Press release #1_Unbias the News
Hostwriter Launches Remote Cross-Border Newsroom
The new Hostwriter newsroom Unbias the News is dedicated to showcasing international journalism that breaks through geographical or structural barriers. Diversity is not a moral question, it’s a question of quality: We aim to open up the field to emerging voices and local journalists who have not yet had the privilege to publish at big legacy outlets due to lack of access or discrimination.
In a statement issued issued Thursday from Berlin, Germany, it reads in parts, “Starting today, we are inviting journalists from all over the world to pitch us underreported stories with cross-border relevance at unbiasthenews.org”.
The global newsroom urges Journalists across the globe to send in pitches, “All applicants gain access to free digital journalism trainings and peer-to-peer networking opportunities regardless of whether their story pitch was accepted. Deadline is 18 April 2021”.
Hostwriter’s international editorial team will work with selected authors in a collaborative process. Editors ANKITA ANAND (India), MERCY ABANG (Nigeria/ Germany), PURPLE ROMERO (Philippines/ Hong Kong) and Contributing Editor WAFAA ALBADRY (Egypt/ Germany) are joining Hostwriter’s ZAHRA SALAH UDDIN (Pakistan/Germany) and TINA LEE (U.S./Germany). The editors are supported by Hostwriter’s managerial team of TABEA GRZESZYK (publisher and CEO), JULIA VERNERSSON (COO) and KATJA HEITMANN (CTO).
Hostwriter is an award-winning online network that helps journalists to easily collaborate across borders. Having published the book Unbias the News: Why diversity matters for journalism in 2019 (Hostwriter/Correctiv), the establishment of a newsroom is the next step to ensure more equity and representation in the media. Our international editorial team has experienced first-hand how implicit bias and prejudice can silence underrepresented voices in journalism, guiding the mission to diversify media narratives and to ‘unbias the news’.
We welcome your inquiries by email or phone: [email protected]
Read Unbias the News Call for Pitches below.
Open Globally
Deadline: 18 April 2021
March 18, 2021
Dear colleagues:
- Do you rarely see people who share your lived experiences reflected in the media?
- Have your stories not reached their target audience due to structural barriers?
- Has a lack of privilege or access stopped you from telling important stories?
- Are you concerned about representation and equity in the newsroom?
- What matters to you the most in news coverage and reportage?
Unbias the News is a new, remote global newsroom dedicated to showcasing international journalism that breaks through geographical or other structural barriers.
Starting today, we are inviting journalists from all over the world to pitch us underreported stories with cross-border relevance.
All applicants gain access to free digital journalism trainings and peer-to-peer networking opportunities regardless of whether their story pitch was accepted. Accepted submissions will be paid either 250 euros (personal narratives, op-eds, and shorter pieces) or 500 euros (long reads, multimedia pieces, and investigations). Joint projects are welcome, please see our freelance guidelines.
What kind of pieces are we looking for?
Cross-border: We are looking for stories that impact or involve people across multiple boundaries – including national and other imaginary borders.
Complex: Many topics require time and length to explain properly. We accept pitches for long-form articles that deal with multi-layered, context-rich stories.
Narratives: Sometimes zooming in on the individual in society makes an issue crystal clear. Whether it is your own personal narrative or that of someone with a unique story, we want person-centered narratives where the main character is treated with agency and dignity.
Secret Histories: The tragedies and triumphs of the past continue to affect our lives, often in surprising ways. We are keen to hear the secret histories you have stumbled on that shed light on the issues of today.
Another Look: There are places, people, practices that have been ignored or gotten a bad rap because of media bias or tunnel-vision. Set the record straight and tell us why a person, place, or thing has been misrepresented.
Taboos: There are things that cultures and societies won’t touch – sometimes for good reasons, and sometimes for reasons that no longer make sense, or never did. We want your stories exploring “the forbidden” and the unseen taboos driving social problems.
These are just some of the types of stories our international editorial team is interested to review, but please also pitch us your underreported stories that don’t fit the above themes. We invite interested authors to also review our editorial manifesto and meet our editorial team for more information. If you have questions, please check out our FAQ (below) or shoot us a message: [email protected]. Otherwise, fill out the form at unbiasthenews.org and we will get back to you!
