CorpWatch Writers Guidelines

CorpWatch is always looking for good investigative reporting on corporate activities.  Stories should be based on original reporting on current issues. While they can focus on local problems, topics but must be of interest to our international readership and inform them in ways that are globally relevant.

Corpwatch's style is journalistic. Stories should be factual rather than analytical, theoretical, or polemic. Interviews are an essential component and should represent the perspectives many sides including the people and communities affected, activists, government officials, and independent experts. Response from corporations named is vital. Color and context are key elements in the kind of feature/magazine stories we publish, as is the liberal use of quotes, which must be word-for-word accurate. The writer is responsible for documenting all allegations, providing notes, fact checking, and verification of sources.

Our deadlines and word length assignments are strict. Stories that are either too long or too short will be returned immediately and risk violation of contractual deadline requirements. All stories will be edited for style and content. We typically pay $500 for a 2,000-word story, edited by CorpWatch, and accepted for publication.

Writers should submit a one-page query. This proposal should demonstrate your ability to write clearly and with verve, include a concise summary paragraph, examples of color, quotes, and context. List research and interviews you have already conducted and what you plan. Please include your experience, expertise, and clips or hyperlinks to previous writing.

Please check out CorpWatch's archives to get a sense of the kind of piece in which we are interested-and whether we have already covered the topic you propose.

You can send a completed story on spec, but remember that we want solid first-hand reporting that includes the four Cs: color, context, community, and corporate response.

CorpWatch sometimes works with novice journalists and can provide moredetailed instructions on request.

Please direct queries, with CORPWATCH in the subject line, to tallen@igc.org.