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Canopy Atlanta

Contributor Guide

Canopy Atlanta is an award-winning journalism project re-imagining journalism by partnering with communities in the five-county metro Atlanta area to choose, report, and present stories. We prioritize stories that relate to civic issues—housing, food access, equity, policy—and focus on Black and brown communities directly affected by them. 

We pay competitively and will prioritize pitches from journalists with connections to these communities, though that is not required to work with us. 


Community Issues

Each Community Issue focuses on a specific community in the five-county metro Atlanta area. Your story idea must be rooted in some way in or about these communities (see a list of upcoming issues here). Maybe it’s an issue specific to the area, a piece of its history, or a way in which something happening in the area is representative of a bigger issue.

We are looking for written stories (short and longform), photo essays, audio, video, graphic ideas, or other experimental forms you may be interested in. 

Here are a few examples of what we love:

Working with Canopy Atlanta will be different: We collaborate with community members—which means that South DeKalb community members will help choose story topics, and our acceptance of your pitch may be based on their feedback. You may also be working with a Journalism Fellow—community members who we’re training—who may contribute reporting or more, and you’ll be expected to partake in some editorial meetings to facilitate collaboration.

Newsletter

Our twice-monthly newsletter features short, explainer-y stories on community-centered topics across metro Atlanta. They may focus on an uncovered angle to a breaking news event or answer questions asked by the community. The “community” in question could be a physical place, though it may also be a group of people existing across the five-country metro Atlanta area who share common interests and goals.

Written stories range from 300 to 600 words, and can be reported articles, as-told-to style interviews, guides and resources, or mini profiles. We’re also open to photo essays or other experimental forms. 

Here are a few examples of what we’re looking for:

As with our Community Issues, the stories we select must center and need to be aligned with community members’ perspective. Our acceptance of your pitch may be based on community members’ feedback. 

How to Pitch Us

Either fill out this form, or email a pitch to christina@canopyatlanta.org.

Questions? We’d love to chat. Email us at hello@canopyatlanta.org.