We’re eager to work with local independent writers, reporters, researchers and other community members to share Richmond’s stories, serve local information needs, and amplify important perspectives from across our city.

So, how can we make it happen? We put together a primer on what you should know if you’re interested in freelancing before you send in your pitch. When you’re ready, just send us an email, and an editor will get back to you as soon as they can.

Stories and formats we’re interested in: We love hearing from community members about important issues happening in Richmond communities and neighborhoods that might not be on everyone else’s radars. We love stories that help Richmondans learn about resources that would benefit them and their communities, or teach people how to navigate complicated systems. We love quirky, funny, inspiring or revealing features. Stories don’t have to be traditional narrative reports: We like FAQs, “how-to” guides, personal essays, short videos and more. We’re open to photos, photo essays and other visual ideas.

How to check whether your idea is a fit for Richmondside before you send a pitch:

Read what we publish to get an overall sense of how we aim to serve our communities. You can sign up for our newsletters to get fresh stories in your inbox. 

We only publish stories that are closely tied to people and issues in Richmond. We don’t publish stories on regional, state, or national issues that aren’t rooted in our city. If you want to write about such an issue, and have a compelling way to tie it to people, places, or happenings in Richmond, we’d love to hear about it.

If your pitch resonates with our editorial mission, doesn’t overlap with a story we already have in progress, and we’re able to properly support your pitch with editing bandwidth and funding at the time you submit it, here’s how we’ll work with you:

  • Compensation: We pay $150 for briefs that take less than half a day of reporting and writing. We pay $250 for arts and food reviews, for articles covering a single meeting or event, for roundups under 1,200 words, and for stories that take about a day or so of reporting and writing. We pay at least $350 for complex features that involve difficult sourcing, document analysis or significant reporter initiative, and for stories taking about two to three days of reporting and writing. We pay $500 or more for in-depth enterprise and investigative reports that take longer to produce.

    We pay $300 for one-off photo assignments requiring less than half a day in the field. We pay $350 and up for photo essays requiring more time in the community. (Writers are expected to solicit photos from sources and to take their own photos, when feasible in the course of their reporting, for no additional fee.)

    All fees include the cost of travel to assignments. Reporting expenses, such as the cost of obtaining court documents, will be reimbursed with advanced permission. We’ll work with you to figure out how long your story is likely to take and offer you a clear rate ahead of time.
  • Story planning: If you’re new to working with us, a Richmondside editor will talk to you about your reporting process before you get started, and you’ll work together to roadmap a plan.
  • Editing: We’re proud to offer hands-on editing for every story we publish. We strive for clear communication, timely responses and a supportive working experience.

When you’re writing your pitch, we suggest you:

  • Summarize what you want to report on in a sentence or two.
  • Spell out who the audience is for your story.
  • Let us know the big questions your story seeks to answer.
  • State who you’ll interview, why they’re a good fit for this story and their connection to Richmond.
  • Explain why it’s important to tell this story now.
  • Tell us why you’re well-placed to write this story.
  • Include links to your website and/or any work you have had published.

Then send us an email at hello@Richmondside.org.