
story than an outsider would be able to. If a story like Walkerton
develops, the OGN would call the nearest stringer to see if she would
like to cover the story.
If you are interested in stringing for the OGN, please send a resume
to the editor that outlines your experience (copies of previous free-lancing
work would be appreciated), what area you can cover, and a reference
from within the Green Party of Ontario or Green Party of Canada (your
regional CA contact would be ideal). No previous experience is necessary,
but we do want to have some evidence that you are a trustworthy person.
Stringers for the OGN will be issued a press pass (which can sometimes
offers people significant privileges and opportunities) and will represent
the OGN when they do their research. We especially need stringers
in the major cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Kitchener-Waterloo,
etc---but news happens everywhere and we are looking for the right
person much more than the right place.
OGN and the GPO
The "Ontario Green News" is an official organ of the Green
Party of Ontario. Its purpose is to raise "green literacy"
among GPO members, the activist community and the public in general.
This mandate means that the OGN is not an internal newsletter nor
a simple propaganda sheet----we welcome input from all sectors of
the small "g" green community. Having said that, we will
not publish any articles that bring the Green Party project into question,
which would bring the GPO and the OGN into disrepute, or which are
insulting or abusive to the GPO and/or its members. In addition, the
OGN will not publish articles which offend based on race, gender,
disabilities, religion, class, etc. We also reserve the right to refuse
all submissions strictly on the basis of what the editor deems to
be acceptable standards of quality and objectivity. Having said all
that, the OGN seeks to be a venue for opinion and debate. In no way
does its content reflect official GPO policy, but instead the idiosyncracies
of both author and editor.
Please contact the Editor
at OGN for further information or to submit a feature story
query, review or apply to be a stringer.
Issue
1, Volume 1