Freelance/Intern/Photographers
Like most alternative weeklies, Salt Lake City Weekly could not exist without the contributions of freelancers. Generally, freelancers are expected to suggest their own story ideas. Freelancers write cover features as well as arts and entertainment features. Word counts for the most commonly freelanced articles include:
- Cover features: 3,500 words
- Music articles: 500-750 words
- Arts & Entertainment features: 650-750 words
- Food writing: 300 words
- Event previews: 180-270 words
How to approach us with a story idea:
Pitching your story idea. First, ALWAYS send a query by mail, e-mail or fax to editor@cityweekly.net to see if we are interested in your idea. Unsolicited manuscripts will be considered at our discretion. We will not return any item unless it is sent with an accompanying SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). You may find it helpful to use this form as a guideline in organizing your story pitch.
Know Salt Lake City Weekly. Your chances of selling an article idea to us will be improved if you do your homework. Study our paper. Get a sense for the kind of articles we're looking for before sending in your query. Consider our readers, who want to read about local issues, people and places. Then tell us why your idea would be a great story for our paper, why you're the one to write it, and what kind of resources you will use to report the story. Get to the point. If it is your first time contacting us, include a resume and three clippings (can be copies of clips and/or e-mail links to publications that have your clips in their archives) as well as a daytime phone number and e-mail address.
Defend your story idea. Be prepared to answer questions we may have about your story idea, such as: Is it new, or at least a new angle on an old topic? Has it been written about locally and recently? Is it interesting, timely and appealing to our readers?
Spec submission. If you are an untested new writer, and we accept your story proposal, we are likely to ask you to submit your article on "spec" the first time or two. That means that we will reserve the right not to publish the story if we feel it does not meet our standards and subsequent editing will not salvage it in a timely fashion.
Compensation
Our rates are comparable to those at other alternative newsweeklies. Payment, including kill fees, vary and will be negotiated individually. We pay at the end of the month following the month of publication.
Salt Lake City Weekly buys first-time rights to your work, plus the right to post your work electronically on our copyrighted Website. You retain the rights to all subsequent publication, with the proviso that such publication appears with a credit line stating that your story first appeared in Salt Lake City Weekly. All terms of publication are spelled out in detail in our contributor's agreement, which you must sign and return to us before your work can be published.
INVITATION TO FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Salt Lake City Weekly is always interested in reaching out to freelance photographers. But the vast majority of our needs are news- and feature-related-that is, it is meant to illustrate a story. Art photography, while of aesthetic interest to us, is of little practical use.
To be considered as a news/feature photographer, send an e-mail to editor@cityweekly.net. Include a resume and no more than five representative samples of your photography in jpeg format at between 200 and 300 dpi. If we like what we see, we'll schedule a meeting to discuss the opportunity in more detail. All terms of publication are spelled out in detail in our contributor's agreement, which you must sign and return to us before your work can be published.
City Weekly is currently accepting applications for its internship program. While these internships are intended for school credit, it is the student's responsibility to determine if a City Weekly internship will qualify for academic credit.
Student applicants/candidates should have interest and ambitions in journalism. However, the internship is not strictly for journalism students. The internship's main objective is to teach students what goes on behind the scenes in an alternative news organization. They will learn what's involved in producing a weekly paper, from pitching a story idea, reporting and story development to editing, layout and proofing by working with and observing our reporters and editors. Interns play an active role and will be expected to assist with ongoing weekly duties.
Interns will work at City Weekly's Main Street office in downtown Salt Lake City.
Office hours will vary. The estimated time commitment is 13 hours per week, with a standard schedule to be established.
Dates of Internships:
- Fall: Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2014 (17 weeks)
- Spring: Jan. 2-April 30, 2014 (13 weeks)
- Collecting and verifying letters to the editor
- Researching nightclub calendars and websites and updating event, dining and bar listings
- Assisting Listings Editor with research and inputting A&E listings
- Formatting syndicated columns and flowing text into InDesign templates.
- Other special projects
Interns are expected to attend weekly editorial meetings and develop/pitch story ideas along with the rest of the edit staff.
In addition to writing, each intern will be assigned ongoing weekly duties that may include:
Interested students should mail or e-mail a cover letter, resume and references to City Weekly at least one month prior to desired internship. Prospective candidates will be contacted for an interview.
editor@cityweekly.net
City Weekly
248 S. Main
Salt Lake City , UT 84101
