Calling on Freelance Writers: The Dallas Observer's News Desk Is Looking for Pitches

Do you enjoy combing through public records? Do you keep a watchful eye on what's happening at City Hall? Do you keep up with soaring rental costs and the impact they're having on Dallas neighborhoods? In short, do you have your thumb on Dallas' news pulse? If so, we've got...

By Patrick Strickland

August 24, 2022

Image: Who would miss the opportunity to dig through public records?

Who would miss the opportunity to dig through public records? SupamitrK, Shutterstock

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Do you enjoy combing through public records? Do you keep a watchful eye on what's happening at City Hall? Do you keep up with soaring rental costs and the impact they're having on Dallas neighborhoods? In short, do you have your thumb on Dallas' news pulse?

If so, we've got news for you. On top of hiring for a staff writer opening, the Dallas Observer’s news desk is putting out a call for pitches.

We’re looking for writers who can contribute hard news articles, features and longform stories with a Dallas hook. Our rates vary based on the story and will be negotiated before any pitch is commissioned.

We are especially interested in Dallas stories that touch on:

City Hall
Local politics
Public health
Crime
Courts
Transportation
Housing
Environmental issues
Education
Civil Rights

Plus, with midterm elections coming up in November, we expect the news to only get busier between now and then.

As an alternative weekly, we run a print edition every Thursday. But we also publish new stories online Monday through Friday.

Before you pitch, we hope you'll get acquainted with our reporting.

To get an idea of what kind of news articles we like, check out our news section here. As for features and longform stories, we are interested in deeply reported profiles, narratives and explainers. To get a feel for what kind of features and longform articles we publish, check out our long reads section here.

If you’re a local writer with an idea for a well-reported story, please reach out to our news editor, Patrick Strickland, at [email protected] and our editor-in-chief, Patrick Williams, at [email protected]. Please include the word "Pitch" in your email subject line.

Patrick Strickland is the former news editor at the Dallas Observer. He's worked as a senior reporter at Al Jazeera English. His reporting has appeared in the New York Review of Books, The Guardian, Politico EU and The New Republic, among others.

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