Bellingcat is on the lookout for wildlife and setting associated pitches grounded in open supply strategies and instruments.
What’s open supply?
Open-source strategies can embody utilizing satellite tv for pc knowledge to reveal illicit mining or logging. Ship monitoring knowledge to comply with fishing vessels, monitor oil spills, or detect waste dumping within the ocean. Social media evaluation will help geolocate movies and observe usernames to uncover wildlife trafficking networks – whether or not promoting wild animals for the pet commerce, trafficking animal elements, or exploiting toddler animals in egregious actions like combating or abuse. Different methods embody inspecting massive public databases to reveal greenwashing or coaching AI fashions to detect unlawful mines.
Earlier environmental investigations embody monitoring a bootleg wildlife trafficker, figuring out a stranded barge on the centre of a significant oil spill, and exposing vloggers who repeatedly pose with wild and susceptible animals.
In case your supply materials is on-line and public, and your story finds one thing deeper about our planet, we’d love to listen to from you.
What can we provide?
- Fee – A sliding scale relying on the complexity of your story and stage of improvement.
- A house in your story – Revealed on our web site and social channels below your byline.
- Entry to instruments and assist – Relying in your wants.
Is a free thought or theme sufficient?
No. You have to be capable to share some preliminary findings that assist a working speculation and display your investigation has potential.
Your thought should be authentic
We need to deliver new tales, new concepts, not repeat what different media shops have already coated. When pitching, embody each a working headline and topline – a sentence summarising what you anticipate to uncover, and why it issues. Each will possible evolve earlier than publication, however writing them down will aid you to outline your investigative query and us to grasp your ambitions.
Our Editorial Requirements
Earlier than pitching, please familiarise your self with our Editorial Requirements. Bellingcat’s editorial course of is rigorous, and all work should meet our requirements on impartiality, transparency, and plagiarism. Anticipate your draft to undergo a number of revisions for readability, accuracy, and readability. You’ll want to reply to edits in a well timed method. All tales are rigorously fact-checked.
Is that this only for people or teams of researchers, or can information desks apply?
Bellingcat has a powerful observe report of collaborating with native newsrooms, and we welcome partnerships. This consists of working with native or regional media or bigger publications in any language, whether or not in print, radio, on-line, or different codecs. Our major criterion is that our companions uphold rigorous moral and editorial requirements. A Memorandum of Understanding and Non-Disclosure Settlement will possible be required.
All reporters and companions should adhere to internationally recognised investigative journalism requirements. This consists of prohibitions on mendacity, stealing, hacking, misrepresentation, paying sources, undercover recording, or different controversial news-gathering practices.
The way to pitch
Copy and paste the template under into the physique of an e mail. Intention for 300-500 phrases whole. Change the topic heading to Wildlife and Environmental Pitches and ship it to editors@bellingcat.com.
| INTRO | What’s your working headline? And topline? How is your thought authentic? Why is it essential to research this? Why does it matter? |
| MINIMUM STORY | Define essentially the most fundamental findings that your article would come with. These could also be findings you’ve already made. |
| MAXIMUM STORY | Lay out your most bold, high-impact concepts. These could also be findings you anticipate to uncover with additional analysis. Dream massive. |
| RESOURCES | Describe your supply supplies? Archive of movies? Satellite tv for pc knowledge? What open-source instruments, if any, do you intend to make use of or want entry to? |
| EXPECTED TIMELINE | In case your pitch is accepted, when do you assume that you just’ll be capable to submit a primary draft? |
| ABOUT YOU | Identify all of the researchers concerned together with a brief bio(s) and/or hyperlinks to previous works. |
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