The holidays are over, spring is teasing us from around the corner (though some corners are further away than others), and that means it's time to get cracking on a new season of sleuthing. The deadline for the next round of investigative pitches is February 2 at midnight.

We know there are still many untold stories that only grassroots, co-operative media outlets like The Media Co-op and The Dominion will tackle. To help our contributors dig deeper and be better compensated for their efforts, we launched the Media Co-op Investigative Fund.

The latest round of pitching story ideas is now open. We’re offering $400 for an investigative feature to be published in the May/June issue of The Dominion. Please make sure your idea will still be timely by our publication date. The investigative fund is separate from our regular calls for news and analysis pieces, which we send out monthly. We want thoroughly-researched stories with numerous interviews for these. Please look at our past investigative features for reference.

Story ideas have been pouring in from readers. We prioritize these suggestions when considering pitches, so we encourage you to take a look at them.

The article you propose should be 2,100 words and present fresh angles, original research on undetected issues and/or bold solutions to common problems. If it's an international story, tell us what the strong Canadian angle will be. If the story focuses on a particular city or region of Canada, tell us why it's of interest to a national audience and how it will be placed into a national context.

Pitches are welcome from anyone; priority for payment goes to those who have previously contributed. You'll work with The Dominion editors over the course of a month or more to produce the article. The process will include multiple rounds of edits.

Want to get your sleuth on but don't know how to pitch a story? It's elementary, my dear contributor:

1. Set up a Media Co-op account (if you don’t already have one): 
http://mediacoop.ca/user
2. Check out this page for hot topics and details about writing for The Dominion:http://dominionpaper.ca/write For a more in-depth look, check out our Writer’s Guide here:http://mediacoop.ca/writersguide
3. Peruse the Media Co-op discussion page for story ideas: 
http://www.mediacoop.ca/group/discuss/18940
4. Pitch! http://mediacoop.ca/investigativepitch
 

The deal:

Pitches should be less than 400 words and include a thorough description of planned sources (interviews or documents) and research. An entire story submitted as a pitch will not be considered for payment. Editors reserve the right to suggest changes and edit stories (with your participation, of course!). Pitches should capture the content, tone and style of the story you plan to submit; if the content submitted differs significantly from the pitch, editors reserve the right to withhold payment.

Deadline for pitches: Sunday, February 2, Midnight.

First drafts due February 28

Final pieces due March 25

Looking forward to your radical investigations!

The Editorial Collective