Share Your Story
Share compelling stories about your community – and get paid for it.
Shift Press provides journalism training and news that encourages Houston youth civic engagement. You can read more about us here.
We want pieces that help young people engage issues of their interest. So if it’s about Houston, youth, and power, it’s a Shift Press piece.
It’s also helpful to know we love movement journalism and civic journalism.
News (700-900 words, $300*)
We’re interested in covering actions that shift the power in favor of young people. That includes anything ranging from protests to government meetings to art exhibitions. The more youth driving the action, the more likely your pitch will be accepted.
Pitch process and turnaround time: Sending us a short description of the event a few days beforehand is ideal, but we understand that isn’t always possible. If we receive a draft of a piece quickly (within a few hours or a day of the event), pieces should be published after one or two rounds of light edits.
Examples:
Opinion (700-900 words, $300*)
Shift Press publishes opinions by individuals and statements by organizations (usually youth groups) on different matters affecting young people. This can also include transcripts of speeches delivered at public comment.
Pitch process and turnaround time: Please submit a complete draft or a near-complete draft. Opinion pieces usually go through 1 to 2 rounds of edits before publication, but this varies case by case.
Examples:
Interviews (varies, $300*)
We publish interviews with individuals of any age and background that help us reach our mission of encouraging youth civic engagement.
Pitch process and turnaround time: Please pitch us with information on the person you’d like to interview and the topics you’d like to discuss. In some cases, Shift Press may be able to set up an introduction with the person.
The interview may be virtual or in-person and Shift Press can provide you with an online Zoom room or audio equipment.
We also can provide access to Otter.AI, which can help transcribe your interview. However, please note that you are expected to edit the transcript, which takes much longer than executing the interview.
Examples:
Deep dives (700+ words, $300+*)
We consider deep dives as pieces that may take more reporting, whether it means poring over government documents and policies, submitting public records requests, and/or developing sources and conducting multiple interviews.
Pitch process and turnaround time: This will vary by piece. Please pitch us when you feel ready to tell the fundamentals of the story. Turnaround times will also vary depending on the piece and its complexity. Pieces will likely go through multiple rounds of edits, and we may independently fact-check the piece and/or send it to a lawyer for pre-publication review.
Examples:
We don’t publish
- Poetry or fiction
- Non-persuasive personal essays
- Event or product promotions
- Anything that doesn’t relate to Houston or Texas youth
- Anything that doesn’t promote youth agency
Tips
- Please read some of our past pieces to get a sense of what Shift Press likes to publish.
- Your piece will likely get published faster if you come to us with a completed piece than if you pitch a story.
- That being said, if you have an idea and aren’t quite sure how to approach it, feel free to pitch it and we can talk with you!
*Compensation
Compensation amounts listed for each type of piece are negotiable if needed. Shift Press will prioritize compensation payment to individuals who are not paid staff of organizations whose primary responsibilities include the listed topics above.